Detachment

[HoosierGal]

Hi

I have been doing a lot of spiritual reading lately. In all of the books dealing with growth in prayer and spiritual growth in general, the concept of detachment keeps coming up. I finally kinda sorta got my head wrapped around what it is and what it isn’t. And in an intuitive sort of way I understand why its so important. The problem I have is: how on earth does one begin to become detached?? Does anyone have any practical stories, tips, insights, etc. on how to to become detached to the material things of the world? I know one motivator is that the fewer attachments I have to worldly things, the more room I have in my heart to love God. And I sincerely wish to love God with all my heart. So I am motivated to work on detachment, I’m just overwhelmed with the thought of actually doing it!. I would love to hear from any like-minded folks who can share a bit. Thanks!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

It requires a relationship with Jesus Christ, who will provide you with the transforming grace, to detach from anything that prevents you from union with Him.

This relationship can only be developed through interior prayer.

I’m reading for the 2nd time, “The Living Flame of Love,” by St.John of the Cross. In there, St. John describes beautifully, the necessity for interior prayer. For it is in the center of our soul, that God dwells, and there feeds us with his transforming love.

God Bless
Jim

 

[InLight247]

Detachment is all to do with our relationship with God. When we have a deeper love of the Lord, we will naturally think more about celestial things, less about earthly things. When the person of Jesus attracts one so much, one will dwell on the beauty and love of the Lord often. Material possessions thus lose their attraction. When our prayer life and relationship bring us to this state, detachment becomes natural without much of our own efforts.

 

[MarieVeronica]

When we have a deeper love of the Lord, we will naturally think more about celestial things, less about earthly things.

Words of wisdom! On a practical level, I would also recommend… going through your drawers and closets… and see if you have any clothes or other items which you can donate to charity.

This is a good “roll up your sleeves and get to work” exercise in learning detachment. You will be doing one of the Works of Mercy… clothing the naked; and you will be surprised at how “cleansed” you will feel. I sometimes think that the enemy loves to weigh us down, spiritually with “stuff”. Donating to those in need is a great way to combat this. God bless and welcome to CAF!

 

[InLight247]

On a practical level, I would also recommend… going through your drawers and closets… and see if you have any clothes or other items which you can donate to charity.

This is a good “roll up your sleeves and get to work” exercise in learning detachment. You will be doing one of the Works of Mercy… clothing the naked; and you will be surprised at how “cleansed” you will feel. I sometimes think that the enemy loves to weigh us down, spiritually with “stuff”. Donating to those in need is a great way to combat this. God bless and welcome to CAF!

Very good advice. I read the same suggestion from a very good book “How Big is Your God?” by Father Paul Coutinho, SJ.

The book said, “If you want a relationship with God, you must make space in your life for the spiritual.” And the author suggests to start from cleaning the basement and the attic.

 

[KingAlfred]

Hi

I have been doing a lot of spiritual reading lately. In all of the books dealing with growth in prayer and spiritual growth in general, the concept of detachment keeps coming up. I finally kinda sorta got my head wrapped around what it is and what it isn’t. And in an intuitive sort of way I understand why its so important. The problem I have is: how on earth does one begin to become detached?? Does anyone have any practical stories, tips, insights, etc. on how to to become detached to the material things of the world? I know one motivator is that the fewer attachments I have to worldly things, the more room I have in my heart to love God. And I sincerely wish to love God with all my heart. So I am motivated to work on detachment, I’m just overwhelmed with the thought of actually doing it!. I would love to hear from any like-minded folks who can share a bit. Thanks!

Excellent topic. Detachment is a huge part of my life. We are to live so as to know, love and serve God. Everything else takes a distant second-place. Personally, I try actively, every second of every day, to imitate Chirst as teacher. That’s my singular objective, standard and ideal. Everything else I tune out - everything. The material world is fading, and the world of Man, an illusion. Beyond the scope of our Great Commission, it offers nothing but pain, anger and death.

 

[Mark_Robert]

It requires a relationship with Jesus Christ, who will provide you with the transforming grace, to detach from anything that prevents you from union with Him.

This relationship can only be developed through interior prayer.

I’m reading for the 2nd time, “The Living Flame of Love,” by St.John of the Cross. In there, St. John describes beautifully, the necessity for interior prayer. For it is in the center of our soul, that God dwells, and there feeds us with his transforming love.

