Can money buy happiness? Money gives you satisfaction, maybe accomplishment, but you can have a lot of money and not have a decent life. You might have a lot of money and live a meaningless life.
Father Frank says that we should live detached from material things and develop our capability of enjoyment of what we have, while feeling happy about what other people have. You shouldn't feel sad for things you don't have - the house or the fancy car - if the whole world was made for us. We own it! Every single flower, every single species, the oceans and the sky, everything is ours, and we do not appreciate it because we are immersed in our race to work, earn and pay: credit cards, mortgages, insurance and taxes.
Animals live in this creation but only the human race can consciously enjoy and admire the colors, the variety of shapes, the expressions of beauty that surround us. When you attach yourself to material things you lose your capability of enjoyment.
That is why it is important to teach our children to grow in virtues and values, to distinguish between what they want and what they need. They should focus on something greater: who they want to become.
Stop and think: if today was our last day on earth, can we examine ourselves and say that we have lived an accomplished life?