August 17, 2005
We recently received a letter from a young Canadian woman who is discerning her call to marriage, yet also feels called to live a life of voluntary poverty like Saint Francis as a witness to the Gospel. I suspect there are some of you who are smiling and saying to yourself, “She wants to live poorly? No problem, just tell her to have kids!”
It may be helpful to her and our readers to consider that while we may have a favorite saint or feel attracted to a particular spirituality, our ultimate goal is to live a life in conformity with Our Lord Jesus Christ. While the lives of holy people like Padre Pio and Mother Teresa are very inspiring and can teach us many things, it is the life of Our Lord we must continually reflect upon and seek to imitate. It is primarily in the pages of the Holy Gospels that we discover how to live the Christian life. Whether one is called to marriage or the monastery, Our Savior is both the model and the means to holiness; indeed holiness is the goal of the Christian life and gospel poverty is the path.
Were you surprised I said the path instead of saying a path? It is the path to holiness because the essence of the evangelical poverty lived by Saint Francis is humility. The Beatitudes begin with this fundamental virtue – humility – “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. Saint Francis was a blessed man not because he was materially poor, but because he was poor in spirit. He once wrote, “What a man is before God, that he is – and no more”.
The simple reason why Saint Francis chose voluntary poverty was not because there is something sinful about being wealthy. No, he embraced material poverty in order to imitate Our Lord. Everything Francis desired and did cannot be separated from the life of Jesus. This must be our goal also – to imitate Christ – and this begins with humility. We can say that Our Savior was humility “made flesh” – a profound truth which Saint Francis continuously reflected upon, often bringing him to tears. How many times have we spent more than a minute really pondering the fact that God took on human flesh? This is a greater act of humility than if we became a slug or a snail! Why? Because together with the insects and animals, human beings share earthly existence, possess a material body, and need nourishment. Our becoming an ant – our “plunge downward” is nothing in comparison to His divine descent into our humanity!
So, what can I tell this young woman who desires to imitate Saint Francis in her married life? Well, begin by striving to be humble, that is, well aware of your weaknesses and the power of grace to make you strong to love. An openness and readiness to change our attitudes and behavior is at the heart of humility. Saint Francis told his friars they had to “empty the purse of their own self will”. There is no virtue in being materially poor, yet there is great merit in being rich in meekness and docility to the will of God – and even to others.
Finally, let me offer some very practical advice concerning tangible goods. Simply put, we have too much stuff. All the stuff you have in the closet, attic, and basement? Give it to the poor, but not the junk – the junk throw out! Don’t give the needy anything broken or out of style. There’s a special place in purgatory for people who give the needy old bread, rusty canned goods, and powder blue polyester leisure suits.
Four times a year both the Friars and the Sisters of the Renewal have “poverty checks”. We review our personal and communal goods and get rid of the things we haven’t looked at or used since our last poverty check. Three strikes? You're out! We utilize a time honored precept taken from our Capuchin heritage which simply states: “The minimum necessary – not the maximum allowed”.
So, you want some real practical advice on a Franciscan lifestyle? Unplug your television, microwave, and dishwasher, then after six months of not using them, if your life is quieter and more peaceful, get rid of them - and don’t send them to us!
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
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