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stevhep
Mary's Servant
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 06 2009 : 04:03:49 AM
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Philippians 2
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Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
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Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
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Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
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he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
The example of the poor Christ inspired the poor St Francis and poor St Clare of Assisi. How foolish of them, if only they had spent more time serving Mammon they would have won more souls for Christ. And that Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta what a vain life she led. Or possibly they understood better than we that when Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us He did not mean us to pursue prosperity but to imitate His self emptying. It is not a sin to be prosperous but it is a sin to desire prosperity ahead of service. If we become prosperous through serving and if we use our prosperity to serve well and good but our aim must be service first and last. Chiara Lubich once said that service is another word for love and these are wise words to ponder upon.
As are these word of St Francis
Let us desire nothing else
let us wish for nothing else
let nothing else please us and cause us delight
except our Creator and Redeemer and Saviour,
the One True God, Who is the Fullness of Good,
all good, every good, the true and supreme Good;
Let nothing hinder us,
nothing separate us or nothing come between us.
Before all things and above all things,
care must be taken of the sick,
so that they will be served as if they were Christ in person;
for He Himself said, "I was sick, and you visited Me" and, "What you did for one of these least ones, you did for Me"
St Benedict |
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BARBAQUED
Mary's Servant
USA
454 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2009 : 4:03:49 PM
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| What is Gods perfect will? What is our purpose, but to serve and glorify God? God’s perfect will is for us to serve him. Anything before God is idolatry, wealth, health, sickness, poverty can all become idols. We can have but one master, if our master is God and He chooses to bless us, who are we to refuse? If your earthly father gives you a gift would you say no? God is the creator not the destroyer. He became poor so we wouldn’t be poor, He became a curse so we wouldn’t be cursed, He took all our death to the cross so that we wouldn’t die. He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly through Him. Being poor is not a virtue, the virtue is putting God first. Seek God first and all else will be added to you. |
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stevhep
Mary's Servant
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2009 : 4:44:15 PM
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Being poor for Christ is very much a virtue. Poverty is a counsel of perfection. Being poor against our will is not a virtue and being prosperous is neither a sin nor a virtue. What we are attached to is where our heart is. And if we identify prosperity with the friendship of God and poverty with the enmity of God then we have missed the point somewhere.
The Catholic Encyclopaedia article on poverty in interesting http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12324a.htm
quote:
The warnings and counsels of Jesus Christ are valuable even to those who are not vowed to a state of perfection. They teach men to moderate their desire for riches, and accept cheerfully the loss or deprivation of them; and they inculcate that detachment from the things of this world which ourLord taught when He said, "Everyone of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple" (Luke xiv 33).
Before all things and above all things,
care must be taken of the sick,
so that they will be served as if they were Christ in person;
for He Himself said, "I was sick, and you visited Me" and, "What you did for one of these least ones, you did for Me"
St Benedict |
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BARBAQUED
Mary's Servant
USA
454 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2009 : 6:03:27 PM
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| My point is visa versa. And if we identify poverty with the friendship of God and prosperity with the enmity of God then we have missed the point somewhere. |
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stevhep
Mary's Servant
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2009 : 6:32:48 PM
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Poverty or prosperity are morally neutral states. The moral agent is man. If we are poor, intending to be poor and desiring to be poor for the sake of the Kingdom then poverty becomes for us a virtue. If we are prosperous for the sake of prosperity and what material benefits flow from it then we are not being virtuous. If we are poor intending to be prosperous and longing for prosperity we are not being virtuous. If we are prosperous and are as it were longing for poverty, indifferent to our material well being then prosperity does not become a hindrance to our virtue.
Pius XII in his encyclical Rite Expiatis on St Francis of Assisi meditates at length on his love of poverty noting http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius11/P11RITEX.HTM
quote:
16. The reason why Francis particularly loved poverty was because he considered it a special virtue of the Blessed Virgin, and because Jesus Christ on the Cross, even more especially chose poverty for His spouse. Since then poverty has been forgotten by men and has appeared to the world both irksome and foreign to the spirit of the age.
