Home Page › Forums › Whaddaya Say? › October 2020: Why doesn’t the Church sell their riches and feed the poor? › Reply To: October 2020: Why doesn’t the Church sell their riches and feed the poor?
Sharon HedmanJesus himself said in Matthew 26:11 “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.” The first part of the verse is thought be a reference to Deutronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”
The Catholic Church has always been among the first to respond to the corporal works of mercy, being “open handed” in founding food shelves, orphanages, and hospitals. The same is true today with organizations such Sharing and Caring Hands (based in Minneapolis), Missionaries of Charities and other religious orders, Knights of Columbus and other charitable organizations.
Selling off works of art and cathedrals would only feed the hungry for a short time and those priceless treasures would be gone forever. Beautiful churches and works of art are an opening to heaven to allow us to glimpse in small way the beauty of heaven that awaits us and is, in some fashion, a way to keep Jesus with us because we can not begin to fathom His beauty, His love, and His mercy.