Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Easter Sunday.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are fourteen (14) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Seventh Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not steal.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2452.
In considering the Seventh Commandment, ‘You shall not steal,’ we have already addressed the notion of private property. How can someone steal something it the thing being stolen does not belong to anyone in particular? We read in the newspaper or hear on the television or radio, a bank was robbed… a home was robbed… a store was robbed… these are clear violations of the Seventh Commandment. There is, however, a tension between two complementary principles related to the Seventh Commandment, namely the right to private property and the universal destination of goods.
The notion of the ‘universal destination of goods’ should also be a part of our considerations of the Seventh Commandment. Pope Leo XIII (15 May, 1891, Rerum Novarum), Blessed Paul VI (26 March, 1967, Populorum Progressio), and Saint John Paul II (1 May, 1991, Centesimus Annus) all taught that the world has been made by God who intended that the Earth would furnish us with what we need to live honest lives (cf. PP, 22). The sunshine and the air we breathe are common to us all, a natural birthright, destined by God for all to enjoy. God made the Earth for everyone.
Private ownership of things, property, land, is lawful and right (cf. RN, 22; CA 6). The specific virtue dealing with giving to and sharing with others is generosity. Another virtue, prudence, reminds us that we have a responsibility to also care for ourselves and our families. We have a right to keep what we need to maintain a becoming and decent way of life (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II Q. 32, a. 6; RN, 22). When we have met the demands of necessity and propriety for ourselves and our families, we have a duty to give to the poor from what remains in Christian charity, recalling that it is more blessed to give than to receive (cf. Luke 11:41; Acts 20:35; RN, 22). Jesus Christ will ultimately judge each one of us. He will do so, in no small part, based upon kindnesses extended or not to the needy poor (cf. Matthew 25:40). When we share with the needy we are able to cooperate as servants of Divine Providence (RN, 22)
The virtues of justice, diligence and generosity on the one hand and the vices of sloth and greed are on either side of the Seventh Commandment. How can we share with the needy (generosity NOT greed) unless we have something to share? How will we get the things we need for ourselves and our families without hard, honest work (justice, diligence)? We are not to reward or encourage laziness (sloth) or the entitlement mentality (greed), but build each other up, encouraging virtue and holiness (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr