Charity vs. Greed

I’m somehow always an issue behind in my reading of America magazine, which may have to do with the fact that I tend to read it while I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym, my attendance at which can best be described as spotty. In any event, I read today a piece by George Anderson titled, Charity as Cure.

Talking about Luke’s description of the early Christian community, Anderson suggests that our “transofrmation into a people guided by true charity” requires a shift from a “this is mine” viewpoint to a “whatever is mine is to be shared” approach. The latter is the approach that characterized the early Christians, who held “everything in common.”

This approach is expressed in Catholic Social Thought as the principles of the universal destination of goods. In the words of Gaudium et Spes, “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity.” In Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II explained that this principle is based on the fact that it is God who is the source of all that is good and that “God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favoring anyone.”

Anderson is correct that “our transformation into a people guided by true charity is arduous,” but in a world characterized by a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, we all need to think about what we are doing to effectuate that transformation. What efforts am I making to live out of a “whatever is mine is to be shared” approach to life?