Fr. Michael Williams

The reality of greed has been in the media lately with a number of bankers trying to gain as much money for themselves as possible. Many commentators have said that the present crisis in banking is down to greed in banking. I’m not an economist, so I can’t say too much about it, but it does appear that some bankers ‘dash for cash’ was motivated by greed, which has led to the crisis.

Greed or avarice is one of the seven deadly vices or sins. It has been defined as an immoderate desire for possessions and gifts, which leads to injustice, stealing and indifference to the poor’ (Evangelium). We could say these things have manifested themselves very clearly in the present banking crisis. The seven deadly sins or vices lead one to becoming lost; to become engrossed and obsessed with worldly things and completely ignoring God and one’s neighbours, especially the weak.

The remedy to the vice of greed is the virtue of generosity. This virtue, and all other virtues, come from God, as fruits of His Holy Spirit. God can only give what He is; and so He can help us to become generous as He Himself is generous.

God has given His only-begotten Son to us. This is the most God can give, because in the Son, He gives us His entire self without holding anything back. ‘Yes, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son’. When we receive the Son of God we receive God entirely, so God generously gives Himself to us. He gives Himself to us in our brokenness and does not abandon us. This is a pure act of generosity on God’s behalf. He doesn’t have to do it He does it because He is Love and love always shares.

It’s not that God gave ‘His only Son’ two thousand years ago and that’s it. The Father continues to give His Son now. He gives Him to us through the Sacraments for instance. When we go to Confession, which we should all do in this season of Lent, God pours out His forgiveness into us through Jesus, His Son. Somebody recently told me that when they go to Confession they feel cleaned interiorly, washed by the Blood of the Lamb. Of course God sends His Son to us in the Holy Mass. Just being present at Mass is a fantastic grace of God’s generosity. If we are Catholics in a state of grace receiving Holy Communion is also a great and generous gift of God the Father. God sends His Son to us in the sick person also, for Jesus said when you visit the sick you visited Me. Like Mother Teresa of Calcutta let’s recognise Christ truly present in the poorest of the poor.

St Paul tells us in that second reading, ‘God loved us with so much love that He was generous with His mercy’. God came to save us while we were still sinners, and He continues to save sinners, if they are willing to accept His love and stop being lost souls caught up by the seven deadly sins.

Let’s rejoice in God’s generosity toward ourselves, and allow ourselves to be transformed by His gifts of grace, which are given to us constantly through ‘His Son’, who comes not to condemn us, but to save us.