Marianist Vows: Poverty

Fr. Martin Solma, SM

Spectacle of Saints happily welcomes Fr. Martin Solma, SM as our guest blogger for the next few editions. We asked Fr. Marty to share some thoughts on the vows that Marianist religious take, and how the vows might relate to those beyond religious life, including the PULSE community. Fr. Marty entered the Society of Mary in 1966 and was ordained in 1978. He served for 28 years in Kenya, including as Superior for the Marianist District of East Africa. He is a past Provincial for the Marianist Province of the US and his beloved hometown is Cleveland, Ohio.

I’ve been asked to share some reflections about the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as these might relate to members of PULSE and beyond. As a Marianist, I think the vow of stability is also essential. I was happy for the invitation.

Although these vows are taken by religious as a sign of consecrated life, the issues they are meant to address are of universal concern to Christians, regardless of vocation.  Poverty points to our relationship with the material world; chastity points to our relationships to others as sexual persons; obedience points to the domain of human

Then Marianist Provincial Fr. Martin Solma leads the applause 

as Bro. Brandon Alana-Maugaotega celebrates his profession 

of perpetual vows as a Marianist brother.

freedom and self-determination.  These themes find a particular expression in the vowed, religious life and they are equally important for all Christian vocations, although variously expressed.

In the course of these blog entries, I’d like to reflect upon the underlying themes and how they might relate to young lay members within the Marianist Family, especially those involved in PULSE. I will devote this first reflection to “poverty”; subsequent reflections will address the other areas, culminating with some reflections concerning Marianist “stability.”

At the completion of Creation, God saw all that had been made and declared it “very good.” The world around us, and its many beautiful things, are meant for our delight and enjoyment and respectful use. But, in our sinful dysfunction, we attach ourselves to these beautiful things and expect them to satisfy the human heart. They cannot. But, like the person trying to empty the massive ocean into a hole on the beach, we keep carrying our little buckets of water. St. Augustine knew the temptation;

“Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.”

When we attempt to make the “beautiful things” of creation do what only God can do, we end up frustrated. And, all too often, an addictive cycle is established which keeps us dependent and unfree. We are driven to grab more and more and more (power, pleasure, esteem, and things) which can never fill “the hole in the heart.”

“Poverty” in the Christian life calls us to a “detachment” from the created world. This does not mean that we are unrelated to the world. Detachment is meant to help us avoid the temptation of becoming “addicted”, expecting the beautiful things of creation to do what only God can do: satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.  

For religious, this gets expressed in simplicity of life, owning nothing, and living with a common purse. The vow, when lived well, can lead to simplicity, detachment and generosity. 

For members of PULSE and other lay Marianists, simplicity of life, respectful use of and care for creation, detachment that leads to greater freedom, and generosity are clear signs that grace has penetrated this area of life.