The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

We are stewards of all God’s gifts given to us

(En Espanol)

“Aware that they formed one heart and one soul, the first Christian communities held all their goods in common, bearing witness to Christ’s abundant grace in them” (Pope Francis, papal audience, Aug. 26, 2020).

Pope Francis often speaks about “stewardship,” but he doesn’t always use the word. Instead, he uses various means of calling our attention to the simple but all-important fact that we are not the owners of our material and spiritual possessions. We are guardians, caretakers, administrators, custodians and, yes, stewards of all the gifts that were given to us by a generous and loving God.

In this context, it’s easier to understand the somewhat blunt—even harsh—statements the Holy Father makes about those who hoard their wealth instead of sharing it with those who are in need.

“A few wealthy people possess more than all the rest of humanity,” the pope said during his general audience on Aug. 26. Then, in case anyone was distracted and didn’t hear him, the pope went on to say, “I will repeat this so that it makes us think: a few wealthy people, a small group, possess more than all the rest of humanity. This is an injustice that cries out to heaven!”

According to Pope Francis, the imbalance and inequity of the possession of wealth by the few over the many has serious implications for the environment. “Care is not being taken of our common home. We are close to exceeding many limits of our wonderful planet, with serious and irreversible consequences,” the pope says, “from the loss of biodiversity and climate change to rising sea levels and the destruction of the tropical forests. Social inequality and environmental degradation go together and have the same root.”

Pope Francis calls this “the sin of wanting to dominate over one’s brothers and sisters, of wanting to possess and dominate nature and God himself.” But, he argues, “this is not the design for creation.” In fact, it is the very opposite of what we understand to be the practical spirituality of biblical stewardship principles.

When we recognize that we are stewards, not owners, our perspective shifts from “controlling” to “caring.” Pope Francis recalls the teaching of the Second Vatican Council which urges us to regard all our possessions not only as our own, but also as held in common in the sense that they should benefit others besides ourselves.

With this in mind, he cites the familiar passage from the Acts of the Apostles: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need” (Acts 2:44-45).

This is not an argument against private property or the accumulation of wealth. It is an argument for taking care of and sharing all God’s gifts that is firmly based on the teaching of Jesus, as this is found in sacred Scripture and fully explained in Catholic social teaching. We are not owners, but caretakers, of all God’s creation.

Citing the Book of Genesis (Gen 1:28 and Gen 2:15), Pope Francis reminds us that “God has called us to dominate the Earth in his name, tilling it and keeping it like a garden, everyone’s garden. ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving.”

The Earth—our common home—was here before us, the pope says, and it has been given to us to take care of and share with everyone. “But be careful not to interpret this as a carte blanche to do whatever you want with the Earth. No, there exists a ‘relationship of mutual responsibility’ between ourselves and nature. We receive from creation and we give back in return” (“Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” #67).

According to Pope Francis, the time for action, for a change in our whole outlook toward material possessions, is now. “When the obsession to possess and dominate excludes millions of persons from having primary goods; when economic and technological inequality are such that the social fabric is torn; and when dependence on unlimited material progress threatens our common home, then we cannot stand by and watch.” We must look to Jesus, the Holy Father says. Hope in him “moves the will to share, strengthening our mission as disciples of Christ who shared everything with us.”

We are stewards of all God’s gifts. May we have the courage to take care of and share all that we have received from God’s abundance.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †