2. Poor Little Rich Kid    It's very important to recognize that poverty takes on many forms. Financial poverty is real and quite serious, but spiritual poverty is worse: "For what will it profit a man if he gain the whole world but forfeits his life?" (Matthew 16:26). Christ made himself materially poor, first by becoming man and then by living poorly to make us spiritually rich (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 472). It is often those who have all that they desire materially who suffer most from existential anxiety. Some of the world's richest countries also have the highest suicide rates. This is often the more difficult poverty to address: The person often won't even recognize his need, and even less frequently recognize the solution. It is also to these poor that the missionaries of the 21st Century must reach.

3. Supernaturally Selfish?    It's been said that if we do acts of charity simply to receive a heavenly reward, our intention isn't pure. It is being selfish, but with a little more foresight: Eventually our acts of charity will bring us benefit. While there is an aspect of reward in heaven - "You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous"(Luke 14:14) - it is equally true that living charity is simply our duty (cf. Luke 17:10). However, it is precisely when we exercise charity that God has a golden opportunity to purify our intention a little bit more. We may start doing good to others for quite selfish reasons: the praise we receive or the satisfaction we feel. As we continue being charitable, however, there will be plenty of times when we aren't praised or thanked or receive much natural gratification from our kind deeds. Then, as the superficial motivations for loving are peeled away, we're left with a purer love for God and neighbor. It is precisely when we do our actions for love of God that our actions reach perfection (cf. John Paul II, The Splendor of Truth, 78).