By Prakash Mallavarapu, Archbishop of Visakhapatnam –
The attitude and the disposition of detachment in a person’s life, just as the desire for and attachment to wealth and possessions, result from the process of conscious decision. Detachment becomes a goal difficult to attain due to the fear of tomorrow about the needs of the bodily sphere of life, need for enjoyment in life, the inbuilt instinct to feel secure, seeking security of life in the possession of wealth and material things, etc.
What will help the disciple of Jesus to gradually grow in detachment will be that a person tries to live trusting God and in His providence, believing that what he/she needs for his/her daily will be provided, and slowly realizing that wealth and material possessions cannot give security he/she is seeking. The passing realities cannot give assurance of security. On the contrary, attachment to riches and material possessions can bring an increase of anxieties and worries. Seek first the Kingdom of heaven and all the rest will be given to you is the teaching of Our Lord.
Doing all that is within our human possibilities and potentialities, one should cultivate an attitude of trusting in the Divine Providence. Detachment is a positive attitude in the sense that it makes one say, “I need wealth and material things, but I do not want to be possessed by wealth and material possessions!”
Right from the Old Testament times, one thing that God constantly detested, and devout souls in the long history of the Church detested, was the attachment to and avarice for riches. Human beings can become so self-conscious and self-dependent because of their wealth and material possessions that they can forget God and His commandments, forget fellow human beings, and live as if only riches matter. Prophets were sent to remind such people and warn them of their downfall if they do not heed to what is being told to them. It is not just about having or not having riches but it is about the effect or influence of the riches on the given person bringing about changes riches would bring in a person’s relationship with God and fellow human beings.
In the parable of the rich fool Our Lord teaches that the riches do not go beyond the point of death; and in the parable of the ‘Rich man and Lazarus” (Lk 16: 1931), Our Lord teaches how one loses one’s life: “So it is with those who who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God” (Lk 12:21).
The point made is not the condemnation of riches. Jesus is inviting his followers to see the downfall of one’s self due to attachment to riches. Attachment to the well being of the soul and the eternal life that one should attain should be the goal. For that, detachment to riches is the way! For the disciples of Jesus as well as others there is a question to face: why should one renounce or give up or be a detached person? Well, there is a primary concern in life and there are secondary or tertiary concerns before a given person.
The primary concern is from the particular state of life: a single, married, parent, an officer, a manager, etc. Each of these will determine primary duties and obligations for the sake of which other things that interfere with them will have to be put aside. When it comes to being a member of a religious tradition and a particular belief system within that religious tradition, it is necessary that the members adhere to and keep away from things that are contrary or directly against the belief system.
If one is attached to the particular teachings and belief system, and if one wants to faithfully and consistently adhere to them, it is necessary to be detached from whatever that might interfere or whatever that could lead to compromising. In this way, attachment and detachment dynamic is applicable to people of different walks of life. The problem arises when one wants to be faithful to the primary concerns / duties / obligations / responsibilities and at the same time want to have / possess / enjoy other things as well.
Applying this point to priests and religious or married couples, detachment from relationships that go against celibacy or chastity and marital commitment to one’s spouse is a must. As a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of the Church one should ask and say, What do I do or what should I do to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, a disciple who is a priest, a religious and a married person? One cannot be a disciple of Jesus in some aspects of life and in some other aspects be different.
Attachment to Our Lord Jesus Christ out of deep personal love can and will alone help to remain detached from other relationships and things! In a marital relationship one’s attachment to the spouse, faithfulness to the promises made out of love and respect can alone help the person to be detached from other relationships and situations. It is a question of upright decision and willingness to abide by it! One cannot serve both God and mammon!
The Apostles and Apostolic Church, and the Monastic Tradition: in the Church speak loud and clear as to how for the sake of Jesus Christ and for the sake of the Mission of the Church they embraced a life of self denial and self sacrifice and they stand before us the present generation of Christians, as inspiring and challenging models of attachment to Christ and detachment to riches and material possessions.
In our Christian presence in our Mother land we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ who live to bear witness to Christ and His Gospel. It is good to review and see as priests, men and women religious, and those in the married state of life what our primary concerns are and how attached we are to Christ, to the Church, and to the life and mission of the Church.
Because of our attachment to Christ and His Church we strive to give evidence as to how and to what we are detached to things contrary to Christ and his Gospel. Here, St. Paul’s words about his life of attachment to Christ and to the mission for which he was called are very inspiring and challenging: “Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to zeal a persecutor of the Church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible may attain the resurrection from the dead. “(Phi 3:4-11).