Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth, but theirs.
Interpretation
Wealth is a shared resource, and not assisting those in need is a moral failure.
This quote by Saint John Chrysostom suggests that wealth should not be viewed as a personal possession but as a communal resource that everyone has a right to access. By withholding assistance from the poor, one is effectively committing an injustice against them, as their ability to thrive depends on the shared prosperity of all members of society. It emphasizes the moral obligation to help others, asserting that real ownership involves responsibility toward those less fortunate.
In practice
In a discussion about social justice, this quote could highlight the need for wealth redistribution.
No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbour a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother, for he is the most precious temple of all.
It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.
When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their follow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them.
Abba Moses asked Abba Sylvanus, Can a person lay a new foundation every day? The old man replied, If you work hard, you can lay a new foundation every moment. Abba Pimen said, To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments for the work of the soul. The desire to rule is the mother of heresies.
I hear no one boast, that he hath a knowledge of the Scriptures, but that he owneth a Bible written in golden characters. And tell me then, what profiteth this? The Holy Scriptures were not given to us that we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts.
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
The Church is a terrible engine of oppression, especially as concerns woman
Money is power, money is force, money will do good as harm. In the hands of good men and women it could accomplish, and it has accomplished, good.
Nothing is more imminent than the impossible . . . what we must always foresee is the unforeseen.
Some men, at the approach of a dispute, neigh like horses.
Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.
How could somebody be comfortable with authorizing legally the use of lethal force? My view is if you become comfortable with it, then you should get out of the job.
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