Q: I am developing a scruple over how an inheritance from my mother was divided. My sister and I took care of her for some time during her final illness. When the house was sold, the money was to be divided among her nine children. Four of my brothers gave their shares to me and my sister. Of the remaining three siblings, two received the same amount and the third received less because he was pretty well off financially.
Now that all of my siblings have died, I am going to send a good sum of money to the missions to have Masses celebrated for the brother who received less. I hope that I did not do anything wrong. Please help me put my mind at rest.
A: I doubt that you need to worry about this. Your use of the word scruple already suggests that. Your letter doesn’t indicate if you were the executor of this estate. You wrote that your brother who received less was better off financially.
You are welcome to have Masses celebrated for this brother or your parents and all your siblings. You could also make a charitable donation in their honor. Does God want you to torment yourself over this situation?
