Gospel Poverty

As late as the seventeenth century, women who chose consecrated life were, by and large, cloistered. Society was not yet ready for women religious who devoted themselves to works of charity. One of the first to break that mold was St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a widow who, with the assistance of St. Francis de Sales, founded the Congregation of the Visitation. After her father’s death, she had distinguished herself as a wise manager of her husband’s estate. However, as her mother, step-mother, sister and two daughters preceded her in death, she decided to take a vow of chastity and devote herself to the care of the sick. She began by giving alms and providing nursing care to her neighbors and eventually completely devoted her life and her resources to the care of the sick. Rather than hiding herself away in a monastery, St. Jane and her fellow religious were active in their life of charity and good works. When she was criticized for this apostolic work, she simply said that she really did not have any choice in the matter since she “loved” the poor and the sick. Today’s Gospel reading is the familiar story of the “rich, young man” who asks Jesus what he must do to be perfect. Jesus responds with the famous saying: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21b) Down through the ages, men and women have heard that challenge and been able to accept the admonition literally. Then, unencumbered by worldly goods, they have gone on to accomplish heroic deeds and lead saintly lives. St. Jane Frances de Chantal is just one example of this. We can also point to St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Thomas á Becket, and even more recently to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta among the hundreds and thousands who have vowed Gospel poverty. Gospel poverty is often looked upon as a particularly challenging part of our universal call to holiness. To live this aspect of the Gospel in a radical nature is the hallmark of great holiness and regarded as heroic in nature. A closer look at the lives of these people reveals that it is not the abhorrence of worldly wealth which motivates them. Rather they choose to possess “only” Christ. They choose freedom from the constraints that worldly wealth places upon them. Living “without property” means living without power. Living a simple life style means not appropriating an unfair share of the resources of our world. To be sure, all of us are capable of giving up the privileges that come with wealth and counting ourselves among the poor. Many have criticized the current Holy Father Pope Francis for his insistent call to remember the poor of our world, to recognize the scourge of destitution and the hunger and disease that accompany it. Even men and women who have not chosen consecrated life have come to recognize the need to do something to make the distribution of the world’s goods more equitable. When the Ghost of Christmas Present is about to take leave of Ebenezer Scrooge, he reveals to emaciated children clothed in rags to him. He tells Ebenezer to beware of these two children who are named “Ignorance” and “Want.” All one has to do is to look at the pages of the history of the world to recognize that ignorance and want are what usually fuel great conflicts. If we desire to live in peace, rather than hoarding our wealth, we should be sharing it with those who are less fortunate. Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator