Franciscan Musings

Stigmata of St. Francis

2011-09-18T01:50:00.002-04:00

To begin again to praise my Lord, through my poor words.
I think it's significant that when St. Francis wanted to remember the pivotal moment of his conversion--the action of God's grace--he chose his encounter with lepers. "The Lord led me among them," God's grace, "And I showed them mercy," a human response, and "what was bitter was changed to sweetness of body and soul." God's grace once more. But it's the 'sweetness of body and soul' that intrigues me on this day on which we remember Francis' being marked with the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ. In his body.
This was God telling Francis, and us, that all the He has created is good. That includes the body. It was through a human body that Jesus Christ made God's love clear on the cross. Redemption without our bodies makes no sense, nor does redemption of our bodies without our souls. And so that's how we have to live. And thank God, always.
The Lord bless and keep you!

No Rapture Yet

2011-05-30T13:01:00.002-04:00

Peace and Good! A thought on May 21, and then May 22:

The world, so far as I can tell, is still here...
So Jesus is vindicated.
For what consolation would it have been
To have his second coming
Predicted to the day and the hour
Which would therefore make Him a liar!

God bless!

Holy Thursday: Peter's Question

2011-04-21T23:57:00.003-04:00

Peace and Good!
The traditional question asked at the Passover meal: "Why is this night different from all other nights?"
I think Peter and the other apostles might have had another question in their minds: "Do I want to follow this man?"
Jesus was constantly shattering their expectations while at the same time attracting them. He presented himself as "lord and teacher," and then proceeded to do what no lord and teacher would, the work of the lowliest of slaves. He told them how much they were loved by God, then told them they had to love even their enemies, and pray for their persecutors. He helped those in need--including a Roman centurion and a Samaritan woman. He told them to lay their burdens on his shoulders, then added that they had to take up their own crosses daily.
It must have crossed their minds: "Am I crazy to follow this man?"
And, yet, over the next few days he would give them his body and blood, both in the blessed sacrament and on the cross. He would forgive those who were nailing him to that very cross. He would even forgive a man who promised to be always by his side and then swore up and down that he didn't even know who he was.
Tonight we all face once more the same question: do I want to follow this man.
And we pray he will give us the courage to say, "Yes."
God bless you!

The Lenten Spring Upon Us!

2011-03-09T21:58:00.002-05:00

Peace and Good!
Reflecting on the readings for Ash Wednesday always leaves me a little perplexed. Here is a day when we literally wear our faith on our foreheads, and yet we read the gospel where we are warned not to do our acts of prayer and penance in public. But, on reflection, it seems to me that what Jesus is saying, as always, is that we have to be careful of a faith that is satisfied with externals. What Lenten penance is all about is seeking, with God's grace, the harmony of the inner and outer person.
Francis surely struggled with this, as many of the stories tell us. I think perhaps he was more tempted by the outer show, even after his conversion, than the sources would like to admit. That is why he made dramatic gestures, but more importantly why he fled human applause to confront himself in the quiet of nature, and learn to seek the true God.
May this Lenten Spring bring us all true faith and the grace of God's mercy.

Ordinary Time

2011-01-13T13:49:00.002-05:00

Peace to All! With God's help I will take up again my ministry on this blog: sharing thoughts God gives me, trusting in the Holy Spirit to work grace as he will.
We have come to Ordinary Time after all the wonder and joy of Christmas. And I realized that this time, too, should fill us with wonder and joy. For "Ordinary Time" means the time that is in order, that is, that we can count (we number these weeks). And what a marvelous mystery this reveals: firstly, the order of this wonderful creation, and the fact that we can perceive and thus participate in this order. Do we ever wonder at the fact that we can count, and use numbers to understand the universe? So "ordinary time" reveals that every day is a gift, and life a constant miracle. I believe this is one of the insights that helped St. Francis live with such joy in the midst of pain and suffering. It also helped him survive the chaos of the world. May the Lord bless and give you peace!

Peace!

2010-08-31T13:03:00.002-04:00

Blessings on all. Another photo to share:
Sanddollar Beach on the California Coast. An overcast day, but the sun came out for a brilliant moment before setting over the Pacific. Praised be You, My Lord, for Sir Brother Sun, and Sister Water! Amen.

Gaviota State Park

2010-05-22T17:31:00.002-04:00

Peace! A blessed beautiful place to pray and let all go, into God's hands.

The Rains

2010-01-22T12:17:00.001-05:00

Peace! So much of Sister Water visited us lately. It is good to give thanks. And pray for those who need our help.

Chapter of Mats

2009-05-03T00:31:00.003-04:00

Peace and Good!
A blessed event with 2000 Franciscans gathered (about 1800 officially). A time of prayer and fraternal joy. And pasta. God bless!

Today You Must Rejoice in the Lord!

