Our Slavish Idolatry

“But now your possessions are more a part of you than the members of your own body, and separation from them is as painful as the amputation of one of your limbs. Had you clothed the naked, had you given your bread to the hungry, had your door been open to every stranger, had you been a parent to the orphan, had you made the suffering of every helpless person your own, what money would you have left, the loss of which to grieve? Had you determined long ago to give to those in need, how would it be unbearable now to distribute whatever was left? At festival time, people do not regret parting with what they have at hand in order to gain whatever is necessary for the feast; rather, the cheaper they are able to purchase valuable commodities, the more they rejoice at receiving such a bargain. But you lament at relinquishing gold and silver and property-that is, stones and dust-in order to obtain the blessed life.”

St. Basil the Great, Homily to The Rich as in https://svspress.com/on-social-justice-st-basil-the-great/

May we remember that these things we accumulate, these letters we add to our names, these zeros we add to our paycheck, they are but dust and ash. Yet, God grants us the gift of being able to use these ashes to care for the dust, the human being, made in His Image and Likeness. Let us truly tend the Earth!