From your Pastor…

As I mentioned last weekend, I will be talking about the capital sins in my upcoming articles. Capital sins are those sins that carry with them many other sins and vices that can take us away from God. I started with the first capital sin which is pride and the second one that I want to write about today is Greed. The opposite or cure for greed is generosity. The first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Having money is not in itself wrong but we have to guard against it possessing and consuming our lives. Then it becomes dangerous. As Jesus will say, never invest your heart in possessions because they can separate us from Him.

The sin of greed is an unhealthy desire to acquire money and possessions. In our hearts and minds the Lord has placed moral boundaries that help us to have a spiritual integrity. This doesn’t mean that we can have a boring life but a life full of faith. When we allow ourselves to follow God’s laws, our lives are filled with true joy and peace.

The great obstacle for us to have inner joy is when sin enter into our lives. Sin destroys not only our lives but also our relationship with the One that can save us and can give us lasting joy. The sin of greed doesn’t know when to stop. This sin wants to have and accumulate more and more without being satisfied with what we have. If we have one car, we want to have two; if we have a small house, later on we want it bigger; if we have 5 acres of property, we want to have more. Greed always pushes us to desire more and yet our hearts are never satisfied.

Our society has taught us that we have to have many possessions of we are to be happy. It is not true. Working for success in the eyes of the world only leads to emptiness. Yes, it is good to have a profitable career, a good education and financial resources. We are just called to keep them in balance – knowing that they do not lead to true happiness and peace.  .

Let us ask the Lord that our individual desire for things may not take us away from him but with the things, money and possessions we acquire, we may be more generous. Being more generous and avoiding greed lead our souls to the true treasure of Heaven.

Sincerely,

Fr. Miguel González