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The Catholic Hour with Joe Hollcraft |
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Poverty is the condition of want by those whom Christ called “poor” and “blessed” (glossary, 894). Jesus declares himself in solidarity with the impoverished as he ‘renders void’ for the sake of his “little ones”. Jesus conditions the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven to the manner in which we actively love those who are on the margins of every kind (CCC 544). Poverty of heart, or spiritual poverty, is the detachment from material things to be attached to spiritual things. Abandonment to the providence of God in all circumstances is living in the heart of God, the heart that has been made poor for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven (CCC 2544-2547). The phrase ‘emptied himself’ can only be found in Paul’s epistle to the Phillipians (Phil.2:7), which makes this verse so unique and worth considering. In principle, the idea here is that Christ entered our humanity so that we might enter into his divinity. Christ was never without his divinity as much as he was born in the likeness of men in all things, but sin. Simply put, “Christ was made poor that we might be made rich in grace” (Hahn and Minch, 19). Furthermore, the first beatitude, “blessed are the poor in spirit”, (Mt.5:3) lays the foundation for a life of blessing and brings order and deeper meaning to all other beatitudes. Consequently, spiritual poverty becomes the instrument to the universal call to holiness. Webster’s dictionary defines poverty “to be without”. This is clear in the material realm, but must also be understood and applied in the spiritual realm. Those who recognize their moral weakness see the need to be completely reliant upon God’s gift of grace. This disposition of spiritual poverty daily examines self and is transformed by the love of God who calls us to boast of our weakness, so that the might and strength of God may “rest upon us” (2 Cor.12:9). This pillar truth of the spiritual life can only be understood in light of relationship. The spiritually poor recognize Christ because they are in a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Generally, to be in relationship is to be “in the know” of the desires of the one who you are in relationship with. In the Christian journey, we are in the process of fulfilling our daily vocation by being ‘in the know’ of Christ’s desires for us. To live in poverty is to want only what God wants. The Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Cross, directs our whole being towards Calvary and encourages us to carefully examine the meaning of the cross in our own life. Like Christ, we must be “obedient unto the cross” (Phil.2:8) if we expect to attain the victorious crown of Heaven. We must follow the pattern of Christ as he lived it, the pattern of obedience! St. Gregory of Nyssa
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