“He who is in any degree possessed by avarice will never make any progress in virtue. He who wishes for money will never be a spiritual man. It is far easier to convert to God the sensual than the covetous…Give me only ten men truly detached, and I feel sure I could convert the world…God will never fail to give you money; only take good care that, when you have money, you don’t lose spirituality.
Philip Neri (1515-1585) known as the Apostle of Rome from his work “School of Christian Perfection” in The Life of Saint Philip Neri: Apostle of Rome ed. Alfonso Capecelatro (London: Burns & Oates, 1894) 393.
Neri believed, and I concur, that a person’s relationship with money influences their spirituality. What inspires me is his notion if that there were just a few, say ten who were detached and not controlled by money’s power, such a group could win the world. No wonder the disciples of Jesus made such an impact, they had “left everything to follow” (Mark 10:28). Today’s mediation must lead each of us to ask: Am I in danger of losing my spirituality at the hands of money?