Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
1 Peter 1:3-9  +  Mark 10:17-27
May 28, 2018

“How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Why is it hard “for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God”?  The Church does not teach that human wealth is evil in and of itself.  While some mistakenly think that Scripture says that money is the root of all evil, the correct quote from Saint Paul is that “the love of money is the root of all evils” [1 Timothy 6:10].  Nonetheless, that begs the question:  what is it about the love of money that turns the wealthy away from the Kingdom of God?

The Church teaches that pride is chief among the seven “capital sins”.  The “love of money” must directly relate to pride.  Human wealth tempts the wealthy person to sin against both God and neighbor:  against the former because the wealthy person is tempted to feel no need for God; against the latter because the wealthy person is tempted to feel superior to the neighbor with less human wealth.  Money is enticing because so many different things can be possessed and accomplished by it.  But as with every material thing, money is meant to offer the Christian opportunities to serve both God and man.