The
Temptation of ‘Limbolatry’
Before
the pleasures, even legitimate ones, that earthly life can offer, man easily
forgets the eternity for which he was created.
Msgr.
João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, EP
Article
from the Heralds of the Gospel magazine, Vol. 7, No. 70. Aug 2013
13 One of the multitude said to Him,
“Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who
made Me a judge or divider over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed,
and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man
brought forth plentifully; 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere
to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and
build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul: Soul,
you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be
merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of
you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God” (Lk 12: 13-21).
I – A VOCATION EXCHANGED FOR A LOCK...
The story is told of a monk who ended up abandoning his vocation
in exchange for a mere trifle. He had worked for years as a skilled blacksmith
and had felt, at one point, a strong inner urge to follow the path of the
contemplative life. Leaving everything, he set out for a monastery, where he
was admitted.
Shortly after his entrance, he was appointed a cell with a door
that constantly creaked and rattled, day and night, for it would not close
properly. To solve the problem, our monk, with the superior’s permission, made
a magnificent door lock. He fixed the door itself, adjusting it to the
doorframe. In the end, he had transformed it in- to a piece that could serve as
a model for the en- tire community.
Delighted with his own work, he walked through the corridors of
the building, impressed that not another lock could be found to com- pare to
his, so perfect and well finished. But as the months wore on, an excessive
attachment for the apparently innocuous apparatus began to take hold of him.
One day the abbot ordered a change of cells in the community.
Downcast at the thought of having to repeat the painstaking work in his new location, the
monk-blacksmith asked per- mission to take the lock with him. However, by
decision of the superior, no one was permitted to transfer any part of the
furnishings from one cell to another. Unhappy with the prior’s ruling and
unwilling to renounce his excellent lock, the monk tore it off the door,
resolving to abandon the religious vocation received from God’s hands, taking
with him the object of his attachment and throwing himself into the ways of the
world...
What is behind this story of the
monk’s lock? ….
II – THE DANGER OF COVETOUSNESS
To correct this human outlook, He
sent them on mission,
giving them power to expel devils
The episode narrated in this Gospel takes place when Jesus and
His disciples are on the way to Jerusalem, the city where He will con- summate
His divine mission. He had already foretold the Passion twice previously (cf.
Lk 9: 22, 44). Nevertheless, the disciples did not understand the lofty
significance of this proclamation and still held out hope of being the first in
the supposed Messianic Kingdom that Christ would found in this world (cf. Lk 9:
45-46). To correct this human outlook, He sent them on mission, giving them
power to expel devils, and taught them the Our Father, inciting them to
perseverance and confidence in prayer (cf. Lk 10:1,17; 11:1-4). It was while
exercising this supernatural ministry that this unusual re- quest was made to
the Master.
13 One of the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, bid my brother
divide the inheritance with me.”
The initial words of the Gospel
passage being contemplated clearly show Our Lord’s dis- position of attending
to all those around Him. Maintaining open access to Himself, without any
intermediary, He was always ready to respond to the needs of those who came to
Him. This minute detail alone is enough to fill us with confidence.
In fact, the scene narrated portrays the case of one who turns
to Jesus for help. He is obviously a younger brother experiencing problems in
securing the division of the inheritance due to him. Under Jewish civil law,
when two brothers inherited a bequest from their father, it was to be divided
into three portions, with two going to the elder sibling and only a third to
the younger (cf. Dt 21: 17).1 Given the covetousness of human nature, despite the
Law, this precept did not prevent frequent quarrels at the time of its
application. Such disputes would commonly be taken before a judge, a rabbi or
some other adequate arbitrator. As Lagrange comments, “the rabbis had
accustomed the Jews to have recourse to them to settle questions that should
essentially have been resolved according to the principles of the Law.”2
A defect common to every era
The contender of the Gospel, in approaching Our Lord to ask His
intervention in the division of his family possessions, does not seem to have
paused to reflect on the Master’s grandeur, see- ing Him merely as a popular
figure who would be a sure advocate in the cause that he wishes to win for
himself. We can imagine him as having lost his parents at a mature age. His
youth has already passed and he desires to assure his future, a concern that
often takes the fore as a person ages.3 This is the mentality of those who, at this stage in
their life, lose their sense of generosity and their capacity to understand the transitory
nature of temporal possessions. The younger brother of the Gospel has his eyes
fixed on his future, in what we could describe— despite the paradox—as the
perpetuity of this world.
