I
THE MATERIAL GOODS OF THE INSTITUTE
AND THEIR INTENDED USE

Where does our money come from today?
Some things that have changed, and the resulting consequences.

6. Today, most of the Brothers no longer live off the fruits of their labor. Some Provinces depend more on profits that flow from the stock market than on the salaries that are earned by the Brothers. And it is not at all unusual that inflation pressures raise returns on stocks and increase their profitability.

New ways of generating money and enlarging stock portfolios have produced a completely new environment for our religious life. In many cases we have reached a level of security that we never dreamed possible. Our spark of evangelical boldness and daring can easily be snuffed out when money becomes "no problem." Without even realizing it Brothers can get caught up in a "bourgeois" lifestyle, more in keeping with the tenets of economic neoliberalism than with the teachings of the Gospel.

Furthermore, easier access to money can raise questions and heighten concerns for us in the area of formation. Now, beginning with his first day in the Novitiate, a young man becomes part of a group of men who have enviable economic resources. In most instances, what they have at their disposal is more than that enjoyed by their families and the majority of the population in their country. And these young religious will need to be very alert to avoid the dangers that such an inheritance can pose to personal integrity and the idealism of consecrated men-on-a-mission in the service of needy youth.

And even in our latest projects with the poor we ought to be very careful. In recent years, a sense of solidarity has given rise to a number of new communities, to provide an ecclesial presence in marginalized areas and to serve as a mission "ad gentes." Frequently they lack sufficient resources and are supported by their Province. There are two ways of looking at this. On the positive side, the Province is showing its solidarity by redistributing the resources within the Congregation. On the other hand, such new communities may reveal their tenuous existence if the Brothers remain unable to support themselves by their work. This reminds me of Father Champagnat's concern when he drew up contracts that were reasonable but at the lowest possible cost for the localities involved. We too will need to be creative in our solutions.

With money comes power. The temptations that Jesus endured are also our own. We know that the material goods and power that a person wields are a two-edged sword. They are valuable when used for good, but they can also corrupt us and take us away from reality, especially from the harsh reality lived by that segment of society comprised of people in dire poverty and distress. How easily we can take the road toward a more professional world than an apostolic one. We can fall into the temptation of pleasing authorities and wealthy benefactors, instead of holding them accountable in terms of social justice and the common good. We can fool ourselves, thinking and working as if the prosperity of our institutions were the goal of our lives.