Poverty December
This « sharing of things in common » includes the renunciation of all personal acquisition and independent use of the goods of the world (Congolese Regional Statutes, Intro., 1.16).
The paradox of life is that one finds all by losing all. Listen to the words of Jesus: to have the treasure, the seeker “sells everything he owns and buys the field” (Mt 13:44) where the treasure is hidden. For a single pearl “of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it” (Mt 13:46). This refers to the Reign of God and, in the end, to the person of Christ. Every human being is in search of life. Happily, Christ is constantly seeking the seeker. The critical moment for the seeker, when found, is to abandon all personal goods in order to possess the treasure that is Christ. The profession of evangelical poverty accomplishes this in a dramatic way. And then? Exchanging the insignificant goods for the fortune of the Kingdom, the seeker begins to put this new wealth in service of the development of others. In solidarity with his confreres, the Crosier does this, not only according to his own judgment, but in collaboration with those together who serve the needy. Finally, empty of all, he contents himself with the joy of his loss.
The needle clothes others but remains nude. (African proverb)
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