Treasure in Heaven

An indispensable aspect of authentic religious life, the vow and counsel of poverty - internal and external detachment from goods, others, and self, rooted in secure attachment to our poor Spouse, Jesus Christ - is a gift of the Most Holy Trinity to transform our being and way of living. ​​

In its essence and highest degree, religious poverty is not deprivation; it is an interior attitude of loving dependence which grows out of a relationship. Christ gives His whole self unreservedly to us - our reception of this inestimable gift is contained in our choice to allow God to love us and to lead us in His paths. The practice of religious poverty effects a divine transformation in the soul, leading the religious to have the same tastes and ways as God. Deeply united with God in love, her relationship to the world and the things of the world is transformed - the value of some objects and relationships, while remaining necessary and vital for her life, decreases. The bonds which bind her to Christ take on ever increasing richness and significance as she strives to live more closely His very life, storing up treasure in heaven.