Council of the day 19 September 2020 of San Basilio

Saint Basil (ca 330-379)
monk and bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, doctor of the Church

Homily 6, on wealth; PG 31, 262ss
"It yielded a hundred times as much"
You are a servant of the holy God, one who administers on behalf of his fellow servants. Do not believe that the goods you possess are destined only for you ... Do as the earth, man; bears fruit, like her; don't be harder than an inanimate thing. The earth does not ripen the fruits to enjoy them for itself, but to be at your service. And you, it is you who actually reap the fruits of your generosity, since the reward of good deeds returns to those who do them. You have fed the hungry; what you have given comes back to you, with interest.

As the seed thrown into the furrow gives its fruit to the sower, so the bread given to the hungry later brings you an immense gain. Therefore, when the time of the harvest arrives on earth, it is the moment for you to sow up there, in heaven: "Sow for yourselves according to justice" (Hos 10,12). Why so much trouble? Why the worry and concern to close your treasure behind mortar and bricks? "A good name is worth more than great riches" (Pr. 22,1).