Whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul; for if your soul is overpowered by the love of this world’s goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions. In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal. We should give no more than a side glance at all that happens in the world, but the eyes of our soul are to be focused straight ahead . . . If the object of love is what is good, then the soul should take its delight in the higher good, the things of heaven. In this way, if the soul sees that we should have a greater love and a greater fear about what concerns the next life, it will never cling to this life.
– St. Gregory the Great
