Riches and Poverty - Cardinal Bacci

Riches and Poverty

1. There is a striking contrast between the luxurious living of wealthy people who waste their money on pleasure and amusement and the abject poverty of those who are without food, clothing and shelter. This is in complete contradiction of the Gospel message which has proclaimed that we are all brothers.

Extravagance is always self-centred, whereas Christianity is the creed of love. Sumptuous living cannot be justified by an appeal to the right to own private property, for it is a shameless betrayal of the Gospel spirit of fraternal charity. When St. Thomas is defending the right to private property, he adds at once: "In regard to the use of it, however, a man should not regard material goods as belonging entirely to himself, but... should be ready to share them with others in their necessity." (Summa, II-II, q. 66, a. 2.) If such maxims which derive their inspiration from the Gospel were put into practice, there would be neither excessive wealth nor excessive poverty in the world today.

It is true that there would still be poverty, but destitution would disappear.

Poverty is good in that it makes us detached from worldly things and helps us to think more about the next life. But destitution is really a social crime, for it is the result of human egoism and can breed hatred and spiritual degradation.

"Poverty," writes Péguy, "is decent. It does not dress in rags... Its dwelling is tidy, healthy, and affords a welcome. It can have a change of linen once a week. It is not emaciated nor hungry... It is not good for anyone to live in easy circumstances; on the contrary, it is much better always to feel the goad of necessity..." (La guerre et la paix, p. 338)

It was in this sense that Jesus blessed the poor and condemned the rich. He is referring to the poor man who has enough to supply his needs, is detached from worldly possessions, uses his poverty to assist him in his journey towards Heaven, and is happy or at any rate content. But He condemns the rich man who squanders his wealth on selfish amusement and is deaf to the entreaties of those in need.

After twenty centuries of Christianity the violent contrast still exists in modern society. If we have any reason to reproach ourselves, let us try now to make up for our deficiencies.

2. We must face this unfortunate fact. One half of the world is living in luxury while the other half lives in squalor. Worse still, both the inanity and arrogance of the wealthy and the degradation and abjectness of the destitute extinguish the light of the Gospel and drown the voice of conscience.

Who is at fault? We must all share the blame, for nobody has ever fully implemented the Gospel teaching, which alone contains a complete solution for the problems of the human race. A great deal of want and misery would disappear if all those whose assets exceed what they need for themselves remembered that they are obliged to love their neighbour as themselves. They would then take heed of the precept: “Give that which remains as alms.” (Luke 11:41) We should all examine ourselves rigidly on this point, because we could all do far more to help the needy, whom we do not love, unfortunately, as much as we love ourselves.

3. In this matter as in all others, we have a great deal to learn from the Saints. Not only did they give to the poor whatever was superfluous to themselves, but they deprived themselves even of the necessaries of life because they saw in their destitute fellow-men the person of Jesus Christ. They really loved their neighbour as themselves, and more than themselves, in fact, for the sake of the love of God. For this reason they enjoyed clothing the naked and feeding the hungry whenever it was in their power to do so.

We may not be capable of doing exactly the same because we have not reached the same height of perfection. But we must remember that the precept to "give that which remains as alms" applies also to us. If there is somebody in grave need whom we have the means of helping, we are obliged to do so by the command of the Gospel. It is the same Gospel which warns us that if we fail to do so, the Divine Judge will one day condemn us.

A Lesson From Scripture - Cardinal Bacci

A Lesson From Scripture

1. The following is a passage from one of St. Paul’s letters to his disciple, Timothy: “Godliness with contentment is indeed great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and certainly we can take nothing out; but having food and sufficient clothing, with these let us be content. But those who seek to become rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into destruction and damnation. For covetousness is the root of all evils, and some in their eagerness to get rich have strayed from the faith and have involved themselves in many troubles. But thou, o man of God, flee these things; but pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal...” (1 Tim. 6:12)

These words may seem hard, but they are very true. All the evils of the world spring from an excessive longing for earthly possessions and from self-love. How far apart are the Gospel and modern life. Those who can afford to do so lead lives of luxury and of pleasure, while those who cannot are tormented by the desire to do the same. For many people life has become a weary pursuit of money, pleasure and reputation, and when they fail to achieve these they rebel against everybody and everything. This is a quest, St. Paul reminds us, which leads to “destruction and damnation.” (1 Tim. 6:9)

“Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat,” Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life a greater thing than the food, and the body than the clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?... Consider how the lilies of the field grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which flourishes today but tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more you, O you of little faith! Therefore do not be anxious, saying: ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’... for your Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall he given to you besides.” (Cf. Mt. 6:25-34)

The teaching of the Gospel and of St. Paul does not forbid us to look after our affairs carefully. It only forbids us to become obsessed with worldly matters and to live without trust in Divine Providence. It tells us not to fret about things which should not be the goal of our lives and cannot satisfy our hearts which were made for God. St. John Bosco's great principle was that a man should work as if he were never going to die, but live as if he were about to die very shortly.

