St. John Chrysostom
An excerpt from a reading in a small book entitled On Living Simply
So do I possess anything? Yes, I possess the virtues which during my life have grown and flourished within my soul. Inasmuch as I have grown in love, I possess love. Inasmuch as I have grown in faith, I possess faith. Inasmuch as I have grown in gentleness, I possess gentleness. These things are immortal; they are divine gifts which God will not take away, because he wants heaven itself to be filled with virtue. And, of course, I possess my soul, in which these virtues have thier roots.
All else is less than meaningless, more worthless than dross--deader than death itself. Attachments to all material things are deadly to the soul. Our object is to have our souls transformed and to participate to the greatest extent we can through acts of will, charity, ascesis, and alignment with God's will. Our transformation is the first step to the transformation of the world into a place where we will not have to commemorate the dreadful things we presently find cause to. Our transformation is not merely a step into heaven, but it is the beginning of forging the kingdom of God on Earth.
