poverty

[theculturewarrior]

What is poverty, in theological terms? Is it the absence of anything? Or does that absent thing have to fall on a hierarchy of needs, and if so, to Catholics have their own pyramid of needs, like Maslov's?

I was thinking, some people are poor because they don't have families, and some people are poor because they haven't felt God's love for them. Would this latter be poverty in spirit, like the beatitude's say? Or is there a spiritual poverty that is distinguished from poverty in spirit? A poverty that is not blessed?

What is poverty in spirit, and why is it good? Is material poverty bad?

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus blesses the poor and curses the rich, without qualification. (Ch. 6?) Does this mean that we should seek material poverty?

(I have a feeling I'm going to go away sad, like the rich man. )

[cappie]

From the Catechism:

Re the poverty of spirit of the beatitudes

2833 "Our" bread is the "one" loaf for the "many." In the Beatitudes "poverty" is the virtue of sharing: it calls us to communicate and share both material and spiritual goods, not by coercion but out of love, so that the abundance of some may remedy the needs of others.

The vow of poverty as expressed as an evangelical counsel:

2103 The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical counsels:

Mother Church rejoices that she has within herself many men and women who pursue the Savior's self-emptying more closely and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the freedom of the children of God, and renouncing their own will: they submit themselves to man for the sake of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in the matter of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.


Thus I would say that poverty as expressed by the church does not include the destitution of poverty which would be wrong.