There was once a trusting Franciscan guardian who took a young friar to live in his own lean-to down by the river.  For the first week the friar was ecstatic – his prayer life blossomed and he really felt he had taken a major step on his journey to God.

At the end of the week, the young friar washed his one habit and put it out to dry.  The next morning he was dismayed to find that some rats had torn his habit to shreds.  So he covered himself as best he could, went to a nearby village and begged for another.  A week later, after washing, the rats destroy that habit as well.  So, the young friar got a cat – and presto – rat problem solved. But he found he had to beg for milk for the cat.  And all the begging was taking away from his life of prayer.  So he got a cow; but of course the cow needed hay.  And he needed fields to grow the hay and a barn to store the hay.  And that took away from prayer time and his journey to God.  So he hired people to farm and tend the animals, but then he found he was the de facto mayor/sheriff/paymaster of a small village. So he hired village administrators and a small police force. And there were town meetings – and on and on the story went.  Several years later, the Franciscan guardian came back to check on the young man’s spiritual journey – and in the place of that lean-to by the river, he found a mansion and the young friar was the wealthiest man in the region – loved and respected by all.  He was their patron, their leader, the one they looked to.

The Franciscan guardian asked the young friar what was the meaning of all this?  “Oh Holy brother, there was no other way to keep my habit.”

Perhaps you are thinking that this is story about possessions taking control of you – although it could be, it isn’t.  It is really a story about how the young friar’s vision of the spiritual journey to God and life along that way, got waylaid and lost. After all, we assume the young friar was a person of good will and  intentions. In the course of living the life he had chosen he was trying to be a good steward of things. Life is complicated and there are all kinds of decisions – ones that can have unintended consequences.  It can be easy to lose sight of the spiritual vision, to be drawn away from the spiritual life the one desires.