Episode 3217: The Freedom of Less: Keeping Up with Christ, Not the Joneses

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Book Recommendation of the Day
St. Joseph of Copertino by Angelo Pastrovicchi a classic biography.
The Reluctant Saint (1962) directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Maximilian Schell as Joseph of Cupertino
So I am helping with the preparations of my 50th Grade school reunion and as I was putting together a slide show I could help but notice that me and my classmates lived a very simple life and you could tell by the way we dressed and the houses we grew up in and the size of our families. I was born into a family of 12 and was raised the Greatest Generation parents. When we think of the Greatest Generation those who endured the Great Depression and fought in World War II we think of a people formed by sacrifice, tempered by hardship, and strengthened by discipline. They knew, perhaps better than any generation since, that life was not about luxury but about survival, about sacrifice, and above all about building a family.
For them, success was not measured in square footage, shiny cars, or the latest conveniences. Success was measured at the dinner table in whether there was food to share, whether children were raised with faith, discipline, and respect, and whether families stuck together through lean times. The Greatest Generation did not dream of building mansions; they dreamed of building homes places of stability, love, and prayer.
And discipline was absolutely necessary. Without it, families could not endure the scarcity of the Depression or the uncertainty of war. Children were taught early the value of hard work, obedience, and self-control. If something broke, you fixed it. If you were hungry, you learned to do with less. If life was unfair, you learned to endure it with patience. This discipline was not seen as harshness, but as a gift the very thing that made survival, resilience, and growth possible. I wrote a book about growing up in our Chicago neighborhood called the Grand & Harlem Days and its filled with this type of experience.
But with the rise of the Baby Boomer generation, something changed. Prosperity replaced poverty. Sacrifice gave way to abundance. Parents, having suffered much, wanted their children to enjoy what they themselves had been denied. It was an understandable desire, but it gradually eroded the instinct for sacrifice. Children were raised not so much in discipline as in comfort. The dream shifted: no longer to build a family that could endure hardship, but to build a lifestyle that could impress the neighbors. “Keeping up with the Joneses” became a cultural obsession. As a matter of fact the later end of the baby-boomer generation is actually referred to as the Jones Generation.
Spiritually, this change carried deep consequences. Where the Greatest Generation had trained their children in endurance and sacrifice, the Baby Boomer era too often trained their children in indulgence and self-fulfillment. The discipline that once kept souls sharp began to dull. The ascetic spirit of “do with what you have” was replaced with “get what you want.”
The Desert Fathers would have seen this danger clearly. They left behind wealth, honor, and even comfort itself not because these things were evil, but because they knew how easily they enslave the heart. They lived the truth that the Greatest Generation, in their own way, also understood: discipline is the foundation of freedom, and sacrifice is the price of true joy.
And so we stand today in a culture overflowing with possessions, yet starving for meaning. We have more than any generation before us, but less peace, less stability, and less discipline. The Desert Fathers speak into this moment with timeless clarity: if we wish to see God, we must free our hearts from the love of things and train our souls in discipline, simplicity, and detachment.
As Christ Himself reminds us: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19–20).
The question for us is this: will we recover the discipline of doing with less, the freedom of detachment, the spiritual focus that comes from asceticism? Or will we allow possessions and pleasures to weigh us down, keeping us from running swiftly to Christ?
The Freedom of Less: How Greatest Generation Point Us Back to God
The Weight of Possessions
The Desert Fathers fled into the wilderness not only to escape persecution but also to free themselves from the snares of worldly possessions. They believed that wealth and attachment to material goods created anxiety, pride, and distraction from God.
Their teaching is striking for us today, because we live in a culture that measures life by possessions, career, and consumption. The Fathers’ radical detachment is not a call to despise creation, but to place it in proper order to use things, but not be enslaved by them.
In their sayings, detachment was about freedom: freedom to serve God with an undivided heart.
Segment 1: Sayings of the Desert Fathers
• Abba Agathon:
“A man who is attached to a possession is like one who has a heavy load on his shoulders: he cannot run to meet Christ.”
For Agathon, even small attachments weigh the soul down, keeping it from the swiftness of charity and prayer.
• Abba Theodore:
“He who wishes to live in the desert must free himself from all care, lest he be enslaved by anxiety over things.”
Anxiety over possessions was seen as slavery it bound the monk’s heart to earthly worries.

• Abba Joseph told a visitor:
“If you want to find rest here below and hereafter, say in every situation: I, who am I?”
Detachment begins with humility realizing we are not defined by what we own but by belonging to God.
• Abba Daniel observed:
“At the judgment, monks will not be asked why they did not perform miracles, but why they did not detach themselves from possessions.”
For the Fathers, detachment was a measure of holiness itself.
Segment 2: Why This Teaching is Relevant Today
The Desert Fathers’ warnings about possessions are uncannily prophetic in light of modern life:
1. Consumerism and Materialism
Our society tells us happiness is found in buying more, upgrading often, and keeping up appearances. Yet the more we acquire, the more restless we become. The Fathers would call this slavery, not freedom.

