Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Okay, okay . . . I broke my promise. So sue me. No more talk: From now on, only action!

By Way of Introduction

I am a Secular Franciscan, a lay person who tries to live the Gospel according to the example of St. Francis of Assisi. (And who, in my case, does a rather poor job of it.) The name I use here is that of the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, who, in addition to his teaching and writing, served as the Minister General of the Friars Minor and is regarded as their second founder.

Poverty, inner and outer, is the special charism of the Franciscans. Our founder is known as the Poverello, the Little Poor Man, the troubadour of his beloved Lady Poverty, his brothers are the Friars Minor, the lesser brothers. Disputes about the living out of the poverty he willed for his followers threatened for a long time to destroy the order, and finally resulted in its division.

All this is by way of background for a series of reflections prompted by the resistance to thinning out my library I've documented below. Over the course of the next week or two, in addition to the usual japery, I'm going to be exploring detachment, attachment, and the meaning of poverty in the life of a fairly self-centered, comfortably middle-class American, who, in spite of all that, calls himself a Christian.

Nailed

My dear wife took up the challenge of my May 25th post here. Since then, four bags of books have found their way to the Strand, another box has taken up residence behind the loveseat, the blockade in the bedroom has been dispersed, and a hundred and fifty CDs have found a more space-efficient home in binders. These cheering signs of progress, alas, have not quite dispersed the wifely thunderclouds: the two bedroom bookcases that are particularly neuralgic are still there, though somewhat less laden, and the other thousand or so CDs still await jewel case–free homes. (It's amazing how much those suckers weigh, even with the CDs and booklets removed).

Still, progress is progress, and given the emotional cost to yours truly, might perhaps be greeted with more enthusiasm.

Getting the Lead Out

Did I say I was going to blog more regularly? Well, this is better than once every couple of years. I'll post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—at least. I promise.