Skip to content

Pope Francis: Avarice is a ‘Sickness of the Heart, Not of the Wallet’

In his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis said the preoccupation with the accumulation of material goods reflects a greater “pathological accumulation.”

During his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis focused on the vice of avarice, or greed, noting that the preoccupation with the accumulation of material goods reflects a greater “compulsive hoarding and pathological accumulation.” 

“It is not a sin that regards only people with large assets but rather a transversal vice, which often has nothing to do with the bank balance. It is a sickness of the heart, not of the wallet,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

The pope cited the example of the Desert Fathers — some of the earliest Christian hermits — who renounced their “enormous inheritances” yet who still “in the solitude of their cells clung to objects of little value. Those objects became for them a sort of fetish from which they could not detach themselves.” 

The “attachment to small things” assumes a totalizing effect whereby it “takes away freedom,” Francis continued.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

While it can give a sense of security, however fragile it may be, the pope noted the accumulation of these goods often becomes an inverted process. He observed that “we may be the masters of the goods we possess, but often the opposite happens: They eventually take possession of us.”  

“Some rich men are no longer free, they no longer even have the time to rest, they have to look over their shoulder because the accumulation of goods also demands their safekeeping. They are always anxious, because a patrimony is built with a great deal of sweat but can disappear in a moment,” Francis added.

Highlighting the “drastic” monastic example of the “meditation on death” as a countermeasure to “heal from this disease,” Francis observed that these meditations highlight the futility of a hyper-fixation on material goods while also revealing its root cause: “It is an attempt to exorcize the fear of death, it seeks securities that in reality crumble the very moment we hold them in our hand.” 

Death, the pope continued, is a stark reminder of the “senselessness of this vice” as it showcases that “we cannot carry the goods with us!”

To further develop this point, the pope turned the Sermon on the Mount to reflect on the importance Jesus placed not on temporal goods and ephemeral pleasures but on the promise of eternal life.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; instead lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal,” the pope said, quoting from the Gospel of Matthew.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

At the end of the general audience the Holy Father reminded the faithful that Saturday, Jan. 27, is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. 

“The memory and condemnation of that horrible extermination of millions of Jewish people and people of other faiths, which occurred in the first half of the last century, helps everyone to not forget that the logic of hatred and violence can never be justified, because they deny our very humanity,” the pope said. 

Imploring that “war itself is a denial of humanity,” the pope renewed his call to pray for peace amid the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. 

“Let us not get tired of praying for peace, for conflicts to end, for weapons to stop and for exhausted populations to be helped.” 

“I pray for the victims and their loved ones, and I implore everyone, especially those with political responsibility, to protect human life by putting an end to wars. Let’s not forget: War is always a defeat, always. The only ones to win are the arms manufacturers.”

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency. 

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Pope Francis Highlights Hope For Fifth World Day For Grandparents And The Elderly

Pope Francis has chosen “Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Lost Hope” as the theme for the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which will be celebrated this year on Sunday, July 27.

Pope Leo XIV welcomes EWTN Summer Academy journalism students to Rome

This week, Pope Leo XIV welcomed journalism students to Rome who have traveled from across the globe to take part in the fourth annual EWTN Summer Academy.

The Story of the First Papal Legate in China

In 1703, precisely 320 years ago, Carlo Tommaso Maillard de Tournon, who was dispatched directly by Pope Clement

Pope Francis: Humility ‘is the source of peace in the world and in the Church’

Pope Francis on Wednesday closed his catechetical series on vices and virtues with a review of humility, a virtue that forms the “the base of Christian life” and is a source of peace for the Church and the world.

St. James the Greater, Pray For Us!

SAINTS & ART: James and his brother John are called “sons of thunder” for their energetic, bold and forceful nature

Prayer opportunities abound at Synod on Synodality

Throughout the Synod on Synodality, participants are engaging in various forms of prayer and reflection, emphasizing the importance of spiritual guidance in the synodal process.

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTN.it