In our society we can pretty much have anything that we want in an instant. Our Gospel message does not call us to accumulate as many possessions as possible nor does it require us to give away everything that we own. Christ is calling all of us through this passage to find moderation in our lives. Moderation assists us in living the right balance that leads us towards a relationship with Christ instead of a relationship that leads us chasing after material possessions as an end within themselves. One way for us to be able to find this proper moderation of our material goods is by discovering the importance of modesty inside of our lives. Our modern culture always defines modesty in relation to our dress, but the medieval use of this word has much a broader definition which according to Saint Thomas Aquinas is a "virtue in which exterior actions, either in deed or in words, due expression is observed."
In order for due expression to be observed concerning modesty three conditions must be met. Firstly, there must be a moderation of our delights which always lead us towards virtue. If we partake in actions that are random, irrational, or foolish we are seeking after the end of finding pleasure instead of the end of finding virtue. In the Mass we will find examples of this proper moderation through the use of bells or even at times incense which direct our thoughts not to the pleasures of this world, but instead to give proper glory to God. Secondly, we must show humility concerning the quantity in use. This is a call to moderate our exterior goods after the theme of our Gospel. We should not have to many possessions or to few; we should not spend to much nor to little. The circumstances that we find ourselves in are different for each of us and therefore we must show modesty though the proper moderation of our material goods. Finally, modesty deals with our actions as pertaining to the body. Therefore what we present on the outside must be in agreement with time, place, and order. In allowing modesty to be guided by these principles we will not only be concerned with our dress, but also with all of our outward expressions. In the words of Saint Paul we will be putting to death "the parts of you that are earthly." To allow ourselves to go against proper modesty concerning all of our outward expressions would be for us to continue to chase after our earthly passions instead of allowing them to be put to death. We should all reflect upon our lives and how we can live out proper modesty. The answer to what proper modesty is changes when we are in church, at work, at school, or in our homes. It is to dress properly for the situation, or to refrain from speaking when it goes against proper reason, to listen carefully when a teacher is teaching, or to use time at work properly instead of spending all our time on Facebook. Modesty is the ability to be able to properly orient our lives after God instead of chasing after vanity.
The ultimate end of modesty is to have fear for the Lord. This fear is a gift from the Holy Spirit which helps us to turn away from our disordered passions and instead turn us towards everything that brings us into relationship with God. It is through the use of modesty that we can liberate ourselves from seeking after pleasures as an end in themselves, to be able to moderate all of our goods, and to allow all of our outward expressions to follow proper order concerning the situation that we find ourselves within. Each of these three guiding principles of modesty help us to discover a proper fear of the Lord where we don't want to give offense to God the all pure creator of all things. Modesty calls us towards a proper relationship of love where we are not guided by our possessions, our disordered passions, or by the necessity to draw attention to ourselves. Instead all of our actions are being guided towards our love for God, who is the ultimate treasure, that we should store up for ourselves within this world.
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