Poverty of Spirit

 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

While she is aware many saints sought actual poverty, Leseur says, "This is not my vocation." As the wife of an upper middle class professional, and one with severe illness, she wasn't free to choose it. There is nothing in the essay about solidarity with the poor or any particular insight into actual poverty. She does say that as far as is compatible with her "state in life" she will practice "a little poverty," by which she seems to mean certain self imposed penances. The insight here is not profound.

She distinguishes between Poverty of Spirit, which she defines as detachment from all that is purely human, and Poverty of Heart, which she defines as cutting oneself off from every attachment that cannot last eternity. Leseur addresses poverty of spirit sharply, but it bleeds into her previous writings on renunciation, detachment, and humility. There are no new insights, and it isn't her best piece.

Compared to the radical poverty of Francis, the active solidarity of Vincent de Paul, her writings on this subject sound weak, vague, and self centered.

I've always been haunted by the admonition to "live simply that others may simply live..."  I don't always do it well, but I've tried to store up my treasure where neither thieves nor moths can get to it. In our over rich culture, when people die for lack of clean water, adequate health care, and sufficient food, we can't afford ivory tower concepts of poverty. I don't know that I do any better than Leseur actually did.

Still the point is face poverty of power and rely on God, poverty of grace and ask for it, poverty of virtue and throw ourselves on his mercy, to walk in joy no matter what God gives us or takes away because His will is always to our benefit and His ways are not our ways.

Obedience

When I faced burnout in May and gave myself the summer off from all my writer blogs, I didn't intend to include this one. Alas, it too fell by the wayside. A quick review of Leseurs sixth and seventh monthly resolution, however, makes me suspect I also ducked them. Neither was any more difficult for the soul than, say, humility, but they were both rather mushy concepts and hard to wrap straight forward words around.

The sixth month? "To meditate on, serve, and love our crucified Savior." I actually did focus on the sorrowful mysteries that month, and work at this one. I just had nothing to say about it

The seventh month is "Detachment of soul." I wasn't seeing how this differs from many of her other ones. It is yet another way of saying "I must decrease and He must increase."

That brings me to last month's resolution, Obedience. Leseur resolves to practice it first of all and most obviously toward God. She goes on to say her body ought to be in obedience to her soul, an instrument to be used. Saint Francis called his body "Brother Ass." The point is that the body must be fit and disciplined enough to carry out the responsibilities of one's vocation, but not coddled.

When she turns to her "superiors," she lists first of all church authorities in descending order: Pope, bishops, priests, and—lucky her—her spiritual director. She talks about joyful, humble obedience. I decided some twenty years ago to be an obedient and submissive daughter of the church. It hasn't always been easy. Only a fool would deny there has been and still is corruption in the Vatican, weakness in some chancery offices, and not all priests are worthy. Those things matter to the life of the church and are cause of great sorrow, but they do not let me off the hook. Church discipline is above my pay grade. My job is to be a sabbath keeper, a rule follower and a humble obedient servant of the church. 

All this is particularly striking to me because I have been reading "traditionalist" literature at the request of a family member. I try for humility and an open mind, I pray before reading, and I seek the fruits of the Holy Spirit in what I read. I'm finding turmoil, arrogance, and defiance.  It isn't that all of the specific content is wrong, it is that there is little concrete dogma/ideas to get my arms, things that can or  be worked on lovingly in faithful obedience to the church. Most of it is clearly delineating between "us" and "them" and defined all that is true as "us." Much of it is convoluted justification for disobedience. It discourages me, but it challenges me not to mistake my own opinions for absolute truth.

Leseur goes on to list her "temporal superiors," her husband, her mother, and all to whom she owes respect. Last but not least she speaks of obedience to her own resolutions. That's a hard one, especially for me when I insist on biting off more than I can chew!

That brings me to September. Later...