'The Joy Of The Gospel' Does Not Include The Modern Joy Of Money
Pope Francis continues on with his reflections on modern day society, in which the Good News of Jesus Christ must be preached, by saying, “No to the new idolatry of money.” He makes the bold statement that, “The worship of the ancient gold calf (Exodus 32:1-35) has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose” (Evangelii Gaudium 55). Money no longer has its real and proper focus in its concern for human beings.
Jesuit Father John Sheets, who served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, founded Creighton University’s Christian Spirituality Program in Omaha. I was privileged to have him as a professor. He believed that God gave certain people the gift to know how to be excellent financiers, also businessmen and women who were gifted to make profits in their businesses. However, he always insisted that God gave them this gift so they could share their wealth with those in need. Their accumulated wealth was always to be understood in relation to the needs of others, never entirely for their own personal gain or selfish needs (that is, more than what they actually needed to live). This is true not only of the wealthy, but all of us who are blessed with a substantial income. Money in itself is not bad; it’s what we do with it that matters.
The struggle we all face is between what we “need” and what we “want.” Madison Avenue wants us to believe that we need all the things we want. The result is our accumulation of more and more things, which do not bring us happiness. Pope Francis is calling us to examine our priorities. What really matters in our life? What are those consumer goods we really need in order to live a decent life? And what are those consumer goods we want that are superfluous, for which we work harder and longer hours to acquire, but in the end do not really need.
We all know that in our own country the differential between the wealthy and the poor is growing wider each day. Those who are prosperous and enjoying a good life are the few. The thirst for prosperity (with the status and power it brings) knows no limits, but ultimately it also brings no one the happiness we ultimately seek. As a friend of mine once told me, “Money does not bring us happiness; it only allows us to do more things than other people.” Has anyone ever seen a U-Haul or a Brinks truck in a funeral procession? Eighty-five of the richest individuals in the world have more than the 3.5 billion poorest. Is that not an injustice? Could this be a reason why there is so much civil unrest and war in the world – as people’s basic human needs are ignored?
God calls us to live a moral life in a committed response to His love. Money, wealth and the other things of this world have the power to enslave the possessors unless they are focused on helping others. Pope Francis quotes a wise sage from antiquity: “Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs” (E.G. 57). St. John Chrysostom (A.D. 349-407), Archbishop of Constantinople, taught that the piece of clothing we are no longer wearing, but is still hanging in our closets, belongs to the poor. Pope Francis reminds us that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. Then the Good News of Jesus Christ can be preached to them.
