®so he ate the apple and gave back to God the core.¯
Your story brought to memory a passage I read once attributed to Theresa of Avila and recorded in Majestic is Your Name by David Hazard.
®You must believe me when I tell you --- what blessings are to be found in learning to be detached from all your material possessions---
Although I used to say that my possessions had no hold over me, it was not true at all. I was not "poor in spirit" in the least. In fact, if my heart attached itself to some object of desire, I had no restraint whatever, and had to possess it or my heart would give me no rest.
That is why I now say it is so good to practice spiritual poverty. By that I mean I have learned to see, with the eyes of my heart, that no possession can give the eternal joy my soul hungers for. More than that, because earthly possessions give a measure of short-lived satisfaction, they can actually be a snare that keeps you from ever seeking the eternal joy that is not dependent upon what you own.
The practice of spiritual poverty leads you into a wonderful kingdom. Here, paradoxically, you find yourself free to enjoy all the good things of the world. For the man or woman who has no cares about worldly goods is, in spirit, lord over all of them, for possessions do not rule and direct their lives.
What do kings and other earthly rulers matter to me if I have no desire to impress them so they will give me their money--and no desire to please them at all, for that matter, if in doing so I displease God? And what do the honors they bestow on other men mean to me?
No, I tell you that I have seen with the eves of my heart that the man or woman who does not depend at all on this world's goods has the highest honor in God's sight!
For honor and money always go together. The one who wants to be honored by other men is nearly always trapped into the love of money, because worldly people love money so much that they automatically give great honor to the one who has much money, no matter how little deserving of honor or respect he may be---
If you embrace this virtue--desiring to be poor in heart because you want to learn to love and rely on God, and Him alone--then you are free indeed. For your soul will not be bound to any man, and you will not live to please anyone, except God.
The man or woman who has no need of anyone is free to be the friend of everyone.¯
Theresa of Avila, 1515-1582 |
