For as long as I can remember, I have championed the sanctity of private property. As a child, growing up, it usually was applied to my brother Patrick. Being a mere 5 years older it was common for us to bicker and even brawl, but it was rare that he would infringe on my “property” as he had already out grown my prized possessions. That is unless he wanted to start a fight or get back at me for some imagined travesty I had perpetrated against him. Yes, imagined is the appropriate word as I was pretty innocent and naïve during my childhood. I was too busy in my own world to go messing around in his.

My family wasn’t well to do, although kids at school seemed to think so. There had been some degree of wealth back in the '20s and '30s when my grandfather was the head of the law firm. By the time I was born, my father’s law practice produced a nice living for our family, but he was not the best businessman, a great lawyer, but not too good on the billing part of the practice. 

The whole concept of money and making a living was something I never thought of as I planned on entering the priesthood where if I joined an order, I would take a vow of poverty and if a diocesan priest I would be taken care of by the parish. Through high school I had a paper route and I clerked in the local department store after school. That employment provided adequate spending money and even some savings.

Early in college, upon discovering the reality of clergy abuse, the cover ups and the absence of meaningful consequences for the perpetrators, I soured on my vocation and treaded water for years trying to discern a future; a career. During this period in my life, I had the first inkling that common ownership of everything might be the proper path. Yes, it was the time of the flower children, peace, love and anything that resembled anti-establishment.

Discarding my rose-colored glasses, I decided I had to find a way to support myself in a more meaningful way then odd jobs that led nowhere. I accomplished that goal with a law degree and a license to practice the family business. My father’s stroke and my inability to get along with my attorney brother led to a small private practice that included representation of several small cities. It was in this role that my dedication to the protection of private property grew and came to the forefront of my life. The balance between the city’s interest and the property owner’s rights was often the focus of my practice. I found wetland legislation offensive and contrary to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

All of that occupational focus on private property was often brought into question when I heard the Sunday gospel.  The lilies of the field parable was troubling to listen to. It always lingered with me after mass as it struck me to the core as true. A friend, our parish priest, and I used to argue about this parable. He said it had a figurative meaning and application, and not the literal interpretation I gave it. He went so far as to give me a beautiful, framed, delicately written copy of the text. It is still prominent in my dining room. 

I heard a speaker at mass describe her experience selling everything and heading to the border to work with immigrants following a life changing event. The beauty of this woman’s face as she spoke about her transformation brought back the lilies of the field with great emphasis.

Of late I have been reading of St. Francis and his calling to “rebuild my church." It too demonstrates that the lilies parable is literal, I fear. Having grappled with the uncertainty of the application of the lilies parable, I recognize that I am like the young man who could not sell all and follow Christ. However, I have not lost hope.

When I look at the greed and those who cling so desperately to power and then abuse it in government, business and religious organizations, it seems that the protection of private property fuels and drives them. The war in Ukraine and the conflict at home between and among states, counties and cities is based upon boundaries and differences of opinion. Is private property at the core of these problems? Would eliminating it force the pursuit of the common good?

— This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Peter Donohue, who has been involved in the arts in Central Minnesota for more than 35 years. His column is published the third Sunday of the month.