#7 “To live in the will of God, according to our state in life.”

Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi: "We avail ourselves of the things of the earth with an upright intention, with moderation, with temperance. To live in the will of God, according to our state in life. The way the Church teaches is according to your state in life. So if you have children, if you have a bank account, if you have a house, if you have property, if you have a car, you have to take care of these things. You have to. That is the will of God.

I'm not saying pamper yourself with all these things. But use what's necessary. And don't have any qualms of conscience in doing so. Saint Don Bosco was a great example of someone who used money, who used earthly things. Even Mother Teresa, people would donate things to her, and she used them. And people criticized her for doing so. And shame on them. She used them for God's glory.

And there's nothing wrong with that. So detachment in this sense of the word is not to be taken in its extreme state. It's to be taken in the context of the state and life in which we live. So the virtue underlying detachment is simplicity. Right? The difference between simplicity and misery is simplicity is accompanied by one's initiative to help others and themselves in life through the talents God gave them.

So if someone is given the gift of medicine, they become a doctor to help their family and to help others. But they can live a simple life. A simple life also known as a state of poverty. Poverty is not misery. It's simplicity in its exemplification. Misery is someone who doesn't do anything to improve their life or that of another. Sort of like someone living without using their talents, wasting their time and life. That's misery. And it's not to be found in the Gospel anywhere. Misery is not a virtue, but simplicity and poverty is.

The virtue of poverty is intimately linked to detachment. In as much as it effectively removes from the body all inordinate attachment to earthly things. The key word, inordinate. So someone can be attached to earthly things, but not in an inordinate sense. Christ was attached when He wept over the death of Lazarus. But He also wept over Jerusalem, right? He loved His children, and He wept over their plight. He wept at the feet of Judas Iscariot, who was so hardened that He would not change."