Interior Detachment
You must rejoice! … You are called to a state … [in which] you can cultivate … the detachment of the things of the earth … imitate more closely your Redeemer [and] possess many treasures for your stay in glory. (OOCC, XIII, p. 198)
St. Vincent Pallotti wanted every Christian to live the spirit of the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” He encouraged both the rich and the poor to practice the attitude of interior detachment. He admonished the rich, saying that even in the midst of their riches, they must be detached from material possessions. They are able to manifest their detachment from the plentiful possessions they have by being just and by giving their superfluous possessions to the poor generously. The poor should practice poverty in spirit by not feeling pity for their plight, accepting their state, and not lamenting against Divine Providence. By doing so, the poor are also attached to material things. He called, both the rich and the poor to examine themselves to know if they are chained in any way to material things. St. Vincent presented Jesus as the model for a person’s living a life of poverty. To those who are poor, he said that if they were feeling the rigors of their poverty, they must look at Jesus who was born poor, lived poor and died poor. To those who are rich, he said that they must learn from the attitude of Jesus, who, though he was rich, became poor in order to make us rich. Just as he detached himself from the heavenly glory to save humankind, the rich also must be detached from material goods and store up treasures for the kingdom of God.
Do I live the spirit of the first beatitude in my daily life? Do I cultivate the attitude of interior detachment in my daily life? Do I feel kinship with the poor and am I generous in my attitude towards them? If I am poor, do I feel pity for my state and lament against the Divine Providence? Do I imitate Jesus in his attitude of interior detachment?
Therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Lk. 14: 33)