Voluntary poverty is a relatively uncommon but powerful gift that allows individuals to live in solidarity with the poor. Let’s explore this topic further and understand its significance within the Christian faith.
Understanding Voluntary Poverty
Voluntary poverty is a charism that empowers individuals to choose a life of simplicity and detachment from material possessions. It is a deliberate decision to live with less, not out of necessity or circumstance, but as a witness to the greater things in life than material wealth. By embracing this charism, individuals are able to experience a deep reliance on Christ and exemplify the joy and peace that stems from this total reliance.
Practicing Solidarity
One of the core aspects of voluntary poverty is solidarity. This means truly experiencing and accompanying the poor, rather than merely providing material assistance. Those with the charism of voluntary poverty walk alongside the poor, understanding their struggles and embracing a shared journey towards spiritual growth. By living in solidarity, they promote a deeper understanding that faith in Jesus transcends the physical realm, showing others that true fulfillment comes from a relationship with God, not material possessions.
Recognizing Individual Callings
It is important to note that not everyone is called to embrace voluntary poverty as a charism. Each individual has unique gifts and callings from the Holy Spirit. While some may be called to live in voluntary poverty, others may be called to demonstrate Christian generosity through their financial abundance. It is crucial not to compare ourselves to others, but instead, focus on discerning and embracing the gifts that God has specifically bestowed upon us.
Spiritual Growth Through Detachment
Even if voluntary poverty is not our charism, the call to detachment from material possessions and undue attachment to money is still relevant for all believers. Jesus’ encounter with the rich man in the New Testament challenges us to examine our own attachments and prioritize our relationship with Christ. It is a powerful reminder that as we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, we can grow in virtue and align ourselves more closely with God’s will.
The charism of voluntary poverty is a profound gift that invites individuals to embrace a life of simplicity and solidarity with the poor. While not everyone is called to live in voluntary poverty, we should remember that all believers are called to detach from material possessions and prioritize their relationship with Christ. By discerning our own charisms and embracing the gifts that God has given us, we can contribute to building the Church and spreading the message of love and compassion in the world.
Jill Simons:
Hello and welcome to Charisms for Catholics. My name is Jill Simons and I’m the Executive Director at Many Parts Ministries, where we equip the Body of Christ by helping people learn about and discern their charisms, which is really another word for spiritual gifts. When you discern your charisms, you are able to see how the Holy Spirit is already active in your life and where he is inviting you to further build the Church. Let’s dive in.
Jill Simons:
Today, we’re gonna be chatting about the charism of Voluntary Poverty, which, I will not lie, is one of the less common charisms I see. And I think a lot of this has to do with fact that this is a charism that people are really, I think, frequently given after pursuit of really intentional spiritual growth. So this is something that I see most commonly. Again, every single trend I have pointed out on this podcast is just that a trend. We don’t wanna say this is how the Holy Spirit always does something, and he can’t do it any other way. This is just kind of general trends that I have seen over a decade of doing this work. Is that with Voluntary Poverty, it’s commonly given as an additional charism when people have been walking with the lord for a while. So before we don’t wanna put the, cart before the horse, I wanna give you the definition before we jump in here. Voluntary Poverty is a charism that empowers an individual to live in solidarity with the poor in a very joyful, spirit-filled way that helps others really see the beauty of total reliance on Christ. So this is not someone who is in poverty organically, that is like their socio-economic status that they were either born into or are have kind of fallen into in life. This is something chosen, that voluntary aspect of it is very important. So we see this in monastic communities. We see this religious life where there might be an order that has a charism of Voluntary Poverty. This is something that these people have chosen to do in obedience to price and in solidarity with the floor. So what is solidarity? Solidarity is about experiencing the experience of the poor so that we can really accompany them well. So that we’re not ministering to the poor only from a place of our own abundance and they’re kind of getting the extra. But actually coming alongside them and understanding what it is that they’re going through, being able to walk with them on the journey and really show them a way to live the life that is in front of them still experiencing the fruits of the Holy Spirit. This is something we that is never undertaken from a place of of being better than somebody else. Oh, since