Desiring Poverty - Teomasino 2015 Essay Writing - First Place

TEOMASINO ESSAY WRITING CONTEST 2015
The UST Institute of Religion
Theme: "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit." (Mt 5:3)

First place - Augustine Beth D. Cortez (College of Nursing)

Desiring Poverty

“The Richest on the Planet 2015” --- This was the proclamation of a famous magazine as it released a list of the world’s top billionaires early this March. Like wildfire, this news spread across the globe, with every newspaper raving about “the list.” Soon, many began to ask: who made it to the list? What is their net worth? However, many of us failed to ask more urgent questions: why is this list even important to us? Why do we give such great value to the rich and not to the poor? What does it truly mean to be rich? What does it truly mean to be poor? In truth, this very phenomenon points to a misconception which has blinded 21st century man: poverty is undesirable. However, Christ, our Savior, proves otherwise.

“Though rich, yet for our sake, He became poor so that we, through His poverty, might become rich (2 Cor 8:9).” By becoming the Word made flesh, Christ reveals to us that embedded in the poverty of spirit is the humility of the heart and childlike trust in God (CCC 2547). When we realize our own limitations and insufficiencies, we realize the importance of God in our lives. We learn how to anchor ourselves on Him who matters the most: Christ. Moreover, this utmost dependence on God strengthens us as we journey towards the path of righteousness. For without faith, our deeds, like seeds planted on rocky ground, will never bear fruit. 

Furthermore, this poverty of spirit opens our eyes to the grave need of others. When we realize that Christ Himself is sufficient, we are able to willingly detach ourselves from worldly possessions. Our eyes are opened to the reality that “no one is justified to keep what he does not need when others lack necessities (Popolorum progressio).” Similarly, the poverty of spirit enables us to understand the very words of St. Francis of Assisi: “it is in giving that we receive.”

In a deeper sense, this poverty of spirit, rooted in faith, harmonizes the languages Pope Francis himself taught us: the language of our minds, hearts, and hands. We seek to be merciful, to be righteous, and to be children of God; knowing that without Him, we are nothing. By recognizing that we too, are beggars, we become one with the poor. We are able to think of their needs, feel their sufferings, and do something for them. We become true Disciples of Christ. 

Hence, all these reveal to us that it is our moral obligation to desire for that poverty which frees man from the stifling leash of materialism, greed, and selfishness. If many seek to be the “richest in the planet,” Christ’s challenge to His disciples is the complete opposite: seek to be the “poorest in the planet.” For it is in poverty of spirit that we find true happiness. It is in poverty of spirit that we find the greatest treasure man can ever have: Christ.