In ancient Judaism, there were strict rules about inheritance. The book of Deuteronomy prescribes: “On the day when a man assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons… he shall acknowledge the first-born… by giving him a double portion of all that he has,” (Deut 21:17). The oldest son inherited a double portion of his father’s wealth, while the other sons inherited a single portion. Thus, if a father had two sons, the older son would inherit two-thirds of his father’s wealth while the younger son would inherit one third.

Inheritances often become a matter of family tension. In ancient Judaism, legal disputes, including inheritance disputes, were arbitrated by Moses. But Moses quickly became overwhelmed, so he shared out his authority with the elders of the tribes of Israel.

One day, when Jesus was preaching, a man asked Jesus to arbitrate his father’s inheritance: “Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.” This man was simply asking for his due. His brother was clearly trying to steal his inheritance, and this man wants Jesus to help. Presumably, this man had tried to get other judges to arbitrate his claim to no avail. He comes to Jesus because he knows Jesus will be a just judge, like Moses.

Yet Jesus rebukes the man: “My friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?” Jesus is being ironic. Jesus is, indeed, our judge, appointed by the Father, as he himself says elsewhere: “For judgment I came into this world,” (John 9:39). Likewise, Saint Paul writes: “Christ Jesus… is to judge the living and the dead,” (2 Tim 4:1). Jesus is a judge, but he is not a judge of financial disputes: he is a judge of human hearts. It is our hearts – what we love and desire – that concerns Jesus.

Although this man is only asking for what is due to him in justice, Jesus judges that his heart is the same as his brother’s heart. They are both infected with avarice: “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind.” Avarice is not just greed; it is insatiable greed, the consuming desire for more than you have or need. It orders our hearts towards wealth and possessions instead of God. In other words, avarice is a form of idolatry as Saint Paul writes to the Colossians: “you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god.”

Moreover, the spiritual disease of avarice leads to other spiritual diseases. This is the point of the parable about the rich fool. Once the rich fool has more than he needs, he says to himself: “My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” In other words, the rich fool’s avarice makes him susceptible to sloth and gluttony. Avarice, sloth and gluttony then make the rich fool stupid: he forgets that he will die and his wealth will pass away. He is materially rich but spiritually poor.

Jesus challenges us to accumulate a different kind of wealth: spiritual wealth. Spiritual wealth is accumulated by love, acts of love for God and neighbour. Love is what makes us rich in the sight of God. This is the wealth that Jesus accumulated during His earthly life. He dedicated Himself to pouring out love for His Father and for us, by which he accrued the infinite treasury of grace.

Jesus does not keep his spiritual wealth of grace for himself; rather, he distributes it to us through the sacraments of the Church. Jesus’ wealth becomes a tool of love. In the same way, material wealth is not an end in itself. It, too, is given to us as a tool of love.

Shortly after his election, Pope Leo XIV explained that he took the name ‘Leo’ in reference to Pope Leo XIII, particularly because Leo XIII was the first pope to systematize the church’s social teaching. Catholic Social Teaching is a set of principles, derived from the Gospel, for the organization of human society.

One principle of Catholic Social Teaching is the universal destination of goods. As the Creator, God is the true owner of all material goods and he gives these goods to all humanity to be shared equitably, not just to one person or group. At the same time, Catholic Social Teaching also affirms that private property is a fundamental human right, though with some limitations. We all have a right to own what we need for our good and the good of our family. Even so, we should not treat our private property as a ‘possession’ but as something on loan from God.

Bringing the principle of the universal destination of goods and the principle of private property together, the Church teaches that other people have a claim on anything we own which is surplus to our needs. We have a right to what we need, but anything surplus to our needs technically belongs to others. This is challenging stuff!

The Church does not specify in too much detail precisely what possessions we ‘need’: this is left to our prudential judgment. In other words, we need to think about the way we use our money and possessions. Do I really need to buy the new Samsung Frame TV for $2000, or can I do with a regular TV for $1000? If so, now I can deploy that extra $1000 in love of God and neighbour.

The point is that our wealth and possessions are not an end in themselves. They are a tool of love. We are entitled to what we need for our family, but anything surplus is meant to be an instrument of love for God and neighbour. By using our material wealth in this way, we become rich in the sight of God.