“Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5)
In commenting on this verse from the First Letter of Paul to Timothy from today’s Mass Readings, Saint Augustine writes:
“He, then, is happy who has everything he wants but does not want what is not proper…. But, when men have attained that welfare for themselves and for those whom they love, shall we be able to say that they are now happy? They have something which it is proper to wish for, but if they have nothing else, either greater or better or more to their advantage and personal distinction, they are still far from happiness…. Certainly it is proper for them to wish for these things, not for the sake of the things themselves but for another reason, namely, that they may do good by providing for the welfare of those who live under them, but it is not proper to covet them out of the empty pride of self-esteem or useless ostentation or hurtful vanity. (Letters, 1305)”
