As I begin discerning a vocation, I can’t help but think of taking a vow of poverty. Honestly, I will be fine with giving up nearly all of my personal belongings. Here’s the thing, I am very much attached to my books. I could pretty easily give away most of them, but there are some that I would have a hard time parting with. If I took a vow of poverty, would I have to give up my bible or 10 or so other books that I am very attached to? What about prayer books, rosary beads, prayer cards etc?
Can someone explain this vow to me? Did anyone have a difficult time letting go of particularly sentimental objects?
P.S. I know not all priests (don’t all religious?) take the vow of poverty. Correct me where I’m wrong, Thanks!
Techincally, the Dominican order does not include books under the vow of poverty. Indeed, most Dominicans will have a bookshelf in their cell. The book, after all, is his weapon with which he fights against whatever opposes the faith, and his desk is the cross upon which he crucifies himself, in hidden service to God’s people.
That’s not to say that a Dominican cannot contravene his vow of poverty in the way he treats his books-- but it is to say that simply the fact of owning books is not taken to be contrary to the Dominican charism and the vow, as lived, in the Dominican order. (And I do recommend that you do some reading on St. Dominic and poverty… there’s a good discussion in Guy Bedouelle’s “The Grace of the Word”-- some people don’t realize that the Dominican ideal in poverty, at its roots, is perhaps just as radical as the Franciscan ideal.)
Now, if you had asked that question of some
very early spiritualist Franciscans, you might get an opposite answer. But even St. Dominic, who followed the vow of poverty most strictly of any member of the order of Preachers, owned books.
Most other orders may not deal so specifically with the issue of books, but you’ll certainly be expected to own books. At the very least, a bible and a set of breviaries (in order to pray the divine office), and likely spiritual reading (most modern saints read some sort of spiritual reading-- St. Therese had well-worn copies of the Imitation of Christ, and St. John of the Cross’s spiritual works).
The real question is…
why are you so attached to these things? Is it because they are useful for your vocation? A Dominican might justify his books under the auspices of
zeal for souls. After all, everything must needs be directed towards the end goal of the apostolate, which is simply the salvation of souls. And the Dominican’s books are necessary tools in his ministry for the salvation of souls. It follows, rather trivially, that he will have books.
What you need to avoid is possessiveness and hoarding. Every time a free book pops up, it isn’t necessary that you take it (and it’s very unlikely that you need all of them), and it may be salutary to prune your collection of books from time to time (honestly, you aren’t going to need many of the books you have… but many more you’ll need for the purpose of teaching or preaching).
You’ll be expected to pray the rosary, so you will need a rosary. Even if you have a rosary with your habit, like many religious orders do, you won’t always be wearing your habit. You will need a rosary. And rosaries break. At least I break rosaries. So you might as well bring your own in. Likewise, prayer cards are helpful for devotion, and necessary for remembering the deceased. How else will the souls of the faithful departed receive our prayers, unless we pray for them? You’ll get prayer cards at funerals, solemn professions for religious orders, at ordinations… and more. Place prayer cards in your bible and breviary, so that you can offer prayers for all of the people who need your grace-- either to see the beatific vision or to persevere in grace in their vocation.
When you see the life in action, you won’t be worried.
Poverty is very difficult inasmuch as you need to rely on others. Ultimately, it is about denying one’s will and growing in humility and detachment, so one can grow into union with God, and poverty, as it is lived, is a means to that, not an end in itself. Within limits, there are few strict details on how the vow of poverty must be lived… and it varies from order to order. And within any order, it varies from stricter to looser interpretations. Sure, some of this is based on rigor or laxity, but some of it is also based on a concession to human weakness and the differences of human persons. What’s important is to learn the spirit of how the vow of poverty is to be lived in the order you enter, and to strive to realize its ideal, in your specific life and circumstances. God bless,
Rob
Make sure that you get the advice of your spiritual director and keep your ego in check. This should be a way to help you, not make you prideful in thought by saying:
but i will make that sacrafice for JESUS and join the Franciscans.