This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of November
Pope Leo XIV’s November prayer intention asks that wealth be used for the common good. In a video, he encourages people to treat wealth as a means of sharing, reconciliation, and fraternity. His prayer calls for detachment from possessions and for money, time, talents, and opportunities to serve others, especially the vulnerable. The monthly “Pray with the Pope” video and prayer are available through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
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Pope Leo XIV’s November prayer intention is the proper use of wealth, asking people to treat money, time, talents, and opportunities as means of service, sharing, and fraternity rather than possessions to hoard or use for power.
In a video posted on Nov. 3, Leo invited people to consider what wealth means to them: not only money or material possessions, but also having enough to share and contribute to the common good. He prayed that wealth, however great, would become “an instrument for doing good for reconciliation and fraternity.”
The prayer describes the earth, people’s talents, and the work of previous generations as gifts that are shared rather than belonging to anyone alone. It asks forgiveness for hoarding resources, letting possessions foster selfishness, and using goods as a source of power instead of service.
Leo’s prayer asks that people use their resources to advance justice, support the vulnerable, and build hope. It calls for economic, family, and community decisions to recognize that goods are “meant for all,” and concludes with a request that wealth be transformed into service and mercy.
The monthly “Pray with the Pope” video and prayer are available through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and digital platforms.
Christian stewardship of wealth for the common good
Christian stewardship of wealth means holding possessions as a real but morally responsible trust: ownership is legitimate, yet wealth is not meant to serve the owner alone. In Catholic social teaching, material goods have a “universal destination”—they are intended by God to serve human life broadly. Their use should therefore contribute to the good of one’s household, neighbors, and society, with special attention to people in need.
The Church does not teach that having wealth is inherently evil or that private property should simply be abolished. Rerum Novarum affirms the legitimacy and practical necessity of private ownership, while distinguishing the right to own something from an unrestricted right to use it however one pleases. The owner’s use must respect the good of others and the social purpose of material goods.
That distinction is central to stewardship. A steward manages what has been entrusted to him; he does not treat it as if he had no obligations beyond his own preferences. Benedict XVI puts the point plainly:
According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor.
This does not mean that people may not provide for themselves and their families, plan for the future, or use their abilities to develop and increase resources. The Church’s social teaching describes responsible administration as using, preserving, and increasing the gifts received, while placing economic activity and material progress at the service of people and society.
Stewardship concerns more than giving cash away. It also concerns how wealth is earned, held, and put to use. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says wealth fulfills its function of service when it produces benefits for others and for society. The Catechism applies this principle to productive goods—including land, factories, skills, and artistic abilities—whose possessors are obliged to employ them in ways that benefit many people.
This gives Christian stewardship a constructive dimension. Work, enterprise, skill, and investment can be good ways of cultivating God’s gifts, provided they serve human flourishing rather than becoming ends in themselves. The relevant question is not simply, “How much do I give?” but also, “What good does my use of resources make possible?” The Church’s account of economic activity includes both material progress and the quality of human life; it sees economic work as a setting in which justice, solidarity, and love can be expressed.
The same principle applies to possessions used for personal consumption. The Catechism calls for moderation and says that those who hold goods for use and consumption should reserve the better part for guests, the sick, and the poor. In other words, hospitality and readiness to share are not optional decorations added to a life of ownership; they belong to the moral purpose of possessing goods.
Christian generosity is not limited to voluntary kindness. Benedict XVI says that helping people suffering poverty and abandonment is “a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity.” The point is especially forceful when people have resources while others lack necessities: refusing assistance in the face of serious need cannot be excused merely by calling giving a private choice.
At the same time, Catholic teaching distinguishes the ordinary duty to share from situations of extreme necessity. Rerum Novarum says that people need not give away what is reasonably required for their own needs and those of their household. But once necessities and reasonable obligations have been provided for, giving from what remains is a duty of Christian charity; in extreme cases, the duty can become one of justice.
These statements are complementary. One establishes that serious human need can impose an obligation of justice; the other explains that even beyond such cases, surplus wealth is not morally irrelevant. A person’s responsibility is not exhausted by avoiding theft or meeting legal obligations. The Christian is called to share with the needy, and the Compendium describes giving what is required to them as a task, not merely an act of personal benevolence.
The Church’s concern is not simply that someone possesses a large amount. The Compendium warns against “improper accumulation” because it contradicts the universal destination of goods, and it identifies immoderate attachment and the desire to hoard as evils. It also stresses that material goods can be used well: wealth is useful to society when it is in the hands of people who put it to service, rather than being squandered through luxury or kept idle through miserly hoarding.
So wealth calls for discernment, not a simplistic verdict based only on the size of a bank account. Important questions include whether it was acquired and is being used justly, whether the owner is providing responsibly for legitimate needs, whether resources produce genuine benefit, and whether those in urgent need are being ignored. The underlying spiritual risk is treating wealth as ultimate security or as a possession that carries no obligation to anyone else. The Compendium connects Christian freedom not only with freedom from material deprivation, but also with freedom in relation to possessions.
Stewardship can be practiced in different ways according to a person’s circumstances and responsibilities. The sources support several broad forms:
A practical test is whether the way you acquire and use wealth helps it circulate in service of human beings, especially those who lack what they need. Christian stewardship does not require every person to have identical resources or to give away what is necessary for responsible care of dependents. It does require that ownership be joined to accountability, moderation, and a readiness to share. In the Church’s view, possessions are not merely private advantages: they are gifts to be administered for personal good and the good of others.