We can concentrate our reflection of the gospel of today on the demands that Jesus made to those persons who wanted to follow Him. Someone who volunteered to follow Christ was warned about these demands.
“The foxes have dens, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Was he ready to live like Christ? Could he live without the security and comfort of his home?
Two other persons wanted to follow Christ. They too were warned. Could they be detached from the persons whom they love, because Christ will be their great love?
These demands of Christ apply in the first place to those who wish to follow Him in a life of dedication, such as a priest or a religious figure. The actual abandonment of one’s home and family in order to spread the gospel is necessary for some people.
On the other hand, God asks the majority of men to remain where they are, and to follow Christ in the circumstance in which they find themselves. But they, too, have to practice the spirit of poverty and detachment. How should an ordinary Christian, with a family to feed and other obligations to fulfill, practice poverty?
The spirit of poverty does not consist in having or not having material possessions. A person who does not possess things, but who is nevertheless stingy and possessive with the few things he has, is actually “rich in spirit of material things” and will find it difficult to follow Christ.
A person who owns many things, but who is detached from them and is generous with them, is actually practicing poverty of spirit.
Perhaps the key to understanding the spirit of Christian poverty lies in the attitude that we have toward material goods. Money, gadgets, properties, etc., should be treated as means, and not as ends in themselves. They are means which we have to serve God and to do good to our fellowmen.
If we use them selfishly, then we begin to treat them as ends in themselves. They no longer serve the original purpose for which God created them. Instead of leading us to God, they become obstacles that can hinder our union with God and our service to others.
We can point out some criteria that can help us to examine our attitude to our material possessions.
Honesty. Have we acquired those items according to the moral law of God, or did we have to be unethical and dishonest in order to pull a fast one on another person?
Cheerfulness. Do I get sad or angry just because I do not possess a certain item? Or do I cheerfully do away with something, seeing it as an opportunity to give my heart to God in this particular matter?
Generosity. When I see that someone is in need, am I ready to suffer some inconvenience in order to help that person?
Remember, the more detached we are, the more we become master of ourselves. SaintFrancis of Assisi, that famous teacher of poverty, felt like he owned the whole world, yet he only had the shirt on his back. When we are generous with God, he pays back more that we had ever suspected.