Beatitudes - a Carmelite Perspective: Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

INTRODUCTION
The Carmelite Promises include, above all, that one "will seek evangelical perfection with all my might, in the spirit of Our Lord’s counsels and beatitudes, according to the Rule of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order."

We will begin our search of the eight Beatitudes and their relationship to this Carmelite Promise to seek evangelical perfection. These Beatitudes, then, will be our guide to building virtue and the principles that better help us on our way to Union with God. We will also see how the Beatitudes may be applied to our daily lives, and how we may respond more directly to our contemplative call.

Please pray that God grants us insight and guidance in our search of the Good Shepherd’s Sermon on the Mount

Our study of the Beatitudes will take a formative approach. The Beatitudes are placed in groups according to Purgative, Illuminative, and Unitive:

The Purgative Beatitudes:
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comfortedBlessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice...Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake...

The Illuminative Beatitudes:
Blessed are the Merciful for they shall obtain mercyBlessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the earthBlessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called...

The Unitive Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of GodBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

CHAPTER I

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

All Carmelites promise to practice the "spirit of poverty." This does not mean they sell everything to become poor in the monetary sense, but that spiritually they "sell" or rid themselves of everything that stands between them and their goal, the Lord.

It is not easy to become poor in spirit. However, Jesus promised to those who are poor in spirit the Kingdom of Heaven as their reward for so doing. He did not refer to a distant kingdom, or presence, in the next life but a kingdom of peace and tranquility and contentment in the here and now.

The virtue practiced and attained in this beatitude is "detachment." The practice of detachment to things produces the fruits of peace and contentment in our daily lives. The practice of detachment does not mean a deprivation of those things that are necessary to daily living, i.e., food, clothing, transportation, a home. The practice of detachment involves more an attitude of "holy indifference" to material goods, to make use of goods as a means and not an end in itself. The moment we begin to take pleasure in "things" we are attached to them. Detachment is a moderation of our desires, obtaining only what is necessary or good for ourselves and our families. Detachment is also a willingness to "let go" and "let God." Accepting wealth or poverty with the same holy indifference; both as the self same blessing from God.

Should a person find themselves blessed by God with wealth, this "holy indifference" would detach a soul whereby their blessing may be turned to virtue through acts of charity. But for wealth to become a real virtue it requires acts of charity without recognition or public attention, with not thought of recompense.

We have spoken only regarding worldly goods, but being "poor in spirit" must go beyond worldly for the contemplative soul. It has to do with our very attitudes about ourselves and God. Detachment and poverty in this sense requires being at peace and contended with God’s will for us at each stage of our development. Then truly is the Kingdom of Heaven within us.
We will speak of poverty and detachment as viewed by contemplative saints and discuss their purpose and meaning for us:

St. Teresa of Avila in the story of her "Life - Chapter II" says: "But it seems to us that we are giving all to God, whereas the truth of the matter is that we are paying God the rent or giving Him the fruits and keeping for ourselves the ownership and the root. We resolve to be poor - and this is very meritorious - but then very often turns back to being anxious and diligent about possessing not only the necessities but superfluities as well and about winning friends who might provide these things for us."

This deals with what we have mentioned before. Our human nature never changes - not from the beginning of time until the end - there is the constant battle of wanting, of taking, of hoarding. Even friendships are sometimes counted as "the more I have the better I am." We have to even learn to accept friendship as a gift, not to be possessed, but free to come and go, to move on when the spirit leads. Sometimes having no friends is true spiritual poverty.

St. John of the Cross in the "Ascent of Mount Carmel - Cook II, Chapter 7" says: "Oh, who can make this counsel of Our Savior understandable, and practicable, and attractive that spiritual persons might become aware. They are of the opinion that any kind of withdrawal from the world or reformation of life suffices. Some are content with a certain degree of virtue, perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity that the Lord counsels here. For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations instead of divesting and denying themselves of these for God’s sake. They think a denial of self in worldly matters is sufficient without an annihilation and purification of spiritual possessions."

Spiritual poverty is far more important to us than worldly poverty. For it is our spirit that lives on forever and this world and our flesh will fade away. If we keep this in mind, we will see how unimportant it really is to have material goods that count as nothing in the next life.

St. John of the Cross developed the idea of "nada" - "nothing" - and this is what we must become to be poor in spirit. Being "nada" does not mean degrading ourselves or constantly putting ourselves down. It means not placing too much pride of importance on the little good we do, and keeping in mind the good we must learn to do.

St. Therese, The Little Flower, said in a letter to her sister Celine, "He became poor so that we could be charitable to Him. Like a beggar, he stretches out His hand to us. He it is who wants and begs for our love. He doesn’t wish to take anything unless we give it to Him and the smallest trifle is precious in His divine eyes."

Herein lies the secret of being "poor in spirit." To have all and yet be willing to utterly disregard it for the sake of another. To surrender all love to our fellow man, so as to be empty and open to the love of God. Asking for nothing so that even the smallest trifle of life becomes a precious consolation. To be overflowing with the love of God within us, and yet to delight Him by begging for more. A spirit of poverty that seeks nothing but the glory of God in all things.

St. Therese of Lisieux writes in her "Story of a Soul:" "Jesus does not want me to lay claim to what belongs to me; and this should seem easy and natural to me since nothing is mine. I have renounced the goods of this earth through the Vow of Poverty, and so I haven’t the right to complain when one takes a thing that is not mine. On the contrary, I should rejoice when it happens that I feel the pinch of poverty. Formerly, it seemed to me that I was attached to nothing, but every since I understood the words of Jesus, I see on occasions that I am very imperfect. For example, in my work of painting there is nothing that belongs to me, I know. But if, when I am preparing for some work, I find that the brushes and the paints are in disorder, if a rule or a penknife has disappeared, patience is very close to abandoning me and I must take courage in both hands in order to reclaim the missing object without bitterness. We really have to ask for dispensable things, but when we do it with humility, we are not failing in the commandment of Jesus; on the contrary, we are acting like the poor who extend their hand to receive what is necessary for them; if they are rebuked they are not surprised, as no one owes them anything."

