Page 509. Jesus' Lesson On Money Riches, Greed; Earthly Riches surest way to Lose Heaven

by **Poem** on Mon 29 Sep 2008 - 16:16

Tell Me, you who are listening to Me: when a man dies, does he take his purses of money with him?

And even if he were so silly as to have them buried with him in his tomb, could he make use of them in the other world? No. Money becomes a piece of metal corroded on the rot of a decomposed corpse.

But his soul would be naked elsewhere and even poorer than blessed Job, it would be deprived of the smallest coin, even if he had left heaps of talents here and in his tomb. Nay, listen, listen! I solemnly tell you that it is difficult to gain Heaven with riches, on the contrary Heaven is generally lost because of riches, also if they are obtained honestly or by inheritance, because only few rich people know how to make use of their wealth honestly.

What is necessary then to gain Paradise and rest on the Father's bosom? It is necessary not to be greedy for wealth. That is, not to be eager by wanting wealth at all costs, even by going against honesty and love. Not to be eager to such an extent as to love the wealth one possesses more than Heaven and one's neighbour, refusing to assist a needy neighbour. Not to be greedy for what wealth can offer, that is: women, pleasures, a bountiful table, magnificent garments, which are an insult to those who are cold and hungry. There is a currency that can change the unjust money of the world into a currency having legal tender in the Kingdom of Heaven. And that is the holy wisdom in turning into eternal riches, the human riches which are often unjust or the cause of injustice. That is, you must earn honestly, give back what you obtained unfairly, make use of your riches with parsimony and detachment, learning how to become detached from them, because sooner or later they will leave us, whereas good deeds will never leave us. You must consider that!

We would all like to be called "just" and to be considered as such and to be rewarded by God for being just. But how can God reward who is just only by name but in fact is not so? How can He say: "I forgive you", when repentance is expressed only by word of mouth and is not supported by a real change of the spirit? There is no real repentance as long as the lust for the thing for which we sinned will last. But when a man humbles himself, when he severs all links with evil passions, such as women or gold and says: "For Your sake, o Lord, I will have no more of this", he is really repentant. And God receives him saying: "Come, you are as dear to Me as an innocent child, and a hero". »