Virtue of Poverty Part 1

The Virtue of Poverty- 1

Lourdes Pinto

2/11/21

On this feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, we consecrate this teaching on the virtue of poverty to our Most Holy Mother.

Aspire to be Poor in the World

The Lord gave us these words:

My ways are not the ways of the world. Meditate on My life and the life of the Holy Family. We were rich in the graces of Abba, our Father, but always poor in the things of this world. You cannot aspire in your hearts for both; that is why, to follow Me, you must leave everything. You must aspire to be poor in the world and rich in virtue. (1/14/21)

The Lord told us in 2011:

Poverty brings forth chastity, and chastity brings forth obedience, which is the essence of Love (Simple Path #66, p.204).

Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21).

But the Lord says: Take heed and beware of all covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (12:15).

The rich man decides, with great confidence, to build larger barns to secure for himself the riches of his abundant harvest. But at the end of the parable, the Lord calls him “Fool” (12:20) because his life was being called of him that night.

Not only is that man a fool, but so is he who lays up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God (12:21). What, we must ask, was all that storing worth in the end? Let this be our meditation as we grow in the virtue of poverty. The focus of this parable was not on what the man stored but on what is in our hearts.

The example of Bishop St. Alphonsus Liguori.

In 1763-1764, there was a horrible famine in Italy. St Alphonsus was foretold by the Lord of this tribulation, which was caused by the people moving very far from God. As I read this story, I could not help but see the similarities to what we live with now with the COVID-19 pandemic. So, what did St. Alphonsus do? He warned the people, prophesizing, “Beware you who live only for sensual, voluptuous pleasure; God will punish you by famine.” As a true shepherd, he began to warn his people to repent and to turn their eyes and hearts to God. But the people lived in abundance and paid no attention to his words.

St Alphonsus prepared by storing provisions. In appearance, he did the same as the rich young man of the parable, but with one big difference: the intention of his heart. 

The terrible famine he prophesized came, and many were starving; even the wealthy were starving. In just one year, in part of Italy, 300,000 people died. St Alphonsus opened his lofts and distributed his provisions to the starving people. He gave everything until there was no more food left. Then, he sold his watch, his carriage, and even his horse. His staff complained, “You can’t give away everything; you’re the bishop! A man of your stature needs these things.” He said, “Absolutely not!” Instead, he ate a bit of soup and some boiled meat each day so that the rest could be given to the starving people.

Here, you see two different souls: the rich fool in the parable who stored only for himself. His heart did not live to desire God. St. Alphonsus, on the other hand, was led by God to store provisions to save the people. His heart was, above all, seeking God and seeking to be rich in virtue.

I thought of the times we are living in. Many have listened to the prophecies, are aware of our times, and feel called to store up provisions. Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not! We must ask ourselves: “Am I detached enough to be willing to share whatever I have stored with whoever may be in need at the time?” Have our hearts, yours and mine, grown enough in love and charity to be willing to sacrifice myself, giving all I have to others solely for love? In the answer to that lies the actual difference.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

The Lord grieves over the rich because they find consolation in the abundance of goods. “Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven frees us from anxiety about tomorrow.  Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor.  They shall see God.

As I listened to the teaching on poverty we had in 2018, based on Luke’s parable of the “Rich Young Man,” I discovered the correlation between growth in the spirit of poverty and TRUST. I understood how the Holy Spirit has been forming us in poverty by making us rich in the virtues of humility, faith, and purity. I want to focus on poverty again, but this time, I want to focus also on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the desires of our hearts.

The Gospel of Luke speaks a lot about anxiety and fear (Luke 12).

Oh, men of little faith, do not seek what you are to eat or what you are to drink nor be of anxious mind. Your Father knows that you need these things. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well (v.28-30).

Our growth in poverty is measured by the desire of our hearts to seek union with God and to be rich in virtue, not the things of the world. This is true growth in poverty. The Lord then says,

Sell your possessions and give alms; provide yourself with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, and no moth destroys, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (v.33)

Almsgiving is not enough to grow in poverty. Helping a mission in Africa, helping orphans, helping a convent, or helping prisoners are all important. Yet, there is a danger of falling into the trap of seeking to feel good about ourselves. It’s like having a checklist for God: “Look at all the good things I have done!” But if I do all those things and I am not dying to self, dying to my ego, dying to my disordered desires, then there is a lack of purity in my almsgiving, and I am not growing in the virtue of poverty.   

Examples of charity in giving alms

In Luke 8:3, we find several women disciples who traveled with Christ and supported His mission financially, among them Johana, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s’ steward, and Susanna. Jesus saw the generous intentions of their hearts and honored them. The Lord does not call everyone to leave all behind and be left with no financial means of support. In contrast, the Lord reprimands the Pharisees for their motivation for giving alms. They were proud of fulfilling the law but lacked justice and love.

Woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God, these you ought to have done without neglecting the others (Luke 11:42).

St. Jose Maria Escriva on the virtue of poverty.

True poverty should be an expression of faith in God and a sign that the heart is not satisfied with created things and aspires to the Creator. It wants to be filled with the love of God so that it can give the same love to everyone.

Desires

Attention to our hearts' motivation and desires is necessary to grow in poverty.

Let us focus on these two sentences:

A victim soul must fix his eyes on Christ, must desire with all his being to become one with his Master, must be willing to learn from Him and imitate Him. He must be willing to fight against all his disordered desires. 1/30/18

Here are some questions to reflect upon:

1.     Do I truly desire, with all my being, to become one with my Master, one with Love Crucified? 

2.     What other desires in my heart get in the way of this first desire?

We must be honest about ourselves

My community, it is so easy for us to deceive ourselves. It’s so easy to say, “I’m not attached to the things of the world.” The other day, I started to make a list, as I’m asking you to do. I began to write all the desires of my heart. I found I had many good desires but also saw how attached I was to certain comforts. I started to think, I like my pillow, comfortable mattress, and many other things. I had to laugh with the Lord at myself. It is so beautiful when we can laugh at ourselves, be transparent, and unveil ourselves before our beloved Jesus Christ, for it is then that He can do wonders with us. He loves it! 

