"Life does not consist of possessions."
Learning spiritual detachment from the goods of this world.
My parents and I are considering moving to a new apartment, returning to the hamlet where I grew up, closer to our beloved home parish that we have faithfully attended for as long as I’ve been alive. I went to school in that town; I know its streets like the back of my hand. I received the sacraments—baptism, first Holy Communion, confirmation—at that parish church.
We are scouting out a lovely apartment that fits almost all our needs—the location is perfect. There is easy access to downtown and to the train station, the building is on a quiet street, and the landlords seem like friendly people. And yet one concern remains: This apartment would be a significant downsize; it’s much smaller than the place we are living in now. One question has come up repeatedly in our family discussions about this move—Will we have space to store all of our stuff?
With this in mind, Jesus’s parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21) hit me with greater force this morning.
The rich man is anxious that he is running out of space to store all his stuff. He decides to tear down his barns and sheds and build even bigger ones, after which he will be able to eat and drink at heart’s ease, content his many superfluous possessions are well taken care of. But God has other ideas. Through the parable, Jesus warns his hearers that “one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
“God said to [the rich man], ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Life does not consist of possessions. It’s a hard message to swallow in our instant gratification age where consumerism reigns supreme, where any product, appliance, collectible, or doodad can be ours simply by taking out our phones and doing a quick search on the Amazon app.
Today’s reflection in the magazine Magnificat is from Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., the preacher of the papal household. The cardinal recommends to us the practice of spiritual detachment from worldly goods as the way to create space in our hearts for becoming “rich in what matters to God”:
Everything takes its meaning from the nature of [the kingdom of God] that is already present in the world but not yet fully and definitively established.
Because the kingdom of God is already present on earth in the person and preaching of Jesus, we must not miss out on it but seize it, putting aside everything that could be an obstacle to it. . . It is possible, in other words, to begin to live here and now the way we will live in the definitive establishment of the kingdom, where earthly goods no longer will have any value but where God will be all in all. . . Christians do not have a permanent citizenship here but belong to another city. Because of this, we should not rely too much on the goods of the present time, since they will need to be left behind suddenly. . . .
As my parents and I continue to contemplate this potential move, we will have to keep the spiritual discipline of detachment firmly in mind. We may have to make sacrifices; parting with furniture, family heirlooms, and beloved bric-a-brac that would hold us back from moving on to the next chapter of our lives, that would keep us from responding to the will of God with boldness and confidence. This process won’t be easy, but I pray that it will be spiritually fruitful.
Please keep us in prayer as we begin to take the first steps. May God bless all of you.
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What an exciting prospect!!
I might be weird, but I enjoy giving stuff away. It's very freeing, and it usually helps other people. When I was little, my Mom always taught my sister and I to clean out our extra things, and then she took us to the orphanage or St. Vincent de Paul Society or wherever we were donating our items. She'd tell us about how happy other people would be to receive what we could give them. I don't know if that story helps; hope it is an encouragement for you all as you journey through this discernment.