Using our Surplus Goods

 Here is my latest post on Facebook . . .

Pope Paul VI wrote in his encyclical on the "Development of the Peoples" something that will move you to clean out your closets, curb your purchasing, and forever think differently about what you have and how you use it.

 

He said, in part:

 

"No one may appropriate surplus goods solely for his own private use when others lack the bare necessities of life. In short, 'as the Fathers of the Church and other eminent theologians tell us, the right of private property may never be exercised to the detriment of the common good.'" (23) 

 

Wow! Take your time with that. You need to really take an inventory to see if you are "guilty" of keeping stuff you know longer use, that might be needed by someone else. 

 

This is a social justice issue that we need to pay attention to, because, quite simply, each of us can be a part of lessening the problem. It's concrete. It's doable. And we can begin today.

 

We have brothers and sisters that are going without and we are hoarding things that could be useful to them. Why?

 

Go on. Get started today. We can make a difference.

 

Janet Cassidy

janetcassidy.com