2. Debt and Anxiety
Many families are crushed under financial strain, enslaved to mortgages, credit cards, and endless bills. Abba Theodore’s words ring true: possessions often bring more anxiety than joy.
3. Attachment in the Church
Even within parishes, we sometimes see attachment to prestige, property, or comfort at the expense of spiritual vitality. The Fathers remind us: holiness does not depend on buildings or wealth, but on hearts detached for God.
4. Identity in Things
Our culture says: “You are what you own.” The Fathers would answer: “You are what you love.” If our heart clings to possessions, it is not free to love God above all.
This teaching is educational because most Catholics today don’t realize how deeply possessions shape their spiritual life. It is inspirational because it offers freedom: the less we cling to things, the more our souls can rise to heaven.

Segment 3: Remedies from the Desert Tradition
The Fathers gave practical advice on how to cultivate detachment:
1. Simplicity of Life
Own what is sufficient, not excessive. Abba Macarius said:
“If you have bread and a cloak, you have all you need.”
Simplicity clears away distractions and opens the heart to prayer.
2. Generosity and Almsgiving
The surest way to detach from possessions is to give them away. The Fathers urged their disciples to give to the poor, reminding them that “what is given is never lost, but stored in heaven.”
3. Interior Poverty
Even if one possesses material goods, the Fathers emphasized freedom of the heart. True detachment is not necessarily the absence of things, but the refusal to be ruled by them.
4. Examination of Attachments
The Fathers urged self-reflection: “Does this thing serve my salvation, or does it hinder it?” If it hinders, it must go.
5. Voluntary Sacrifice
Fasting, vigils, and giving up comforts were practical ways to loosen the grip of possessions on the heart.
Segment 4: Fruits of Detachment
The Desert Fathers saw detachment as bearing great spiritual fruits:
• Freedom — without possessions weighing them down, they were free to pray, love, and serve without anxiety.
• Peace — detachment removed the restlessness of wanting more.
• Charity — freed from greed, they gave generously to others.
• Union with God — poverty of spirit made room for God to dwell richly in the heart.
Christ’s words echoed in their lives: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19–20).

Conclusion: Running Free to Christ
The Desert Fathers remind us that possessions are not evil in themselves, but attachment to them enslaves the soul. Detachment is not deprivation but freedom the freedom to love God without hindrance.
In a world addicted to more, they call us back to simplicity. In a culture chained by possessions, they invite us to poverty of spirit. In the Church, they remind us that holiness is measured not by what we have, but by what we are willing to give up for Christ.
As Abba Agathon said:
“A man who is attached to a possession is like one who has a heavy load on his shoulders: he cannot run to meet Christ.”
Let us cast off the weight, so we may run swiftly into His arms.
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 13:1–8
"If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing... Charity never falleth away."
Reflection on the Epistle
St. Paul teaches that charity true love rooted in God is the foundation of Christian life. Eloquence, knowledge, even faith itself are empty without charity. It is not enough to perform great deeds or to know theological truths; if we lack love for God and neighbor, it is all meaningless.
For us as traditional Catholics, this Epistle warns against the danger of practicing the externals of faith devotions, liturgy, customs without interior charity. Tradition is not a costume; it is the clothing of the soul with the life of Christ.
St. Joseph of Cupertino exemplified this. Despite being considered unintelligent and clumsy in worldly matters, he became a saint because of his burning love for God and his deep humility. It was his charity, not his mystical levitations, that made him holy.

Gospel – Matthew 22:1–14
"The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son... And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent. Then the king said: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen."
Reflection on the Gospel
This parable reveals the seriousness of salvation. God invites all to the wedding feast of His Son the Church, the eternal banquet of heaven. But to remain, we must wear the wedding garment: sanctifying grace and a life of virtue. To enter without it is to insult the King and to risk eternal loss.
From a traditional perspective, this is a reminder that external participation in the Church attending Mass, calling ourselves Catholic is not enough. We must be clothed in grace through the sacraments, purified by confession, and adorned with works of charity.
St. Joseph of Cupertino understood this well. His mystical raptures were not an escape from the world but an outpouring of a soul already clothed in charity and humility. He lived poorly, served joyfully, and sought no honor. His “wedding garment” was woven of simplicity, obedience, and love.
Feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino
Born in 1603, Joseph was considered slow and incapable, rejected even by his peers. Yet God chose him to confound the wise. As a Franciscan friar, he was marked by humility, poverty, and deep prayer. During Mass and prayer, he would often be caught up in ecstasy, lifted into the air by the power of divine love.
But his sanctity was not in the levitations it was in his humility, patience under ridicule, and constant charity. He reminds us that God exalts the lowly and that true greatness lies not in talents or recognition, but in loving God with all our heart.

Application for Today
• Clothe yourself in charity: Like the wedding garment, charity is essential. Without it, no external practice has meaning.
• Examine your life: Are you truly clothed in sanctifying grace, or do you merely stand among the guests without the garment of virtue?
• Embrace humility: Like St. Joseph of Cupertino, accept your weaknesses as opportunities for God’s power to shine.
• Love above all: Devotions, traditions, and knowledge must all be rooted in love, or they risk becoming empty shells.
Conclusionary Prayer
O Lord, who didst exalt the humble St. Joseph of Cupertino and inflame his heart with love for Thee, grant us the grace to glory not in talents or appearances but in charity alone. Clothe us in the wedding garment of grace, that we may enter the eternal feast with joy. Through the intercession of St. Joseph of Cupertino, may we persevere in humility, obedience, and love until we see Thee face to face.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us.