When Jesus says “do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth” he is not imposing a ban on all possessions, of course; it is not a sin
for us to own things. The Catechism speaks of a right to private property. Nor
is Jesus forbidding us to “stock up” and save for times of famine. The book of proverbs tells us to look to the
example of the ant that stores up in the summer for what it will need in the
winter and calls foolish those who make no provisions for their families or the
future.
Jesus calls us to a simple, practical use of the world’s
goods. For the person preoccupied with accumulating treasures on earth is not
free to serve the Father’s kingdom fully because his heart is weighed down by
the concerns of the world.
Pope Francis has often spoke about the dangers of
materialism. Recently he said, “Whenever material things, money, worldliness,
become the center of our lives, they take hold of us, they possess us; we lose
our very identity as human beings”.
Materialism, he says, makes us “self-absorbed” and “finding security in
material things ultimately rob us of our face, our human face.”
The human person is “made in the image and likeness of God,
not in the image and likeness of material objects, so too much concern for
material things can lead us to “lose the memory of God.”
Instead of loving people and using things, Materialism leads
us to use people and love things—to treat others as material goods for our own
pleasure. It is not a coincidence that
as materialism spreads so will pornography, prostitution, human trafficking,
and sexual violence.
Materialism is not only deadly to the individual soul, but
the Pope has cautioned that the idolatry of wealth, power and pleasure, which
come at a high cost to human lives on a global level. How much of our international conflict is
fueled by greed?
We all do well to examine our lifestyles in light of Jesus’
teaching today. Do we love people and use things, or have we begun to love
things and use people? Have we begun to take false security and false trust in
the goods of the earth? Are we wholeheartedly devoted to storing up treasures
in heaven through the Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting which Jesus spoke of earlier
in the Sermon.
May the Holy Spirit help each of us to be faithful to the
teaching of Jesus, to be free from all that keeps us from loving God and
neighbor with undivided hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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