Lesson 23

Radical Spirituality: A Call to Simplicity

(ATTACHMENT TO MATERIAL THINGS ROOTS EVIL ACTIONS)

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“Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and
robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths
and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always
be where your riches are.”
(Mt. 6:19-21)

GRACES TO BEG FOR:

Creed/Aral: Investigate the deprivation of the poor because of the injustice and greediness of
some
Code/Asal: Use material goods properly and share them with those who have less
Cult/Dasal: Be grateful for material goods received by thanking God in prayer

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Opening Song:

IN HIM ALONE

Refrain: In Him alone is our hope. in our hearts in vain we deny? (Ref.)
In Him alone is our strength.
In Him alone are we justified. 2 When will you cease running in search of
In Him alone are we saved. hollow meaning?
Let His love feed the hunger in your soul
1 What has man to offer that does not fade or Till it overflows with joy, you yearn to know.
whiter? (Ref.)
Can the world ever satisfy the emptiness

I. OPENING
One of the greatest injustices of the contemporary world consists precisely in this: That the
ones who possess much are relatively few and those who possess almost nothing are many. It is the
injustice of the poor distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all (CCC 268).

II. CONTEXT
Nowadays, most people, including the young ones are very much aware of the economic
crises that push some to engage in illegal and vicious activities just to earn their basic needs. With
the problem of unemployment, the ever-increasing prices of commodities coupled with very low
wages and salaries if employed, many find it so difficult to meet life's basic needs such as food,
clothing, shelter, education, etc. Hence, many young people are out of school, working as domestic
helpers, laborers, peddlers if not jobless, become by-standers - waiting and engaging in
opportunities to survive. Some even resort to illegal activities such as snatching, robbery,
prostitution, drug trafficking, gambling, etc.
But do we not wonder why while many are gravely suffering from poverty, others are
voraciously enjoying their wealth? Is it not noticeable that the rich are usually the bosses of the
poor workers in various transactions and working conditions?
There are also poor people trying hard to live inconvenience at the expense of their
reputation and morality.

Learner’s Activity

DRAMATIZATION

A presentation of an ambitious and jealous wife, forcing her husband to find a way to accumulate
earthly materials by hook or by crook. The drama goes like this:

Narrator: There was once a family who lived an ordinary life, but then the wife was not satisfied
and was too ambitious and jealous of their neighbors. One day…

Wife: Pablito! (in a strong voice) haven’t you seen that new television which Pareng Julio had
bought yesterday? They have another appliance again! And, look, we don't even have a transistor
radio.

Pablito: Just be contented with what we have because even if we don't have anything, I do
believe that God has given us good health always.
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 Wife: No, Pablito, you should find a way! Go and do anything, even if you have to be one of those
robbers! Do not come home unless you bring money to buy what I want.

Pablito: No, my wife, how could you do this to me?

Narrator: Pablito could do nothing, but follow what his wife had ordered, just to save their
relationship. Thus, he became a member of a drug syndicate. Finally, he was arrested and put into
jail throughout his life. The wife’s ambition was not satisfied and became the source of the
family’s problem; the disbanding.

Process Questions:

1. How is attachment to material things being portrayed in the story?

___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. If you are the characters above, how will you change the end of the story? Create a
dialogue.
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Summary:

The activity above shows that attachment to material possessions pushes one to do evil
actions, even to the extent of saving Pablito’s relationship with his wife just to give her what she
wants. How does attachment to material possession push one to do evil actions?

