Are you addicted to stuff?
Catechism Meditation:
Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them “renounce all that [they have]” for his sake and that of the Gospel. Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. ―No. 2544
REFLECTION. It’s easy in our Western culture to accumulate lots of “stuff.” Whether poor or rich, we all like to hold on to our earthly possessions. This can easily become an unhealthy attachment to material things. Unfortunately, it is not something new. In fact, Jesus spoke against it in his own day, urging his disciples to give what they had to the poor. While most of us are not called to live in poverty as religious and some priests vow to live, we are all challenged to detach ourselves from our possessions.
In the book, Day by Day with the Catechism, Peter A. Giersch writes, “It is the spirit of detachment that is vital, for in fact, the Lord may not require us to rid ourselves of all worldly things, only to have a spiritual detachment from them. From a practical standpoint, we do not let the material goods be our ultimate goal; we know that we can be happy and at peace without them. It is not how much we have that matters, but how attached we are to it. There is no sin in being rich if you are not controlled by your possessions. Likewise, there is no virtue in being poor if you don’t love God above all things.”
Life is not about things. You have to maintain the right perspective about what you own—or you’ll be possessed by your possessions. You have to realize that none of it is going to last. The best way to remember that your life is not about things is to build it on eternal priorities. Focus on what will last forever. Every possession is temporary, so don’t build your life on acquiring possessions. In the end, we must be detached from the things that we think are more important than our relationship with God.
PRAYER. Father, teach me detachment from material things. Help me to be generous to the poor, and trust that if I give away my excess, You will supply my needs.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“The greatest wealth in this world is not what you possess, but who you are as a person.” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen