8 Tips On How Local Churches Can Live In A Spirit Of Poverty

1. Check The Consumption Of Your Parish Or Convent

In addition to donating money, another way of curbing greed is to curb consumption.

2. Share What You Have With Others

An important principle in the Rule of St Augustine is to “Call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in common . This is similar to the community of Acts, in which we are called to be wise stewards of our time, treasure and talents , both material and spiritual goods.

At this point, it is worth emphasising that we ought to be wise stewards of all our material and spiritual goods. Freed from the burden of possessiveness, we are encouraged to abandon all self-seeking in order to find joy in sharing with others God’s manifold gifts. The community (Church) can gather and save goods from and for the common and use this storehouse to share whatever is necessary with those in need. This is a way of life that embraces stewardship, by returning a share of what we have and focusing our mission on the genuine concern for those who are in need.

3. Invest Your Money Ethically

Invest ethically and review the investments one has. Divest from coal, oil, and gas investments to respond to the moral imperative of the climate change crisis. Divest from other investments that are giving mixed messages in today’s situation.

4. Check What Message Is Your Convent/Parish Delivering

We need to be increasingly aware of our decisions and the messages that such decisions deliver in this respect. Our excessive focus on certain aspects leads to the alienation of other aspects which are equally important as a result.

5. Welcome A Family Of Refugees In Your Convent Or Parish

Helping just one family might be seen as a small, insignificant initiative. However, whilst our act of kindness surely did not solve all troubles, what truly matters is that we offered the best that we could offer under the circumstances and given the resources that we have available.

One would hope that by doing so, we will also inspire others to give their share in the world irrespective of how big or small their contribution is. We also hope that our symbolic initiative makes others realise that small acts of kindness from everyone could collectively bring about big changes in the world. It is through such small initiatives that one earns the chance to bring the change s/he wants to see in this world and tries to achieve it a little at a time. For those who are not in need, the initiative may seem futile but for the family that was welcomed, the initiative was a life-changing experience, because it brought them new hope. It will hopefully also make them realise how kind God is being to them through the help that is offered to them in response to God’s plea , that is to love thy neighbour as thy self.

6. Build Your Projects Wisely

We need to reflect more on the argument that is put forth quite often: “as long as people donate money, we will do the project . Is the project really necessary? Where are the money coming from? Are they coming from legal sources? What are the intentions?

7. Know When To Alleviate With Money and/or With Presence

Another aspect is to donate money to worthy causes and alleviate spiritual or material poverty on a regular basis. At the same time, it is necessary to exercise practical wisdom, with an awareness of the other responsibilities. However, monetary donations may not always be sufficient. There are times and situations in which those in need require our time, space and energy to alleviate their pain or discomfort and bring them out of their miserable situation. Such help can prove to be much more effective than giving money at times.

8. “Give To Caesar What Is Caesar’s”

As we live in a society we also pay our dues. Therefore, are we asking for VAT receipts?

Read more:
– What Is The Role Of Money In My Life?
– The Poor Boy Who Became A Successful Entrepreneur And A Happy Husband

The post What Every Church Should Do About Poverty appeared first on Universe of Faith.

The first question we need to ask to understand the role of money in our life is; what is wealth? In my attempt to answer this very question I will briefly compare “wealth” as depicted in the Gospel according to Luke to the definition of “wealth” in contemporary capitalism.

Luke dedicates one sixth of his Gospel verses to teaching on poverty and possessions. There must be a message that Luke wished to communicate to us. Wealth in the Gospel according to Luke revolves around “land , whereas in contemporary capitalism, wealth is created without the need of land.

One possible interpretation of the concept of wealth in the Gospel according to Luke is therefore, that wealth is created from the land which is precious in itself and provides security. In the 1^st century AD society, economics were closely tied to agriculture which was dominated by a patron-client relationship. Such relationships were also closely tied to concepts of honour and shame. In such complex societies; kinship, economics, politics and religion were closely intertwined to create a complex and wide relationship between the notions of honour and wealth.

On the other hand, in contemporary capitalism, “capital embodies the gradual gathering of goods past the productive activity through human added value action, put to use in the production process in a dynamic mode, to facilitate and generate a flow of goods and services, thereby creating value and wealth over time. Such value and wealth can then be used as further capital. It includes all the produced intangibles which are used in production. Capital is owned, transferred or traded.

Excess wealth is the wealth someone has that exceeds what you think they ought to have. Taking St Thomas Aquinas’ teachings, one can divide possessions into three categories: (a) necessary possessions (such as the daily necessities); (b) necessary possessions according to a circumstance (such as a transport card), (c) unnecessary possessions/savings. The redistribution of the unnecessary is what St Thomas Aquinas calls, the “alms of justice . If we do not engage in “alms of justice we find ourselves absolutising money and making it idolatry. This scheme was used by Pope Leo XIII in his concept of just wage which included categories (a) and (b) as well as a certain amount of the unnecessary. Such savings are necessary against the fear of the future.

The quotation – “The accumulation of excessive wealth is a deadly sin” , attributed to Pope Benedict XVI, is in actual fact more of a media quotation following an article published in The Vatican Newspaper; L’Osservatore Romano, on March 8, 2008, which featured a highly practical interview with Bishop Gianfranco Girotto who is an official at the Apostolic Penitentiary, on the subject of social sin. In that interview Bishop Girotto explained how, due to globalisation, sin today has an impact and resonance that is above all social. He pointed to a number of “social sins”, amongst which he mentioned “economic injustice , “environmental irresponsibility , “genetic experimentation with unforeseen consequences and also the “accumulation of excessive wealth .

The media’s reporting, however, transmogrified this into something different. Some wrote “Seven New Deadly Sins,” overlooking Bishop Girotto’s emphasis on the “social aspect and thereby failing to recognise that these new social sins were in fact different in nature from the predominantly individualistic “deadly sins,” which focus more on regulating a variety of human passions. To title Bishop Girotto’s interview as “Seven New Deadly Sins also shows lack of commitment to previous Church teachings and to the Bible itself, as if accumulating excessive wealth hadn’t been already condemned by the Church for centuries, and, before that by Jesus himself. In fact, Jesus is not against wealth as such, but he warns against staking one’s safety in money. Thus this reminds us that apart from the individualistic aspects, sin also has a social dimension which believers need to reflect upon.

As Pope Francis points out, this is the role of money in our life – “money has to serve, not to rule” and this statement leads us to question what our relationship with money is and what our acceptance of its power is over ourselves and our society.

Read more:
– What Every Church Should Do About Poverty
– Top Pope Francis’ Helping The Poor Quotes

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