God Bless
Jim

Yeah detachment from creatures is a grace given from God. Of course we cooperate in this but it’s all His doing. Prayer and a willingness to do God’s will is fundamental here as union with God through prayer strengthens virtue which in turn unites us closer to God. The closer we are to God the less appeal created things will have. Thus we can possess things without them possessing us. This is exactly what detachment is. With detachment comes the freedom that Christ promised in the gospels.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

The Holy Spirit, Grace, effects the work of detachment. The moment we resolve to avoid all sin and resist temptation, the process of detaching from all that is not The Lord begins…this work will go on for probably our whole lives on different levels and in different ways. When we resolve to spend time in prayer, this asks an act of detaching - detaching from being distracted from God to attaching to spending time with Him…and so this work of detachment from the created order and attaching to the spiritual order will go on. Circumstances will arise in our lives and in the different aspects of our lives that will ask choosing…and when we choose Christ and His Gospel over and above any other option, then we are detaching from something created to attach to Christ and His Gospel - all under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit.
The process of detachment goes on, for example, on a Friday when we perform an act or acts of Penance - choosing our penance (attachment) over and above some other desire to which we are attached, hence detaching from it. We need not necessarily confine this to a Friday.
Many are the ways that we are moved to acts of detachment and attachment…and many are the ways too that circumstances, work of The Holy Spirit, will ask this of one. The danger can be with self chosen, voluntary, acts of detachment is that we are in it solely for the ‘payback’ of feeling good about ourselves in some way - in this case we are detaching from something in order to attach to ourselves and the ‘payback’ - rather than The Lord…we need to trust in and pray to The Holy Spirit to complete the work of detachment in us…and He will and in hidden and diverse ways often.
It is always a great blessing and treasure when seeking to enter deeply into a spiritual life, to seek out and to obtain a spiritual director.

Blessings and regards…Barb

 

[HoosierGal]

It requires a relationship with Jesus Christ, who will provide you with the transforming grace, to detach from anything that prevents you from union with Him.

This relationship can only be developed through interior prayer.

I’m reading for the 2nd time, “The Living Flame of Love,” by St.John of the Cross. In there, St. John describes beautifully, the necessity for interior prayer. For it is in the center of our soul, that God dwells, and there feeds us with his transforming love.

God Bless
Jim

Thanks, I will put that book on my list. I will keep praying and do all I can to not block the Lord’s work within me.

Detachment is all to do with our relationship with God. When we have a deeper love of the Lord, we will naturally think more about celestial things, less about earthly things. When the person of Jesus attracts one so much, one will dwell on the beauty and love of the Lord often. Material possessions thus lose their attraction. When our prayer life and relationship bring us to this state, detachment becomes natural without much of our own efforts.

Some things I read suggested that it does take considerable effort to become detached, but perhaps that is more so in the beginning stages. I can see how as prayer life develops and reliance and trust in God increases, then attachments to worldly things will decrease. As I am just beginning to understand the concept (and it was quite a shock at first!), its still a tad scary to me. It was just last night, after posting, that I began to understand that I have a fear of detachment. I’m afraid to let go. But I also yearn to let go.

Words of wisdom! On a practical level, I would also recommend… going through your drawers and closets… and see if you have any clothes or other items which you can donate to charity.

This is a good “roll up your sleeves and get to work” exercise in learning detachment. You will be doing one of the Works of Mercy… clothing the naked; and you will be surprised at how “cleansed” you will feel. I sometimes think that the enemy loves to weigh us down, spiritually with “stuff”. Donating to those in need is a great way to combat this. God bless and welcome to CAF!

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I will try to get rid of some stuff. I am a “clutter queen” so I have lots of fertile ground to work on, lol.

Very good advice. I read the same suggestion from a very good book “How Big is Your God?” by Father Paul Coutinho, SJ.

The book said, “If you want a relationship with God, you must make space in your life for the spiritual.” And the author suggests to start from cleaning the basement and the attic.

Thanks, and I’m putting that book on my list too!

Excellent topic. Detachment is a huge part of my life. We are to live so as to know, love and serve God. Everything else takes a distant second-place. Personally, I try actively, every second of every day, to imitate Chirst as teacher. That’s my singular objective, standard and ideal. Everything else I tune out - everything.

What is it like to live in the world this way? It seems that you have probably also detached from caring what others think or do. I’m guessing that you feel very free this way.

With detachment comes the freedom that Christ promised in the gospels.

I’ve read that the more we deny ourselves, the more free we become. Again, this is a difficult concept to grasp, but I’m working on it. It is very counter-cultural. According to what I’ve read, even submissiveness and obedience bring freedom.

The Holy Spirit, Grace, effects the work of detachment. The moment we resolve to avoid all sin and resist temptation, the process of detaching from all that is not The Lord begins…this work will go on for probably our whole lives on different levels and in different ways. When we resolve to spend time in prayer, this asks an act of detaching - detaching from being distracted from God to attaching to spending time with Him…and so this work of detachment from the created order and attaching to the spiritual order will go on. Circumstances will arise in our lives and in the different aspects of our lives that will ask choosing…and when we choose Christ and His Gospel over and above any other option, then we are detaching from something created to attach to Christ and His Gospel - all under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit.
The process of detachment goes on, for example, on a Friday when we perform an act or acts of Penance - choosing our penance (attachment) over and above some other desire to which we are attached, hence detaching from it. We need not necessarily confine this to a Friday.
Many are the ways that we are moved to acts of detachment and attachment…and many are the ways too that circumstances, work of The Holy Spirit, will ask this of one. The danger can be with self chosen, voluntary, acts of detachment is that we are in it solely for the ‘payback’ of feeling good about ourselves in some way - in this case we are detaching from something in order to attach to ourselves and the ‘payback’ - rather than The Lord…we need to trust in and pray to The Holy Spirit to complete the work of detachment in us…and He will and in hidden and diverse ways often.
It is always a great blessing and treasure when seeking to enter deeply into a spiritual life, to seek out and to obtain a spiritual director.