2. Mary lived a life of poverty and suffering even though she was close to Jesus, Who could have made her wealthy and happy on this earth by a single act of His will. But she never asked her divine Son for worldly happiness. She regarded Jesus as her only treasure and her happiness consisted in perfect obedience to the will of God. When she arrived in Bethlehem with her holy spouse, St. Joseph, she could not find room in the inn nor in any of the houses. This did not matter to her. She found refuge in a stable and there she gave birth to Jesus, the only treasure of her life.

When Herod planned to kill the Divine Infant, Mary did not ask for a miracle in order to escape, but undertook a long and difficult journey into exile. Only once did she ask her Divine Son for a miracle. Then it was not for herself, but for the newly-married couple at Cana, who had run short of wine. What is our attitude? How important are worldly matters to us? What place has God in our hearts? Are we chasing after money, pleasure and success? If we worry a great deal about these things we shall suffer torment and disillusionment. The final disillusionment will be the restlessness of our hearts, which can find peace and lasting happiness in God alone.

3. O Mary, my most holy Mother, free me from useless desires and from an excessive longing for worldly things. Help me to think always of Heaven. Grant that I may find my happiness in God as you did by acting in perfect accordance with His holy will. By loving Him above everything in the world, may I one day enjoy with you the everlasting happiness of Heaven. Amen.

The Rich - Cardinal Bacci

The Rich

1. Sacred Scripture has some very severe and terrible things to say to the rich. “Woe to you rich! for you are now having your comfort.” (Luke 6:24) “Amen I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. And further I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 19:23-24; Cf. Mark 10:24-25, Luke 18:24-25) St. James adds: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl over your miseries which will come upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted, and their rust will be a witness against you, and will devour your flesh as fire does. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who reaped your fields, which have been kept back by you unjustly, cry out, and their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have feasted upon earth, and you have nourished your hearts on dissipation in the days of slaughter.” (James 5:1-5)

These passages are not concerned with the rich as such, for men like Abraham, Job, and St. Louis, the King of France, were very wealthy. They are directed against those who have become absorbed in their wealth (Mark 10:24) and have grown deaf to the rightful promptings of justice and of charity.

Nevertheless, it is not only the wealthy and unjust who should reflect seriously on these stern words, but also those who have more than they need in life and are never moved by compassion for their less fortunate fellowmen. Can we be counted amongst these?

2. Wealth is a gift from God. Therefore it is good, like everything else which comes from God. Worldly wealth, as St. Thomas says, can be an instrument of virtue. But it is good only in so far as it leads to holiness. If it interferes with the practice of virtue, it is evil. (Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. III, 134)

God created the wealth of the earth, not for a few, but for all mankind. All men have the right, therefore, to draw their means of subsistence from the earth. If any individual with large private possessions, however lawfully acquired, battles against this right to live, he commits a grave sin. This could happen either because a man is lacking in justice or in charity. Both justice and charity are commanded by God, however, and it matters very little whether a man goes to hell because he has offended against justice or because he has offended against charity. Hell is Hell in either case.

Let us examine ourselves and see if we are lacking in either of the virtues. It is certain that there would not be so much misery and want in the world if the Gospel teaching on the virtues of justice and charity had ever really triumphed.

3. A very rich man who was convinced that he was a good Christian went to confession one day. He discussed his doubts and worries about the passages in Sacred Scripture which have just been quoted. The penance which he received from the confessor was that he should go and read and meditate in a certain city suburb. This area was full of cabins and caves where large numbers of poor, abandoned people were seeking out an existence. He drove there in his large streamlined car. He stopped and began reading slowly. After a while he became greatly affected and wept... He left his car and, as if driven by some irresistible force, began to distribute all the money which he had with him to those poor people. At last he understood fully, and without the need of any glossary, the command of Our Lord: “Give that which remains as alms; and behold, all things are clean to you.” (Luke 11:41) From that day he was no longer a self-complacent Christian, but a just and charitable rich man.

We can all learn a lot from this story. Even if we are not rich, we certainly have a little more than we need. Let us give it to the poor. They are suffering members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We shall never be worthy members of this Mystical Body if we do not see the image of Jesus Christ in His poor.