“Understand that poverty is a choice way of salvation; the fruit it bears is manifold, and rare are they who know it well.” — St. Francis of Assissi
As we know, there are many poverties which lead us to salvation. Diadochus of Photike wrote of one such poverty in his “Chapters on Spiritual Perfection”: the poverty of loving God alone, which requires a certain self-forgetfulness. He said that to love God one must seek God’s glory and not one’s own (the poverty). He also talked about how in doing so, one is greatly loved by God (salvation). To quote him, translating from the Italian:
“Being preoccupied in loving God, one doesn’t think of one’s own dignity, and keeps one’s own glory hidden in the deep love one has for God…..He who loves God in the depths of his heart is known by God. To the extent one loves Him, one is able to receive the love of God.”
