How do I respond to a daughter upset by our parish's opulence?

[jmcenerney]

Our parish just completed building our church and it is beautiful. It took approximately $15 million dollars to complete. As our family sat in church, my 20-year-old daughter expressed how appalled she was by the opulence. How do I respond to her concerns?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Give her a challenge:

Honey, did you know that there was someone in the New Testament who complained about how much money someone else “wasted” and said that the money should have been given to the poor? Look it up, and tell me how Jesus responded to this person.

Answer.

After this exercise, explain to her that the church was built at great sacrifice by the local Catholic community to give glory to God and to serve the entire community in which the parish is located. Ask her to reflect a bit on what sacrifices she has made lately either to give glory directly to God, or to serve God in the poor. The point of this should be that someone who criticizes others for how they serve God rarely is making any significant personal sacrifices of her own for God or neighbor.