Abject penury

I thought the phrase abject penury sounded sophisticated despite its definition. I didn't know what penury meant while I was reading yesterday's daily meditation from volume 3 of Francis Fernandez's In Conversation with God. The sentence on p. 549 states, "God asks us always to bear in mind the abject penury of our condition, so that we may avoid the danger of ever becoming conceited."

Abject penury could also refer to how how one feels, like being in despair even when living comfortably. Isn't it fascinating how a nice sounding pair of words can mean something undesirable? Well, undesirable is my subjective description. It's unimaginable to think that there are those who chose to live in abject penury, like St. Francis of Assisi and the unknown author of the book The Way of the Pilgrim.