Thursday of the Twenty-fifth
Week in Ordinary Time
(Haggai 1:1-8; Luke 9:7-9)
Twenty years ago the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was building
its new cathedral with a price tag of $300 million. A group of lay Catholics who
worked with the very poor were outraged by the amount and actively protested
the construction. With prophetic
boldness they claimed the new cathedral was a needless extravagance. Confident that the Church was caring
sufficiently for the poor in the area, the archbishop proceeded with the building
project.
We hear of a similar tug-a-war between spending on social
needs and constructing a monument to God in the reading from the prophet Haggai
today. In this case, the prophet also takes
the side of construction. He speaks out
what he hears God telling him: concentrating on satisfying human desires has rendered
scant benefit to the people. He emphasizes
that now is the time to focus on life’s chief priority – a faithful relationship
with God which the Temple promotes. He
might add that other needs such as assistance to the poor will fall in order
and be readily met.
Interesting, economists have verified the strategy of
spending money on social projects like a Temple in times of recession. It provides jobs for people which stimulate
consumer spending and the creation of wealth.
Building a temple or a church will also remind us to keep our priorities
straight. First we give God His due and
then take care of other needs. God will
see that no one is left wanting.
