Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Matthew 6:25
“Keep your clothes in one place under the care of one or two, or as many people as may be needed to air them out and prevent damage from moths. Just as a single storeroom furnishes your food, so a single wardrobe should supply your clothing. Pay as little attention as possible to the clothes you receive as the season requires. Whether each of you receives what he had turned in or what was worn by someone else is of little concern, so long as no one is denied what he needs.
If arguments and grumbling occur among you, and someone complains that he has received worse clothing than previously and that it is beneath his dignity to be dressed in clothes which another brother was wearing, you thereby demonstrate to yourselves how deficient you are in the holy and interior clothing of the heart, arguing as you do about clothes for the body. Even though one caters to your weakness and you receive the same clothing, you are to keep the clothes you are not wearing at the present time in one place under common supervision.
In this way, let no one work for himself alone; all your work shall be for the common purpose, with greater zeal and more concentrated effort than if each one worked for his private purpose. The Scriptures tell us: ‘Love is not self-seeking.’ We understand this to mean: the common good takes precedence over the individual good, the individual good yields to the common good. Here again, you will know the extent of your progress as you enlarge your concern for the common interest instead of your own private interest; enduring love will govern all matters pertaining to the fleeting necessities of life.”
Augustine of Hippo in The Rule of St. Augustine 5.1-2. The text of the rule is adapted from George Lawless’ translation in Augustine of Hippo and His Monastic Rule (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), included in Constitutions of the Order of Preachers (Dublin: Dominican Publications, 2012).
I hope you are enjoying this exploration of the Rule of St. Augustine. Today he offers us a glimpse into contentment with basic food and clothing that demonstrates obedience to our Lord.
Jesus told us not to worry about what we eat or drink or what we wear. The Apostle Paul echoed him saying: But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8
So Augustine sets forth that people should be content with any clothes, even those worn previously by others in a “single wardrobe” just like a “single storeroom” of food should be sufficient.
And notice that we should give care to steward the clothing we have, lest moths eat it, while avoiding any grumbling. Why do this? Our earning is not about caring for our needs only but the Christian community.
Let us adopt this mindset, so that our hearts remain in love and aim at generosity rather than advancing our private interests which cause us to be consumed with the necessities of life.
God, help us care for others ahead of ourselves empowered by your enduring love. Amen.