Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
MONDAY, November 22nd Lk. 21:1-4 Jesus said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more that all the rest…from her poverty, (she) has offered her whole livelihood.”
Greed is one of the capital sins. We may not think of ourselves as having this particular capital sin. We may give generously to our church, to worthy Apostolates, to helping our family. But today’s gospel and the saints can open our eyes to a deeper truth, a deeper reality…
John the Baptist preached on this topic: “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Let us also pray over these words of St. John Chrysostom from On Wealth and Poverty:
“I beg that, chiefest of all, you will remember constantly that not to share our own riches with the poor is a robbery of the poor, and a depriving them of their livelihood; and that, that which we possess is not only our own, but also theirs.
If our minds are disposed in accordance with this truth, we shall freely use all our possessions. We shall feed Christ while hungering here, and we shall lay up great treasures there. We shall be enabled to attain future blessedness, by the grace and favor of our Lord, with whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, might, now and to eternity.”
THE RICH YOUNG MAN AND GREED… by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Erich Fromm, a modern psychologist coined this immortal maxim: “If you are what you have, and you lose what you have, who are you?” The greatest Rock n’ Roll group ever, the Beatles, composed a song, “Money can’t buy me love.” Someone else has offered this pearl of wisdom: “Your possessions, possess you!” The Bible, the Word of God, expresses the same truth succinctly: “Love for money is the root of all evil!” (1Tim 6:10) Greed, also called “avarice”, is one of the seven Capital Sins. In this brief essay we would like to define Greed, explain its origin, and describe practical steps to overcome this interior attitude that must be overcome if one truly desires to attain to a fully developed Christian life and become a saint!
ORIGIN! The Capital Sin of Greed is like the other six capital sins in that its origin can be traced back to our first parents when they committed the first sin, known as Original Sin. Their sin has universal repercussions upon the totality of the human race, as well as all of creation, until the end of time. It is like a tsunami of immorality set off by two people and influencing every human being, with the exception of Jesus, God become man, and Mary, His mother, preserved from original sin and all personal sin by privilege of her role as Mother of the Redeemer! The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, calls it “concupiscence” — the interior tendency, proclivity or inclination that pulls or tugs us towards evil or sin!
DEFINITION! Greed is the disordered desire for material things. The Book of Genesis constantly reminds us that all of creation is “good.” The evil is not to be found in creation, but in the human heart’s disordered desire for it! Actually, two of the Ten Commandments refer directly to Greed: the 7th – “Thou shalt not steal”, and the 10th – “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”
A rich young man who knew the Ten Commandments approached Jesus and asked the Lord the way to eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the Ten Commandments; he claimed to have done this. Then Jesus looked at him with love and challenged him: “If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have, give it to the poor, then come and follow me!” (Mt 10:17-22) The young man’s face fell and he left the Lord sad. The reason? His possessions, possessed him! He had many possessions and was overly attached to them, preferring them to the Person of Jesus Christ! Never again does he appear in the Gospels!
In a society that has an over-abundance of things, becoming inordinately attached can happen almost imperceptibly, like the frog being boiled to death in a pot of water that is slowly being heated to the boiling point!
Judas Iscariot fell in love with money and fell out of love with Jesus Christ! Ananias and Sapphira, husband and wife whom we find in the Acts of the Apostles, were infected with greed and were struck dead for lying to Saint Peter about how much money they had. At the root cause was greed, their insatiable desire for money and “things”.
A striking parable related to the dangers of greed, is the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man (Lk 16:19-31). A poor man, Lazarus, lies outside the gate of the rich man day and night. His body is filled with sores, even the dogs come to lick his sores, and he is dying of hunger. What a piteous state! In contrast, the rich man is dressed in fine purple and feasts sumptuously at the table every day. Never once does he lift his hand to offer Lazarus as much as a piece of bread.
After their deaths, the Rich man finds himself in torture in the pit of hell, longing for a drop of water to refresh his tongue from the fiery torments. Meanwhile, the poor man, Lazarus, rests in heaven in the bosom of Father Abraham.
What was the principle reason for the eternal loss of the Rich man? It was not for anything he did—the sin of commission; rather, it was for what he failed to do—the sin of omission. His greed blinded him totally to the poor man outside his gate, Lazarus, who was really Jesus Christ in disguise. “Jesus said, ‘I was hungry and you failed to feed me; I was thirsty and you failed to give me to drink… Whatever you failed to do for the least of my brothers, that you failed to do for me.’ And these will go away to eternal punishment.” (Mt 25:42,46)
How then can we conquer the sin of greed that might be lurking or hiding in the depths of our soul? Let’s give some concrete steps or advice to win the battle!
1. ADMIT IT AND CONFESS IT! Do you have more than you need? If after a thorough examination of conscience and consultation with your Spiritual Director or Confessor, you have detected greed as an insidious worm gnawing away at your interior life, then admit it, confess it, and beg for healing. Jesus is the “Spiritual Physician” of our soul. He has come to heal the wounds of our sins!
2. MEDITATE ON THE LIFE OF CHRIST! A constant and deep meditation on the life of Jesus can help to transform our spiritual perspective, our outlook on life, on material reality, and even the attitude of our heart. Follow this brief thumbnail sketch of His life: born in the stable of Bethlehem of poor parents, spent years working as a carpenter, forty days and nights in the desert fasting from all food and drink, three years without any permanent abode, stripped of His garments and scourged, nailed to the cross and abandoned by nearly everyone, dying and giving up almost every drop of His Precious Blood, finally being buried in a borrowed tomb—all of this is a summary of the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God!
3. MEDITATE ON THE LAST THINGS! One day I will die, be judged by Jesus, and either Heaven or Hell awaits me. Looking at my many possessions, are they a stepping stone or stumbling block for me to arrive at heaven? Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Mt 6:24) The richest man in the world and the poorest man will end up in the same place: six feet beneath the ground! Saint Francis Borgia. S.J., the Duke of Gandhi, admired the beautiful Queen who died suddenly. As he followed the casket of the Queen, the door of the casket popped open and Francis saw this beautiful woman with her face being eaten by worms! Upon meditating on the transitory reality of beauty and wealth, Francis left all to enter the Religious life and became a Jesuit, a priest, and then a great saint!
4. LEARN TO GIVE GENEROUSLY! St. Paul challenges us to give! “There is more joy in giving than in receiving!” (Acts: 20: 35) Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who gave all away to follow Jesus in serving the poorest of the poor, asserted: “Give until it hurts!” One of the greatest modern saints, Mother Teresa’s lifelong desire was to quench the thirst of Jesus by serving the very poorest. For her, Jesus was truly present in the “distressing disguise of the poor.”
5. DO NOT WORRY; RATHER TRUST IN GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL CARE. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us not to worry, especially about material things—food or clothing. “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Mt 6:26, 28-30) The key is these words of Jesus: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be given to you.” (Mt 6:33) Consider this, if you receive Jesus in Holy Communion, then you indeed are the richest of all! Having God living within the depths of your soul is already living out the Kingdom of God that is truly within! Remember: “If God is with us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:13)
