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From the Associate&
Moving Towards Poverty
Two weeks ago, I had to move, for the fourth time in five years, and I was not happy about it. But it was better for my community (The Companions of Christ) that I move to another one of our houses, in St. Paul, so that the seminarians could move into my old house, close by the seminary. Thus, I packed up my things in boxes and lugged the one-half mile down the road. My new bedroom is smaller than last year's, and the house more worn. I have tried to fit my belongings into one small bedroom, with closet, but have spilled over one file cabinet (ha!). Moving was a hassle, but I now see it was also God's gift.
Every time I move, I gain this opportunity to gather before my eyes all the things I own, and reevaluate whether I truly need them. As a celibate priest, I have this ideal of living poverty the best I can, because I believe and know in my heart that poverty for the sake of the Gospel leads to freedom: freedom from excessive concern and attachment to things of this world; freedom to love God and the treasures of heaven more intensely; and freedom to serve God's people. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," says the Gospel (Luke 12:34). We have this unwritten rule in my community, that if we haven't used something for six months, we should give it away to the poor (I guess you'd have to take into consideration that some things are used only in summer or winter). Anyway, I'm trying to apply this principle, and finding that for some of the finer things (e.g. a bicycle unused for 5 years, and a CD player unused for almost 2 years) it takes real commitment to stick with the program. But I'm also finding there is much joy in giving things away, and in the freedom of owning little. As one parishioner recently told me, "less is more."
Spiritual poverty is a beautiful thing. I think the truest and greatest motivation for pursuing poverty is not guilt, but Love! When one's heart is in the process of falling in love with Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, then one becomes attracted to poverty, because with it, there are less distractions and hindrances to the romance of heaven. And yet I also know that we are in a battle, and the evil one is trying to trip us up, so we must be vigilant. It is spiritual love, which turns our hearts to see our neighbor in need; it is divine love, which beckons our hearts to rise above created reality to contemplate our heavenly vocation. Above all others, I admire the witness of the Missionaries of Charity. Each member possesses only two Saris (clothing) and sandals. They truly live poverty (what an understatement). Yet they are some of the happiest and most joyful people I have ever met. Possessing no earthly inheritance, they nevertheless enjoy the greatest treasure in the world: divine live and love, and with that, their hearts soar to heaven. O Lord, help us to become "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21).
Fr. Michael
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