Archives by: Gary Hoag

“We have learned that in some less observant monasteries, men have entered and brought their capital with them and later, losing their religious fervor, have made great trouble in demanding their property. Returning to the world which they had left as dogs return to their vomit, with the aid of their relatives they have extorted what they had brought with them to the monastery and have sought the support of secular judges. With the help of magistrates they have [thus] destroyed the monasteries, so that we see many innocent men ruined by a single sinner.”

Fructuosus of Braga (c. 650) in General Rule for Monasteries 18. FC 63:202.

“Neither stored silver nor tested gold will be of any further use. A mighty blow will strike everything, right down to the water pot standing next to a well, and to a carriage wheel which happens to have been left in the ditch, its time of revolving ceased, and to the life that, by water, has passed through the age of washing. For people lying on earth there is one salvation, if their souls acknowledge and fly up to the One by whom they were bought into being.”

Gregory Thaumaturgus (213-270), Christian Bishop in Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes 12.6-7. GTPE 296, 298.

“We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success nor the sciences but on Jesus alone.”

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), American Nun, in the Redemptorist of the Denver Province, 13 November 2010.

Rich and poor have this in common: the LORD is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2

“The poor man and the rich man have met each other. Where have they met each other? In this life. This one was born, that one was born, their lives were crossed, they have met each other. And who made them? The LORD. The rich man to help the poor; the poor man to test the rich.”

St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, in Sermon 39.6. WSA 3 2:219.

“When you give, give generously, with a joyous countenance, and give more than you are asked for…Do not separate the rich from the poor or try to discriminate the worthy from the unworthy, but let all persons be equal in your eyes for a good deed.”

Isaac of Nineveh (c. 700) in Ascetical Homilies 4. AHSIS 37.

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Ecclesiastes 11:6

“Sow your seed in the morning and do not cease in the evening hour. The morning hour is the young childhood of man, and evening hour is old age. I am speaking with you personally, so that you will not be ashamed. I will sow in you the Word of God, the seed of truth and life from the morning hour to the evening hour.

Peter of Alexandria (c. 300) in Homilies on Riches 1:6-7. TCH 97-98.

“None of the brothers must lay claim to anything as his own, but you are to possess everything in common; and each is to receive from the prior–that is from the brother he appoints for the purpose–whatever befits his age and needs.”

St. Albert (1200-1280) in The Rule of St. Albert 12.

“Monks to whom for Christ’s sake the world is crucified and who are crucified to the world, must sedulously guard against covetousness, seeing that it is wrong for them not only to be possessed of superfluities, but even to desire them. It is not what they possess that matters, but rather how their wills are affected by their possessions. Those who have left all things to follow Christ the Lord with the cross of daily fear have treasure in heaven. Therefore, as they are to possess much in heaven, they ought to be content with little, nay, with the barest necessaries on earth, remembering that in monks covetousness is a leprosy.”

St. Columbanus (540-615) in The Rule of St. Columbanus 4.

“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! Philippians 3:17-4:1

“St. Paul says our end is the destruction of our true selves when we live for the things of this world. Our minds are occupied with worldly things rather than the good of others. When we act as good stewards, then there is good order in our lives. We seek first the kingdom of God in everything. We see everything as gifts to be used for the good of others. Do I ‘own’ everything I have or is God the true owner and I his faithful steward?”

Father Bill Adams in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province: Your Daily Scriptural Reflection – 5 November 2010 email.

Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. “And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. ‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ “And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ “And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? Luke 16:1-12

“Jesus in our Gospel speaks about stewardship. The dishonest steward has power over the master’s possessions and uses them for himself instead of for the good of the master. He has betrayed the trust placed in him. We are only stewards ourselves of everything we possess. God has given us everything we have. Our possessions are not just for ourselves but for the building up the Body of Christ.”

Father Bill Adams in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province: Your Daily Scriptural Reflection – 5 November 2010 email.