Since Adam and Eve left Terrestrial Paradise, human nature has
been searching for the fruit of the tree of life in exile, in their earthly
home. Nowadays as well, and even more intensely than in earlier times, there is
an ambition to find, through medicine, a ‘fountain of eternal life;’ in the
hope of living in a permanent limbo in this world. This very common attitude
was called ‘limbolatry’4 in the expression of Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.
It is a term that aptly describes the position of those who adore a happy
existence in an end- less limbo, continually enjoying the pleasures of this
world, while forgetting the true eternity and the supernatural. Let us observe
the Divine Redeemer’s response toward such a view of life, implicit in the
request narrated in the Gospel.
Our Lord’s mission was not temporal
Nowadays as well, there is an ambition to find a
“fountain of eternal life,”
in the hope of living in a permanent limbo in this
world
14 But He said to him, “Man, who
made Me a judge or divider over you?”
The Gospel’s make no clear and explicit mention of Jesus having
denied any request, especially one made with sincere humility of heart.
Nevertheless, with this man, He refuses to pronounce Himself on the matter, as
this is not His mission, but rather that of the judges and rabbis who legally
held this responsibility. According to St. Ambrose, “well does He avoid earthly
things Who had descended for the sake of divine things, and deign not to be a
judge of strifes and arbiter of inheritances, He having the judgment of the living
and dead and the recompensing of works.”5
These first verses are sufficient to afford us a beautiful
lesson. Christ’s reaction shows us that when someone desires a good only for
it- self, God withdraws. However, zealous for the eternal salvation of all, He
offers this man a new teaching on the danger of becoming disproportionately
involved in questions of family inheritance. “The plaintiff demands half the
inheritance,” St. Augustine affirms, “he asks for half of an earthly
inheritance, and the Lord offers him a full inheritance in Heaven; He gives him more than
what he asked.”6 This was because the man was turned toward visible goods with an
uncommon affectivity, wanting them in his hands at all costs.
What is covetousness?
15 And He said to them, “Take heed, and beware of all
covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions.”
First, we are surprised that Our Lord uses the expression “take
heed,” to show the key importance of what He is about to proclaim. In this
verse, we should note that when Jesus speaks of “all covetousness” He is saying
that we should not be excessively focused on the question of money. But not
only this. Indeed, had He said only “covetousness,” it could have meant simply
money. But “beware of all covetousness” may or may not refer to money; thus, it
includes other material goods.
If we desire something for our own stability or personal good,
dissociated from the love of God and striven after with greediness, this is
called covetousness. The Angelic Doctor teach- es us that the sin of
covetousness occurs by “wishing to acquire or keep them [riches] im-
moderately. This is what is meant by covetous- ness, which is defined as
immoderate love of possessing.”7 Returning, then, to the story of the unhappy
monk-blacksmith, we could ask: how is it possible that the life of a man can be
summed up in the love of a lock?
Let us be honest and look directly at the broad assortment of
goods surrounding us. St. John of the Cross describes them precisely: “We understand
by temporal goods, riches, status, positions and other pretensions, and even
children, relatives, marriage, etc.”8 These goods can even consist of a lock, an animal or
any object to which we become attached excessively or in an imbalanced manner,
while it draws us away from God.