I spoke to someone in accompaniment today, and she was so real and transparent, even while telling me some very deep things. I just felt like hugging her. Hearing someone so real, transparent, and honest was so refreshing in my soul. I looked at her and said, “If I love you so much because of your transparency, I can only imagine the delight in Our Blessed Mother and Our Lord to hear you.” That is how the Lord loves us to be. 

Mortification is necessary but not enough

Wanting to mortify our disordered desires is the work of the Holy Spirit, awakening the desire to grow in holiness. Mortifying our passions is a good and essential process, but to attain pure love we must go deeper and purify our hearts. Our desires must be purified in the fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus until they are one with His—the burning desire for the Cross, solely for the love of God and the salvation of souls. In this one desire—the Cross—is the perfection of all the virtues because there is pure love. Jesus Christ speaks of His burning desire to fulfill His oblation at the Cross:

I came to cast fire upon the earth and would that it were already kindled. I have a baptism to be baptized with and how I am constrained until it is accomplished. (Luke 12: 49-50). 

Growing in poverty through the purification of desires.

I have had the honor of walking with many in the community who have been called to move close to parents whom they find difficult to love. One woman said, “I know the Lord has moved me here because I need to learn to love my parents.” The truth is that there are souls in our lives, in our families, who are very difficult to get along with. Why? Because they are broken and wounded. There are dysfunctional family members that live oppressed. They live in anger, hatred, hardness of heart, harshness, constant yelling, criticism, and manipulation. It is challenging for most of us to be close to that. And yet, the Lord wants to purify our desires. He has to purify us. This is growth in poverty. We must be emptied of all our resentment, anger, and expectations of those we love. 

What does it mean to desire solely the Cross?

It means that I love my dysfunctional mother and father, husband or wife, child, grandmother or grandfather… so much that I am willing to receive their disorders and their oppressions and suffer it in Christ, solely for the salvation of their souls. I asked the woman, “Do you realize, my sister, that God moved you close to your parents so you can aid in the salvation of their souls?”

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to live nearby; you can be in different states. But regardless of where you are, they are still your parents; you need to relate to them. To love does not mean you become a doormat. To love and to desire the Cross also requires knowing how to set boundaries. That means you can say “no,” but always with respect and honor. We see how the Lord, who is all love, often confronted the darkness and oppression of the Pharisees with the truth. That is love.

In the second reflection of our 2020 retreat, we focused on our desires. The Simple Path:

The purification of your desires is the first stage of purification in My Sacred Heart. You begin to move only according to My desires and not yours. (Ch. 4, p.187 #63).

This is completely associated with growth in the virtue of poverty. It continues:

You no longer do what you want to do nor go where you want to go, but now, you only go where I take you. You choose to live each day according to what is most difficult, not what is easiest. This will require greater discipline of your will, greater silence, and stillness of soul in Me.

The virtue of poverty goes hand in hand with the purification of our desires

The Lord, in chapter 4 of The Path, brings us to a deeper understanding of the virtue of poverty in connection to the purification of the first nail (purification of our desires). For example, I may want to buy another pair of shoes—that is the desire of the flesh, yet I know that’s not the will of the Lord, so I am willing to deny myself to live in His will.

Our mission is to continue the mission of the 12

The message of 1/30/18 is a call to continue the “Mission of the 12” (Mathew 10:1-24)

  My little one, I have chosen you to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God on earth. The mission is not easy, for the ways of God are never the ways of the world. All who are chosen by God to fulfill His plan on earth are hated by some, rejected by others, ill-treated, persecuted, for I came upon the earth to set one against another, for the ways of God will never be accepted nor appreciated by those who live for the things of this world. You have been asked by God to bring Him victim souls. A victim soul must fix his eyes on Christ, must desire with all his being to become one with his Master, must be willing to learn from Him and imitate Him. He must be willing to fight against all his disordered desires. This requires certain disciplines for my disciples: 

1) “take no gold, nor silver, nor copper”- that means detached from the riches of this world, trusting that God will provide.

2)” no bag for your journey,” which means that My disciples must allow My spirit to detach them from all disordered attachments. (My Lord, how do we know what a disordered attachment is?) Anything that weakens your desire for Me distracts you from loving Me, takes your gaze from Me. 

 3) “nor two tunics”- My disciples must live simply as I did, poor, never in excess.

 4) “nor sandals”- a life dedicated to sacrificial love, penance, renunciation.

 5) “nor a staff”- My disciples lean on Me; I become their support; I lead the way.

My disciples bear My yoke—the wood of the Cross, united to Me. I am their All. My disciples are the men and women consumed in love and desire for Me. They choose to live this way of life for love of Me and the consuming desire to be made perfect- which is to become Love. Only in this way will My disciples reflect the face and light of God in the world. These are my victim souls that possess the power of God on earth.

Assignment:

1. As honestly as you can be, write down the desires of your heart. 

2. Meditate every day on Chapter 12 of Luke. Meditate it slowly, going deep into the virtue of poverty.

3. Use our “Examination of Conscience of Love” to prepare and enter your hearts. The examination can be found on our website: https://www.lovecrucified.com/examination-of-conscience-on-love. It is a powerful examination of conscience. Ponder and remain with each question for some time, allowing yourself to enter its depth. Our brother Hector once told me how powerful the examination was for him. He said he had encountered one question in his examination of conscience, and the Lord had him for weeks on this one question! 

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