2009-03-22T15:24:00.000-04:00

LAETARE SUNDAY is perhaps the most “Franciscan” day of the year. After all, Francis’ call was to a life of penitence, yet in the midst of that life he always stressed the importance of Joy (Laetitia). And this is a Sunday, on which we remember the resurrection even as we look at the Crucified One. So let us rejoice, do penance, and believe in the power of God! Amen.

Lent: What God Does

2009-03-20T19:25:00.001-04:00

Peace and Good! It's mid-Lent, and I know I have left this blog bereft for a while. And that will continue, but if God wills soon I will be able to write again. But as Lent goes by, I think of what Francis said: Brothers, let us begin anew. For up to now we've done nothing. No, we never do anything. But Gods does a LOT. And Lent is a time to remember, recognize, and rejoice in that. God bless you all!

The End is Near!

2008-11-28T19:38:00.000-05:00

Peace! As we come to Advent, just this thought. “The end is near” can mean different things. It can mean that the termination of things is coming, i.e., the second coming of Christ. In this regard, I think it’s safest to recall what Jesus said, “You do not know the time nor the hour.” Predicting the end of the world is tricky business, and unhelpful. Jesus will come when He decides. So we just need to listen to him, and be ready each and every day.
“The end is near” can mean something else. An “end” is also a goal. So, if we remember that Jesus is our goal (right now), then we can take comfort in the thought that the end is always near. A thought, I hope, to help Advent be a time of joy and renewed commitment for all of us.
The END is near, in our hearts and in our minds.
God bless!

Peace!

2008-11-14T19:08:00.002-05:00

Pax et Bonum! Just to let anyone who still follows this that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. But life has been busy and I ask your prayers.
I will continue these musings as time allows and God wills!
Just a reminder: 1209 is the 800th anniversary of the first approval of the Order of Friars Minor by Pope Innocent III.
God bless!

Not Supposed to Happen

2008-03-09T21:42:00.002-04:00

Peace and Good!
In the Gospel today all sorts of things that aren't supposed to happen do happen:
Jesus delays going to see Lazarus
"Doubting" Thomas expresses willingness to die with him
Martha is the one who goes to see Jesus and professes a deep faith
Jesus weeps...

But more than anything:

Lazarus, who has been dead four days, walks out of the tomb.

That's not supposed to happen.

But it does, because of the power of God's love and mercy.

With those who came out to console Martha and Mary, may we be led by this to believe in Him.

God bless you all!

Water from the Rock

2008-02-24T15:42:00.002-05:00

Peace and Good!
If Jesus had told some of his disciples that he would be proclaiming the good news to a Samaritan woman, they might have told him that it would be like trying to get water from a rock! Which, of course, is what God told Moses to do. Lent is a time to marvel at what can do, what God has done and continues to do in this world. After all, if you had told the people of Assisi that young son of Pietro Bernardone was going to become a great saint, leaving behind his wealth and search for fame, they would have thought it was crazy. But God didn't.
God bless you!

Blessings for the New Year

2008-01-07T21:39:00.001-05:00

Peace and Good! If anyone is still checking this blog, I will be active again in a few weeks. Blessings for Christmas and the new year 2008.

Montecasale: International Fraternity

2007-11-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good!
My few days of retreat at Montecasale, in the heart of the mountains of Italy, were also a time to reflect on the wideness of God’s mercy and presence. Besides the Italian brothers, there was also a friar there from Nigeria, who was studying in Rome and helping out at the hermitage for the summer. What a circumstance, friars from three continents in this little place on the side of the road, joined in prayer and fraternal life and ministry.
It reminded me of the time when Francis told the first brothers not to be afraid of how small their little group was. “I see men from all over joining us, from England and France and Germany and Spain and all over the world.” It began in his own lifetime, but over the centuries has continued to be true.
It is true that there are differences of culture and language to be respected and celebrated and at times overcome, but being a friar has always been for me a reminder that God loves the whole world. And that God acts through so many different people and different circumstances. But it also reminds me that kindness and compassion and a welcoming smile are international, enduring signs of the Love of God in our midst.
God bless and keep you!

Montecasale: The Thieves and God's Mercy

2007-11-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good!

