Sunday, September 4, 2016, is a providential date for many reasons. Not only is it a beautiful capstone for the Year of Mercy through the international celebration of the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, but it is also the day that marks Labor...
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of this generation’s most iconic financial literacy books. Written by Kiyosaki and Lechter in the late 1990s, it has sold over 26 million copies and has been touted by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith—not to mention...
This is how I have become accustomed to opening and closing each day. For most of my adult life, I have been a banker and in the business of buying and selling money. There is a common misconception among the faithful that having money is bad, and having a...
As business people, sometimes we forget just how connected the world of work is to the work of God in the world. Without question, individual business persons are moral agents. However, based upon the accepted conception of the corporation, there is often a lack of...
For those who know economics, Adam Smith is a beloved patriarch. Not only was the 18th-century Scottish thinker the father of modern economics, he was also moral philosopher. This intellectual combination was not unusual in his day, but it is rare in ours. His...
No matter what your ideology, there is common disdain for market manipulators, fraud, and theft. There is little disagreement about the repugnance of taking advantage of senior citizens through deceptive investment schemes or conning vulnerable families into...
A few years ago, I had an interesting conversation with one of our country’s most well-known and respected business leaders. It started as I was chatting with the man’s wife, and she asked me what I did for fun. I could have told her I enjoyed golf, or gardening, or...
For Valentine’s Day this year, I am taking a new approach. No more chocolate, fancy dinners or jewelry. This year’s gift is the ultimate. This year’s gift is love itself. This year, I am going to give the most precious gift of all. I am going to give...
Recent studies show a need for a greater understanding of labor as a Christian call to work. Nearly half the people on the planet are workers. Statically speaking, the UN’s International Labour Organization tallies the world-wide workforce at nearly three billion....
Two years before his death, renowned Catholic social scientist Dr. Rupert Ederer wrote a book entitled Economics as if God Matters. In this book, he endeavored to explain over a century of Catholic magisterial teaching regarding economic matters. Ederer titled...
Suffice to say, the establishment of world peace is not in the job description of most CEOs. But after the most recent terror attacks that brought down a Russian passenger plane and took the lives of innocent people in Beirut, Paris and Mali, the world is...
Today, I say goodbye to a little boy whom I have never met but whose very existence touched hearts around the world. This story began nearly seven months ago. My very dearest friend called me with the good news. Well, truth be told, that is not exactly how the...
This week we celebrate the feast day of Saint Matthew, patron saint of bankers. Reflecting upon my patron saint, I recall many times having been asked how capitalism can be compatible with Christian theology. As a banker and Catholic intellectual, I draw upon both...
One of the enduring lessons from the most recent Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si (Praise Be to You), is the simple notion that the “natural environment is a collective good.” Although simple, this profound concept has broad ramifications and is key to...
It was a nun and not an economist or political philosopher that reminded the world there is one timeless measure of a home’s value: love. In 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Prize. In her acceptance speech, she was asked what we...
As investment professionals, when we think about investments, we think about asset classes: stocks, bonds, hedge funds and the like. As theologians, when we think about investments, we think about “assets” somewhat differently. The challenge is for each to understand...