- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News) — Friars and nuns have it easy — at least in some regards. Consider, for example, their vow of poverty.
Religious brothers, sisters and priests pledge a sacred oath that shields them from basements overrun by toys, cupboards overflowing with unused wedding gifts, and closets stuffed with purses and shoes. Religious can’t own four bedroom houses, packed from basement to attic with high school yearbooks, college term papers and giant foam fingers purchased at a baseball game in 1985. And they most certainly aren’t forced to consign their dining room table to piles of paper, bills and kindergarten art projects.
All the clutter and chaos made possible for the rest of us by cheap labor in China is impossible in the walls of their convents and monasteries. Their life is clutter-free by design: The order of their cells and common rooms are a reflection of the order of their day, and the simplicity of their surroundings are a perpetual reminder of the simplicity God calls them to cultivate in their souls.
Laypeople, on the other hand, don’t have it that easy. When it comes to living the simple life, ours is by far the harder row to hoe. We must learn to walk the always fine line between having and having too much. We also must find the balance that allows us to appreciate what we do have without becoming inordinately attached to any of it. And we must do all that while occupying the same 1,600 square feet as junk mail, babies and sippy cups.
But we do have to do it.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
Religious brothers, sisters and priests pledge a sacred oath that shields them from basements overrun by toys, cupboards overflowing with unused wedding gifts, and closets stuffed with purses and shoes. Religious can’t own four bedroom houses, packed from basement to attic with high school yearbooks, college term papers and giant foam fingers purchased at a baseball game in 1985. And they most certainly aren’t forced to consign their dining room table to piles of paper, bills and kindergarten art projects.
All the clutter and chaos made possible for the rest of us by cheap labor in China is impossible in the walls of their convents and monasteries. Their life is clutter-free by design: The order of their cells and common rooms are a reflection of the order of their day, and the simplicity of their surroundings are a perpetual reminder of the simplicity God calls them to cultivate in their souls.
Laypeople, on the other hand, don’t have it that easy. When it comes to living the simple life, ours is by far the harder row to hoe. We must learn to walk the always fine line between having and having too much. We also must find the balance that allows us to appreciate what we do have without becoming inordinately attached to any of it. And we must do all that while occupying the same 1,600 square feet as junk mail, babies and sippy cups.
But we do have to do it.
Living the simple life
Continued below.
How decluttering our lives and homes advances our spiritual lives
The collective wisdom of the saints and the Bible leave little room for doubt: The simple life helps pave a smooth and direct path to heaven, a path that investment bankers, congressional staffers and home-schooling moms, as well as Jesuit priests and Carmelite nuns, are all wise to follow.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