Across from the friary at Montecasale is a hill, which had been used in the years before Francis’s time as the site of a fortress. Frederick I, called Barbarossa, had torn the fortress down about the time Francis was born, and the hill site was abandoned. It was the perfect place to watch the road, however, and after the friars had settled in the hermitage of Montecasale, a trio of thieves had decided to live on that hill and rob those passing by on that road. They were violent and much feared, but even thievery is subject to ups and downs, and even for thieves things can get desperate, so that one time they found themselves hungry, and decided to go over to the hermitage and ask the friars for alms. Good Brother Angelo received them graciously until he learned who they were; then he sent them off angrily. The thought, that thieves should steal even the alms of God’s poor!
Francis, however, did not approve. He sent Angelo, who I am sure was not all that keen, to seek out the thieves at their home and give them something to eat. And also to ask them to think about their lives. This they did, and eventually came over to the friary and became friars. The hill where they lived is still marked with three crosses.
Before they came over to the friary, however, they spent a hard night on that hill. The three had decided to give up their life of crime, but a question nagged at them: would God forgive them for all the evil that had done? Could they dare to hope for God’s mercy? Since they could not answer this question, they decided to go to the friary and ask Francis. The great miracle, I think, is that Francis was able to help them trust in God’s power and desire to forgive them. That was the heart of their conversion, as it had been a vital part of Francis’s own conversion. Repentance and conversion involve not only a reassessment of our own lives and actions, but, more importantly, an act of faith in the Divine Mercy.
That Mercy is so clear in the Gospel reading for this Sunday: Zacchaeus. I’m not sure he knew what he was looking for. He merely wanted to see Jesus. Yet, Jesus used this occasion to invite him to recognize his place as a child of Abraham, the one who had such great faith in God’s mercy and love. Believing in God’s mercy is helped when we are invited into it by others. It was in this way that Francis followed Jesus, in inviting the thieves to look at their lives, and to believe in the power of God’s forgiveness. May God help us to believe in the Divine Mercy, for ourselves and for others, especially for those who seem to us farthest from that Mercy. May God help us, one way or the other, to invite them to believe in God, who so loved the world that He sent His only Son to save us.
God bless!

This is the door where the thieves came seeking alms!

Not Like the Rest

2007-10-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
Brother Masseo once asked Brother Francis: “Why after you? Why is it that so many people follow after you? You’re not attractive looking or well born or a gifted orator.” And Francis answered that it was because in him they saw the greatness of God’s mercy. “For if the Lord had shown so much mercy to the greatest sinner, he would be more grateful than me.”
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, from the Gospel of Luke, is this Sunday’s Gospel. A powerful meditation. We usually focus on the two persons involved, but as always, Jesus calls us first of all to focus on God, and what God does for us. For the Pharisee is not a hypocrite in what he does; his problem is that he uses it to lift himself up, and by doing so separates himself “from the rest of men.” Pharisee means 'one who separates himself,' and the reason the Pharisees did so was so that they could keep the law in its fullness. This was not bad in itself. The problem was that it tempted them to think of themselves as some how fundamentally different from ‘the others,’ especially from “pagans and sinners.” What Jesus tried to show them again and again was that they were prone to the same temptations and could sin just as much as the publicans and prostitutes. Their zeal for observance could become pride and self-righteousness. Jesus reminded the Pharisees, and us, of the need to recognize that all goodness comes from God, and that God is the Creator of all.
To separate ourselves, at least in our minds and our hearts, from “the rest of people,” is to face the same temptation as the Pharisees. We all seek ways to exalt ourselves, to ‘feel good about ourselves’ by looking down on others. Our prayer can be like that of the Pharisee, “Thank God I am not like the rest.”
Of course, it can take so many forms
“Thank You Lord that I am a conservative, not like those loony liberals.” or “that I am a liberal, not like those creepy conservatives.” It can be: “Thank You that I am an environmentalist, not like those selfish consumers.” or “that I am a responsible business person, not like those nutty tree huggers.” Or “that I am from the city, not like those hicks from the country.” Or “that I am a good country person, not like those shallow city people.” And it could go on and on. All these thoughts are ways we exalt ourselves.
Francis was tempted to do the same thing; he could have looked down on the merchants and soldiers and revelers who were his peers. He could have looked down on those who did not follow his path, who did not dedicate their lives to the Gospel. But he learned from Jesus not to look down on anyone, because he knew himself to be as much a sinner as any of them. I don’t think this was just some sort of ‘holy humility’ that saints have: it was real. He knew that what made the difference in his own life was not what he did, but what God did for him. And he knew that if he were to believe really in the love of God for him, he had to believe in the love of God for all men and women, the greatest saints and the most miserable sinners. He was not different “from the rest.” Neither are any of us.
And that God for that! Because we have to remember that Jesus came to save sinners, to call sinners, to seek the lost. So we can only be saved if we place ourselves among them, like the publican did in the parable. “O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
God bless and keep you!

Peace and Good!

2007-10-25T22:19:00.000-04:00

Blessings. There will be more reflections soon, God willing. God bless us all.