Nevertheless, there are other forms of covetousness such as that
of sentimentalism and romanticism, which make us put God aside to adore what is
merely human. When people give their heart to covetousness for the consideration
and adoration of others—which is the essence of romanticism—they will always
want more, and experience constant restlessness. Yet another form of
covetousness is vanity, which leads to the desire to call attention to oneself,
whether for physical beauty, giving rise to excessive care for personal
appearance, or for believing that one possesses uncommon intelligence or is
gifted with other qualities. We can even be covetous of our health, taking
disproportionate and exclusive precautions toward the body and the treatment of
illnesses.
Attachment can be focused on a few goods
Our Lord speaks of an “abundance of possessions.” However, we
should remember that even being in circumstances of material scarcity, whether
monetary or of other types of goods, does not mean being free from the risk of
attachment to some object, as the story about the monk and the lock
demonstrates.
In this sense, continuing his analysis, St. John of the Cross
comments how, in fact, the disorderly affection for material abundance is terrible,
but explains that if a person has many goods his appreciation is divided among
all of them. For example, if a person possessing a thousand gold coins were to
lose only one, being left with 999, this would not signify a great blow.
However, should he lose 999, all his care for the thousand coins would then be
concentrated on the one that remains. It is seen, then, that those who have few
goods can have as strong an attachment for them as a nabob for his entire
fortune, forgetting God for their cause.
Nevertheless, to emphasize an important nuance in this parable,
Jesus is not condemning the possession of goods, nor the principle of property,
but rather covetousness; namely, immoderation toward temporal goods.9
A man blessed by God
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man
brought forth plentifully;”
From the outset, the Divine Master stresses the fortune of this
man of the parable. He was rich and well established; all his needs were met
plentifully. Livestock and agriculture were, in fact, the main sources of
wealth in Palestine at that time. Thus, he benefitted from God’s generosity,
which afforded him the joy of living in abundance. He had been so favoured that
his land yielded a plentiful harvest; from what we can assume by the rest of
the narrative, much greater than usual.
Now, to whom did this land belong? Undoubtedly, it was the
property of the farmer, but who created it? Who made it produce fruit?
Certainly it was the sower. But who made the seed germinate? Going further, we
reach the conclusion that, in the end, everything is from God and belongs to
Him alone! “From God come all these benefits, the good land, the right climate,
the abundance of seeds, the help of the oxen and everything that the farmer
needs to produce abundantly. And what do we find in this man?”10 We find
that, in face of Divine Providence’s goodness, he did not react with
reciprocity.
Egoism and covetousness always go hand in hand
The protagonist of the parable wants to store the produce
from the good harvest exclusively for his own enjoyment
17 “and he thought to himself, ‘What
shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I
will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my
grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have ample goods laid up
for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’”
The initial attitude of the landowner is that of one who
suddenly finds himself in a situation of unexpected abundance. “What shall I
do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” Implicit in this first thought is a
reproachable intention, filled with egoism. Finding the fields fruitful and on
the point of yielding a more bountiful crop than he had imagined, the man feels
the elixir of ‘limbolatry’ welling up within himself; that is, the desire to
remain eternally on this earth, without misfortunes, as the words of the next
verse show.
God disappeared from his plans, and when this happens, mishap
enters. Indeed, when we remove Him from the centre of our concerns, we
ourselves soon assume the principal role in our life, because for us there are
only two loves: either we love God to the point of forgetting ourselves, or we
love ourselves to the point of forgetting God.11 The protagonist of the
parable wants to store the produce from the good harvest exclusively for his
own enjoyment. As Our Lord had warned earlier, he is covetous and avaricious;
he wants everything for himself and only for himself! Starting from an
erroneous principle—that of self-worship—it does not even occur to him to do
good for others. Receiving that plentiful crop from the Creator’s hands in
quantities that so far exceeded his expectations that he had nowhere to store
it, he should, ac- cording to the divine desire, have used it also for the good
of his neighbour. However, noth- ing of the sort even passes through his mind!