And what is good enough for the Blessed Virgin..
John XXIII in SACERDOTII NOSTRI PRIMORDIA on St John Vianney says quote:
14. First of all, you have clear testimony of his poverty. The humble Cure of Ars was careful to imitate the Patriarch of Assisi in this regard, for he had accepted his rule in the Third Order of St. Francis and he carefully observed it. He was rich in his generosity toward others but the poorest of men in dealing with himself; he passed a life that was almost completely detached from the changeable, perishable goods of this world, and his spirit was free and unencumbered by impediments of this kind, so that it could always lie open to those who suffered from any kind of misery; and they flocked from everywhere to seek his consolation. "My secret" -- he said -- "is easy to learn. It can be summed up in these few words: give everything away and keep nothing for yourself."
15. This detachment from external goods enabled him to offer the most devoted and touching care to the poor, especially those in his own parish. He was very kind and gentle toward them and embraced them "with a sincere love, with the greatest of kindness, indeed with reverence." He warned that the needy were never to be spurned since a disregard for them would reach in turn to God. When beggars knocked at his door, he received them with love and was very happy to be able to say to them: "I am living in need myself; I am one of you." And toward the end of his life, he used to enjoy saying things like this: "I will be happy when I go; for now I no longer have any possessions; and so when God in his goodness sees fit to call me, I will be ready and willing to go."
If we seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice our material needs will be met according to His providence rather than our anxious concern and prayers to be rich.
Before all things and above all things,
care must be taken of the sick,
so that they will be served as if they were Christ in person;
for He Himself said, "I was sick, and you visited Me" and, "What you did for one of these least ones, you did for Me"
St Benedict |
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BARBAQUED
Mary's Servant
USA
454 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 2:07:22 PM
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Steve: I guess we just go back to the very beginning here. Our purpose is to serve God first. Everything belongs to God and we are just caretakers of His wealth. If we love anything more than God we are looking for trouble. In the case of this string, it is my intention to show financial and material rewards are not in conflict with God’s will. If we involve God in all of our affairs we will have success. In my opinion it is about surrender. Our blessed Mother is the prime example, she said “yes” surrendering her will to Gods, and thus becoming the ambassador for all of mankind to the kingdom God.
Put another way: most people have no problem surrendering spiritual things to God, but fail to recognize Gods desire to be involved in every aspect of our lives. I think this especially true in these times, when people turn to CNN to have the information they need regarding their finances. CNN says were headed for disaster, so cut back on the tithe. Malachi 3:10.
The whole point here is not how much money you have made but in who you put your trust. In our case we work very hard to develop and strengthen our faith in God and true to His promise He rewards us in every way, spiritually, and materially. Our blessing does not diminish the value of the sacrifices made by the saints nor is does it put us higher than any of our brothers in Christ. God loves all of us the same rich, poor, sinner and saint. We are saved and released from the curse by the blood of Christ.
I guess what I’m trying to say is the same thing you are, put your money where your mouth is, or better, where your heart is, it’s a winning plan. I’ll never preach the poverty Gospel because to be in Christ is to be wealthy beyond imagination. More, joy, more comfort, more power, more love, more health, a life worth living, a life abundant.
I was just thinking about when I was a kid. I never felt impoverished; never worried about where I would go to school or what kind of car I would drive. Because Christ lives in me I’m free to live and enjoy life, and the people God puts in my path. Three times I have been at deaths door and never once have I been afraid. He is my confidence, and keeps my foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:26
I cannot understand why anyone would want anything other than to share the joy of the Lord with everyone. Pain, poverty, lack, disease are not of the Lord, Love is. With Jesus we have the power to overcome.
Sorry the Spirit kind of got a hold of me so I cannot delete any of this.
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Prosperity