III. EXPOSITION
As Christian Filipinos, we are challenged by the preference for the poor to respond to the
situation with a sincere "commitment to justice" Pope John Paul II put this challenge in a worldwide
perspective (CFC 1189).
The love of preference for the poor cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the
hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care, and above all, those without hope for
a better future. To ignore these realities would mean becoming like the ‘rich man’ who pretended
not to know the beggar Lazarus lying at his gate (Lk. 16:19-31; CFC 1189).
The Christian conscience must recoil at sins committed against the poor. So many workers
are denied just wages to maintain the living standard of the few, who are already in possession of
so much, that the poor can never possess.
Greed and attachment to worldly goods are the reason for so many unjust situations. But
material goods will never be able to fully satisfy our longing for happiness. To satisfy our longing
Jesus tells us to “store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves
break in and steal…" (Mt. 6:19-20). Like the early Christians, we are challenged to share what we
have. St. Pedro Poveda said, "You do not have to be rich to give, you only have to be good."

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Christian Witness:

It was discussed in this lesson that attachment to material things has to do many evil things
in our society. The foundress of the Poor Clares, St. Clare, went against the desire of being attached
to material things by doing her obligation of following Christ. Why did she have to denounce her
nobility in exchange for following Christ?

ST. CLARE
Feast day: August 11
Patron of Goldsmiths, Laundry, for those who have an eye disease

St. Clare, the foundress of the Poor Clares, was born of a noble family at
Assisi in 1193. At 19, enchanted by a Lenten sermon of St. Francis, she
went secretly to the Portiuncula to consecrate herself to the Lord. After
cutting off her fine clothes and long hair, Francis gave her a sackcloth and
placed her in the Benedictine Convent of Bastia. When her relatives came
to take her back home, Clare held to the altar and resisted any attempt,
professing that she would have no other husband but Jesus Christ.
In due time, together with other young ladies, she founded a new
religious order near the Church of St. Damiano. The Poor Clares, as they
became known, practiced a life of perfect poverty and strict penance.
They went around barefoot, fasted every day, and never spoke except
when obliged by necessity and charity. In 1228, when Gregory IX offered St. Clare a dispensation
from the vow of strict poverty, she replied: “I need to be absolved from my sins, but not from the
obligation of following Christ.”
Accordingly, the Pope granted them the Privilegium Pauperitatis – that nobody can oblige
them to accept any possession.
In 1224, the army of Frederick II came to plunder Assisi. Clare went out to meet them with
the Blessed Sacrament in her hands. Suddenly, a mysterious terror seized the enemies, who fled
without harming anybody in the city. Before breathing her last in 1253, St. Clare said: “Blessed be
you, O God, for having created me”.
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Process Questions:
1. Do you think it was easy for St. Clare to leave her wealth behind just to follow Christ?
Why?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What important lesson you have learned from the life story of St. Clare?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

IV. INTEGRATION
Deep within us, God placed a desire for happiness. Often we mistakenly think that we can
find it in material goods and put all our effort into amassing material goods. Our attachment to
material goods may lead us at worst to use unlawful means. It may harden our hearts to the plight
of the poor and make us unwilling to share.

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 St. Augustine, however in his conversion expressed a reality, “Restless are our hearts until
they rest in You (Christ).”
Let us then heed Christ's teaching to "Set your heart first on the kingdom and the justice of
God and all these things (material needs) will be given to you.” (cf. Mt. 6:33)

Learner’s Activity

Creed/Aral: JOURNALIZING
What are injustice and greed? How do these affect and deprive the poor people in society?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Code/Asal:
Students are asked to do fasting and offer prayers for the poor during holy days of obligation.
And the saved money from fasting will be given to the poor or charity institution.

Cult/Dasal:
Create a personal prayer based on the lesson, thanking God for all the blessings you have
received.

V. FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What will you do when you know that you are materially deprived due to injustice?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the effect of material poverty in our society?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

3. How do you relate material poverty to your spiritual poverty?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Closing Song:
IN HIM ALONE

Refrain: In Him alone is our hope.

In Him alone is our strength.
In Him alone are we justified.
In Him alone are we saved.

1 What has man to offer that does not fade or whiter?

Can the world ever satisfy the emptiness
in our hearts in vain we deny. (Ref.)

2 When will you cease running in search of hollow meaning?

Let His love feed the hunger in your soul
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Till it overflows with joy, you yearn to know. (Ref.)