How does Today’s Reading give Economic Advice to Catholics: “Rent. Don’t buy.”?
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Question 1: “How does Today’s Reading, 1 Cor. 7:25-31, give Catholics economic advice: ‘Rent, don’t buy.’?”
Answer: “St. Paul ‘gives his opinion as one who by The Lord’s Mercy is Trustworthy.’ He tells us to get closer to God by ‘remaining where we are’, so we may be ‘spared affliction in our earthly life.’”
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“Question 2: “Where does St. Paul tell us to ‘rent rather than buy’ things of this world?”
Answer: “‘I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully.’”
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Question 3: “Does ‘buying’ things attach us to things of ‘the world’?”
Answer: “It is impossible to ignore the ‘Rent, don’t buy’ economic advice that IS this Final Word of St. Paul in Today’s Catholic Reading: ‘For the world in its present form is passing away.’ Everything we ‘buy’ leads us to focus on things that ‘are passing away’. The more we ‘buy’, the less we focus on making our soul pleasing enough to God to get into Heaven.”
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Question 4: “What should our goal in life be?”
Answer: “Jesus tells us our highest goal in Luke 6:20-26 is to be among: ‘Raising his eyes toward His disciples Jesus said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.'”
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Question 5: “What did Jesus say about those who love to ‘buy’ and ‘have’ things?”
Answer: “Jesus is clear! ‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.’”
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Question 6: “Do ‘false prophets’ encourage donors to ‘buy’ rather than ‘rent’ worldly things and to disrespect The Holy Vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience taken by Catholic priests and religious who ‘buy’ as few worldly things as they can?”
Answer: “Victims of Protestantism are led to spend their lives being taxed and to avoid respecting Those Holy Vows enough to benefit from those blessed to take and live by them.”
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Catholics know: “When it comes to worldly things, “Rent. Don’t buy.”
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