God's love for you - 26th May
The Virtues of Mary - Poverty
When Jesus came onto this earth, He chose to be poor so to teach us to despise the goods of this world, therefore He says to whoever wants to be His followers: "If you wants to be perfect, go sell what you has and give it to the poor, and come follow me.", and Mary is indeed His most perfect disciple. Because from the inheritance left by her parents, Mary could have lived in a comfort life , but she only saved a small portion for herself, and gave the rest to the Temple and the poor. Mary herself told St Bridget: "From the beginning I vowed in my heart never to possess any thing in the world." "All that I had I gave to the poor, and kept nothing for myself but poor food and clothing." Another example is, in the Presentation of the Lord, Mary offered two turtle-doves and two young pigeons - the oblation of the poor. If you wonder why that is the case, since the Three Kings gave them some very valuable gifts not so long ago. That is because she gave them all to the poor. And again, because of her love of poverty, she did not refused to marry St Joseph, a poor carpenter; and later on, doing sewing or spinning to support herself. At her death, she left nothing behind her except two poor garments to two women who had helped her during life. But the virtue of poverty is not just being poor, but in loving poverty. As Jesus told us: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." They are blessed, because they wish for nothing but God, they find every good in God, they find in poverty their paradise on earth, like St Francis found it in saying: 'My God and my all'. So let us pray to Our Lord with St Ignatius: Give me only you love together with your grace, and I am rich enough. And when poverty afflicts us, let us console ourselves by the thought that Jesus and His mother have also been poor like us. Ah, my most holy mother, detach me from the world, and draw me after you to love that one who alone merits to be loved. Amen.
(Source: St Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, P J Kenedy & Sons, 1888)
