What Does Gaudete et Exsultate Mean for Catholic Investors?

Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation on the Call to Holiness Includes Great Insight for Understanding our Responsibilities as Investors

The universal call to holiness is an important part of Catholic teaching. Everybody is called to be a saint in the time, place and manner God wills. Our job is to discern God’s will and live it out. Given the history of his papacy so far, it is not surprising that Pope Francis issued an apostolic exhortation about the call to holiness.

Gaudete et Exsultate is wide ranging and includes several paragraphs readily applicable to investing.

While the majority of the document is not related to matters of finance and investing, there are quite a few passages that inform the investor’s call to holiness. The underpinnings of the same Catholic social teachings that led the USCCB to include advocacy initiatives in their guidelines can be found in Gaudete et Exsultate. Let’s examine this document and see how it applies to Catholic investors.

Because most of the document does not address topics related to investing, we will gloss over most of it to focus solely on those that do. We will list the paragraph number we’re quoting from and then offer commentary on what Pope Francis is saying, always in light of how it applies to the Catholic investor. We invite you to read the apostolic exhortation in its entirety, which can be found on the Vatican’s website here.

14. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis actually asks several questions in this paragraph, which we have abridged. The important one for investors applies to work. Instead of simply telling us to work well for the glory of God, the Pope instead reminds us that we ought to work “in the service of our brothers and sisters.” Our work must help other people. Applying this same logic to investors, our investments should put our money to work “in the service of our brothers and sisters.” Hence, we must not invest in companies that work against the well being of our fellow man.

23. You too need to see the entirety of your life as a mission. Try to do so by listening to God in prayer and recognizing the signs that he gives you. Always ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you have received. Allow the Spirit to forge in you the personal mystery that can reflect Jesus Christ in today’s world.

Pope Francis reminds us that everything we do is part of our mission as Christians. He doesn’t carve out exceptions to this mission. Instead, he challenges us to pray about what Jesus expects of us with our investments. We need to ask ourselves how our investing habits “reflect Jesus Christ in today’s world.”

25. Just as you cannot understand Christ apart from the kingdom he came to bring, so too your personal mission is inseparable from the building of that kingdom: “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33). Your identification with Christ and his will involves a commitment to build with him that kingdom of love, justice and universal peace. Christ himself wants to experience this with you, in all the efforts and sacrifices that it entails, but also in all the joy and enrichment it brings. You cannot grow in holiness without committing yourself, body and soul, to giving your best to this endeavor.

Related to his earlier comments about mission, it’s clear that Pope Francis expects us to build the kingdom as we live our mission. We need to ask ourselves how our identity as followers of Christ is expressed in all our actions, including our investments. We can help build a kingdom of love, justice and universal peace through our investments. This idea is central to the USCCB’s guidelines. By excluding certain kinds of investments and engaging in advocacy work, our investments can actually help further the kingdom of God, while also causing us to grow in holiness.

67. The Gospel invites us to peer into the depths of our heart, to see where we find our security in life. Usually the rich feel secure in their wealth, and think that, if that wealth is threatened, the whole meaning of their earthly life can collapse. Jesus himself tells us this in the parable of the rich fool: he speaks of a man who was sure of himself, yet foolish, for it did not dawn on him that he might die that very day (cf. Lk 12:16-21).

Pope Francis discusses riches for several consecutive paragraphs, starting with this one. He does so in the context of the Beatitudes, specifically “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Again, he focuses on the building of the kingdom. What’s important for us to note here is that he does not condemn wealth and riches, but rather the sense of security in them. Taken in context of the rest of the exhortation, it’s clear that he is telling us our riches must be put to work for the kingdom and cannot be viewed as having any meaning in themselves. By investing our wealth for our brothers and sisters, we can be rich without being rich fools.

68. Wealth ensures nothing. Indeed, once we think we are rich, we can become so self-satisfied that we leave no room for God’s word, for the love of our brothers and sisters, or for the enjoyment of the most important things in life.