Montecasale: Overhanging Rock

2007-10-13T10:40:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Francis liked not only places with water, but places with caves or grottoes. Many of the hermitages he frequented began as simple caves where hermits and others seeking God could shelter while they prayed and fasted. Today there are often structures built around the nucleus of such caves, as at Greccio or Le Celle in Cortona. The overhanging rock (sasso spicco) at Montecasale has escaped this fate, thank the Lord. I say that, because it is one of the few places in Italy you can go and stand in a place where St. Francis stood and see pretty much what he would have seen. The sasso spicco at Montecasale is a place in the side of the mountain where a massive rock hangs out over a shelf in the hillside, cut out by water, wind, and perhaps visitors like Francis, Anthony of Padua, and Bonaventure.
To get to this spot, you have to leave the friary and walk down a trail, sometimes pretty steep. Walking there is a contemplative experience in itself, as you enter the rough forested hillside, filled in the summer with the rhythmic trill of the cicadas and the warm dust raised by your feet. You come upon the rock ledge from above, and see a long, shaded area. If you descend onto this ledge, you come to the spot where the stream coming down from the hillside pours over the rock’s edge (although, 2007 was the first year in memory in which there wasn’t enough water in the stream to flow over the rock!) Standing at that spot, you feel the firm rock beneath your feet and looming above you, and look out on the green hillsides closing the area all around. In such a place you feel at once your own smallness, and yet your place in the midst of creation.

(Here is the view from Sasso Spicco)

I would think it was in places like this that Francis started to receive the inspired thoughts that would lead later on in his life to the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures. Sun, stars, water, earth are all here, praising the Lord by being what they were made to be. And as you sit under this overhanging rock, you are led to ask the question: what am I made to be?
God bless you!

The Power of the Word of God

2007-10-09T09:53:00.000-04:00

Peace and good!
The book of Jonah tells us of one of the most successful preaching tours ever. Jonah preached to the Ninevites, who didn't know God and didn't respect the Jewish people. Yet, in only one day, Jonah's preaching brought them to repentence and humility before God, who heard their pleas for forgiveness. And the amazing thing is, Jonah didn't want any of this to happen! He was a reluctant prophet who did not want his mission to succeed. Such is the power of God's word.
I sometimes imagine St. Francis outside the gates of Perugia. We are told he preached there. Yet, Perugia was the ancient enemy of Assisi, and Francis had spent a horrid year in disgusting conditions in a Perugian prison. I am sure that when he went to Perugia to preach, some part of him felt like Jonah: wanting to proclaim the merciful God, but hoping God wouldn't be too merciful to his enemies. Yet, he did preach to them, he overcame his natural animosity and distrust. He believed in the power of God's Word, greater than his own word.
May that Word work in us, through us, and, sometimes, despite us.
God bless!

When, O Lord?

2007-10-07T22:31:00.000-04:00

Today's Reading from Habakkuk:
How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, "Violence!"but you do not intervene.Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me;there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the LORD answered me and said:Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;if it delays, wait for it,it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
Faith means trusting that God sees the long view, that the vision, because it is God's vision, still has time. Francis, I am sure, was tempted to ask God: "When?" He saw the violence in the world, the greed among the prelates, the dissensions among his own brothers. And God told him: "The vision still has its time...wait for it." And Francis chose to wait, to let God's vision be the one he followed. We need to make that choice, too, as hard as it is. Lord, increase our Faith!
Peace and Good!

Lazarus and the Rich Man (Dives)

2007-09-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!

This is a powerful parable, and an uncomfortable one—and so, very important. An interesting point: it is the only parable of Jesus that I am aware of in which one of the characters has a name: Lazarus. Sometimes the parable is called “Dives and Lazarus,” but dives is just the Latin word for “a rich man,” so he doesn’t get a name. In the parable, the rich man apparently enjoys his wealth and ignores Lazarus completely, not even sharing crumbs from his table. The mention of the dogs licking Lazarus’ wounds is meant to emphasize this neglect: the licking of wounds by dogs was thought to help healing, so even the dogs were doing more for the poor man, Lazarus, than his rich brother.
Even in the afterworld, the rich man does not look at Lazarus as anyone to note. He does not ask Lazarus for a drink, but tells Abraham to send him to dip the tip of his finger and serve the suffering rich man. He does not ask Lazarus to go to warn his brothers, but asks Abraham to send him. For the rich man, Lazarus still does not count for anything.
Which makes me think that the great chasm Abraham speaks of that exists between them is put there not by God, but by the rich man himself. His refusal to recognize Lazarus, either in life or in death, places a chasm that cannot be crossed.
So, we create the chasm. And we cannot bridge it, or cross over it ourselves. Only one who has loved in the supreme way can do that: Jesus. This same Jesus came and comes to show us how to cross that chasm, or better, how to rid ourselves of it. “Love God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole strength; love your neighbor as yourself; love one another as I have loved you.”
Francis experienced the gap being closed only when he looked on a leper and did not see a horror, or an object to be avoided, but a brother, to be embraced and served and, even, loved. Such is the power of Jesus Christ and the cross and resurrection.
God bless you!

Montecasale Evenings

2007-09-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! One of the enjoyable things during my retreat at Montecasale was the time after dinner in the evening. We all moved outside onto the terrace, overlooking the town of San Sepolcro, and visited. Chatted, told stories, laughed. Since it was mostly in Italian I was not able to participate a lot, but it was an enjoyable experience. And good, not to have to talk over the TV or compete with so many other distractions. I don’t bemoan modern inventions, they have been a great blessing from God in many ways. But I think Francis would warn us to be very careful that we use the things God has given us to become more human and more the children of God we are created to be. Do all the gadgets and inventions make us more human or less? It’s not automatic, either way. We have to make a choice. Montecasale evenings reminded me of that. Thank you Lord!

The Clay God Uses: St. Francis Mary Camporosso

2007-09-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! A brief interlude from musings on Montecasale to mention today’s saint, Francis Mary of Camporosso, a Capuchin lay brother who worked many years as questor in Genoa and helped many people with his prayers and kindness. He died helping victims of a cholera epidemic. Such a death may seem insignificant and perhaps useless. Most of the people he aided during the epidemic probably died anyway. But his death has to be seen in the light of Jesus’ death. We forget that for most of the world the day of Jesus’ death was like any other. The Emperor Tiberius kept up his misrule of the Empire; the dockworkers in Ostia, Piraeus, Alexandria and else kept loading and unloading ships; the soldiers patrolling the borders of the Empire kept up with their watch and their dice games. For most of the world it was an insignificant event, this death of one member of a conquered race in a small corner of the world.

The significance, of course, was tremendous, for in that event the Love of God burst into the world in a new and amazing way. But it did not look that way at the time. Neither did the death of Francis Mary of Camporosso. But we celebrate him today because we believe that the same Love was with him in his sacrifice as was there on Calvary.

What makes our life and actions, and our death, significant? If we believe Jesus, it is only to live out his command: Love one another as I have loved you. How simple, and how hard! Yet, it is life. I am grateful to St. Francis Mary, Bl Teresa of Calcutta, St. Francis, and all the others who show us that truth again and again. And for the sacrament of the Love of the God, the Eucharist. We don’t do anything significant: take some bread and wine, say some words. But what the Love of God does with that!
(Peace to all those with connections to Naples! I know today is also the feast of St. Januarius. It is said that when Januarius (Italian Gennaro) was beheaded by pagan Romans in 305 A.D., a Neapolitan woman soaked up his blood with a sponge and preserved it in a glass phial. Every year on his feast the people wait to see if the blood will liquefy. It did again this year, and Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, then showed the glass phial of blood to the congregation and paraded it to the crowds outside, where fireworks were lit in celebration. "It is a prodigious sign that shows the Lord's closeness and predilection for our beloved and long-suffering city," he said.)

God bless you!

Montecasale: Fossa

2007-09-15T16:31:00.001-04:00

Peace and Good! St. Francis had several hermitage spots in Italy where he liked to go for prayer. The requirements for them all seem to be that they were high up, far from town, and that they had water nearby. The last, of course, was a necessity: no one could long survive without water, even an austere hermit. For Francis water was important for life, both the life of the body and of the spirit. Water taught him much about God. As he says in the Canticle of the Creatures: “Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.”
While I was in Montecasale, they were experiencing a drought. So the little stream nearby was not running—or better, it was barely running. There were pools of water and tiny streamlets over the rocks. As I sat by them one day, a deer creeped slowly down toward the pool, seeking to slake her thirst. “As a deer yearns for running streams, even so my soul.” What a gift water is, and the longing for water! They both speak to us of the goodness of God and of our need, built into us, for God. We can forget that need, until the thirst compels us to seek living water. That, perhaps, is what drove Francis up into those mountains!

God bless and keep you!

Sisters

2007-09-07T12:06:00.003-04:00

Peace! These are the Capuchin Poor Clare Sisters elected to lead their federation.

God bless!

Contemplative Interlude

2007-09-04T14:03:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! I am with some Capuchin Poor Clare sisters this week, helping with a meeting. We reflected on St. Bonaventure and his writings about contemplation and about St. Francis. The sisters are truly inspiring as they live their cloistered life of prayer and charity. I will be continuing my reflections on Montecasale and the pilgrimage in a few days. God bless!

Montecasale; Ah, Contemplazione!

2007-08-31T09:08:00.001-04:00

Peace and Good!

