A Poor Excuse

 Antipope Francis is a sly Modernist who seeks to bypass the important dogmatic and moral matters, all in the name of "having a poor church (sic) for the poor." Even as he elevated some of his clergy to "cardinals," Frankie harps on "the needs of the poor." And why not? This perfectly appeals to modern man's sensibilities. They like the idea of making sandwiches for the needy without getting bogged down by "small minded rules" that require you to deny unnatural lust and protect unborn human life.

 What is the teaching of the One True Church on the poor.....and the wealthy? It's not the recycled Marxism of Frankie. Below is a brief outline of the Church's teaching:

 

The Poor

 

Poverty is the state of being destitute of material wealth. Poverty may be absolute or relative. Absolute poverty is the state of those who are lacking temporal goods and require aid from others. These are the indigent, properly so called. Relative poverty is the condition of those who have no superfluous goods, but only the means to get by in life. These are the "working class poor."

 

Poverty, both absolute and relative, may be involuntary or voluntary.  Involuntary poverty is when it is due to extrinsic conditions beyond the control of the person. Voluntary poverty is due to the surrender of temporal goods, as in the case of someone who takes a vow of poverty.

 

The condition of poverty is of counsel not precept. Poverty is not a state of perfection, but simply a means to perfection. A poor man may attain virtue according to the use he makes of his poverty. Lastly, we must distinguish between affective and effective poverty. Affective poverty is the detachment of the heart from whatever wealth one may possess, be it great or small. Effective poverty is the actual lack of material goods, be it voluntary or involuntary. The Church teaches we must all have affective poverty, but not effective poverty, as a means to perfection. Further, the Church recommends relative poverty as a means of perfection in most religious. In Proverbs 30:8, we read, "Give me neither beggary, nor riches; give me only the necessities of life."

 

 

The Wealthy

 

Jesus does not condemn wealth, but the love or inordinate attachment to the things of this world. He counsels us to be "poor in spirit," but not in fact. He told the rich young man to keep the Commandments to attain everlasting life, and counseled poverty only as a means of perfection. (See St. Matthew 19:16-21). Lazarus of Bethany was rich, yet Jesus calls him a friend. (See St. John 11:11). Christ warns us that wealth makes it difficult, but not impossible to enter Heaven. His teaching that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven, was said of those who have placed the things of this world (their wealth, in this case) above God. (St. Matthew 19:24).

 

 Riches make it difficult to enter Heaven because:

 

1. it affords us many comforts on Earth so that we are apt to for get God and the things of Heaven
2. it affords us the means to satisfy our most exigent and dangerous passions
3. they tend to render people proud and covetous

 

The right use of riches (like the duty to help the poor) can

 

• open up the gates of Heaven (See St. Matthew 25:34-35)
• merit for us the help and blessings of God (See St. Luke 6:38; Proverbs 19:17)

 

 (The above was adopted from Civardi, Msgr. Luigi, How Christ Changed The World, 1961)

 

 But Antipope Francis makes giving to the poor the end all and be all of his version of "Christianity." He exalts the Corporal Works of Mercy over the Spiritual Works of Mercy, even though the latter are greater than the former. Corporal Works of Mercy only affect our neighbor's well being in this life, while the Spiritual Works of Mercy promote his ETERNAL interests.

 

 Moreover, the blatant phoniness of Frankie's appealing to help the poor was exposed just recently. Here in the U.S., the Little Sisters of the Poor faced a 2.5 MILLION DOLLAR FINE for refusing to supply contraceptives and abortion related "medicine" as per "Obamacare"---the Chief Communists "health care" program. 2.5 million is about half their worth, and nearly every cent of it goes to help the poor. Thankfully, Associate Justice Sonya Sotomayor granted the Little Sisters a stay, pending the U.S. Supreme Court's judicial review of this mandate to determine if it's constitutional. Did Antipope Francis denounce the Obama administration for this murderous mandate in the name of health? NO! Why bother with "small minded rules" about abortion and birth control? But what, you may ask, if that would sap millions of dollars from the poor in addition to violating Church teaching...would he not get involved THEN? Apparently not. Where is the "pope of the poor" when Communist Obama wants to take money away from the indigent? Good question. Apparently no one bothered to look underneath the rocks.