Consecrated Life: A Life of Poverty
It is necessary [for a consecrated person] to find himself in a poor habitation, in an abject place … to do everything to keep the flesh mortified, the heart detached from pomp and vanities of the earth. (OOCC, II, p. 36)
The consecrated life is a life of poverty. According to St. Vincent, the living of this promise gives the consecrated person a share in the poverty of Christ. It implies a total dependence on God and a complete detachment from earthly goods. The consecrated poverty expresses our reliance on God and freedom from being slaves to material things. Thus, for St. Vincent, poverty brings about in the consecrated person detachment from earthly goods, therefore he can attach himself to Christ and work for his kingdom. Consecrated poverty also becomes a way to imitate perfectly the poverty of Jesus, who chose to be poor both materially and spiritually. He was born in a stable, lived as an ordinary person, and was buried in a borrowed grave. In the same way, Jesus lived the spirit of complete submission to the will of the Father. Hence, St. Vincent believed that in imitation of Jesus, the consecrated person should live in a poor habitation and accept a poor lifestyle. He also should do everything to keep his flesh mortified and his heart detached from the vanities of earthly life. By living the material poverty fully, a consecrated person can truly surrender his life to the Father and live according to his plan for him.
Do I believe that the consecrated life is a life of poverty? What does the vow/promise mean for me? Does my life of poverty bring in my life a detachment to material things and an attachment to God? How do I live out the material dimension of my consecrated poverty? Does material poverty lead me to live the spirit of poverty?
Moses … refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God. (Heb. 11: 24- 25)