I was sitting on the top of the mountain above the friary at Montecasale, admiring the beautiful view and the Creator of it all. I had been pretty much alone the entire afternoon, but as I sat on a log I saw a man approaching, with a hiking staff. With my little Italian and his little English, our conversation was short. We admired the view and the beauty, but when he saw I was a friar he said to me, respectfully, “Ah, contemplazione!” and smiling turned to leave me to my prayers.
What a great gift, to have someone understand the need for quiet prayer on the mountaintop, and to respect it. Sometimes it seems that what people want to do in this world is save themselves and others from silence. There are times when we can and should use our voices in the great gift of communication God has given us. At times a kind word or interested conversation is a gift to another. But, there are also times when we need to encourage one another in entering into the silence. The Church has always stressed that even in its communal prayer periods of silence are not only recommended, but a necessary part of the rhythm of prayer.
I think that is why Francis sought out such places and encouraged his friars to spend time in hermitages. To learn the gift of silence, and, as importantly, to share the gift of silence among themselves and with others. It isn’t easy to be quiet, to learn to listen to God, to open one’s life to contemplation. It isn’t easy, but it is worth it.
Ah, contemplazione!

God bless you all.

Montecasale: Up (and Down) the Mountain

2007-08-29T19:03:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!

St. Francis learned to climb! I don’t know if he ever loved climbing, but he certainly didn’t shy away from it. Of course, part of that came from his own youth, growing up in Assisi, a city clinging to the mountainside. You can hardly go anywhere in town without either walking up or down a street, usually a steep one. Still, to reach some of the hermitages he frequented, like Montecasale, required the legs of an athlete and the agility of a mountain goat! St. Bonaventure said of him:
“It was a custom of the angelic man Francis never to rest from the good, rather, like the heavenly spirits on Jacob’s ladder, he either ascended into God or descended to his neighbor…he spent some of his time working for his neighbor’s benefit and dedicated the rest to the tranquil excesses of contemplation.” (Legenda Maior XIII.1)
As I climbed the mountain above the friary, I realized that it is good for us to not only ‘ascend’ to God with our minds, but to feel such an ascent in our bodies too. Climbing up the mountain was hard work, but worth it when the climb ends at the top, where there is beauty and tranquility. However, though I was tempted, like Peter, to pitch a tent up there, I couldn’t stay up on that mountain; I had to go back to be with the friars, to pray and eat and wash the dishes with them. Coming down the mountain physically was also an important experience, and a hint at what it meant when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” We say that Jesus came down from heaven, for our sake. Francis experienced that in his soul and his body, and I think it helped teach him compassion and patience.

Montecasale: A Living Place of Prayer

2007-08-25T15:42:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! One of the blessings of making a retreat at Montecasale was being a part of the community of friars who live there. This place was kept as a Franciscan hermitage for many years after the death of Francis, then was left behind by the friars until the Capuchins came back in the 1500s. It is now a house of the Tuscan Province. There are four friars stationed there. The guardian, Fra Pio, has been there many years. While I was on retreat there, a friar from Nigeria, Fra Clemente, was helping for the summer.
It was a joy to rise each day and go to the small choir to pray the Divine Office with the friars, then to celebrate the Eucharist with them and the people who would come. The chapel is not very large, but is quite old and lovely. Keeping in the Franciscan tradition of simplicity, it is most wood and stone. There is an ancient statue of the Blessed Virgin and Child, reportedly brought to the friary by St. Francis himself.
What was wonderful was to live in such a place and know that it is still serving the same purpose it did in 1212, when Francis came there. It is still a place of quiet prayer and contemplation, and also of welcome. Pilgrims who come are invited to spend time in prayer in the chapel, in the woods, or sitting out on the terrace enjoying the spectacular view of the valley below. The spirit of prayer is still alive in the world, and the need for it is still calling people.
Montecasale reminds me that we have to look at our past not as in a museum, but as a living part of who we are. Also, that those who have gone before us have shared with us wisdom from God about the meaning of human life and activity.
God bless!

A Retreat at Montecasale

2007-08-24T14:48:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!

It was a great blessing to be able to make a retreat at the hermitage of Montecasale before the recent pilgrimage.

This is a place of prayer cared for by the Capuchin Franciscan friars since the 16th century. It was one of Saint Francis’s favorite places to stay and spend time in prayer. Like most of the places he chose for this, it is high up on a mountainside, outside the ancient town of (Borgo) Sansepolcro. Also like most of the places we associate with him, this was a place of prayer before Francis of Assisi ever arrived. It had served as a hermitage and hospice and was given by the Camaldolese monks to Francis and his followers as early as 1212 or 1213. It is associated with several stories about St. Francis, including his conversion of the three thieves and the incident of planting cabbages upside down. I will reflect on these later.
Montecasale is a relatively small hermitage. Unlike some of the other places where Francis stayed, such as the La Verna or Le Celle, a large complex never grew up here. The friary is bigger than it was when he was here, but it is still small and simple. While it is visited by pilgrims, it is less crowded usually than La Verna or such sacred spots. This makes it still a wonderful place to make a retreat. It is set up on a mountainside, amid a lovely forest. It is said that not only St. Francis, but also St. Anthony and St. Bonaventure spent time here in prayer and reflection. It was an honor and blessing to be able to do the same.

