Sunday 28 (B-2006): Evangelizing Money

The attitude Jesus asks us to have towards money is one of the most difficult demands of the Gospel.

Yet, along with greater demands, like the forgiveness of our enemies, it is one of the hallmarks of authentic Christianity.

Is Jesus against money?

Of itself, money is neither morally good nor morally evil. Good and evil pertain to the thoughts, intentions and actions of the human person, not to things.

It follows that Jesus will commend any morally good thought, intention or action concerning money.

We need to remember, of course, that the measure of what is good and evil is not established by the human being, but by the law of God.

Therefore, all human use of money, be it coming into the possession of it, saving or spending it, will be good or evil to the degree that its use or non-use is in conformity with the law of God – which is summed up as the love of God above all things and persons, and the love of neighbor as our self.

It follows that money must be used to help us love God and to love our neighbor. Not to feed our greed or augment our contempt. Our use or non-use of money must be evangelized.

In the social context of the United States (as in many other, especially Western, countries), there can be a great temptation to say that money, like politics, has nothing to do with God.

It is a fact of life that politics in this country, and in many other places, is pretty much driven by the economy.

The thought process can then be that, since God and politics don’t mix, so the way I handle money, and the way society handles the economy, has nothing to do with God.

This is a great mistake.

God and humanity do not live in parallel universes. God is not a genie in a bottle, brought out by prayer and then returned when we get our request.

God and man inter-penetrate. God is present to each person and all persons, to all dimensions of private and public life.

Politics and the economy cannot do as they please.

While they are certainly autonomous activities, they remain, or should remain, activities of human beings for human beings, for the common good of humanity and thus for the glory of God.

Since the human being, as individual and as society, is destined for God, then clearly both politics and the economy must do their part to ensure that each human being and all human beings find their way to God.

And what is “their part”?

It is to ensure the just distribution of the goods of the earth among all the peoples of the earth.

Why? So that every human being has those material conditions in keeping with their human dignity and human rights which will enable them to pursue their higher destiny in God.

Politics and the economy must not take the place of God.

In other words neither power nor money must become ends in themselves.

Otherwise they will oppress the true dignity of the human being, not least the dignity of the oppressors themselves.

That is why Jesus takes the powerful and the rich to task: not because of the role politics or money has in itself (which can be morally good if properly exercised), but because of the abuse of power and money by the human heart.

It is also why the Church, despite the sins of her own sons and even leaders in the area of power and wealth, must speak out.

If politics or the economy is acting unjustly, either by violating human rights and dignity or by creating or worsening poverty, the Church must announce the principles which are being ignored and denounce the violation of rights.

Put differently, the Church is seeking to call politicians and the wealthy to their responsibility before God: to serve the common good of humanity, not to indulge their own vanity.

The one who possesses wealth can, as Jesus points out, himself become possessed by that wealth.

The heart of the young man in today’s Gospel was well intentioned, but his sad-faced reaction to the call of Jesus showed that his heart was actually more attached to his possessions than to the eternal life he claimed to be seeking.

Jesus had offered him the key to true wealth: use your material wealth to restore dignity and basic needs to the poor, that is, use your wealth to love your neighbor, and you will have true riches, true joy of heart.

The Book of Wisdom also makes it clear that riches may not only sadden the heart but also turn the head.

We need only read a newspaper to see examples of the apparent folly and even madness of the wealthy.

As one Psalm puts it so forcefully, “In his riches man lacks wisdom; he is like the beasts that are destroyed.”

So, what guidelines must I follow as a sincere Catholic when it comes to money?

It is impossible to get into detail here, both because there is no time and because each situation is so very different.

So let me draw some principles from the social doctrine of the Church, which will hopefully be of some use to you.

First, no matter how much money you have or don’t have, recognize honestly and willingly your own poverty before God. You were born naked. There are no pockets in a shroud. Don’t be a snob before God; riches or achievements do not impress him.

Second, pray for a sincere, inner detachment from all you possess. Detachment does not mean a mindless throwing away of your resources. It means holding your resources in open hands, not clutching what the Lord has given you, since he may very well wish to take it away. And who dare challenge him? Imagine what it would be like to have nothing, but only God. If you can imagine that, you are imagining eternity.

Third, ask God for a grateful heart for the things you possess. Do not be a Scrooge. Do not foolishly attribute to your own power the goods you have been able to obtain. Be thankful!

Also ask God for a wise heart to use them well in the fulfillment of your vocation in life: for example, if you are married, use them for the balanced comfort of your home and family now and in the future (pension, university education, etc.), for the balanced well-being of your kids, in the honest payment of taxes (a form of social solidarity, i.e. a true act of love towards the needy), in furthering your education so as to serve the community, etc..

Fourth, reflect seriously and prayerfully on your obligations towards the poor. “Goods, even when legitimately owned, always have a universal destination; any type of improper accumulation is immoral, because it openly contradicts the universal destination assigned to all goods by the Creator” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 328).

To refer to Pope St. Gregory the Great, “The rich man is only an administrator of what he possesses; giving what is required to the needy is a task that is to be performed with humility because the goods do not belong to the one who distributes them. He who retains riches only for himself is not innocent; giving to those in need means paying a debt” (ibid., n. 329). He wrote that at the end of the sixth century!

When we let our faith reach into our pockets and bank accounts in this way, it is a sure sign that it has become very real.

It opens up the treasures of our hearts, that is, our love, and it strengthens our hope to find only in Christ the promise of true, eternal wealth.

Who knows? Perhaps our reaction to all this is the same as that of the apostles, “this is impossible!”

But Jesus makes it clear that, if we do this with and for God, all things will be possible for us.

Christ does not require of us that we unthinkingly throw away the resources we legitimately need for our own modest well-being and for that of the people who immediately depend on us.

But, to use his own words, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well.”

Let us transform our use of money with the righteousness of the Kingdom, that is, in loving service to God and our neighbor.

Then we ourselves will be transformed into the treasure of God’s heart.

Msgr. Peter Magee

Sunday, October 15^th, 2006

Annunciation, DC: 5.30 pm Vigil & 11.30 am