Practical ideas to help Christians minimize consumerism

What do Prada Bags and Saint Anastasia have to do with practical ideas to help Christians minimize consumerism?

I am glad you asked. Buckle up, this ride has a few detours before reaching its destination.

Prada: a brand name that is known for its elegant designs and hefty price tags. Their designs are rather beautiful. I have a weakness for beauty, in all its forms. I am drawn to beauty in nature, art, music, and, yes, in style and design.

There is often a conflict between admiring beautiful objects and acquiring beautiful objects. Christians are called to reject materialism in all its forms. Our aim is to reach Heaven, and the journey requires zero baggage.

There is a constant conflict between North American traditions of instant material gratification and rejecting materialism.

On the one hand, there is: Amazon Prime, keeping up appearances (hello discounted brand names) and achieving fleeting happiness by purchasing unnecessary goods (hello shopping therapy), and then there are half-hearted efforts to minimize consumerism.

Thousands of words have been written about rejecting materialism. We have shared tips about choosing quality over quantity, beauty over clutter, and multifunctional tools over one purpose kinds, etc. And while I have benefitted from all of those strategies and inspirational articles, I have yet to win the battle against consumerism. Let’s just say, some advertisement campaigns are very effective!

But God sends us daily messages to stir our hearts. I believe our Lord created the perfect scenario for me to reflect on the challenge of materialism. Enter a Prada Bag and Saint Anastasia.

One Sunday morning, I admired the advertisement for a beautiful Prada bag before attending Church. My eyes sparkled as I examined this beautifully designed purse. I was still thinking about it when the liturgy started and felt guilty pangs about my lack of concentration during the liturgy and for the reason of my lack of attention: a Prada bag! But the heart wants what the heart wants, and at that moment, my heart would not have refused to own a Prada bag!

My divine message came as the Synexarium reading that day. The Synexarium contains the summaries of the lives of Saints and Martyrs that are celebrated and commemorated through the Coptic liturgical year. As if by design (I believe it was), the Church was commemorating the departure of Saint Anastasia. If you have not had the blessing of hearing of her before, she was a Byzantine lady of legendary beauty, to the point that Emperor Justinian desired her and sought to marry her.  Saint Anastasia rejected the chance to become the Empress, with all the glory and riches that would ensue, and rushed to inform the Emperor’s wife of her predicament.

Below, I summarize her life story:

She was from a noble family in the city of Constantinople. She was exquisite and had a great moral character.

Emperor Justin, who was married, wanted to marry her. She refused and went and told his wife. The Empress sent her to Alexandria on a private ship and built her a convent outside the city of Alexandria and named it after her.

When the Emperor knew where she was, he sent for her, but Anastasia escaped and hid in the wilderness of Sheheat (Scetis), disguised as a prince. She met with Anba Daniel, the archpriest of the wilderness, and revealed her story to him. He brought her to a cave and asked one of the elders to fill a water pot for her once every week and to place the pot at the door of the cave and leave. She remained in this place for 28 years, without anyone knowing that she was a woman. She used to write her thoughts on pieces of pottery, and leave them at the door of her cave. The elder who brought her the water used to take the pieces of pottery without knowing what was written on them and give them to St. Daniel.

One day he brought a piece of pottery to St. Daniel who wept when he read it, and said to his disciple, “Come with me now to bury the body of the saint in that cave.” When they entered her cave, they received blessings from each other. St. Anastasia said to Anba Daniel, “For the sake of God, bury me with what I have on my body.” Then she prayed and bade them farewell and departed in peace. They wept and buried her. When the disciple was caring for her burial, he found out that she was a woman, and he marvelled in silence.

After they buried her, and they returned to their place, the disciple knelt before St. Daniel and said, “For the sake of God, tell me her story, for I have seen that she was a woman.” The elder told him her story, that she was from one of the noble families of Constantinople, and how she surrendered herself to Christ, forsaking the vainglory of this world.

May her blessings be with us all, Amen.

You can read her full story here: the commemoration of Saint Anastasia

Let me summarize her life in the following word association exercise:

Treasures

Empress

Jewels

Glory

Desert

Hardships

Minimalism

Asceticism

Heaven

Saint Anastasia rejected every luxury, comfort, delicacy, material goods for a dwelling in the desert, under challenging temperatures, in solitude because she had her eyes on Heaven; and she reached her goal.

Saint Anastasia is a phenomenal example of rejecting materialism in all its forms, whether as a purse or an Empire, and of keeping our eyes on the ultimate treasure: Heaven.

Practical application: How to Minimize Consumerism

1. Decide to appreciate material beauty without acquiring it.
2. Think twice (at least) before making an impulse purchase.
3. Dedicate a more significant percentage of my budget to donations instead of shopping (for nonessentials).
4. Reflect on the lives of the ascetic Saints whenever flashy and bright advertisement tries to convince me that my life is not complete without (fill in the blanks).
5. I can teach my child to reject materialism and consumerism from his youth.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“Matthew 6:19-21

 
In Christ,

Mireille

Other articles you might enjoy: How do we practice hospitality?

Additional Coptic resources on this topic: False Treasures

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