CMP Review 2024-05-26

“Every Christian is called to a life of renunciation,” writes Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou in his commentary on the Ladder of Divine Ascent. “It is clear, then, that renunciation is not exclusive to monasticism but is an intrinsic part of being a Christian… Christians renounce the world by living for something other than the world. By living thus, we become the light of the world.”

But there is another step in the ladder after renunciation, a step called detachment. “In monastic life,” he explains, “detachment naturally follows renunciation. Having abandoned the world, the monk must guard his heart against yearning for what he has forsaken; he must look not back, but forward. Otherwise, grief and regret will overcome his spirit. Eventually he will come to resent his vocation and see it as an imprisonment and a wasted life, because he has not yet let go of his worldly desires.

“For others, too, detachment is integral to Christian living. I have heard married men and women complain that they married too young, that they did not have the opportunity to do the things they dreamed of, that they have missed out on something because they had to sacrifice their will and desires for the sake of their children or spouse. If the monk, having vowed to live a life of utter dedication, is not to look back, should not married couples observe the same rule? ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9:62).”

Charlotte Mason offered her own reflections on this powerful verse in the Gospel of Luke. I invite you to consider the place of detachment in your life as you read or listen to her poem “Fit for the Kingdom” here.

@artmiddlekauff