Our Riches are for the Common Good

In this week’s Gospel ( Jn 6: 1-15) we see Jesus multiplying the 2 fish and 5 barley loaves to feed the multitude. All it took for the miracle was a big heart and the willingness of the boy to share the little  he had. We see the same miracle of multiplication in the Old Testament ( 2 Kings 4: 42-44), when Elisha shares the little he receives with a hundred men. It was a time of famine and yet the man from Baal- Shalishah was willing to offer his first produce to Elisha.

The norm in times of uncertainty or scarcity is to hoard and keep to ourselves so that we have enough. However, in the scenes above, we see the people behaving in a generous and selfless way despite the circumstances. The little boy did not have to share his food- he could have just said he did not have enough nor did the man from Baal-Shalishah. But all it took was that little they had for God to multiply to feed the many hungry people.

The Catholic Social Teaching on common good tells us that we are all stewards of the creation and what we have is to be used for the common good. In words of St. Thomas Aquinas “Man ought to possess external things, not as his own, but as common, so that, to wit, he is ready to communicate them to others in their need.” Here Aquinas says that we can own property but we should consider ourselves as trustees of God and use it for his glory. If one holds on to his riches and uses it only for his gain it is a sin. https://tifwe.org/five-insights-about-private-property-from-aquinas/

St Ambrose teaches us that “ it is not from your own goods that you give to the beggar; it is a portion of his own that you are restoring to him. The Earth belongs to all. So you are paying back a debt and think you are making a gift to which you are not bound”.  St. Ambrose used all the wealh he had and even the gold from the church to ransom the captives and hostages when he was the Bishop of Milan. His argument was “Would not the Lord say to us: ‘Why have you let so many needy perish of hunger? Since you had gold, you should provide for their needs’.

We are all just stewards and may be some have more than others. Although in times of uncertainty as we are in now, with the number of suicides rising, with people losing jobs- the natural human tendency would be to save. As our Catholic Social Teaching teaches us “Our wealth exist to be shared- goods legitimately owned have a universal destination and riches fulfill their function of service to man when they are destined to produce benefits for others and for society” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church).

So let us be compassionate and sensitive like Jesus to the needs of others and let God work miracles from the little we give.

 “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received- only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service; love, sacrifice and courage. “

St. Francis of Assisi