Lest You Remain

sions and follow Me” (c.f. Mt 19:21). This way, He showed that nobody who is not completely free, poor and stripped can truly follow Christ. Just as luggage burdens travellers and slows down the trip, temporal goods, lay jokes and love for the world, burden the followers of Christ and do not allow them to reach Him. ( Inspectio Cordis ) 5 Christ, the Highest Wisdom, chose poor Apostles to convert the world rather than very greedy rich people. He wanted them and other faithful souls, to devote their time exclusively to the matters of the Spirit, and thus He taught that this virtue should not be neglected. He showed them how it should be taken care of and struc- tured in order to practice it. That is why, coming into the world, He chose for Himself, poor parents, avoid- ing interacting with the proud and wealthy Pharisees, except to seek their salvation. He treated them like this, because they were the teachers of greed, not of disinter- ested love; they were mercenaries, not true shepherds. ( Inspectio Cordis ) 6 Contemplate that you will have to carefully account to God for all the virtues, poverty in particular. It was loved more than any other by Christ and He encour- aged it the most in His Evangelical Counsels and orders, when He told the Apostles to go without a traveling bag and a walking stick (c.f. Mt. 10:10; Luke 9:3). He wanted those who followed Him, to know that they have to renounce the world, friends, riches and everything in general (c.f. Mt. 19:21; Luke 14:26.33). You, fol- lowing this teaching and counsel of the Redeemer, deprived yourself of everything for Him, renouncing, leaving and running away from the world and its possessions and your parents living in the world. So it would be ugly and shameful, if you were to strive for something much more worthless than the things you have so nobly and heroically renounced and abandoned out of love for God alone, and not just for a friend. Thus, examine your conscience now, first, your feelings: have you not become attached to the things given for you to use? Fr. Founder’s Selected Thoughts on the Religious Life 151