591. Богатство надо приобретать небесное. С болью надо понуждать себя к добродетели

M. St. O. n. G.I.H.B.n. p.n. Rejoice in the Lord, sister in Christ and spiritual child M. Agrippina! I did not receive your letter, which you are writing about, it was sent after the conspiracy, but in this you write about great negligence, laziness, the desire for great wealth, and I agree with this. With a joyful soul I wish you to become rich. Just as Holy Scripture says: “The rich people will praise the Lord.” Although you understand well what kind of wealth I am talking about, I will still say: heavenly. People are rich in purity of heart, patience, meekness, humility, love... But real, earthly wealth, God-wise people consider it skill, garbage, a shadow. A soul hungry for wealth will never be satisfied, although it will acquire whole mountains of gold, and then it will not be at peace, but will be tormented by the greed to acquire even more. And the more he acquires, the more stingy he becomes. So it is said: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It is necessary, with pain, to force oneself to virtue. You might be interested in: