Today I went to a chiropractic centre with the “Economy of Communion” as its business model to treat my sciatica (Don’t worry, it is not the most serious kind.).

The idea of “Economy of Communion” came from Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement. In 1991, Chiara went to São Paolo, Brazil to visit some Focolare members, but was stunned by the degree of the disparity between the rich and the poor there; so she suggested the local entrepreneurs to donate part of their revenue to the poor, and part on education—especially spiritual formation.

I visited São Paolo in 2001, and toured some factories that adhere to the “Economy of Communion”. One worker told me, “I am a member of the working class, and I don’t have money to spare to help other poor people; but now I work hard, because I know that part of what I earn will be used to build a more reasonable society.”

We might not be entrepreneurs, but we still could take care of our finances along this line, and avoid being miserly.

Patrick is a car dealer in Canada. About 10 years ago, he felt that he had become a slave to money, and had failed in his children’s education. Then he sold his properties, moved to Medjugorjie, and spent all his savings to build a retreat centre for the local priests there—free for the priests to use.

Gifts that God has freely given us, we should also freely give away!