Called To Be A Face Of Providence!

Vows of Poverty

The vow of poverty is a way to affirm the truth of our humanity - that nothing can make us complete and satisfied. As lived by religious this vow is a visible reminder that we do not absolutely possess anything. Ultimately we are responsible to God for the way in which we consume things and use them.

We share goods in common. What we have for our use belongs to the community and we depend on the community for what we need. Poverty readies us to be used by God as we are needed, makes us accessible to the poor and witnesses to the beatitudes. While religious poverty is in conflict with the values of the world, directing us to detachment and dispossession, it also urges us to reverence material things as God's gifts.