Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
MONDAY, June 28th Mt. 8: 18-22 “Jesus answered him, ‘Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.’”
- What does Jesus’s statement have to do with you and me? Let us take this opportunity to review Saint Ignatius’ Principle and Foundation in the Spiritual Exercises, then move into the meditation for the day.
Part 1: Review Principle and Foundation, Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Part 2: WHAT DOES POVERTY MEAN FOR ME? BY Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
TWO PRINCIPLES
The End of the Human Person: Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means save his soul.
The End of Creatures: The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created.
TWO LOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THOSE PRINCIPLES
Tantum Quantum: Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they prove a hindrance to him.
Holy Indifference: Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life. The same holds for all other things.
THIRD CONSEQUENCE
LOVE OF GOD: Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created: Love of God.
PART 2: WHAT DOES POVERTY MEAN FOR ME? By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Saint Francis of Assisi renounced a life of wealth, pleasure, and fame so as to betroth Lady-poverty. As a consequence, he became one of the most renowned, loved, and admired saints in the history of the Church, in the history of the world. He lived a life of total poverty and dependence on God, on his Creator’s providential care.
Once Francis passed up a leper along the way. Ashamed of his repulsion, Francis returned to exchange his exquisite clothes for the rags of the leper. Now Francis considered himself totally free, the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. Being set free from all earthly and human attachments and trusting unreservedly in God’s providential care, Francis could be used by God to accomplish marvels, to accomplish extraordinary feats, to literally accomplish miracles.
Like Dominic, Francis founded what is called one of the Mendicant-Orders. By the word Mendicant is meant literally Beggars—yes, that is true: beggars. They would beg bread or a coin for their daily sustenance, and if they were given beyond what they needed for the day, they would give the excess to some beggar more in need.
Spending long hours conversing with Jesus, whom he loved with all his heart; praising God through nature, God’s beautiful gift to the world; preaching spontaneously by word and example, Francis was free. He was totally free from every care, every worry, every anxiety. The reason for this total interior and exterior freedom of Saint Francis of Assisi was that he placed all of his trust in God, his loving and providential Father. Jesus said: “My Father has you in the palm of His hand and nobody will be able to snatch you from His hand.” (Jn. 10:29)
At the end of his life, Francis desired to imitate and pattern his life even more fully on the life of the Person he loved most, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, Francis was given one of the most extraordinary mystical gifts in the Church—it is called the Stigmata. While at prayer before a crucifix, light poured forth from the wounds of the Crucified Lord, and all of a sudden Francis experienced and felt in his own body an intense and excruciating pain. His hands and feet were pierced like those of Jesus on the cross, then the side of Francis was pierced, and blood came forth from all of these wounds. Now Francis was totally conformed to his Crucified Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now he could say with Saint Paul: “I bear the wounds of Christ in my body.”(Gal. 6:17) And, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)
Many might be wondering as they read through this brief excerpt in the life of possibly the most known and loved saint, outside the Biblical saints, how does this apply to me? How can I, in the complicated, competitive, and precarious world that I presently live in, imitate Saint Francis? A good question!
The response is the following: we cannot imitate all that Saint Francis accomplished; and not all are called to! However, with respect to living out Principle and Foundation, and specifically Holy Indifference, each of us can examine our life, examine our conscience, delve deep, and humbly admit that we still have many attachments that should be dealt with and overcome, with the help of God’s abundant grace.
Why not turn to Saint Francis of Assisi, to Saint Charles Borromeo, to Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, to Saint Katherine Drexel and of course, to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and beg for the grace and pray to them so as to live out the Beatitude that exemplifies Evangelic Poverty: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; there’s in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt. 5:3)
The following are useful and practical suggestions so that we can live out in our lives a greater detachment from material attachments, so that our hearts will be more firmly rooted in our love for Jesus Christ, who indeed is the pearl of infinite price, the authentic treasure of our existence.
1. MEDITATE UPON DEATH, JUDGMENT AND ETERNITY.
Often reflect upon the shortness of life, eternity, and the salvation of your immortal soul. Then examine your life and ask the question: Will what I have, what I own, what I am clinging to now, help me or hinder me from reaching my heavenly reward?
2. MEDITATE UPON THE LIFE OF JESUS, MARY AND ST. JOSEPH.
These were the holiest, happiest, most complete, most developed, and most generous three who ever lived on planet earth. They had very little materially. However, they had each other. And their real treasure was God! Jesus was the center and the meaning of the lives of Mary and Saint Joseph. Having Jesus, they needed nothing more.
3. SAINT PAUL’S EXHORTATION:
“There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” One of the key hallmarks of living out the call to poverty in our lives is the constant and correct attitude that we should be seeking to give to God and to others more, rather than always wanting to receive. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta expressed it this way: “We must give until it hurts!”
4. SPRING-CLEANING, SOUL-CLEANING, GENEROUS-GIVING.
You might start here: do an inventory of your possessions and the things that you do not use and do not need, then give them to the poor. Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army, the Missionaries of Charity, or any charitable organization—all of these will be more than willing to receive your excess possessions and distribute them to the poor. Remember the penetrating words of Jesus on this topic: “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, that you do for me.” (Mt. 25: 40)
5. TITHING.
It has been a constant practice among the followers of the Lord Jesus to methodically and systematically give a part of their economic resources to the poor, to the Church, or to some profitable organization. In one of his inspiring talks, the Professor, Teacher, writer and speaker, Dr. Scott Hahn gave a talk on tithing. After undertaking the practice himself, he noticed that he and his family were never lacking. On the contrary, it almost seemed as if they had more. The conclusion Hahn made with respect to tithing is to have an attitude of giving generously, and trusting totally in God’s Providential Hand in your life. If we truly trust God for all, then He will provide for all. In the words of the Psalmist: “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 124:8) And as Saint Paul says: “If God is with us, then who can be against us.” (Rom: 8:31)
6. BUY LESS AND PRAY MORE!
Next in line with our advice would be to cultivate an attitude in your life to simply strive to buy less. This is an interior attitude that can be accepted, cultivated and lived out with the help of God’s grace. If you really do not need it, then don’t buy it. Common sense! Much better to spend more time in prayer. Pay more attention to the interior enriching of your soul, than in the exterior decoration of your body!
