2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them “renounce all that [they have]” for his sake and that of the Gospel.
335 Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.
336 The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.
—Catechism of the Catholic Church
We may be tempted to see ‘riches’ as strictly monetary and therefore if we aren’t in the top 1% then this doesn’t really apply to us. Not so, anything that we may be ‘clinging’ to, is a form of richness. We are to release our attachments to people and things so that we can totally enjoy His Kingdom and all that He wants to give to us.
Matthew 13:45-46
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
We are most likely not being called to homelessness, what we are being called to is ‘detachment’. To pray and obey, to listen to His voice and be willing to step into it with Him, no matter where He leads us or do whatever He asks of us. I said be willing, not be thrilled with it. That ‘not thrilled’ feeling when we first start to undertake this is what ‘sacrifice’ is about. It can be downright painful to let go of our own will. But hope and trust kick in and we know that what God promises us is true. That the Kingdom is worth it all.
When we think about sacrificing, we may think about Lent and the little sacrifices we are asked to make there. Well…it’s a start. Lent is supposed to be a training ground for life. This is why the Church sets up days of fasting, it’s a teaching platform more than anything. It is teaching us to become detached from our own will. By the way Fridays are still days of fasting, even though the abstinence part (no meat) has mostly been done away with. Meaning that we can choose our own sacrifice. But honestly, staying away from animal products has a good effect on our body as well, it is alkalizing.
My favorite story —> the little girl and her pearls.