I have been presenting some ideas about the discipline that is required if we are to effectively respond to the call to holiness. In the last issue I introduced the idea of poverty as one of the disciplines. There is another aspect to poverty which must be considered, that is poverty of spirit. Poverty of spirit, or detachment, goes beyond a simple lifestyle. It means a complete revision of all values because we have found the pearl of great price, union with God, and all other treasures we may possess fade in comparison. We allow the Spirit to direct and transform our thoughts, desires and actions so that all our judgments are those of Christ Himself. This means, of course, that we must first desire to     become like Christ – to respond to God’s call to holiness because we have come to truly believe that this is the meaning and purpose of life.

The call to holiness defines the meaning and purpose of earthly existence. We have been placed here so that we might, by the way that we respond to the challenges presented by life, grow in our image and likeness of God Himself and revealed to us through the Person of Jesus, the Christ. This is what St. Paul means when he says we are to “have the mind of Christ” and, as our Initiation Rites exclaim: “to put on Christ.” To be this deeply touched with the dying and rising of Jesus takes hard work and practice. It demands that we develop a sense of detachment in all areas of life. Detachment is not indifference. People with poverty of spirit care deeply because their perspective is through the eyes of Christ. They do not need to own or control to be happy. They are truly free because they are not ruled by the tyranny   of possessions and selfishness. God has become the source of their inner harmony and peace. We all must ask ourselves these key questions:

• If I take seriously the discipline of poverty, what changes must I make in my life?
• What are two things I can do to simplify my lifestyle?
• How can I be successful and assertive in my everyday life and still practice poverty of spirit?

Like all things pertaining to our spiritual lives, we must first desire to become a spiritual being, truly believing that this is why we have been given earthly life and that it is to our greatest benefit to pursue this way of living. Of course this means that we must have faith and place our hope and trust in God.

Poverty of Spirit simply means that we have a certain   balance in our lives. We live with the realization that this earthly existence is not all there is and, therefore, we don’t attempt to store up our treasures here on earth but, rather, make our treasure those thinks that surpass time.