Notes From Day Seven: Pope Francis and the challenge to consumerism

Last week I wrote that some people appear happy to trash the Catholic Church, usually from a distance. Some critics seem to have a lot to say without having much contact with ordinary Catholics. Would they continue to sing their same tunes if they visited a local Catholic congregation and met its priests and volunteer leaders?

At the same time, another way to be introduced to the Catholic Church is to read some of what popes in recent years have written. Anyone who reads their essays thinking that the top leaders of the church are victims of blind and unthinking faith will quickly find the scales falling off their eyes.

Take, for example, the new document, “Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)” by the current pope, Francis. A key paragraph reads:

“The great danger in today's world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God's will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.”

Francis is identifying an approach to life that appears to be capturing the imaginations of, among others, many Canadians. Increasingly we seem to believe that we will become happiest by owning more material things, travelling, going to concerts and moving to large urban centres to take advantage of the amenities.

I confess that I feel myself caught up in this way of living. There's a car in my driveway. I have plans to go on a short road trip during spring break. Every year I seem to have more stuff to take care of. Growing up, my parents struggled to find enough cash to take me and my siblings out for dinner, but now I don't worry about heading out to the Keg or a local pub. The desk at which I'm sitting has on it, besides books, papers and pens, a smartphone, a laser printer, a video screen remote and my laptop. Off to one side there are a couple of electric guitars and even a guitar synthesizer, and in a nearby closet, some decent camping gear.

Probably if you are reading this article you are richer than over 95 per cent of the world's people. We spend, purchase, manufacture and consume to a degree that no one living a hundred years ago would have thought possible.

But we enjoy all this, right? So why is Pope Francis down on consuming? Does he mean to send us back to the Stone Age or deny us the benefits of travel, arts, the local convenience store, and cheap fuel? Besides, the last time I checked, the Vatican itself is not all that poor. Francis' apartment rooms are probably a little classier than those of, say, Fanshawe's student residence.

The words of the pope, however, are not a condemnation of the material goods we need in order to live well. They are a warning that our desire for every greater wealth and ever more goods is a threat to our humanity.

In what way does a focus on consuming undermine our humanity? Francis' words above touch on several key ways. Here is how I interpret what he says there. When he says that much of our time is spent on frivolous activities, he means, for example, that time spent in the virtual world means we pull back from contact with real human beings and human concerns.

When he says that the desire for things blunts our conscience, we could consider that the appeal of cheap Joe Fresh clothing trumps the resolve to see better factory conditions for the workers stitching together our pants and shirts. And when our goals in life are SUVs, houses, HD screens and a condo in Florida, we lose contact with, and concern for, those who don't have much hope of getting those things — the poor who live on the other side of the planet, or the city. We also lose contact with children, including any we have or will have.

Increasingly restless for more money to buy more things, we find our interior life distorted. We become anxious. Even as a society we believe that we have to compete with every country on the planet for wealth, resources and education results. All rest is threatened with extinction as we become busier each year working to get more things. Resentment, anger and listlessness fill our hearts.

But what option do we have? In the words I quoted, the pope alludes to a search for fulfillment and dignity — a search that begins with God. God has a will for our lives. His will is not a restless and ultimately destructive consumerism, but an interior life for each of us marked by peace and commitment to care for others rather than spend for ourselves. The search is a search for the Spirit of God that is a breath of fresh air compared to the over-hyped spirits of capitalism and consumerism.

And it is a search that is open to the “risen Christ.” And here we arrive at the point where everything is open to renewal. For, as the church everywhere continues to announce, God raised Jesus Christ from death. And with that, God has announced that everything is open to change. Even the chains of consumerism will not hold forever.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.