The smarmy, self-righteous, arrogant, and condescentious Jesuits who called Paul Ryan's motivation for proposing brutal budget cuts, and his hypocrisy to do so while trying to pass himself off as a Roman Catholic just burned down the Gringo Viejo's barn. They had invited Ryan to speak at Georgetown University because they wanted to hear how he could be a Roman Catholic and be so inclined to violate the Church's message of social justice, liberation theology, and socialism that Jesus of Nazareth so plainly preached.
Here is my answer.
My position is supported by the Nazarene.
His order was to each man's soul. It was not ordered to a collective. It was not ordered to a government. It was not even ordered to a church. It was ordered on a hillside. It was ordered in conversations in sundry places.
He demanded husbandry of resources and the creation of product, wealth, goods, services, wages, and profits. He spoke to the wisdom of caring for the vineyard. He spoke to the ill that comes from laxity in the responsibility of ownership and stewardship of possession.
He did not say that the root of all evil is money. It was Saint Paul who instructed Timothy about the nature of wealth and money, writing:
We have brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Saint Paul continues in the same chapter, concerning the rich:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in riches, but in the living God who givith us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold upon eternal life.
Therefore we know that our instructions, based upon the words of a man who was instructed directly by the Nazarene, are to do good ourselves, that we be rich in good works we have done ourselves, each individually, that we be ready to share, which points to the need to have riches so that one can share riches, and that we each be willing to listen and speak truly, not simply be ordered to turn our riches over to Caesar so that he might do his will. It is our task to determine the path of our money and not trust in government to chose the route of good works. In that way, we can lay up a good foundation so that our good works will go before us and glorify our Father in Heaven.
What fool would trust the government to do good works? In a monarchy, the king takes money to build himself a castle and make war upon another king. In a democracy, the masses demand that the rich be divested, and they take the money as squander it like the fool of one talent. We are to be like the servants who received from their master four and five talents, and who then laboured and multiplied that wealth for the sake of their master.
It is slothful to remand our duties to directly do good works to a government. It is up to us to calm and counsel the bereaved, to comfort the prisoner and the sick, to clothe those who have nought, to determine who is hungry and truly in need of food. We see the results of passing that responsibility to a government. We note that the government serves its own wishes and neither the good of the poor nor those of many talents.
One who follows the instructions of the Nazarene would never, willingly, establish a government Ponzie scheme that was designed to enslave the elderly and forge them into a voting bloque instead of a source of wisdom for the following generations. Nor would we willingly establish programs that would abolish paternity and reward of self-development and self-reliance. Private charity and private charitability did not enslave generations to sloth and lethargy.
O! Thou of wicked motive and intent! Your questions have been answered by the truth you will to not see. You cannot establish Heaven nor utopia on this earth. Each of us is born with the sin of believing that we are gods. We are only angels, and that...even that..... is only if we labour mightily and choose to be angels.
And that is how El Gringo Viejo would have answered the viperous Jesuit Pharisees!
We have brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Saint Paul continues in the same chapter, concerning the rich:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in riches, but in the living God who givith us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold upon eternal life.
Therefore we know that our instructions, based upon the words of a man who was instructed directly by the Nazarene, are to do good ourselves, that we be rich in good works we have done ourselves, each individually, that we be ready to share, which points to the need to have riches so that one can share riches, and that we each be willing to listen and speak truly, not simply be ordered to turn our riches over to Caesar so that he might do his will. It is our task to determine the path of our money and not trust in government to chose the route of good works. In that way, we can lay up a good foundation so that our good works will go before us and glorify our Father in Heaven.
What fool would trust the government to do good works? In a monarchy, the king takes money to build himself a castle and make war upon another king. In a democracy, the masses demand that the rich be divested, and they take the money as squander it like the fool of one talent. We are to be like the servants who received from their master four and five talents, and who then laboured and multiplied that wealth for the sake of their master.
It is slothful to remand our duties to directly do good works to a government. It is up to us to calm and counsel the bereaved, to comfort the prisoner and the sick, to clothe those who have nought, to determine who is hungry and truly in need of food. We see the results of passing that responsibility to a government. We note that the government serves its own wishes and neither the good of the poor nor those of many talents.
One who follows the instructions of the Nazarene would never, willingly, establish a government Ponzie scheme that was designed to enslave the elderly and forge them into a voting bloque instead of a source of wisdom for the following generations. Nor would we willingly establish programs that would abolish paternity and reward of self-development and self-reliance. Private charity and private charitability did not enslave generations to sloth and lethargy.
O! Thou of wicked motive and intent! Your questions have been answered by the truth you will to not see. You cannot establish Heaven nor utopia on this earth. Each of us is born with the sin of believing that we are gods. We are only angels, and that...even that..... is only if we labour mightily and choose to be angels.
And that is how El Gringo Viejo would have answered the viperous Jesuit Pharisees!
