Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Luke 12:16

Eastern Fathers

Basil of Caesarea

Not indeed about to reap any good from his plenty of fruits, but that the mercy of God might the more appear, which extends its goodness even to the bad; sending down His rain upon the just and the unjust. But what are the things wherewith this man repays his Benefactor? He remembered not his fellow-creatures, nor deemed that he ought to give of his superfluities to the needy. His barns indeed bursting from the abundance of his stores, yet was his greedy mind by no means satisfied. …

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗

Theophylact of Ohrid

Having said that a person's life does not become longer from an abundance of possessions, the Lord also brings a parable in confirmation of His words. And see how He depicts for us the insatiable thoughts of the foolish rich man. God was carrying out His intention and showed special compassion. For not in one small place, but in the entire "field of the rich man there was a good harvest"; yet he was so barren in mercy that, before he even received, he was already keeping it for himself.

Commentary on Luke ↗

Clement of Alexandria

Accordingly he has not forbidden us to be rich in the right way, but only a wrongful and insatiable grasping of money. For "property gained unlawfully is diminished." "There are some who sow much and gain the more, and those who hoard become impoverished." Of them it is written: "He distributed, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever." For he who sows and gathers more is the man who by giving away his earthly and temporal goods has obtained a heavenly and eternal prize; the other is he who gives to no one, but vainly …

The Stromata Book 3 ↗

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

"The redemption of a man's soul is his riches." This silly fool of a man did not have that kind of riches. Obviously he was not redeeming his soul by giving relief to the poor. He was hoarding perishable crops. I repeat, he was hoarding perishable crops, while he was on the point of perishing because he had handed out nothing to the Lord before whom he was due to appear. …

Sermon 36.9 ↗

Ambrose of Milan

For he gathers wealth in vain who does not know how to use it: just like that person who, when the granaries were bursting with new harvests, was preparing receptacles for himself to collect the overflowing fruits, being ignorant of how to use them. For everything that belongs to the world remains in the world, and whatever is gathered together by heirs passes away from us; for those things are not ours, which we cannot take away with us. …

Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.122 ↗

Bede

Then he spoke a parable to them, saying: "The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest, and he thought to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' And he said, 'This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.' This rich man is not condemned for having cultivated the land or for having stored the fruits that came from it in barns, but for placing his entire life's trust in the very abundance of things, considering the …

On the Gospel of Luke ↗