As I write this reflection, my religious community is engaged in chapter, the highest governing body of the community, that gathers every five years. Lately, it has been helpful to view these losses through the lens of the vow of poverty. Primarily, the vow of poverty directs our relationships with external, material and economic realities. The vow of poverty invites communities of Catholic religious to counter a culture of greed, materialism, consumerism and rugged individualism. It challenges my overachieving, can't-be-a-burden ego to know that instead of financially supporting the community, the community is financially supporting me.