ouch

Last Sunday, God spoke a word through the prophet Isaiah, 2500 years ago....remember a prophet is one who...what?  proclaims God's word to reclaim God's people.  That word was to reclaim us back into being the God-people who learn to do good, pursue justice, watch out for the needy.   Then God spoke a word through the prophet Jesus....sell your stuff and give alms.   This week the word came to me from the prophet Joan Chittister, to reclaim me back, especially as I deal with people seeking financial help, putting myself in their shoes and looking at my own shoes:

things do not destroy us.  It is the way we approach things that entraps us.  The Rule of Benedict provides for human needs without frugality, without abstemious control, without small-mindedness, and without indulgence. False asceticism is not a Benedictine value.  Deprivation is not a goal.  On the contrary, the point of Benedictine life is to live simply, joyfully, and fully.....to have enough, to avoid hoarding, accumulating, consuming and conniving..  The Rule recognizes that people who lack the necessities of life often spend their time either consumed with thoughts of subsistence or struggling against bitterness and clawing for survival. On the other hand, people smothered by things run the risk of slipping into indolence or becoming blinded to the important things of life.  In striking a balance between the two, Benedictine spirituality seeks to free the body so that the soul can soar.  It is a gift long lost in a consumer society.

Ouch.