Paradox of Poverty

Susan Pitchford retired from teaching sociology after thirty years at the University of Washington. She now focuses on writing, speaking, preaching, leading retreats, and offering spiritual direction. Susan is the author of Following Francis: The Franciscan Way for Everyone; God in the Dark: Suffering and Desire in the Spiritual Life; and The Sacred Gaze: Contemplation and the Healing of the Self. She is also a regular contributor to Give Us This Day. Visit her website at https://www.susanpitchford.net.

"Poverty is a recurring theme of Christian wisdom: it’s a defining concern in Jesus’ teaching, a central principle in Franciscan spirituality, and a core issue in liberation theology. But I imagine many of us might pair admiration for the poverty of saints like Mother Teresa with an equally firm desire to avoid poverty for ourselves! Susan Pitchford writes with clarity and insight, and in The Paradox of Poverty she draws a number of surprising connections and conclusions to help us form a nuanced understanding of poverty, and to recognize why it remains an important touchstone for both nurturing our inner lives and giving shape to our collective mission. If you want to appreciate both the power and the tensions beneath 'Blessed are the poor,' this book is a wonderful resource."Carl McColman, author of Read the Bible Like a Mystic and Eternal Heart

• ContentsAcknowledgments   xiIntroductionThe Poor Are God’s Beloved   1Franciscan Poverty   2Can Poverty Be Holy?   3What Is Poverty of Spirit?   6“For Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven”   8The Transformation of Poverty   10PART ONEPoverty, the Institutional Church, and What Might Have BeenChapter 1An Unholy Trinity: Power, Wealth, and a Compromised Church   19The Blessing—and Curse—of Constantine   22Seeking Poverty in the Desert   25The Prosperity Gospel: Blessed Are the Not-Poor   33Cast of Characters   37Prosperity: Song of the Sirens   52Chapter 2Filled with Good Things: Poverty in the Scriptures   57Eden, Babel, and Entitlement   58Job and the Mystery of Suffering   63The Psalms: Hungering and Thirsting for God   66Jesus and the Poverty of God   70Jesus and Our Belovedness: Cana   73The Samaritan Woman   76Pauline Poverty   79PART TWOThe Personal Experience of PovertyChapter 3Perfect Joy: Poverty in the Franciscan Tradition    85A Lasting Movement   86The Poverty of Francis   91Poverty in Francis’ Thought   95Clare: First Lady of the Poor Ladies   99The Battle for Poverty   102Poverty in Clare’s Thought   105Beyond the Founders: Franciscan Poverty Evolves   113The Seraphic Doctor   117Franciscan Poverty Today   121Chapter 4Into the Heart of God   127The Early Church: Making Sense of Christ’s Body   129Medievals and the Heart of the Human Christ   133The Heart in the Early Modern Age: The Salesian Tradition   138Thorns and Wounds and Blood and Fire   148The Sacred Heart at Work   156PART THREECollective Forms of PovertyChapter 5Gender, Poverty, and the Question of Authority   161Power and Authority   164Institutionalizing Excitement   168The Mystic Vocation   173Mystics as Sites of Charismatic Authority   179The Mystics of Helfta   184Charismatic Authority at Helfta   189Gender, Poverty, and the Mystic’s Authority    193Chapter 6Racism: The Poverty of Peoples   197The Steps Ahead   199Triangles, Pyramids, and Systems of White Supremacy   200Sectarianism as a Social Pyramid   206Where Integrity Lies   209Is Racism Still a Thing?   213Race and Criminal Justice   218A Theology of Black Liberation   224The Black Church and Resistance   227Strange Fruit   237But Where Are the Women?   240Prophetic Voices   244PART FOURA Poverty Tradition of Our TimeChapter 7“Hitting Bottom”: Poverty in the 12-Step Tradition   249The Neuroscience of Addiction   251Addiction and Our Souls: Insatiable Thirst   254A Spirituality of Addiction   257Alcoholics Anonymous: The Original 12-Step Movement   264Is AA the Only Way?   266Working the Program   269The Wound as Our Greatest Strength   272Chapter 8Conclusion: The Paradox of Poverty   275Poverty: The Way Home to God   281