St. Francis and the myth of the “good life”

Friday, 03 October 2008 03:02 PM Fr. Robert Reyes

The good life is relative. Some individuals, groups and nations have more of it while whole populations live in misery. The good life is a euphemism for control of land and the dwindling resources of the earth. Because of the myth of the good life, wars have been and continue to be fought. There is war in many parts of the world. Again, war has erupted in Mindanao.

Hundreds of years ago, a young man from a rich family discovered the difference between the good life and the simple life. He knew the good life. He enjoyed it and certainly lived it to the full. Something though seemed lacking. The rich young man gradually saw and understood what it was. There was his father’s clothing business, their big house, the parties, his friends, the ladies he courted and serenaded. There was so much to do, so much to earn and acquire. The possibilities and opportunities seemed endless until the rich young man began asking the question, “what is all of these for?” His question made him see the absurdity of the “good life.” Instead of pursuing the apparently complex and infinite possibilities of the “good life” he went the other way and discovered the opposite, the freedom and joy of the “simple life.”

This rich young man became a revolutionary and a saint. He challenged the proponents of the good life not through words but by offering a radical alternative. Francis of Assissi embraced poverty and became God’s poverello, the poor man of God.

If St. Francis were with us now, how would he respond to these two events, the American financial crisis and the Mindanao crisis? The saint would more likely keep quiet and instead offer the silent witness of his life. More than a non-preoccupation with money, he will be totally detached and even disdainful towards money. He will be almost opposed to consumerism as he would emphasize being instead of having. Vis a vis all forms of violence from interpersonal conflicts to war, he will work on the violence from its roots within to its vast ramifications without. As Francis would yesterday, he would today walk and live the simple life…and gently unmask the myths and lies of the good life.

Fr. Roberto P. Reyes
Asian Human Rights Commission
October 3 2008

Photo “Old City Cemetery: Statue of St. Francis” by valeehill on flickr; licensed under Creative Commons License BY-ND-2.0.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites