(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)
Religious life, much like secular life, is prone to
excess. Monastic orders have taken the
vow of poverty very seriously since antiquity.
Yet, over time, members have grown accustomed to different comforts. Benedictines, whose motto is “to pray and to
work,” began to abandon at least manual work in the early Middle Ages. A reform movement sprung up at the monastery
of Citeaux in France. Its most famous
representative is St. Bernard whose feast is celebrated today.
Bernard believed deeply in living poverty as a means to
follow Christ. He understood implicitly Jesus’
comment in today’s gospel about the improbability of the rich entering the
Kingdom of God. The Kingdom, he would
say, belongs to those who trust in God and not in their material
resources. He undoubtedly would lament
today’s facility for checking one’s wealth as well as its meager concern for an
evangelical lifestyle.
Wealth is not bad in itself, of course. But we should use it for the good of all, not
selfishly spent on ourselves. Cruises,
expensive sports events, costly entertainment all seem superfluous. But perhaps even these luxuries might be
justified when occasional and purchased after we give due attention to the
needy.