If a soul does not have God as the centre of its thoughts, the greed that comes
with attach- ment enters, and with it, perturbation. “Non in commotione
Dominus—the Lord was not in the earthquake” (1 Kgs 19: 11). The spirit of
covetousness robs us of peace.12
Just as the aforesaid monk-blacksmith did not concern himself
with making new locks for all the cells of the monastery—although he was outstanding
in the craft and had more than enough skill to do so—the landowner of the
parable plans to build barns in view of a stability based on a mere personal
enjoyment of life. In both cases, a deep-rooted egoistical attitude stands out.
On the other hand, the Master
does not affirm that there is an explicitly sinful intention in all of this.
Nevertheless, by putting in the man’s mouth the words “take your ease, eat,
drink and be merry...,” He indicates a neglect of the First Commandment of the
Law of God: “Love the Lord thy God above all things.” The Provider of this
plenty was now put aside and forgotten.
This is why the landowner does not deem the considerable
reserves stored in his existing barns as sufficient. In the following year and
those after, he would harvest again, perhaps even more bountifully.
Nevertheless, avarice and the de- sire for pleasure have blinded him. This is
the thinking of all dominated by covetousness. They are never satisfied with
the gifts received from God’s hands, but always hanker after more. “Greed is
never satisfied because the heart of man is made to receive God. [...] As such,
it can- not be filled with something less than God.”13 This dissatisfaction
brings with it emotional imbalance, giving fruits in lack of virtue, due to the
ex- excessive desire for more. St. Bernard describes covetousness as a “subtle
evil, secret poison, hidden plague, artifice of pain, mother of hypocrisy,
father of envy, source of vices, seed of intemperance, [...] the moth eating
away holiness and blinding hearts, which transforms remedies into illnesses and
treatments into new aches and pains.”14
Woe to those who spend their lives—spiritual or temporal—only
for themselves! Sooner or later they will hear the same reprimand which came
from the lips of Our Lord, directed at the man of this parable.
At the end of this life, covetousness will be of no use to us
Who among us has not been tempted to accumulate
other types of goods, even though they distance us from God
and eternity, in forgetfulness of the brevity of life?
20 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This
night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose
will they be?’ 21 So
is he who lays up trea- sure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
He continued collecting his wheat and material goods, intending
to build a sturdy new barn, for he had made his earthly life into his last end,
hoping to prolong it eternally. His foolishness lay in his act of disdain of
the eternal. Perhaps the unfortunate man even watched the demolition of the old
barn. Yet he would not be able to see even the foundations of the new one laid.
Those who do not fulfil the First Commandment of the Law of God
find themselves in the same situation as this unhappy soul. This is the
attitude of many people, who “blinded by greed, serve money and not God in
spiritual things, and act for money and not for God, putting price first and
not divine worth and re- ward, in many ways making money their main god and
end, placing it before the ultimate end which is God.”15 They forget about the
two lives present within them: human and divine; taking every care for the
former, they neglect to care for the latter, which is the state of grace.
Who among us has not been tempted to accumulate other types of
goods, even though they distance us from God and eternity, in forgetfulness of
the brevity of life? There are countless cases in history of people whose lives
were suddenly snatched from them at the height of earthly achievement. In fact,
St. John of the Cross rigorously affirms: “Every time we vainly indulge in
pleasure, God is watching us, preparing some chastisement and bitter dose,
according to our deserts.”16 Let us not be fools! Who can know the day and hour of
their own death, seeing as even doctors are incapable of pinpointing it? Who
can guarantee that their life will see them through this very night? Who can be
certain of lasting through tomorrow? Death only requires one condition: that of
being alive!
Therefore, it is a thousand times better to have one’s main
focus constantly on what is eternal. After death, we will live forever and at a
certain point regain our bodies, in a state of glory or of horror, depending on
our works. If we went to Heaven we will receive glory, but if we went to hell,
perpetual suffering.
