Gospel Poverty
John Michael Talbot

In the beginning of Christian monasticism there were no vows. They were implicit in going to the desert under an abbe. You began by selling everything you owned and giving it to the poor in literal accordance with the teaching of Jesus. You renounced the right to marry and raise a family. Then you placed yourself under the guidance of an experienced elder, or spiritual father, who had already successfully lived the life for many years. This was a lifelong commitment for a life of extra ordinary spiritual combat and growth.

Soon formal commitments were made. Some were oaths to the abbot and his community witnessed by God. Some were in the form of vows to God witnessed by the community. By the time of St. Benedict of Nursia in the in the 6th century in the west, they were formalized as three oaths of Obedience to the abbot and the community of monks, Conversion of Manners of life, and Stability in the monastery until death. After St. Thomas Aquinas, the formula of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, first used by St. Francis of Assisi, was adapted as the necessary ingredient for formal consecrated life by the whole western Church, and called the, "Evangelical Counsels." They are called "counsels," because they constitute a more externally intense stable form of gospel living recognized by the Church, and are not necessary for every Christian.

Even though they are counsels rather than commandments, they also have significance for every serious Christian. They are not to be taken lightly.

Poverty calls us to sacrifice the possessions we don't need, and some that we do, for the sake of Jesus, the Church, and the world. We also benefit in the process. For ourselves, it provides the spiritual wealth of an uncluttered and clear lifestyle so as to better hear the Word of God coming to us through all the areas of our life. It also protects us from recluttering. It benefits our ministry in the Church and the world because it leaves us freer to minister without the responsibility of many possessions. It also does something tangible about offsetting the unequal distribution of the world's wealth, which in turn gives rise to violence and war. Poverty stands I radical contrast to the consumerism of our western culture. In this it helps bring peace and justice to a world replete with injustice and war. It also stands in contrast to the clutter of the average American lifestyle.

Chastity means abstinence from sexual activity, or relationships that tend towards it, for celibates, and fidelity to Catholic Christian teaching for married couples. On the mystical level it means seeing Jesus as our primary spiritual spouse. In accordance with the renunciant tradition of the great world religions Jesus and most of the apostles were celibate. Likewise, couples that also sought to follow the masters exercised more sexual discipline than the non-religious of a society. Today, the Church exalts celibacy as the most perfect external imitation of the state of life of Jesus Christ, and teaches the high prophetic standard of the consistent life ethic regarding active sexuality for married couples. This stands in contrast to the promiscuity of today's western world. It shows that love is more than just casual, or non-committed sexual activity, and that fulfillment can be found without instant sensual self-gratification.

Obedience means to follow the teaching of a leader if they are teaching in accordance with the teaching of the Church on faith and morality, and the approved Rule and Constitution of a community. Even if they ask something we disagree with, as long as the above is fulfilled we are bound to obey. Otherwise, communities would fall apart at an alarming rate.

But obedience is more than just external. The root of obedience, "obed," means, "to listen." It is a listening spirit. It means really trying to listen to the spirit of what is being said before we respond. It means responding rather than reacting when we do. It means being humble enough to accept something from one more experienced than ourselves in an area we might not yet understand. It means trusting that they may have consulted others equally as intelligent and knowledgeable as us. Obedience isn't always easy. But it is always ultimately rewarding. This stands in contrast to the rugged independent spirit of the west. It is more supportive of building relationships between imperfect people in families, communities, and churches. It is direly needed in today's western world.

We may not all be monks, but we could all benefit from their commitments of the consecration of life in our lives today. Socially, we need gospel simplicity in contrast to rampant consumerism, chastity in contrast to rampant promiscuity, and obedience in contrast to rampant individualism. These things are tearing us apart at the seams. Personally, we all need to simplify the clutter in our possessions and relationships in order to simplify our interior selves. This is the ultimate work of gospel poverty, chastity, and obedience. This is the ultimate work of Christ.

This article was part of a 20-week series originally published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper between July 14 and November 24, 2001