In 1929 in a particular
part of New York city, several wealthy business men committed
suicide, all at the same time. Why? Because of what became known as
‘the Wall Street Crash.’ The New York stock exchange collapsed
over night and as a result many people lost millions of dollars. Many
of them could not handle this and sadly they killed themselves. Money
for them had become everything. It was their god and it had just
proved itself to be a false god, an illusion. When their god
collapsed, they were left with nothing, no money, no faith and
apparently nothing to live for. It seems that many of them
despaired.
A
few years ago, a woman by the name of Maura Grealish—a good friend
of mine—took her final vows in the Poor Clare convent in my home
town of Galway. She took four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience and
enclosure. She will never own anything of her own, she will not get
married, and she will spend the rest of her life enclosed in a
convent, dedicating her time and energy to God and to praying for all
of us and for many others. Some would consider this a useless waste;
others see it as the gift of God which it is, the highest calling in
the Church. Her life lived in this way—as with any religious—is a
sign that we believe in the life to come and that it is worth making
sacrifices for it. If we didn’t believe in the life to come, then
it would be a waste of time.
How
are the two related? Well I suppose they are really the opposite of
each other. Those in Wall Street and in the business world sometimes
put everything into their money. Money can become the only thing that
matters. They work for it, they live for it, they may even lie and
cheat for it. On the other hand Sister Gabriel, has given up
everything for God, and is depending totally on God for everything.
Most
of us are probably somewhere between the two. We may not be
millionaires, but we have not given up everything for God either. We
work and try and put bread on the table and provide for our families
and loved ones. Most people are under a lot of pressure to pay their
bills and mortgages, etc.
 |
| Poor Clares, Galway, with Sr. Gabriel second from left. |
Money
is an important tool. It would be very hard to live in our society
without it, but it is only a tool. If we lost everything over night
it would be very difficult, but we would still be alive. It happens
to people every so often, but we do survive. But if God disappeared,
what would we have left? When we died there would be nothing.
Thankfully God does not disappear, regardless of whether we have more
than we need, or barely enough to survive on. Either way God is
waiting for us and when we have served our time on this earth then we
will go to him.
In
the Gospel Jesus says ‘You cannot serve God and money’. We
must choose who is going to be our master. That doesn’t mean that
we can not enjoy our money or the things we have, but we must be
careful to use it wisely. At the end of the day it is only a tool and
if it was suddenly taken away from us, we would still survive.
When
we live in a world that places so much emphasis on having plenty of
money, it’s hard not to be affected by that. There is nothing wrong
with having money so long as we remember that it is only a tool to
help us survive. It is not primarily what our life is about. God has
made us much deeper than just flesh and blood. We also have a spirit
and that spirit will never be satisfied with material things alone.
It is a reminder that we are not just animals and that we are called
to something greater.
I want to
finish with some verses from Psalm 49.
No one can
buy his own ransom,
or pay a
price to God for his life.
In his riches
man lacks wisdom,
he is like
the beasts that are destroyed.
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