We would usually call a rich person masuerte or fortunate. We consider material riches a blessing. And no doubt they are.

But it is not an unmixed blessing or a blessing pure and simple. True, there is a pervasive attitude in our society which says, “Get as much as you can, as fast as you can.”

“It does not matter how you get it—by  hook or by crook—but get it. Only be careful that you do not get caught.”

But the truth is, ill-gotten wealth is not a blessing, and  it brings a train of troubles along with it.

First, ill-gotten wealth will be a thorn in the conscience of a decent person.

Second, should a person be able to rationalize his possession of ill-gotten wealth, he would be doing even more damage to himself, because a conscience that has been silenced opens the door for the commission of other and even greater evils by the possessor of such wealth.

Third, the possession of ill-gotten wealth will make a man hide it, with the accompanying fear that it may be discovered. So he will forego many blessings and will just have to wait till he passes it on to his heirs.

And then, of course, if the ill-gotten wealth is discovered and the person who hides it is indicted for possessing it, he will have  to cover up his sin and his possessions. Etc. Etc. The series of undesirable consequences  goes on and on.

We have to think about all these things when we face temptations to enrich ourselves in dishonest ways. Yes, it is true, honesty is the best policy, and the honest man can sleep soundly without any fear of scrutiny.

Even honestly gotten wealth, though, is not without its dangers. That is why Jesus said to his disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through he eye of a needle than  for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When a person gets rich, there is a danger that his riches will make him attached to them to the forgetfulness of his duties to God and his fellowmen.

This is illustrated well enough in the Bible by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the rich man who got a bumper harvest and considered himself fortunate but was called “fool” by God.

These thoughts come to mind during the trial of Chief Justice Corona. I do not know whether he is guilty of amassing ill-gotten wealth. But the man is obviously in deep trouble. And I wonder what the senators who are to judge him are thinking. Are they perhaps guilty also of what CJ Corona is being accused of?

St. Paul writes this reminder (1 Tim. 6: 9-10) which is also relevant today: “Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for  it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.”

As for himself, St. Paul could say, “We brought nothing inot the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that” (1 Tim. 6: 7-8)