EASTER SUNDAY
8
A LIFE OF CONTRADICTION
Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. – Colossians 3:1
I met Jude and came face-to-face with what it meant to live a life of contradiction.
Jude is Catholic, a bachelor, and a professional. He comes from a landed family that owns businesses related to construction, financing and real estate. In spite of his good fortune from a successful career, a sizable inheritance and regular share of dividends from the family businesses, he is thrifty. He maintains a spartan lifestyle, lives in a rundown apartment and drives a low-end car.
At first, I admired this simplicity as a positive sign of detachment from the trappings of the material world. Until I discovered that, on the contrary, this was part of an incessant objective to create more wealth. He engaged in the 5-6 lending scheme targeted at rank and file employees, had unethical dealings for extra income, paid low salaries and bribed to save on taxes.
God is the source of our time, talent, and treasure. To whom much is given, much is expected. While I find no wrong in expanding our resources, it should be done in a moral (and legitimate manner) and in the context of having more to give. Marie Franco (mariefranco_pie@yahoo.com)
REFLECTION:
Money can blind us. It can enslave us. It can destroy us. But money can also be our means to fulfill His Word here on earth.
O Lord, life here on earth is full of temptations. Send our guardian angels to constantly remind us that Your way is the only way to everlasting joy.
St. Julie Billiart, pray for us.
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