excerpt from Sunday by Sunday by Joan Mitchell, CSJ
Many people have ready plans for what they will do if they win the lottery. Pay off my credit cards. Help my children buy decent homes or find safe apartments. Pay off the mortgage. Put in central heating and cooling. Support a school in the developing world. Pay off college loans. Take a cruise. Quit work. Set up scholarships for kids who need a chance. Buy a car that runs. Start my own business, so I never again lose a job.
An economics professor invited me to talk about the principles of Catholic social teaching in her class. The first two principles are foundational – the human person is sacred, made in God’s image, and social, unable to thrive without others in family and community. People widely support the teaching that every person has basic rights to food, water, shelter, health care, education – the necessities of life – and corresponding duties to provide these for us all.
In Sunday’s gospel Luke once again raises questions about wealth. How much is enough? What is wealth for?
What is the most foolish way you could use the money if you won the lottery? The wisest?