Once again, Pope Francis reminds us to guard our hearts and make sure that our wealth does not satisfy us. Having money is not bad, as long as we acknowledge that it does not make us rich in the fullest sense of the world.

69. This spiritual poverty is closely linked to what Saint Ignatius of Loyola calls “holy indifference”, which brings us to a radiant interior freedom: “We need to train ourselves to be indifferent in our attitude to all created things, in all that is permitted to our free will and not forbidden.”

Applying this reasoning to investing, we’re struck with a radical way to interpret the results of the market. Instead of obsessing over every change in fortunes, we should cultivate a “holy indifference.” This isn’t to say we shouldn’t try to maximize our returns. Rather, we should not be so bound up in the results that we experience great sadness or joy when they rise and fall. Extreme examples exist of individuals who commit suicide after a particularly bad day in the market. This is clear evidence that they were far too attached to their worldly wealth. We ought to develop the view that our investments are useful only in so far as they help to build the kingdom and the Master Builder is in control of them. Whether they rise or fall, they obey His will.

70. Luke does not speak of poverty “of spirit” but simply of those who are “poor” (cf. Lk 6:20). In this way, he too invites us to live a plain and austere life. He calls us to share in the life of those most in need, the life lived by the Apostles, and ultimately to configure ourselves to Jesus who, though rich, “made himself poor” (2 Cor 8:9).

Our investments, though they may gain us worldly riches, do not mean that we must live a rich life. We can live simply despite, or even because of, our wealth. This requires much prayer and it is the ideal for which we must strive. At Summit, we attempt to live this way by donating a portion of our advising fees to fund advocacy initiatives that help build the kingdom here on Earth.

77. Hunger and thirst are intense experiences, since they involve basic needs and our instinct for survival. There are those who desire justice and yearn for righteousness with similar intensity. Jesus says that they will be satisfied, for sooner or later justice will come. We can cooperate to make that possible, even if we may not always see the fruit of our efforts.

Our advocacy work is one way that we can work for justice. Pope Francis here reminds us that we might not see the results of our work, yet we should not use that as an excuse. We must work to help others, whether we know how it turns out or not.

79. True justice comes about in people’s lives when they themselves are just in their decisions; it is expressed in their pursuit of justice for the poor and the weak. While it is true that the word “justice” can be a synonym for faithfulness to God’s will in every aspect of our life, if we give the word too general a meaning, we forget that it is shown especially in justice towards those who are most vulnerable: “Seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Is 1:17).

Simply choosing to work to help the poor and weak is an act of justice. By using our investments to advocate for some of the world’s most vulnerable, we are helping to bring about true justice in the world.

95. In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel (vv. 31-46), Jesus expands on the Beatitude that calls the merciful blessed. If we seek the holiness pleasing to God’s eyes, this text offers us one clear criterion on which we will be judged. “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (vv. 35-36).

It is hard to stress enough the importance Jesus places on helping others. Pope Francis underlines the importance of assisting others by calling it the “holiness pleasing to God’s eyes.” Through our investments and advocacy, we are able to answer Jesus’ commands to care for the poor and vulnerable.

175. When, in God’s presence, we examine our life’s journey, no areas can be off limits. In all aspects of life we can continue to grow and offer something greater to God, even in those areas we find most difficult. We need, though, to ask the Holy Spirit to liberate us and to expel the fear that makes us ban him from certain parts of our lives. God asks everything of us, yet he also gives everything to us. He does not want to enter our lives to cripple or diminish them, but to bring them to fulfillment.

We are reminded by Pope Francis that all of our life must be something we offer to God. There is no part that can remain outside His jurisdiction. This includes our wealth and investments. Turning to the Lord in the sensitive topic of our finances and investments, we must pray for the strength to follow His will. Fortunately, we have a wonderful guide to follow. The USCCB has issued guidelines for us to follow in our investment practices. The only thing that remains is to overcome any fear of investing in accord with the Church. We must trust in God, knowing that he “asks everything of us, yet he also gives everything to us.”

To start investing in accordance with the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, contact our financial advisors today.

Post from: Insights