Volume III, Treatise III, Chapter I

That the Vow of Poverty Is the Foundation of Evangelical Perfection

‘‘ BLessED are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”—Mat., v. 8. With these words the Saviour of the world began his admirable sermon on the mount. Some doctors and saints say, that by “poverty of spirit” Christ meant humility; but others with a great deal of reason say, that he meant voluntary poverty, and chiefly that poverty which religious profess. We adhere to the latter, which is the opinion of St. Basil, and of many other saints. Certainly it is no small praise to this virtue, that our Saviour began with it his sermon on the mount, and that it was by him ranked the first of the eight beatitudes. But what makes far more for its commendation, is, that during his whole life he taught it to us by his example, and that it was the very first lesson he taught us on coming into the world. The stable, and the manger where he was born, the rags, his swathing bands, the hay on which he lay, the breath of poor beasts to defend him from the cold, declared his poverty at his birth: and as this was — the first, so it was also the last lesson he taught us. As soon as he was born he preached it to us from the crib; and dying he recommended it to us from the pulpit of the cross. He died naked, and so poor, that Joseph of Arimathea was forced to buy him a winding-sheet. What greater poverty can be imagined? His whole life was the same; for he had not a farthing to pay the tribute which was asked of him; nor had he a house to eat the paschal lamb in with his disciples; and what was yet more, he had not as much as any place to dwell or rest himself in. “Foxes have their dens”, says he, “and birds their nests, but the Son of man has not where to lay his head”—Mat., viii. 20. The Saviour of the world wished to establish voluntary poverty as the foundation of evangelical perfection: “If you would be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor’—Mat., xix. 21. And therefore it was necessary that his own example should give it authority. Hence it was that poverty was so much practised in the beginning of the primitive Church, and that all the goods of the Christians were in common, so that they who had houses and lands sold them, and laid the money at the apostles’ feet, to distribute it according to each one’s necessity. St. Jerom says, this was done “to show that riches ought to be contemned and trodden under foot”. The same holy doctor, together with St. Cyprian and St. Basil, tells us, that the Christians in those days made a vow of poverty; the proof of which they derive from Ananias and Saphira, who were punished with sudden death for retaining some of the money they had received for their goods. For they would not have deserved so severe a punishment, say these three saints, had they not acted contrary to the vow or promise they had made to Almighty God, by retaining something to themselves of what they had offered to him.

In conformity to the sanctity of this doctrine, and the antiquity of this practice, all holy men and founders of religious orders, have placed the vow of poverty as the foundation of a religious life. And our holy founder, following their example, says in his rule, “that poverty is to be looked upon as the wall or fortress of religion; and that it ought to be preserved by us in its purity, so far forth as God’s grace shall enable us’—6 p. Const. c. 2. § 1. et. Reg., 3. summ. As in the world, estates and great families are founded upon riches; so on the contrary, religion and Christian perfection is built upon poverty. For as the building which we raise in religion is quite different from that of the world, so it is very reasonable that their foundations also should not be the same. _ This truth was laid down by our Saviour in the Gospel, in these words: “Who is there amongst you, who, being to build a tower, does not, first compute the charges that are necessary to finish it, lest having laid the foundations, and not being able to carry on the work, those that see it should laugh at him, and say, Behold a man that began to build, and could not finish it? Or what king going to make war against another, does not first consider whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that is coming against him with twenty thousand men? Otherwise while he is afar off, he sends his ambassadors with propositions of peace. In the same manner, if any of you do not renounce all he possesses, he cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:28), etc. By these two comparisons, our Saviour gives us to understand, that as men and money are necesssary to maintain 3 war and carry on a building; so to be poor and stripped of all we have, is necessary to carry on a war against the enemies of our salvation, and to raise the spiritual building of perfection which we have undertaken. St. Austin, explaining this very passage, says, that the tower signifies the perfection of a Christian life, and the stock required for building imports a total renunciation of our goods, which makes us be in a better state of serving God, and have less reason to fear the Devil; for hereby he has scarce anything left to lay hold on, and his points of attack are reduced in number.

St. Jerom and St. Gregory are of the same opinion. We ‘are come into the world, say they, to combat and fight with the Devil, who is poor and possesses nothing; and consequently, we ought to deprive ourselves of all things, to fight against him. ‘For he that wrestles with his clothes on, against one that is naked, is easily thrown; because he has so many things to be laid hold on. Do you desire to fight valiantly against the Devil? Throw off your clothes, lest he throw you. For all Earthly things are no more than clothes which do you harm, and he that has most of: them is soonest overcome, by reason of the advantage they give his enemy’—Hizer. e¢ Greg. Hom. xxxii. St. Chrysostom, inquiring into the causes of the zeal and fervour of the primitive Church, and the tepidity and remissness of Christians in his days, gives this reason for it, that the former deprived themselves of their goods to fight naked against the Devil, but the latter fight in their clothes; that is, they are charged with plenty and riches, which are very prejudicial to them in the combat. Now we have disengaged ourselves from all these trammels, to be in a better state to fight against the Devil, and to follow Jesus Christ; and this makes the same saint say, “that a man strips in order to wrestle the better; that he who wishes to swim over a river, takes off his clothes; and that a traveller on foot walks much easier when he e has nothing

to carry”, Besides, as ‘ covetousness is the root of all evil”—I. Tim., vi. 10,—so poverty is the source and origin of all good, and it is for this reason that poverty is the first of the three vows made in religion. St. Ambrose, upon these words of the apostle last cited, says “that as riches are the instruments of all vices, because they render us capable of putting even our worst desires into execution, so a renunciation of riches is the origin and preserver of all virtues”. First, with respect to humility, St. Gregory says, “that poverty is its: guardian”. As for chastity, it is easy: to show that a poor habit and poor diet procure and preserve it. It is also no hard matter to prove how far it conduces to abstinence and temperance; nor, lastly, is there any difficulty in proving the same, in respect of all other virtues, should we take a survey of them all. Hence it is that holy men, speaking of poverty, call it sometimes the guardian and mistress, at other times the mother of virtues. St. Ignatius in his constitutions commands us to “love poverty as a mother”; because it produces and nourishes all other virtues in our souls, and keeps up regular discipline. And hence, the orders which have not observed holy poverty, whose children they ought to be, have scarce the appearance of religion, since they have ceased to resemble their mother. Let us then love her, in order to preserve the spirit. of religion among us, and let us caress her with all the respect 4nd tenderness due to a mother. St. Francis used to call poverty his mistress; and hence it is, that in the rule of St. Clare, it is expressly said, we bind ourselves for ever to our mistress, holy poverty.

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