"Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours! (Luke 6:20). In the Catholic Times' column View from the Ark,
a priest would like us to meditate along with him on "poverty." The
word keeps coming back to him like something caught in his throat that
he can't get rid of. His mission over the years has been with the poor
and he has now been given the responsibility for working with the poor
in the diocese.
Everybody
wants to eliminate poverty, he says. What is good about poverty? we
tend to ask. Is there any reason to voluntarily live the life of
poverty? Living with the poor and seeing how they live, he says, has
affected how he sees his own life.
Many
who work with the poor remember the words from the Puebla documents of
1979 that there should be a preferential option for the poor. For what
reason can the poor be considered happy? the priest asks. Why did Jesus
use these words? Why is this an important part of our social Gospel? We
talk about Gospel poverty, the spirituality of poverty, voluntary
poverty and the like. Why did Jesus say the poor were blessed?
The
priest lets his thoughts go back to his childhood, during which time
the family moved many times and ended up in a house that seemed like a
palace to him. It was the home of his maternal aunt and he doesn't
remember why they lived there, but it was a five room two-story house,
with a room for each member of his family of five. It had a big yard
where he could play soccer and baseball, and even a small pond. However,
in time, it felt strange to him, as the family began to scatter. While
in the house, you would often feel alone for the whole day, he said.
Going and coming, there would be the usual greetings, and after that he
would go to his room. It was not like living in a family, he said.
Would it have been better to have lived in a larger house?
His
second recollection from the past was when he became an army chaplain.
He had decided, when he became a priest, not to have a car, but when he
learned he was to be a chaplain he quickly got his driving license. As a
matter of course, there was a vehicle at his disposal. It took him over
twenty minutes to drive to the chapel for Mass, and when the vehicle
broke down and was being repaired, he walked or took the bus to get
around. The experience turned out to be very positive: he met many
different people and had experiences that he would not have had with a
car.
Citing
the words of Jesus once again: "He made himself poor, though he was
rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). Why did Jesus live poorly, with no place to lay his
head? Was it not that money and material things do not help one find
happiness and are in the long run obstacles? the priest asks.
When
we talk about poverty, the first thing that comes to mind is the pain
or discomfort of not getting what one wants. However, when most of us go
on vacation or travel, we are leaving the comfort of home and generally
undergo some discomfort in the process. Isn't this an effort to be
close to nature and to experience inner peace? the priest asks. Are we
not at that time, he says, going in search of poverty?
The
countries with the highest index of happiness, as is generally known,
are the poorest. It is not that the world lacks material abundance, he
says, but rather that we are not sharing it with those in need. Is this
not a sign, he says, that we should all be living a poorer and simpler
lifestyle? Would it not, he concludes, tend to bring us closer to living
a happier life?
