The sin of Dives was that he could look on suffering and need and feel no impulse to help or to show compassion. Dives looked at a fellow human being, hungry and in pain, and did nothing about it. His was the punishment of the man who never noticed.

As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to notice the pain and suffering of others and to respond with prayer, support, compassion and aid. It may have been the late Cardinal John O’Connor who was once asked why his archdiocesan charities served so many people who were not Catholic. The cardinal replied, "We don’t serve them because they are or are not Catholic; we do it because we are." One of the hallmarks of a true disciple is the extent to which we are ready to do whatever we can to show mercy and charity to those who appear before us in need. Charity, not indifference, conforms us to Christ.

The end of the Gospel passage is a stark reminder that failure to show charity when we ought to is equally as damning as actively mistreating another. The parable that Christ tells alerts us to live our lives to the fullest in virtue right now, because after death it is too late. The rich man wants Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his family. But the word of God Himself has already been sent and spoken. Salvation consists in listening to the word of God and putting that word into practice. More information helps no one without a freely chosen, faith-filled commitment to right living and right acting.

It seems hard that Dives’ request that his brothers should be warned was refused. But the plain fact is that if people possess the truth of God’s word, and if, wherever they look, there is sorrow to be comforted, pain to be relieved, needs to be cared for, and it moves them to no feeling and to no action, nothing will change them.

It is a terrible warning for all of us that the sin of Dives was not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing.