Second Flower of Consecrated Life: POVERTY
The Carmelite is called to live a life of Beatitude. Our Lord tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Let us ask ourselves, do I desire anything other than the Kingdom, the life of the Blessed in heaven? Jesus tells us that if we are poor in spirit, then not only will we be happy in heaven, but he will take care of our temporal needs now. So, why do we worry and try to accumulate material things? We are spiritually insecure when we do not have the confidence that our heavenly Father knows our needs and will provide for them.
What is the key to spiritual poverty? It can be summed up in one word: detachment. And who better to learn about detachment than from our holy father, St. John of the Cross? St. John of the Cross teaches us that not only should we be detached from material possessions, but we should also be detached from spiritual consolations and even from our very selves and our senses. He explains:
Some are content with a certain degree of virtue,perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) about which the Lord counsels here. For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations instead of divesting and denying themselves of these for God's sake. They think denial of self in worldly matters is sufficient without annihilation and purification in the spiritual domain. It happens that, when some of this solid perfect food ( the annihilation of all sweetness in God—the pure spiritual cross and nakedness of Christ's poverty of spirit) is offered them in dryness, distaste, and trial, they run from it as from death and wander about in search only of sweetness and delightful communications from God. Such an attitude is not the hallmark of self-denial and nakedness of spirit but the indication of a spiritual sweet tooth. Through this kind of conduct they become, spiritually speaking, enemies of the cross of Christ.Ascent of Mt. Carmel Book II, Chap. 7, No. 5
O
ur family of Carmel is a holy and penitential family. We bind ourselves to holy poverty in a spiritual marriage to the Order when we profess our vows. We promise to seek the face of God in prayer. The Beatitudes are the portrait of Jesus. We seek the face of Jesus, his holy face, not only his wounded and sorrowful face, but his joyful face, as he proclaims the kingdom of heaven to the poor.
The promises of chastity, poverty, and obedience work together in the spiritual life, we cannot have one without the other. If we are sincere in our quest to reach the summit of Mt. Carmel, we will be single-hearted for the Lord in our love for him (Chasity), we will be single-hearted in our desire for the kingdom and not worldly possessions (poverty), we will be single-hearted in carrying out his holy will (obedience).
ur family of Carmel is a holy and penitential family. We bind ourselves to holy poverty in a spiritual marriage to the Order when we profess our vows. We promise to seek the face of God in prayer. The Beatitudes are the portrait of Jesus. We seek the face of Jesus, his holy face, not only his wounded and sorrowful face, but his joyful face, as he proclaims the kingdom of heaven to the poor.The promises of chastity, poverty, and obedience work together in the spiritual life, we cannot have one without the other. If we are sincere in our quest to reach the summit of Mt. Carmel, we will be single-hearted for the Lord in our love for him (Chasity), we will be single-hearted in our desire for the kingdom and not worldly possessions (poverty), we will be single-hearted in carrying out his holy will (obedience).
Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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Answers to yesterday's quiz:
1. St. John of the Cross
2. Her autobiography (The Life), The Way of Perfection, The Interior Castle; written in this order.
3. The autobiography of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)
4. Pope Leo XIII
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