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Evangelical Poverty for Moms (1)
"When Christ declared on the Mount of the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit", He certainly did not intend to beatify an economic condition, but to exalt a spirit. To claim to reduce all His doctrine on this matter to two formulas: "happy are the poor, woe to the rich" is to misunderstand, deform and betray it... For there are bad poor men and good rich men: Christ loves the latter. He does not claim that the former are blessed. But, those destitute of goods, like the shepherds at the crib and the little people of simple and honest hearts, less encumbered, advance more rapidly towards the Kingdom; they can more easily enter the narrow gate.... God looks only for the detached and liberated heart of which He makes His Kingdom, Such is the authentic spirit of the gospel."
F.X. Ronsin, SJ; in "To Govern is to Love", trans Sis. Eugenia Logan, New York, Society of St Paul, 1958, p.189
posted by Holly at 2:59 PM
1 Comments:
When a religious makes the vow of voluntary poverty, firstly, it means the renunciation of ownership. But the exact practice of this changes from order to order, from location to location. In addition, the exterior vow does not necessarily imply a full interior recognition or adoption of the spirit of the vow. It is possible for a religious to live without personal ownership, sharing all necessities with the community, but to struggle with this. This is because evangelical poverty is an interior thing - a spirit, an attitude of detachment.
As mothers, we too can share many of the same characteristics of the religious vow of poverty. Primarily, we can view our goods as belonging to our little community - our family. And so the purchase of necessary goods and resources, and our regular expenditures of money can be based on the basic and real needs of our family life. In addition, we can voluntarily renounce an excessive accumulation of goods for ourselves as well. Four outfits are as good at six....
How can I tell if I view the possessions of our family properly? Do I look at the car, the couch or the house as mine, or the family's? Do I get angry at the children for messing up ‘my' kitchen? Do I really spend the majority of available funds on necessities, and helping others less fortunate than I, or does a large percentage go for ‘wants' and luxuries? Do I even know which things are basic needs and which are unnecessary wants? Hhmmm...
Secondly, the interior attitude of evangelical poverty calls for detachment. It helps to define this clearly. To be attached to something means to be 'bonded' with it, and we know what this means. Deep in our hearts, we look to this other thing as our fulfillment, our hope, that which we count on, that which we yearn for. To be attached to something other than God is actually a form of idolatry - for God alone has a right to our hearts.
How can I tell if I am too attached to possessions? How much time do I spend thinking about what I want to buy? How much money do I spend on myself and on superfluous things? Do I have a habit of accumulating goods, like books or gadgets or fabric or trinkets, and then never use them? Have I stockpiles of stuff all over my house which I haven't used in over three years? Do I get unhappy when I can't have something I want? Do I perk up when I get some money in? Hhmmm...
I know for myself, it is too easy to know I can be 'good but rich' and then not pay attention to the little ways which I might be slipping. I think, in reality, that a basic, simple lifestyle must of necessity follow a truly detached heart.
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