By Fr. Roy Cimagala *
THE Memorial of St. Francis Assisi (October 4) reminds us of
the strategic role of poverty and detachment from earthly good in
pursuing true Christian charity. And the gospel of that day reinforces
this crucial theme in Christian life. It’s about the rich young man
who wanted to know from Christ how to inherit eternal life. (cfr. Lk
10,25-37)
We cannot overemphasize the strategic relevance of this
virtue. With all the glut of material and temporal things and
amenities now on us, we need to be more conscious and adept in living
and developing this virtue of detachment.
I don’t think we can afford to be casual about this concern
anymore. The worldly things are now so attractive, so tempting and so
riveting that if we are not careful, there’s no way but be swept away
by its rampaging worldly laws and impulses.
In fact, at one time, Christ compares the great difficulty
involved in resisting the allure of worldly things in a very graphic
way: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10,25)
This virtue has the primary purpose of emptying our mind and
heart of anything that can compete or, worse, replace the love for God
and for others which is proper to all of us.
It’s not about running away from worldly things, much less,
of hating the goods of the earth and our temporal affairs, but of
knowing how to handle them, so as not to compromise the fundamental
law of love that should rule us.
To repeat, it is not just a matter of emptying ourselves but
rather of filling ourselves with what is proper to us. In short, we
practice detachment to acquire and enhance the attachment proper for
us as God’s image and likeness and as God’s children.
Christ many times praised this particular virtue, referring
to it in one of the beatitudes as being “poor in spirit.” Also, in
that episode where a rich young man asked Christ how he could enter
heaven, the answer was, after following the commandments which the
young man said he was doing, to sell all he had, and to give to the
poor and to come, follow Christ. (cfr Mk 10,21)
It’s quite clear that a requirement for entering heaven is
detachment from earthly things. This should be clear to all of us, and
should guide us in the way we use the things of the world. These
things should lead us to God and to others, not isolate us, building
up our own world and destiny.
So the detachment our Lord is asking of us actually does not
mean that we hate our life, our parents and others, and the things of
this world. Rather it is a detachment that asks of us to have
rectitude of intention, that everything that we do be for the glory of
God.
St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians said as
much: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do,
do all to the glory of God.” (10,31)
We should not be afraid to go through the required
sacrifices and self-denial, since these can only lead us to the joy
and peace meant for us. We need to do better than have a shallow and
narrow view of our earthly life, a knee-jerk reaction to things.
