Naples: Goods don’t circulate on their own

“The whole community of believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but rather they shared all things in common.” This phrase of the Gospel inspires us gen to live the communion of goods. In our group, we started to make a sort of inventory of all our goods, so as to share them with others.

The economic situation differs for each of us. Those who have a regular income are willing to decide together how to spend the money. For example, with Federico we thought that if he were to spend less money on video games, the amount saved could help Andrea subscribe to a photography magazine for his work. It’s not about how we manage the funds, but the way we communicate openly and sincerely with one another. This openness makes us realise what is most important.

Marco, a Geology graduate with a post-doctorate scholarship, due to sudden financial cuts by the Italian University, had not received his wages for several months. At that time he had pressing needs: to attend a professional development course in Cagliari and also to pay for his car registration. It was a bit awkward for him to tell us that he was short of money! However, his trust in our reciprocal love, which makes us one heart and one soul, made him overcome his embarrassment. As soon as he came out with it, there was an explosive show of generosity: “I’ve got some money remaining on my credit card.” “I have extra savings…”. And so we were able to loan him the amount he needed. Marco realised he had to use the small capital responsibly. This experience made us become more like brothers.

One of us who has just finished university, started his forensic training in order to complement his law degree, but he’s paid very little, certainly not enough to support others as well. One day he met a friend who suggested that he could earn a lot of money through road accident compensation cases. He only needed to sign a few papers without investigating as to whether the accident actually happened or not. He had strong doubts about it; during the night he woke up with this phrase of the Gospel in mind: “Your Father knows the things you need even before you ask him.”

The next morning, he called his friend to tell him that would not accept that job. A few months later, he received an unexpected telephone call from an insurance company asking him to attend an interview. Thanks to his forensic training experience, he was able to do well in the interview. He was employed as an inspector for accident compensation cases precisely by the same insurance company whose fraudulent employee he had previously turned down in order to remain honest.

(The Gen from Naples)