pampering

⁶For she who is living in pleasures is dead, while living.

¹⁷Whoever loves a feast will be in deprivation. Whoever loves wine and fatness will not be enriched.

¹⁹A certain man was wealthy, and he was clothed in purple and in fine linen. And he feasted splendidly every day. ²⁰And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹wanting to be filled with the crumbs which were falling from the wealthy man’s table. But no one gave it to him. And even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²Then it happened that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Now the wealthy man also died, and he was entombed in Hell. ²³Then lifting up his eyes, while he was in torments, he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴And crying out, he said: ‘Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to refresh my tongue. For I am tortured in this fire.’

²¹Whoever nurtures his servant delicately from childhood, afterwards will find him defiant.

²⁰Do not be willing to be in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in the carousings of those who gather to feed on flesh. ²¹For those who waste time drinking, and who surrender themselves to symbols, will be consumed. And those who sleep will be clothed in rags.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods, stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be cheerful.’

⁵You have feasted upon the earth, and you have nourished your hearts with luxuries, unto the day of slaughter.

¹⁹Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.

¹⁶For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the arrogance of a life which is not of the Father, but is of the world.

¹⁰And all that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. Neither did I prohibit my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and from amusing itself in the things that I had prepared. And I regarded this as my share, as if I were making use of my own labors. ¹¹But when I turned myself toward all the works that my hands had made, and to the labors in which I had perspired to no purpose, I saw emptiness and affliction of the soul in all things, and that nothing is permanent under the sun.

³⁴But be attentive to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts may be weighed down by self-indulgence and inebriation and the cares of this life. And then that day may overwhelm you suddenly.

³For the time that has passed is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the Gentiles, those who have walked in luxuries, lusts, intoxication, feasting, drinking, and the illicit worship of idols.

¹⁵Do not choose to love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the arrogance of a life which is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, with its desire. But whoever does the will of God abides unto eternity.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods, stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be cheerful.’ ²⁰But God said to him: ‘Foolish one, this very night they require your soul of you. To whom, then, will those things belong, which you have prepared?’ ²¹So it is with him who stores up for himself, and is not wealthy with God.”

³For, in times past, we ourselves were also unwise, unbelieving, erring, servants of various desires and pleasures, acting with malice and envy, being hateful and hating one another.

⁷Whoever keeps the law is a wise son. But whoever feeds gluttons brings shame to his father.

²⁹For no man has ever hated his own flesh, but instead he nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ also does to the Church.

¹²instructing us to reject impiety and worldly desires, so that we may live soberly and justly and piously in this age,