Sometimes it takes hearing something in a foreign language for it to finally click. Strange, huh?

I’ve heard it many times before.

“Isn’t the Catholic Church terribly hypocritical? They spend so much money on fancy churches and gold and artwork and all the like when they should be giving it to the poor. What kind of church is that?”

And though I’ve never had these doubts myself (the answer has always been inherently clear, somehow), there is obviously skepticism that must be addressed.

I made my way into church this morning. And, per usual, was greeted with a healthy dose of humility. Luckily, the overwhelmingly elderly congregation didn’t give me too many turned heads or odd looks. Surely for a while I felt outnumbered. (I would say age is just a number, but I do think there’s so much more to it than that. What about experience?)

The Bayern Dialekt of the priest was similarly of minimal concern, as I understood nearly every word of the homily. And it really hit me, more than ever before. Leaving comfort zones seems to have that effect.

John 15:4. I can’t say it much better myself.

Anyway. What in the world does this have to do with hypocrisy? Honestly not a whole lot. But there is one string that holds together the bridge.

The way you spend you money is a way of speaking, isn’t that what they say? You put your money where your mouth is? Maybe?

Back in the day when these magnificent Catholic churches and cathedrals were being built, there was not much wealth. Many, in Germany at least, were completely destroyed in the war. Bombed and burnt down. Yet as part of Germany’s swift and successful comeback, these gorgeously intricate churches were built up from poverty and ruin.

What Germany did have, though, were communities and congregations. Of people, hard working and pious, who would donate what they had to build up the physical symbol of their convictions. Because they simply got it. You can’t have a tree without roots, and you can’t have fruitful branches without a tree. Or roots.

And ok. They didn’t give their money to the poor because physically they were all already in poverty. And spiritually? In giving toward a grand structure, those people eventually drew in the spiritually poverished.

Hypocrisy? I not only think not, I know not.

Perhaps greater than physical poverty is indeed a spiritual one.

So. How can we help the poor? It’s not all always about the money, my friends.

p.s. what about fancy wedding rings? or a wedding party, even! why can't an engaged couple buy cheap, pawn-shop wedding bands? surely there are starving people out there who could use the money they'd save. and there's nothing wrong with pawn-shop rings (personally sounds like something I'd tend toward), but it's the same concept. most people (arguably) need the slightly more extravagent sign/symbol of their life-long promise. otherwise we'd make rings of paper and build churches out of twigs.