The Gift of Empty Hands - Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:09 — 20.1MB) | Embed

The Gift of Empty Hands – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the readings from Ecclesiastes, Colossians, and the Gospel of Luke, focusing on the destructive nature of greed and the illusion of security found in material wealth. He contrasts the pursuit of possessions with the call to live in Christ, who alone satisfies the human heart. Using the parable of the rich man and stories from his own ministry, including encounters with the poor, missionaries, and saints like Mother Teresa, Msgr. Esseff illustrates how worldly riches can enslave the soul, while true freedom and peace come from union with Christ and a life centered on eternal values.

He shares moving examples of individuals who lived simply yet gave abundantly, revealing how detachment from luxury leads to spiritual richness. Msgr. Esseff also describes the radical poverty of the Missionaries of Charity and their joy in Christ, challenging listeners to examine their own relationship with wealth. He encourages young people to consider lives of missionary discipleship, not for fame or fortune, but to radiate Christ in the world. True richness, he says, is found in living a full life in God, where identity and peace are rooted not in possessions but in the presence of Jesus within.

From the Gospel of St. Luke 12:13-21

“Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions:

What role do material possessions play in your life, and how might they be drawing your heart away from God?
How do you discern the difference between necessities and luxuries in your daily living?
In what ways are you seeking what is above, as St. Paul exhorts, rather than what is earthly?
Are there forms of hidden idolatry in your life, such as dependence on wealth, status, or comfort?
How can you practice generosity toward the poor and marginalized in a concrete way?
When was the last time you encountered poverty that challenged your perspective on your own abundance?
What would it mean for you to live a “full life in Christ” rather than just a successful or comfortable one?
How can you use your career or vocation as a mission field to reflect Christ to others?
In what areas of your life do you feel empty despite having much, and could that be a call to deeper union with God?
If you were to die today, would your life reflect a pursuit of eternal riches or temporary ones?

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical Missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.