“A friend who rents rooms in her house to college students reports, somewhat disturbingly, that whenever she rents to someone very ‘spiritual’ – the kind of person who goes on frequent religious retreats, works for campus ministry, does evenings of recollection, volunteers to fix houses in Appalachia, may even be thinking about a religious vocation – often, she gets stiffed on the last month’s rent and finds the apartment uncleaned after the student leaves.
“Some of our very ‘spiritually-inclined’ students, even those who may be interested in authentic holiness, frequently seem unaware that avoiding ‘worldliness’ doesn’t mean walking through life unaware of your basic duties in and for the world. Quite the contrary, holiness means paying your rent on time. It means leaving your apartment clean for the next renter. It means keeping your yard clean and your grass cut. It doesn’t mean saying to yourself, ‘I don’t have to bother with all those things because I’m so busy thinking about ‘higher things,’ like rosaries and Jesus and my trip to Fatima.’”
In a recent commentary, Dr. Randall Smith (associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, Houston) reflected on practicing the holiness of daily affairs.
To access Dr. Smith's complete post, please visit:
The Catholic Thing: Holiness Means Paying Your Rent (8 SEP 12)
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