I hope to reflect on Montecasale and Francis for the next few entries, then move on to other sites from the pilgrimage.

God bless and keep you!

A Few More Photos

2007-08-22T18:37:00.000-04:00

Pace e Bene!

The basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome, and the town of Bagnoregio, where St. Bonaventure was born.
God bless you!

The Clay God Uses: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

2007-08-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
While on pilgrimage in Italy, I reflected on how at times Francis felt a longing to stay up in the mountains as a contemplative, and how hard it was for him to guide his order as it grew so quickly. Yet, he couldn't escape the fact that God called him to interact with others, to use his amazing talents for good. The same thing was true of St. Bernard. He complains at times about how all he wants to be is a simple monk, and yet how often he ends up caught up in the needs of the Church of his day. He and Francis both had to differentiate between what they wanted and what was the true desire of their heart. That true desire is what God planted in them and called them to.
And that is what we all have to seek: to live our true heart's desire. We have to remember, too, that following it will not always be easy or even, ironically, feel 'desirable.' The rich young man in the gospel felt a great desire, but when Jesus told him how he could pursue it, he went away sad.
May God give us courage not to go away sad, but to follow in the footprints of Jesus, with the help of Mary, Francis, and Bernard.

(Here are a few photos from Assisi)

a>

Profession

2007-08-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

Pace e Bene! Still adjusting to the change of time, and still amazed at the blessings of the pilgrimage. Today three brothers will be making their solemn vows as Capuchin Franciscans. Each one is a great gift from God. God bless and keep you all!

Back from Italy

2007-08-16T11:34:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! We've returned from the pilgrimage. It was a most amazing and blessed time. I hope to begin reflections in a few days. Meanwhile, here's a photo of Assisi I took on this trip. God bless!

The Clay God Uses: Joachim and Ann

2007-07-26T11:37:00.001-04:00

Pace e Bene! We are at the ancient Capuchin Franciscan friary at Camerino. This is a wonderful feast day, to thank God for all who made up the family of Jesus. Mary's parents must have been special, to raise so special a daughter. May God bless and keep you always!

In Italy

2007-07-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

Pace e Bene! Here in the far mountains of the Marches of Ancona, in Camerino at one of the earliest Capuchin friaries. Rome was great, thought hot and sticky. I am praying for everyone. Pray for me. God bless!

Pilgrimage

2007-07-21T16:35:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! I am currently helping with a pilgrimage in Italy. A group of friars will visit Assisi and other Franciscan sites. I look forward to sharing more musings on my return (after Aug. 15). Pray for us. God bless.

The Clay God Uses: Benedict

2007-07-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! As he would have liked, most people know about St. Benedict through his Rule and the many monasteries who still follow it. Benedict never wanted to point to himself, but to Christ. Ironically, his humility ensured him a place in history. The same for St. Francis. I read somewhere: "There is no limit to the good you can do, if you don't care who gets the credit for it." Benedict and Francis would agree.
God bless you!

Independence and Freedom

2007-07-04T09:57:00.001-04:00

Peace and Good!
Today in the United States what we celebrate officially is our independence from England. However, we also use this day to mark our values, especially freedom, liberty, justice for all. It’s good to reflect on these things in our relationship with God as well as with others.
In regard to God, we can never be independent. Our very existence depends on God, so being independent would mean not existing, certainly not a desirable end. Scripture tells us, too, that we may never be independent of God’s love: God is love, John says. So the Lord does not give us the gift of independence. However, He does give us the gift of freedom. We can choose freely to be what we are made to be. We can choose freely to accept joyfully the love of God. Our faith tells us that such freedom is at the basis of human life, and of human dignity.
This dignity is why, in regard to other people, we speak of independence and dependence. Here, too, there is no such thing as absolute independence from others. In life in so many ways we depend on others, they depend on us. That’s part of how God made us.
However, we do need a certain amount of independence from others, if we are to be open to choose to be what God has made us to be. Others can help us discern God’s will, but no human being can tell us absolutely who we are. To listen to God we have to have a certain independence from others.
St. Elizabeth of Portugal, a saint celebrated today, is a good example of this. She was a queen, and accepted that role. However, she interpreted that role independently, in freedom. Following the example of her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, she thought that a queen ought to reach out and help the poor, even to the point of serving them at table and washing their feet. People at court told her this was no way for a queen to act and that she should stop, but she was independent of their opinion, in her desire to be free to do what God called her to do.
We find this in the life of St. Francis. He was very obedient, open to listening to God’s will through the Church and his brothers. On the other hand, he was independent in seeking to live his vocation within the Church, rejecting the calls of others who told him he should abandon his project and simply fit into the established system of religious life. His genius was to balance dependence and independence. He was able to do this, I think, because he was open to learning true freedom, freedom to be loved by God and become that love in the world.
Happy Independence Day! God bless America, and every nation and people in the world!

