Thank you, Father B. This is, indeed, a difficult topic, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the idea that it is the USE of wealth that is the issue. Christ has said that storing it is complete folly - thus, "give us our DAILY bread" and other passages in the Bible, e.g. the parable of the ten talents. and Lk 12:16-21. How should we use it, then? For ourselves? Or for the "least of these"? Fr. Keith Boisvert @ St. Katharine Drexel also illuminated the idea that the fear of loss of possessions keeps us out of the kingdom, and suggests that the Kingdom is not a place, but a way of life. John echoes this sentiment with "fear drives out love"; and as Pope Benedict entitled his encyclical, "God is Love". If we have attracted wealth, it seems to me it is up to us to use it with love, with an eye on the "common good", bringing out the best in as many people as possible. Providing resources to those who need it most, makes the most sense. (Clearly, saturating an already water-soaked garden is folly.) But this does not mean simply throwing money at the poor; it means appropriate investment of time, research, dialogue, and sometimes money.
A second thought comes from Walter Brueggemann, who has written that greed is a result of anxiety. And that may be the reason you do not hear that in confession. To those confessing who may appear greedy to others, their possessions are absolutely necessary to ward off loss.
Thank you Father. The book that really challenged me along these lines was "Happy Are You Poor" by Fr Thomas Dubay. He makes a biblical case that I find hard to live, but also hard to argue with.
Thank you, Father B. This is, indeed, a difficult topic, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the idea that it is the USE of wealth that is the issue. Christ has said that storing it is complete folly - thus, "give us our DAILY bread" and other passages in the Bible, e.g. the parable of the ten talents. and Lk 12:16-21. How should we use it, then? For ourselves? Or for the "least of these"? Fr. Keith Boisvert @ St. Katharine Drexel also illuminated the idea that the fear of loss of possessions keeps us out of the kingdom, and suggests that the Kingdom is not a place, but a way of life. John echoes this sentiment with "fear drives out love"; and as Pope Benedict entitled his encyclical, "God is Love". If we have attracted wealth, it seems to me it is up to us to use it with love, with an eye on the "common good", bringing out the best in as many people as possible. Providing resources to those who need it most, makes the most sense. (Clearly, saturating an already water-soaked garden is folly.) But this does not mean simply throwing money at the poor; it means appropriate investment of time, research, dialogue, and sometimes money.
A second thought comes from Walter Brueggemann, who has written that greed is a result of anxiety. And that may be the reason you do not hear that in confession. To those confessing who may appear greedy to others, their possessions are absolutely necessary to ward off loss.
Thank you Father. The book that really challenged me along these lines was "Happy Are You Poor" by Fr Thomas Dubay. He makes a biblical case that I find hard to live, but also hard to argue with.