When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.  Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

If wealth is seen as independence due to one's personal possessions, poverty is dependence due to one's personal lack, or need.  Spiritual poverty is the lack of dependence on one's personal merits or spiritual abilities and complete dependence on God's mercy.  "For we are all sinners and have fallen short before him."  Richness in spirit, then, is seen as believing one is better than others ("thank you Lord that I am not like other men") or a boastful, haughty spirit before God and man.

To the poor belongs the kingdom of heaven, "which is neither here nor there but within you."  The more possessions we have - spiritually or materially - the more difficult it becomes to receive that mystery with childlike need and trust.  "For what does it profit a man to receive the whole world but lose his soul?"

The apostles were "greatly astounded" when they heard Jesus teach about the difficulty of the rich to enter the kingdom.  "Then who can be saved?" they asked.  In Jesus' reply we see yet another example of the mystery of spiritual poverty: "For man it is impossible, but for God all things are possible." (Matthew 19.26)