Detachment and Prayer
In this blog I will speak about detachment, which is a subject that I have meditated on often during this past week. My interest was originally piqued by my reading of St. Josemaria Escriva's homily with the same name. After that I stumbled upon different readings from different sources regarding the same matter. I am a firm believer that God's will is manifested often times through confirmations; these can either take place through other people or through everyday events. After being overwhelmed with these signals I decided that I would write about this subject matter.
Venerable Louis of Granada described detachment in the following words:
"In order to acquire and preserve patience, the Christian should always be prepared for any adversity or affliction, from whatever source it may come. What else is expected from a world so fragile, and from the devils whoa are so envious of our spiritual progress? The prudent man will walk cautiously and well armed, like one who travels into enemy territory. If he does so, he will bear his burdens and afflictions with a lighter heart because he is well prepared for them and when evils befall him, he will understand that God is asking a sacrifice of him."
I find this description of detachment very interesting. The first thing that stands out to me is how he attributes the virtues of patience and prudence to detachment. In other words a person needs to be patient and prudent and through the successful execution of these virtues then one begins to develop a heavenly detachment. So what is meant by a heavenly detachment?
Heavenly detachment in many ways is the fruit of surrender and trust. In order for one to be spiritually detached one needs to surrender completely to the will of God and through this trust one begins to gradually detach from this world. This type of detachment is necessary if one wants to progress in the spiritual life. A perfect example of this type of detachment occurs when Peter and Andrew leave everything behind in order to follow Jesus. (cf. Mark 1: 16-20) They did not think about their present realities, their families, their businesses they simply surrendered and trusted in the call of Jesus. Through their yes they were able to detach from this world and to follow explicitly the call of Christ. This type of detachment can also at times seem reckless because one is temporarily leaving the world, leaving one's duty, even one's talents. St. Josemaria Escriva comments about the proper view of detachment as he states,
"I am not, of course, encouraging you to give up fulfilling your duties or claiming your rights. On the contrary, for any of us in normal circumstances to retreat on this front would be tantamount to a cowardly desertion from the battle of sanctity to which God has called us. You should therefore, with a sure conscience endeavor (above all through your work) to ensure that neither you nor your family lack what is necessary to live with Christian dignity." (p.174)
After the disciples left their lives to follow Jesus they did not leave the world (even if they left their families), their responsibilities, they instead used these normal day to day opportunities, through their surrender in their new mission of spreading the good news throughout Palestine. Detachment from this view is a shedding of expectation, a leaving of one's past life in order to serve the kingdom through the active engagement of the world. Detachment viewed from the light is the perfect embodiment of the golden rule of loving God first then neighbor. Note the order God first neighbor second.
Unfortunately in today's world detachment is mistaken for indifference. In our culture whenever a person is devoid of emotion or expectation that person is said to be detached. From a biblical and spiritual lens this is not the proper exercise of detachment because in this case one is detached to get away from the world, from one's responsibilities, from one's duties. This type of detachment ultimately disengages one from the world. On the other hand detachment from the biblical point of view is a shedding of one's expectations in order to be freed up to better serve God. This type of detachment stresses emptying oneself so that one can be better prepared to serve others. This type of detachment engages the world not runs away from it.
Another manifestation of heavenly detachment is in the area of wealth or finances. St. Escriva talks about how a wealthy woman possessed this heavenly virtue as he relates,
"This lady, of whom I have just been speaking ,lived in an ancestral mansion. But she spent next to nothing on herself. On the other hand, she paid her servants very well and gave the rest of her money to the needy, while depriving herself of almost everything. This lady had many of the goods which so many people are anxious to obtain but she personally was poor, given to mortification and completely detached from everything." (p.181)
This lady possessed heavenly detachment because she was able to maintain being "poor in spirit" while being materially rich. Note that her possessions did not dominate her, did not stymie her spiritual growth or generous spirit; instead these riches were a means of spreading the gospel to her servants and the poor. Her detachment allowed her to be free to use her abundant resources in whatever way God wanted.
