Per Ipsum

 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. Matthew 5: 3 This one is both obvious and subtle. I scanned various writers for ideas and found a sea of things: Hands full of gold cannot reach for God. In other words, filling ourselves with wealth as our aim and goal leaves no room for God in our hearts and souls. Greed is a form of idolatry.  Overabundance, while others go hungry, is a sin against charity. If you have two shirts in your closet, one belongs to you and the other to the man who has no shirt. (That gem is from Saint Ambrose) Wealth isn't in and of itself evil, it is the heart of man that is the problem. Greed is the great American sin. I refer to the CEOs who take multi-million dollar bonuses while laying off workers.  I refer to those who refuse to tax the rich and call attempts to help the poor "socialism." But I also believe it infests us all on every economic level-the striving, the focus on "security," the striving for promot

  "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?"                                                   John 6:9               Aside from the Resurrection, the feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recounted in all four gospels. It is interesting to me that it is about feeding the hungry. Generally in this story and its commentary (such as the homily at today's Mass) the focus is on the apostles and their relative faith or lack of it, on their questioning. It struck me this morning that my position is more like the boy with the fish. He didn't understand the big picture He knew he couldn't solve the problem of 5,000 hungry people He knew he couldn't fix the world around him He wasn't an apostle or any sort of important official BUT He didn't sit quietly feeling helpless He didn't ask questions He did the good he could He generously offered what little he had From that Jesus, who is the person whose