Is it worthwhile, then, to be troubled and anxious over concrete
things, to the forgetful- ness of the eternal? If we do this, no matter how
many harvests we gather, we will desire to build countless barns or to have
endless properties. Or conversely, in a state of poverty, pan-handling on the
roadside, the result will be the same: we will become callous, like the hapless
man of the parable, inclined with him to build a barn for this earth and not
for eternity.
The legitimacy of storing reserves
However, a question may arise
within us: what should be our attitude toward life’s uncertainties? Is it
legitimate to store up a reserve? Can we appease licit human concerns with
material stability? In reality, if we only skim the Gospel text, we may get the
erroneous impression that the right to possess goods is being admonished here,
because Jesus Himself holds up the man of the parable as a fool. Could God be
condemning the aspiration for a right, which He Himself put in the human soul17—the right
of property—leading us to think that it is a sin to desire or possess goods?
What was the foolishness of the man? Did Christ condemn the act of storing up a
reserve, simply for the fact that the farmer, having gathered an enormous
harvest that exceeded his expectations wanted to build a barn equipped to hold
great quantities until the end of his life? If this were so, every household
with a pantry would be condemned; it would be wrong to store up provisions,
according to this Gospel…
Unfortunately, it is not rare to hear absurd arguments against
the right to property. But this right is present in this aspiration placed by
God in the human heart. The practice of this right al- lows us to set aside
means to assure our subsistence and to attend to personal and family needs or
even to promote a respectable social standing. However, before all else, it is
necessary to be rich in God’s eyes. And this wealth is attained by having one’s
main focus placed on eternal goods. In this way, if love for God is present and
egoism in check, even setting aside a reserve and storing up goods will be
legitimate.
However, love for God needs to unfold in love for our neighbour.
Thus, it is necessary to receive and economize to always distribute, without
keeping exclusively for oneself. This rule applies not only to money and purely
material goods, but also to all and any God-given benefit or quality. The
condemnation of the Gospel could likewise be applied to one who studies only to
be taken for a genius and not to transmit his knowledge to others; those who
pray for themselves and never for others; those who interact with others to
satisfy the desire for praise and personal esteem, and not to do good to their
neighbour, in light of eternal salvation. Such deviations render a person’s
acts harmful and marks them with the unmistakable stamp of egoism.
III – WE MUST NOT TAKE OUR EYES OFF ETERNITY
We must, then, bear in mind the
fleetingness of time on this earth. Our attention cannot be fixed only on this
world, oblivious to the other. How often across the centuries do we see that,
when a nation or sector of civilization decides to turn to God, opening itself
to the eternal per- spective, everything good in it flourishes!
On the other hand, when men exclude God from the centre of their
lives, robbing Him of His rightful place, all manner of disasters and
chastisements come crashing down upon them. We presently find ourselves in an
era of inventions and brilliant scientific discoveries, un- thinkable in previous
eras. However, these marvels bring about a serious and new problem for man,
since they cause many to become so blinded that they forget about God...
Nowadays, with more impetus than ever be- fore, immorality seems
to want to definitive- ly destroy morality, as is indicated by the rapid
degradation of fashions, of customs and of the family. Moral disorders are
becoming so generalized that, if people threatened with imminent death were
offered a cure to prolong their lives a little longer, under the condition of
renouncing impurity, there can be little doubt that a considerable number would
prefer to die rather than lose the possibility of commit- ting this type of
sin. Deep down, those who act in this way have a spirit entrenched in deliberate
disobedience to the Ten Commandments, because their eyes are fixed on the
things here below and not those on high. With them will happen what today’s
first reading from Ecclesiastes also expresses: “Because sometimes a man who
has toiled with wisdom and know- ledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed
by a man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity” (Eccl 2: 21).
