The story is told about a grandmother who played the game of Monopoly with her grandsons. From a young age she taught them how to play, but she never let them win. She understood that the name of the game is to acquire and she was a master at accumulating assets. For years she defeated the boys and annoyed them by saying, “One day you will learn to play this game!” Over time the brothers understood the only way to win was a total commitment to acquisition. They understood that money and possessions were the only way to keep score. One summer the day came for grandmother to teach the lesson she had saved for a decade. The boys made progress, they gained winning assets and experienced a mounting desire to beat grandmother and each other, at any cost. When one boy finally won, grandmother sprung her trap. She cleared the pieces off the board with a sweeping hand and said, “It all goes back into the box!”
Then she added, “And now what? You have won what you wanted, but now it all goes back into the box. That’s life! You spend a lifetime striving to acquire what you desire and then suddenly it’s all take away when you die. All those homes and cars. All those investments and wonderful money, it all goes back into the box. None of it was really yours. You got excited you owned it for a while, but it was here before you and it will be here long after you are gone. Just like gold and diamonds have existed for billions of years and nobody really owns them. Players come and players go, but they never take anything with them. Not even their body. Everything you clutch and grasp you are going to lose. Everything you own and hoard will soon go back into the box no matter who signed the contract. When the thrill wears off, and it always does, then what? When life slips to a closure it is too late to ask yourself the question: What really matters?
Life leads to nothing beyond the spirit. Materialism, individualism, egotism and vanity deceive with empty promises that can only be cured with spirituality, selflessness, altruism and charity. By choosing philanthropy over greed we make the difference. By choosing giving, over hording we stop playing Monopoly and start playing the “Circle of Love”. In this movement from egocentric acquisition to brotherly love we discover a new vitality in every part of our existence, a true change of heart from a cynical one to a joyful one. This is what keeps Faith, Hope and Love alive in a world viciously feeding upon itself. This is what assures us that charity is stronger than greed and love is stronger than avarice. The insight will follow that we belong together, as One Body knitted together by One Spirit. As a true Eucharistic community we discover the whole is greater than ourselves and we will go out to help, teach, inspire and offer hope to the world.
