As religious feasts diminish in popular significance, the secular calendar expands. They advertise Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, Earth Day, Black Friday and Gay Pride Day, and many another social celebration. Maybe we shouldn’t worry too much, as many of our Christian feasts were originally pagan festivals that we baptised. 

Now the process is being reversed. The latest addition to our secular calendar is Animal Day early in October. Without any disrespect for our fur and feathered friends, the amount spent on pet animals is now enormous. Dogs and other household pets are no longer fed on the scraps that fall from the table, as in former times. 

Advertising for dog-food and cat-food shows how dramatically our pets’ eating habits have changed. With what we spend on them, we could feed many poor people who are undernourished and starving.

When hearing of Lazarus and the rich man, if we tend to identify with Lazarus, we miss the point of the story. We, collectively, embody the spirit of the rich man. In Europe we have a mountain of beef, of cereals and of butter, a lake of wine and a lake of milk, that cost a fortune to maintain. 




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