Q: My wife and I own two houses in two states. Both are modest, but one (rural) property is rougher, paid in full, and potentially a place where we could retire. We have a mortgage on the other, which is located near our jobs and is also home for our young-adult children. We are considering various options when the kids move out. We could hold on to both houses, for instance, while I continue to use the rural home as a getaway place for solitude, prayer and study. Being a recent Catholic convert, I now question whether having two houses is excessive, and whether we should just stay with the one we’re living in and sell the other. Any advice? – R.
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A: It’s good to hear of your conversion. Welcome to the Church!
It’s also good to hear that you are thinking seriously about how to live the spirit of poverty. That could be part and parcel of your desire to have a place for solitude, prayer and study.
Ultimately the decision about the properties is one that only you and your wife can make. The Church doesn’t have specific guidelines in this kind of case.
It does teach, however, that “All Christ’s faithful are to ‘direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty’” (Catechism, 2545).
The fact that you are asking about the properties might be a sign that the Holy Spirit is nudging you to reconsider your lifestyle and how you might better share your goods with the poor.
Perhaps it would be helpful to begin praying precisely about this topic. You might invite your wife to do the same.
Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. A book you might find helpful is Happy Are You Poor, by Father Thomas Dubay, SM.
You might want to take the matter to Eucharistic adoration, too. And see what Jesus might be asking. Remember, he is never outdone in generosity.