7. GIVE SPIRITUAL RICHES, AND YOU ENRICH OTHERS AND YOURSELF.
Pope Francis, in his Encyclical “The Joy of the Gospel”, commented that it often happens that when we give on a material plane to the poor—which of course is indispensable—it can happen that we forget the importance of feeding their soul with the riches of the Word of God. This being said, in addition to helping the poor materially to the extent we are able, we can live out the concept of poverty by teaching others about the riches of the life of Christ in the Gospel, teaching others the basic Catechetical truths, helping others to examine their conscience, bringing someone back to the Church, bringing a wandering and forlorn soul back to Confession and then the Holy Eucharist, introducing someone to prayer, and last, but not least, introducing a confused soul to the loving and maternal embrace of Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our heavenly Mother!
Saint Thomas Aquinas makes this observation. When we give on a material plane, we have less. If I give you $20, then I have $20 less in my wallet. However, when we give spiritually, we are not poorer, rather we are enriched, together with those to whom we have shared the riches of our faith!
8. STRIVE TO LIVE A SIMPLE, FRUGAL, DETACHED LIFE-STYLE.
We must decide the style of life that will be ours. Saint Paul states in one of his letters that we should be content with the food we eat, the clothes that we have, and that is enough. The desire for riches and wealth is at the root of many problems. Therefore, make a firm-decision in your life, and with those with whom you live, to live a frugal lifestyle, to live a simple rather than a complicated life. Cut unnecessary attachments, like Saint Francis, and live free!
9. RAISE THE BAR: WWJD/ WWMD/WWJOD?
With respect to your material existence, before acquiring and possessing new things, why not ask three simple questions in this regard. What would Jesus do? What would Mary do? And finally: What would Joseph do? We should always have before our mind’s eye models, and who are better models for us than Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph?
10. MEDITATE UPON THE POSITIVE FRUITS OF LIVING OUT POVERTY.
To carry out any noble enterprise we need motivation. Great men and women always have strong motivational principles to spur them on. So it is with us. Indeed, there are many positive fruits that flow from a generous and determined detachment, and true embracing of living out Evangelical Poverty. Here are a few on the list to motivate you:
- Imitation of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. How detached they were from the things of this world, but what great peace and joy reigned in their lives.
- Imitation of the saints—Saint Francis. We are all called to be saints as Jesus commands us: “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” (Mt. 3:28) The saints were detached from things and attached to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
- Interior Freedom of the sons and daughters of God. It is true that our possessions can possess us. Having less, having what is sufficient, is a source and means to attain true freedom. As the saying goes: Freedom from, so we can have freedom for… meaning to serve God more fully and completely.
- Serving Jesus in the poor. Our generous giving to others is really a giving to Jesus. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do to me.” (Mt. 25:40)
- Storing up treasures in heaven. Jesus challenges us not to store up treasures here that thieves can steal and moths can eat. Rather we must answer the call of Jesus: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be given to you beside.” (Mt. 6:33)
- Conquer useless worries. How many people in the modern world are weighed down with worries, and very often worries about their money, their wealth, their possessions and the danger of losing them.
- Interior Peace. With the countless worries, comes a lack of interior peace of heart, mind and soul. In the depths of our heart, we all desire interior peace, a peace that the world, and all the possessions in the world, cannot give us.
- Human Person above the Electronic Screen. Sad to say, many today, and possibly that is us, spend more time looking at an electronic screen than looking into the face, looking into the eyes, looking into the very soul of our loved ones. An actual and true dimension of poverty might be to simply detach ourselves, at least partially, from the electronic world of fantasy and spend more quality time with human persons who are created in the image and likeness of God.
- More Time for God—for Prayer. We all have to set our priorities right. If we dedicate most of our time to the material world, we have less time to give to God, time we should dedicate to the all-important vocation to pray! You will be surprised to see how your life will change, if you walk away from things and walk more with Jesus, who is your Best Friend! As the Psalmist teaches us: “Only in God is my soul at rest.” (Ps. 62:1)
- HEAVEN AWAITS US! The richest person in the world and the poorest person will both end up in the same place: six feet beneath the ground. Imagine this: A multi-billionaire dies in mortal sin, outside the grace of God. He has lost God and Heaven for all eternity! On the other hand, a poor, simple man dies and his last meal was the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, the Bread of the angels. Jesus promised such as these the Kingdom of God. “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever eats of me even though he dies, he will live forever.” (Jn. 6:54)
In conclusion, my friends in Jesus and Mary, and the angels and saints, true happiness cannot be found in the things of this world but in the God of all things, the God of all creation. May the Life of Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph, and Saint Francis inspire you to willingly choose a lifestyle of detachment, a life-style of frugality, a life-style of Evangelical-Poverty. May your heart truly yearn for the treasures of heaven. May the inspired words of the Psalmist be the desires of your heart: “As the deer yearns for the running streams, so my soul yearns for you O Lord my God.” (Psalm 42:1)