my poverty is voluntary, I am above you in some way. But really a place of solidarity where I am with you in this and I am encountering Lord right alongside you in our shared life situation. And that’s what’s really beautiful looking at religious life when you see people who are choosing Voluntary Poverty and are still filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with joy, filled with peace, generous to a fault, able to give what little they do have completely freely. That is such a powerful witness to the Church as a whole, but also the larger world of really the fact that faith in Jesus so greatly transcends the physical reality. This is where we get this idea that the martyrs can be on the brink of death and still experiencing the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit because what God has to give so intensely transcends the physical reality that it’s almost a non-issue. This is Jesus asleep on the boat. And I love one of the greatest descriptions I’ve ever heard of that is Jesus is asleep on the boat able to sleep in the midst of the storm because the reality of the kingdom of God in him is more real to him than the storm outside surrounding him. And that is deeply, deeply counterculture to embrace. And that’s a little taste of what we get with this idea of Voluntary Poverty is really being that witness that there are greater things in life than the physical world, than physical things, and that in in laying those things down voluntarily, you’re able to seek them that much more deeply and kind of unattached. There’s really an opportunity to cultivate a sense of detachment in Voluntary Poverty that you don’t necessarily have. Now that said, it’s also a charism. It’s not some that everyone in the Church is called to. We’re all called to Christian generosity and people practicing this charism are great example for us of that. But I think about myself, a mother with a husband and four children, Voluntary Poverty has not been something that the the Holy Spirit has specifically invited in our family into. We feel that it is very important and have discerned with the Holy Spirit that my husband and I both have jobs and both of our jobs are the forum in which we’re able to use our charisms. And then with our financial abundance that we receive from our jobs, we’re not only able to care for the children that the Holy Spirit has given us and provide them with the Catholic education, shelter, food, etcetera, we are also able to give abundantly and do give to support people living in Voluntary Poverty and involuntary poverty. And that is why it’s so important to keep kind of keep your eyes on your own paper. I always say that is that you don’t wanna look at, like, oh, what this other person has is better than me. This other person is doing something that’s more important than me. We want to value and appreciate what’s in front of us. What the Holy Spirit has invited us to do. A lot of people will look at Voluntary Poverty and say, oh, thank you, Jesus, that you haven’t given me that. I don’t want that. And that is something that should invite us into just some reflection, not judgment, not shame about that response, but into reflection about where are their attachments that I’m not willing to give up? And how can I work through those with the Holy Spirit and invite him to heal those attachments so that if there is something that the Holy Spirit asks me to give up for love of him someday, I can be detached enough to do that. But also recognizing that that’s not your primary role in the larger Church to be an example of Voluntary Poverty. So this is a beautiful gift we wanna value, but we also want to stand that it’s not everybody’s gift, and it doesn’t need to be everybody’s gift. A lot of people will point to the story of the man in the New Testament that goes up to Jesus and says, what must I do to enter the kingdom of God? And Christ says, you know, sell all you have and give it to the poor. A lot of people have universally applied that as, like, that is how you get to heaven no matter who you are. I don’t believe that to be true. And I’ve heard some really wonderful priests give amazing homilies on this Scripture and one that sticks with me the most was a reflection on the fact that this is actually Jesus pointing out what the what the man is attached to, what he is hanging on to more than he is hanging on to Christ. And so anywhere in our lives that we have that undue attachment to physical things and to money, that is somewhere that we wanna invite the Holy Spirit into, and we wanna go through that process with him. If Voluntary Poverty is not your charism, then that is quite possibly going to be a part of your journey of personal spiritual growth and growth in virtue. If you do have the charism, that’s typically not gonna be challenging for you. That’s typically going to be something that is relatively free and natural for you to embrace. And that is that supernatural grace living in you specifically through your charism.
Jill Simons:
Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode of Charisms for Catholics. If you would like to learn more about your charisms or begin your own discern journey, head to our website at manypartsministries.com, where you can download our free PDF guide to all 24 charisms and also began your own journey by taking our charism assessment.