We must bear in mind the fleetingness of our time on this earth;
our attention cannot be fixed only on this world, oblivious to
the other
The etymological sense of the word ‘vanity’ is emptiness. Those
who seek only after gain, imagining that they will fill their soul with it, run
after a void.
If we make a permanent move to
another country, we may take all of our belongings with us. But when we depart
from this world—passing through Judgment—into eternity, we can take nothing
with us, not even our clothes, for these will remain in the grave with the
body, becoming food for worms. Thus, it is better to invest capital in
spiritual treasure, so as to ar- rive much better off at the other side. This
is the counsel given to us today: not to fix our attention and concerns on
concrete, earthly things, but rather on those of eternity, which can be
achieved by accepting the admonishment of St. Paul to the Colossians, in the
second reading of this Sunday’s Liturgy: “Put to death therefore what is
earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness”
(Col 3: 5).
In short, the problem is not in having or not having, but in
being rich in God’s eyes. And this means avoiding romanticism, vanity and
praise-seeking, greedy money-seeking, and pride. To be rich in God’s eyes,
essentially, is to be unpretentious and abnegated. Being rich in God’s eyes
means having great faith. This is the wealth to which Jesus invites us.
To attain this goal, there is no
other way than that of a life of prayer, where we will find the necessary
graces to arrive happily at eternity. To practice virtue, seeking to be good
to- ward others and wanting our genuine person- al good; this is the
preparation for this one-way trip, a voyage that does not require a passport,
identity card, credit card or even an entrance visa. The entrance will depend,
rather, on a life pleasing to God and one entirely faithful to His Law.
1 Cf. FILLION,
Louis-Claude. Vida de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, vol. II: Vida Pública. Madrid:
Rialp, 2000, p.381; GOMÁ Y TOMÁS, Isid- ro. El Evangelio explicado, vol. III:
Año tercero de la Vida pública de Jesús. Barcelona: Rafael Casuller- as, 1930,
p.226-227.
2 LAGRANGE, OP,
Marie-Joseph. Évangile selon Saint Luc. Paris: J. Gabalda, 1927, p.357.
3 Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS.
Summa Theologiae, II-II, q.118, a.1, ad.3.
4 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA,
Plin- io. Conference. São Paulo, Nov. 15, 1980.
5 ST. AMBROSE. Expositio
Evangelii secundum Lucam, L.VII, n.122. In: Obras, vol. I. Madrid: BAC, 1966,
p.405.
6 ST. AUGUSTINE. Sermo
CVII, c.I, n.2. In: Obras, vol. VII. Madrid: BAC, 1958, p.427.
7 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, op.
cit., a.1.
8 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS. Su- bida do Monte Carmelo, L.III,
c.XVIII, n.1. In: Obras Completas. (Ed.5). Paço de Arcos: Carmelo, 1986, p.301.
9 Cf. ST. BEDE. In Lucæ
Evangelium Expositio, L.IV, c.12: ML 92, 491- 492.
10 ST. BASIL THE GREAT.
Hom- ilia in illud dictum Evangelii - Destruam horrea mea, n.1: MG 31, 261-264.
11 Cf. ST. AUGUSTINE. De
Civitate Dei, L.XIV, c.27: In: Obras, vol. XVI-XVII. Madrid: BAC, 1958, p.984.
12 Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS,
op. cit., a.8.
13 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. De
de- cem praeceptis. Art. 11. De nono praecepto.
14 ST. BERNARD. Sermo in
Psalmum XC, c.6, n.4. In: Obras Completas, vol. I. Madrid: BAC, 1953, p.388.
15 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS,
op. cit., L.III, c.XIX, n.9, p.310.
16 Idem, c.XX, n.4,
p.314-315.
17 Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, op. cit., q.66, a.1: “Man has a natural
dominion over external things [...] for the imperfect is always for the sake of
the perfect. [...] This nat- ural dominion of man over other creatures [...] is
competent to man in respect of his reason wherein God’s image resides...”
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