21 AUGUST (Mt 19,23-30)

In the Old Testament at one time people saw material wealth as a real blessing of the Lord. Little by little, another kind of wealth makes its way: the spiritual one, which is acquired by always living in the fear of the Lord. So Tobi teaches Tobias the true wealth that he must take to heart to acquire.

“Be on your guard, son, against every form of immorality, and above all, marry a woman of the lineage of your forefathers. Do not marry a stranger who is not of your father’s tribe, because we are sons of the prophets. My boy, keep in mind Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers from of old: all of them took wives from among their own kinsmen and were blessed in their children. Remember that their posterity shall inherit the land. Therefore, my son, love your kinsmen. Do not be so proud hearted toward your kinsmen, the sons and daughters of your people, as to refuse to take a wife for yourself from among them. For in such arrogance there is ruin and great disorder. Likewise, in worthlessness there is decay and dire poverty, for worthlessness is the mother of famine. “Do not keep with you overnight the wages of any man who works for you, but pay him immediately. If you thus behave as God’s servant, you will receive your reward. Keep a close watch on yourself, my son, in everything you do, and discipline yourself in all your conduct. Do to no one what you yourself dislike. Do not drink wine till you become drunk, nor let drunkenness accompany you on your way. “Give to the hungry some of your bread, and to the naked some of your clothing. Whatever you have left over, give away as alms; and do not begrudge the alms you give. Be lavish with your bread and wine at the burial of the virtuous, but do not share them with sinners. “Seek counsel from every wise man, and do not think lightly of any advice that can be useful. At all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans. For no pagan nation possesses good counsel, but the Lord himself gives all good things. If the Lord chooses, he raises a man up; but if he should decide otherwise, he casts him down to the deepest recesses of the nether world. So now, my son, keep in mind my commandments, and never let them be erased from your heart. “And now, son, I wish to inform you that I have deposited a great sum of money with Gabri’s son Gabael at Rages in Media. Do not be discouraged, my child, because of our poverty. You will be a rich man if you fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is right before the Lord your God.”” (Tb 4,12-21).

With Jesus earthly things only serve to love the brothers, never to a strictly personal use. All the goods of this world must be used to free our brothers in need of any distress. They are a gift of God that passes through us, but they are to be brought to others. We are that postman that has a check for ten thousand talents in his hand, but only as a bearer. The check is not his. He has it in order to be delivered to its rightful owner. Owners of all the goods of the earth are the poor, miserable, hungry, thirsty, naked, exploited, deprived, foreigners, and sick. Those who do not have anything to live. And God placed them in our hands for them.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

A rich will hardly enter the kingdom of heaven because he kept to himself what was intended for others. He made his what on the contrary, was God’s. He linked his heart to what did not belong to him. Wealth is always dishonest, it is dishonest in its acquisition and it is also in its use. It is in the acquisition because a lot of wealth is the blood of the poor. It is the sweat of wretched people. It is also dishonest because there is no relationship between the gain and the work performed. It is always dishonest when there is inequality in the treatment. One earns in an hour what the other earns with a lifetime of great sacrifices and great suffering. These are the evils of the world.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels, and Saints make us always honest and sober.