6. Throw out or give away what you don´t need.
Objects that we own but which we don´t use, over the course of
time, begin in a curious way to take possession of us until one day
we wake up tied down like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.
Having a relatively few possessions is a fine way to live social
justice, as one can readily give them away or sell them and thus
convert them into money that can be given to the needy. If you
haven´t used something in the last year, you probably don´t need
it. Make things last. Remember that attachments to the material
things in the world will have eventually to be burnt away in
Purgatory if we are to enter into heaven; it is better to gain
detachment now rather than later.
7. Live order and neatness in the care of material items.
Happily, increasingly many objects of personal and family use, from
cars to shavers, are better made and last longer without repairs.
We should take as good care of them as would Jeeves if he were
working full time for us.
8. Avoid impulse buying, whims, and caprices.
Much of our market economy is based on efforts to entice us to buy
superfluous things, or to buy too much of truly useful things
(Super-Size it!), and the marketing moguls are very good at their
work. Look at your closet, clothes drawers, basement, or garage to
see the results of impulse shopping. Or for that matter just look
at the weight registered on your bathroom scale. Consult with your
spouse before making purchases. Review carefully at the end of each
month where your money has gone, through a careful examination of
your bank and credit card statements. Ask yourself what good you
could have done with the money if you had not spent it on
yourself.
9. Avoid occasions of sin, remote or proximate, in respect to
buying and shopping-whether in shopping malls, via catalogues, or
on the Internet.
For some people the temptation comes in computer stores; for others
it may be bookshops or golf equipment shops, and for still others
virtually any store is enough to make them feel almost powerless,
with the credit card seemingly jumping out of the wallet or purse.
Stay away from your particular source of temptation toward
conspicuous consumption. The Internet may be the most insidious
form of concupiscence of the eyes, and it is a mistake to think
that the pornographic sites are the only temptations. A few clicks
and your shopping basket can be filled to overflowing. Don´t
create needs for yourself. He has most who needs least. Could you
do without?
10. Make time for at least one corporal work of mercy each week,
alone or with friends or family.
Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me. This
understanding is essential. You and your family may pass weeks or
months without being exposed to the real misery of the human
condition in our antiseptic society. Paradoxically, in the world´s
most prosperous country, there are more lonely, aged, addicted,
imprisoned, exploited, ravaged, and homeless people than in most of
the world´s impoverished countries. These unhappy Americans don´t
really need more checks or more government programs. They need your
company and your love.
11. Follow the Way of the Cross and meditate often on our Lord´s
passion, death, and resurrection.
It is there that you will find what counts. All the rest is dross.
Measure everything by that standard. Zacchaeus, the rich man, had
to climb up a tree in order to see Jesus clearly. The tree you have
get up on is the Cross. The Holy Father tries to make the Way of
the Cross, at least briefly, each day. Can you excuse yourself,
then, on the grounds that you don´t have time?
12. Make poverty, detachment, and generosity a regular topic in
your sacramental confession and spiritual direction.
Let your spiritual advisor be demanding of you in this regard. In
order to have Christ fill us up through the sacraments, prayer, and
Sacred Scripture, we have continually to be emptying ourselves out
in every sense, not only internally but also externally. At the
moment of our particular judgment, we will not be naked to our
enemies, but transparent to our friend. We need to be completely
stripped of anything that is not Christ, so we can receive the
reward that awaits us.
Overcoming the culture of death
Naturally, all of the steps in this program apply to us all. But
the rich, powerful, and influential have a special responsibility
to try to struggle with these particular challenges, since they run
a greater risk of the loss of their souls, in light of the gifts
that have been bestowed upon them for God´s glory and service to
others.
Rodney Stark, in his insightful book The Rise of Christianity,
points out that-contrary to conventional wisdom and historical
analysis-in the first several centuries of Christianity, the Gospel
was most successfully preached not to the poor and the outcasts,
but rather to the prosperous middle classes and educated upper
classes in the cities. As early as the 2nd century there were
society matrons and members of the Emperor´s household and high
officers of the Roman army who had become Christians. If the vision
of John Paul II is to come to pass in this new century, bringing a
new springtime of the Church, which over time can help to create
a civilization of love and truth in our society, then the elite
must become not only devout and apostolic but also poor in
spirit.
If you are rich, how should you pursue that end? I have offered
some ideas, but you have to answer the question for yourself in the
intimacy of your prayer and spiritual direction. However I would
make one more suggestion: Seek the intercession of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, the Star of the New Evangelization. Maybe she can
explain why it is that our consumerist, individualistic, and
hedonistic society in North America produces so many unhappy,
lonely, violent, and neurotic people, while south of the border in
Mexico so many people-poor by our standards-are so happy. She
appeared to a humble Indian, not to a rich man. We can ask her
intercession to find our happiness in the Cross and Resurrection of
her Son, and not in acquisition.
Father C.J. McCloskey III is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei,
and director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington,
DC.