The Paradox of Poverty

Why Are the Poor in Spirit “Blessed”?

Susan R. Pitchford (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

296 Seiten

2025
Liturgical Press (Verlag)
979-8-4008-0210-2 (ISBN)

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Susan Pitchford examines the ways in which followers of Christ have understood “poverty of spirit,” and the traditions that have formed around their attempts to follow Jesus on this radical path.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And we smile, nod, and think: “Lovely thought.” But if we’re paying attention, it’s a shocking, almost offensive thought. The grieving, the brokenhearted, the marginalized, the stigmatized—all blessed, all happy? In The Paradox of Poverty, Susan Pitchford examines the ways in which followers of Christ have understood “poverty of spirit,” and the traditions that have formed around their attempts to follow Jesus on this radical path.

Over the centuries, those who have heard Jesus have learned the truth of his promise that we will find the greatest happiness, our deepest fulfillment—the kingdom of heaven, in fact, our blessedness and our belovedness—in the things that seem to impoverish our souls. TheParadox of Poverty looks at some of the wisdom traditions that have formed this understanding: the Scriptures, the desert mothers and fathers, the Franciscans, liberation theologians, the 12-Step movement, and more. At both individual and collective levels, these traditions help us understand that varied kinds of poverty can become a “blessing” by bringing us to know our belovedness in God.

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.

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

Erscheinungsdatum	17.08.2025
Zusatzinfo	Illustrations
Verlagsort	Collegeville, MN
Sprache	englisch
Maße	140 x 216 mm
Gewicht	312 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
ISBN-13	979-8-4008-0210-2 / 9798400802102
Zustand	Neuware