Investing in Our Beliefs

NOT TOO LONG AGO I received a message that referenced a bumper sticker saying, and I quote, “If money is the root of all evil, why does the Church beg for it?” The message further said, “Good question.”

Ever since, I wanted to reply quickly. But I thought to myself — let me think a little bit about this first. I also thought to myself: What better way to explain this than our Unirea/Canton magazine?

First of all, I would like to make clear that the bumper sticker is not a fully disclosed quote about the money. To be more exact, St. Paul, in his letter to Timothy (1 Tm 6:10), says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”

I do not want to get into an argumentative discussion in this article, but be more constructive. We need to be exact in what we affirm — money is not the root of all evil, but the love for it is indeed the root of all evil. Why is that? I believe it is because we focus all our attention and we invest everything in that love for money, forgetting that money is just a means to support what we truly believe in.

What do I do when I believe in something? I try as much as possible to support that belief with all the means I have at my disposal, don’t I? I start with our families, because I am pretty sure we all invest a lot in that. We do not look just at money when we see potential in our children. We invest in what we believe will keep them safe, and in achieving the best in their life, and we encourage that — e.g., school, sports, extra activities, gifts, etc. All of that costs money. Yet we don’t love money more than we do our children, or at least I hope not! We believe in their potential and invest in that. But we mainly do it because we love them!

I owe my education to God, first, for giving me the talents to be able to learn. Second, I owe it to a very altruistic person who helped me in all the times I needed a hand. He offered advice, moral support, and also financial support. I want to acknowledge his name because of his altruism — Brother Matthew Burke, CFX, former superior of Xaverian Brothers. He helped me get into Oscott College, arranging my scholarship with the local archbishop, who accepted three of us from Romania as students for a couple of years. He also helped us (another student and I) in Belgium, where we were studying at Leuven University, especially financially and with things that we were completely unprepared for at the university. I suspect that behind all his efforts was the hope that some of us, if not all, might become brothers of the Xaverian Order. However, the help was not conditioned at all. It was voluntary and mostly because he believed in our potential! I was very impressed by that!

Coming from a communist background, the first question that comes to mind would be: What is the interest of that person to do such good?! We were taught at home to be very cautious and very suspicious because of our history! I believe that he did this because, whatever decision we make, he saw in us a potential that cannot be wasted. I truly feel that he invested in his beliefs! Some would say, “Why did you invest in that because now someone else is reaping the benefits of what you have supported?” This kind of help proves that a prayer which is altruistic will work — we do a good deed, whatever that may be (financial or otherwise), because we believe that it will be used somewhere it is needed! God will surely find a good purpose where it can be put to good use. He found a place for me here in Canton, both at the diocese and at the cathedral! I truly would not have foreseen this at all for me!