Blessings and regards…Barb

Thanks. I will be on the lookout for ways to detach in daily life. Pride, including spiritual pride, is always a danger for me. It is very hard to keep my ego out of my spiritual practices. I am looking (and praying) for a spiritual director, but haven’t had any luck yet. Maybe I’m not ready yet. I suppose when the time is right, a director will enter my life.

 

[HoosierGal]

While looking for Father Paul Coutinho’s book on Amazon, I found some interesting looking books by Richard Rohr. Especially his “Things Hidden”. Any comments on whether Rohr is a good author? As you may have guessed by now, I’m a new Catholic (baptized not quite 4 months ago ), and a voracious reader, which is not always a good combination, lol. There is a lot of garbage out there, so I depend on kind folks like yourselves to help keep me away from the people that can lead me astray. Thanks!

 

[InLight247]

I haven’t read Richard Rohr’s book, but if I am not mistaken, I think he wrote the “Forward” for Fr. Coutinho’s book “How Big Is Your God?”

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Thanks. I will be on the lookout for ways to detach in daily life. Pride, including spiritual pride, is always a danger for me. It is very hard to keep my ego out of my spiritual practices. I am looking (and praying) for a spiritual director, but haven’t had any luck yet. Maybe I’m not ready yet. I suppose when the time is right, a director will enter my life.

St. Francis of Assisi said that pride will die ten minutes after we do. The battle with pride of some kind and ego is a common one and probably for most it will go on for life. There can even be pride and ego in being downcast in any way because of one’s many failings. If you are unable to find a director, rest assured that the work of The Holy Spirit will continue in you…but do keep on praying and looking.

Blessings…Barb

 

[KingAlfred]

“What is it like to live in the world this way?”

Beautiful, but also difficult. I am constantly tempted to return to the World of Man, and grope at its emptiness.

“It seems that you have probably also detached from caring what others think or do.”

I still stand up against injustice, as our Lord did.

“I’m guessing that you feel very free this way.”

Very free, indeed. I live in the Christian Universal, and nowhere else.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

“Abandonment to Divine Providence” by J.P.de Caussade could be termed a whole concentrated spirituality of detachment…of detaching from what is not God to abandon oneself totally to His Divine Providence and Holy Will in all things, at all times.

ccel.org/ccel/decaussade/abandonment.html

 

[wina]

I am looking (and praying) for a spiritual director, but haven’t had any luck yet. Maybe I’m not ready yet. I suppose when the time is right, a director will enter my life.

Don’t worry about finding spiritual director, I haven’t found it yet either . Just keep praying and let Holy Spirit to guide you.
God bless

 

[beckycmarie]

While looking for Father Paul Coutinho’s book on Amazon, I found some interesting looking books by Richard Rohr. Especially his “Things Hidden”. Any comments on whether Rohr is a good author? As you may have guessed by now, I’m a new Catholic (baptized not quite 4 months ago ), and a voracious reader, which is not always a good combination, lol. There is a lot of garbage out there, so I depend on kind folks like yourselves to help keep me away from the people that can lead me astray. Thanks!

Stay far, far away from any advice from Richard Rohr. He is a dissenter.

The Fr. Richard Rohr Phenomenon

Q&A on Richard Rohr

 

[HoosierGal]

St. Francis of Assisi said that pride will die ten minutes after we do.

“Abandonment to Divine Providence” by J.P.de Caussade could be termed a whole concentrated spirituality of detachment…of detaching from what is not God to abandon oneself totally to His Divine Providence and Holy Will in all things, at all times.

ccel.org/ccel/decaussade/abandonment.html

Thanks!

Don’t worry about finding spiritual director, I haven’t found it yet either . Just keep praying and let Holy Spirit to guide you.
God bless

Love that Holy Spirit!

Stay far, far away from any advice from Richard Rohr. He is a dissenter.

The Fr. Richard Rohr Phenomenon

Q&A on Richard Rohr

YIKES!!

 

[tskrobacz]

Stay far, far away from any advice from Richard Rohr. He is a dissenter.

The Fr. Richard Rohr Phenomenon

Q&A on Richard Rohr

I’d highly recommend you read Things Hidden - Scripture as Spirituality and draw your own conclusions…