I was at church on January 1st 2022. The Christmas mass is highly attended, standing room only. The mass on 1/1 is sparsely attended. It is a great dichotomy – everyone wants to be at church on Christmas, but then only a few show up just a few days later. 1/1 is a holy day of obligation – Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and are required to attend.
To add to the sparse attendance, 1/1 was on a Saturday, which means we must also attend weekly mass the next day, Sunday.
On both days, in the pew in front on me, was a man and wife with 9 children. They were visiting the area, I had never seen them before.
This man (and woman) had the two most important and valuable things in the world. They had faith, attending church on 1/1, when so few others showed up. And they had family. I couldn’t help but think during mass that this was the richest man in the world. Didn’t know what his financial circumstances were and didn’t care, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
If you want to be rich – ignore what the world says to have. Faithfully go to church, meet a good woman, follow God, have lots of kids, and be rich beyond your wildest dreams.