It is my prayer that you all ask God to give you the graces necessary to practice detachment. Once you truly become detached from this word then you will be free to serve God, to be joyful, to be selfless, to engage and help the world, through each person, in every encounter, manifesting on earth the boundless love of God.
Venerable Louis of Granada described detachment in the following words:
"In order to acquire and preserve patience, the Christian should always be prepared for any adversity or affliction, from whatever source it may come. What else is expected from a world so fragile, and from the devils whoa are so envious of our spiritual progress? The prudent man will walk cautiously and well armed, like one who travels into enemy territory. If he does so, he will bear his burdens and afflictions with a lighter heart because he is well prepared for them and when evils befall him, he will understand that God is asking a sacrifice of him."
I find this description of detachment very interesting. The first thing that stands out to me is how he attributes the virtues of patience and prudence to detachment. In other words a person needs to be patient and prudent and through the successful execution of these virtues then one begins to develop a heavenly detachment. So what is meant by a heavenly detachment?
Heavenly detachment in many ways is the fruit of surrender and trust. In order for one to be spiritually detached one needs to surrender completely to the will of God and through this trust one begins to gradually detach from this world. This type of detachment is necessary if one wants to progress in the spiritual life. A perfect example of this type of detachment occurs when Peter and Andrew leave everything behind in order to follow Jesus. (cf. Mark 1: 16-20) They did not think about their present realities, their families, their businesses they simply surrendered and trusted in the call of Jesus. Through their yes they were able to detach from this world and to follow explicitly the call of Christ. This type of detachment can also at times seem reckless because one is temporarily leaving the world, leaving one's duty, even one's talents. St. Josemaria Escriva comments about the proper view of detachment as he states,
"I am not, of course, encouraging you to give up fulfilling your duties or claiming your rights. On the contrary, for any of us in normal circumstances to retreat on this front would be tantamount to a cowardly desertion from the battle of sanctity to which God has called us. You should therefore, with a sure conscience endeavor (above all through your work) to ensure that neither you nor your family lack what is necessary to live with Christian dignity." (p.174)
After the disciples left their lives to follow Jesus they did not leave the world (even if they left their families), their responsibilities, they instead used these normal day to day opportunities, through their surrender in their new mission of spreading the good news throughout Palestine. Detachment from this view is a shedding of expectation, a leaving of one's past life in order to serve the kingdom through the active engagement of the world. Detachment viewed from the light is the perfect embodiment of the golden rule of loving God first then neighbor. Note the order God first neighbor second.
Unfortunately in today's world detachment is mistaken for indifference. In our culture whenever a person is devoid of emotion or expectation that person is said to be detached. From a biblical and spiritual lens this is not the proper exercise of detachment because in this case one is detached to get away from the world, from one's responsibilities, from one's duties. This type of detachment ultimately disengages one from the world. On the other hand detachment from the biblical point of view is a shedding of one's expectations in order to be freed up to better serve God. This type of detachment stresses emptying oneself so that one can be better prepared to serve others. This type of detachment engages the world not runs away from it.
Another manifestation of heavenly detachment is in the area of wealth or finances. St. Escriva talks about how a wealthy woman possessed this heavenly virtue as he relates,
"This lady, of whom I have just been speaking ,lived in an ancestral mansion. But she spent next to nothing on herself. On the other hand, she paid her servants very well and gave the rest of her money to the needy, while depriving herself of almost everything. This lady had many of the goods which so many people are anxious to obtain but she personally was poor, given to mortification and completely detached from everything." (p.181)
This lady possessed heavenly detachment because she was able to maintain being "poor in spirit" while being materially rich. Note that her possessions did not dominate her, did not stymie her spiritual growth or generous spirit; instead these riches were a means of spreading the gospel to her servants and the poor. Her detachment allowed her to be free to use her abundant resources in whatever way God wanted.
It is my prayer that you all ask God to give you the graces necessary to practice detachment. Once you truly become detached from this word then you will be free to serve God, to be joyful, to be selfless, to engage and help the world, through each person, in every encounter, manifesting on earth the boundless love of God.
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