We may be both surprised and heartened to find that the beautiful saint like St. Therese of Lisieux suffered the same irritations that we do today, and yet she utilized them for the glory of God. It is interesting to note that the above passage was included in her writings on "charity," and how her handling of her own defects was an act of love.

Lastly - we turn to Thomas Merton - a contemporary but saintly man - in his New Seeds of Contemplation, Chapter 28. He said, "There are aspects of detachment and refinement of interior purity that even the majority of sincerely holy men never succeed in discovering. Even the strictest monasteries and in places where people have seriously dedicated their lives to the search for perfection, many never come to suspect how much they are governed by unconscious forms of selfishness, how much their virtuous acts are prompted by a narrow and human self-interest. In fact, it is often precisely the rigidity and unbending formalism of some pious men that keep them from becoming truly detached."

Here we are getting to the core and essence of poverty in the spiritual sense - finding and eliminating those interior faults which are hidden and illusive, but can still hinder us from the Kingdom of Heaven. And how difficult it is to do this because often we don’t notice or realize our true motives for doing things, even virtuous things. However, we should not become overly scrupulous on this account, but again offer even our virtues, for whatever they are worth, to God begging Him to make them worthy and to help us to be poor in spirit so we will not recognize or take pride in the virtue itself, but strive onward as unworthy servants.
Another point Father Merton mentions is rigidity and formalism in some pious people. This is not only a detriment to the person themselves, but a scandal to holiness. Whenever adhering to a rule, tradition, or any system which makes or promotes its law at all cost even when it goes against charity or the law of God, then it is bordering on sinfulness and is a scandal to the truly poor in spirit who are free in love and charity. Furthermore, persons who are rigid and unbending frighten and turn off others who may be seeking charity and holiness in their own lives. Some instances of this are as follows:

1) It is important to contemplative prayer and spirituality to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, attend daily Mass, and devote at least half an hour each day to meditation (Carmelite obligations), but if someone in your family or a close friend calls or comes to see you and needs your assistance or even your companionship at that moment, then charity demands that you be their helpmate and companion then, and come back to the devotion later if possible.

2) If you were in the middle of a personal fast day but - say - your mother-in-law called or came over and wanted you to go to lunch or dine with her, then for the sake of charity and good will, it is better to drop the fast for that day and do it another time. The blessings will be more for this act of charity than for the fast.

3) Or if you have promised God to do a certain penance - or even a most virtuous deed - but in the process of doing these you are interrupted by a person who would not understand your intentions or misinterpret the act, it is better to put off the penance or virtuous deed if scandal against your faith will occur. Even a virtuous deed done aggressively and obviously in front of others can become a source of the sin of pride. Poorness is humility, too. Making ourselves appear "less" virtuous in some instances is the "most" virtuous thing to do.

A final word from Father Thomas Merton: "Sometimes, for instance, a monk can develop an attachment to prayer or fasting, or to a pious practice or devotion, or to a certain penance, or to a book or system of spirituality, or even to a method of meditation and contemplation itself, and on to the highest graces of prayer and virtue, things that are in themselves marks of heroism and sanctity. And men who seemed to be saints have let themselves be blinded by their inordinate love for such things."

Another final point with regard to being "poor in Spirit" is that it means even divesting ourselves of inordinate desires for holy things. Because clinging to the richness of consolations can prevent us from being empty and open to God’s graces in other areas of our lives. If we hold on to the richness of consolations because of the good feelings it gives us, we will never be able to get through the Dark Night that leads us to Heavenly Union.

So, let us be truly poor in spirit, emptied of all desires for worldly and spiritual pleasures, so our God can fill us with His Heavenly Kingdom.

- Excerpted in part from "The Beatitudes and Carmelite Spirituality," by Sr. Patricia of Mary Magdalene, with permission

Suggestions for group discussion:
1) The Carmelite Promises include this sentence: "I will seek evangelical perfection with all my might, in the spirit of our Lord's counsels and beatitudes." With regard to the Beatitude, "blessed are the poor in spirit," how do you think that this may be used as a guide to this promise?

2) What does it mean to practice of the spirit of poverty, to spiritually sell everything that stands between us and the goal of Union with God?

3) Share your insight on what it means to practice detachment. How is this related to the Beatitude, "blessed are the poor in spirit?" How may it be applied to the contemplative experience?

4) Think about your life and think of what you have, what you can give to God. When something happens you think is terrible, how do you respond?

5) With regard to fasting, St. John of the Cross said that if you have food in your house you can fast and offering your fast to God. But if you have no food you cannot really offer that fast. This being so, what then are the other ways one may "fast?"

6) St Teresa of Avila said that many souls give God the "rent," but we want to keep the ownership of their lives. Torn by our "want" of money, things, and position, how do you give God the "ownership" of your life?

7) Carmelite contemplation. What is it really? Whatever answer you may give, it will fall short of what meditation actually is for it is something entirely different. Contemplation is truly a "dark night." If you are seriously practicing meditation, this is good. But the minute it becomes boring and fruitless, you need to seek a spiritual director. It is then that you will come to a deeper contemplation. The question then is, do you feel you need more guidance in your contemplation, if so, how are you dealing with it?