Doubter?

2007-07-03T09:06:00.001-04:00

Peace! I've read a few blogs today on St. Thomas. Yes, he doubted. Yes, he needed Jesus to booster his faith. But why is that the only thing we remember about him? Earlier in the Gospel of John (11:16), when the other disciples try to keep Jesus from returning to Judea because of the hostility, John tells us:

"Then Thomas (the name means 'Twin') said to his fellow disciples: "Let us go along, to die with him.'"

Brave Thomas, complete with his doubt.

Conversion is, to remember a very old song, to 'accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and forget about ol' mister in between.' Thomas, with God's help, overcame his skepticism and accepted bravely his mission to preach the Gospel and even suffer death because of it. Thank you, St. Thomas.

God bless and keep you!

God and the Unlikely: Peter and Paul, Francis and Clare

2007-06-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

Peace! This is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. I often reflect on how God brings together unlikely pairings. Simon the Fisherman from Galilee (Peter) and Saul the Pharisee from Tarsus, Roman citizen (Paul) had little in common and would probably not have never met or put up with each other: except for what--or better, who--they had in common: Jesus Christ. What wonders God does with the glue of love and faith! It's the same with Francis and Clare: the rambunctious son of a merchant would never have had much of a chance to talk with, let alone be friends with a noble daughter like Clare (despite what some movies want you to believe). She had no reason to trust him (after all, he and his faction had driven her family out of Assisi when she was very young) and he had no reason to expect anything much from her (as an aristocrat representative of the old order). Yet, they met: in Jesus Christ, in faith and charity. And look what God did for both of them and for the world through them.

So, as we walk, let us look for God in the most unexpected places, and especially in the most unexpected persons.

Peter and Paul, Francis and Clare, pray for us!

God Uses Clay: St. Irenaeus

2007-06-28T20:38:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!

Many of the early heresies in the Church rejected the Old Testament. They considered it too messy, both in the actions of the people involved and the images of God they found there. Yet, the Church held onto the Old Testament as a vital part of the scriptures, both fulfilled in the Gospels and illuminating them.

St. Irenaeus had to fight against an understanding of faith that was too cerebral: the Gnostics, who proposed that salvation involved 'knowing (gnosis)' and escape from the flesh. Yet, the Word becoming flesh is central to the Gospel message. Irenaeus knew that, and fought to articulate a theology which did not ignore sin, but more importantly did not try to explain away the Incarnation nor the redemption of the body.

Christian conversion is a balancing act, recognizing the reality of sin but in the context of the goodness of all creation, including the body. Weak was we are, balancing these two things is not always easy. Francis himself struggled with it. How to be austere so as to grow in grace, not become some disembodied ghost. Part of his secret was to begin always with praise of God and the goodness of creation. All creation: the sun and the moon, as well as the rocks and the worms and even that part of creation we flee: death. Sister Death.

I conclude with a beautiful quote from St. Irenaeus' Against Heresies:

Since you are the work of God, wait patiently for the hand of your Artist, who does all things at the right time. Present to him a supple and docile heart, and keep the form that this Artist gave you, having in yourself the water that comes from him and without which you would become hard and would reject the imprint of his fingers.By letting yourself be formed by him, you will rise to perfection, for through this art of God, the clay that is in you will be hidden; his hand created your substance… But if you become hard and push away his art and show that you are discontent with the fact that he made you a human being, by your ingratitude towards God you will have rejected not only his art but life itself; for it is the very nature of God’s goodness to form, and to be formed is the very nature of being human. Thus, if you give yourself to him by giving him your faith in him and your submission, you will receive the benefit of his art and you will be God’s perfect work. If on the contrary, you resist him and if you flee from his hands, the cause of your incompleteness will be in yourself who did not obey, and not in him. (Against the Heresies IV, Pr 4; 39,2)

God bless you!

Birth of John the Baptist

2007-06-24T20:20:00.001-04:00

Peace!

This is an ancient feast in the Church. (Note that the celebration of John's birth, sixth months before Jesus', falls on June 24, because in the old way of reckoning, each feast is six days before the beginning of the next month.)

This day is important for all the Church in remembering John, and more importantly, God's work through John. The readings all speak of God knowing and acting from his birth, and even from before his birth, when he was in the womb. Actually, from the moment of his conception. God works in all of us from that moment, for life is a continual gift.

It is interesting that in the debate over the use of embrionic stem cells, the Church's opposition is considered part of being 'anti-science.' But it's just the opposite: the oppostion comes because of what science tells us: that even the single cell produced by the union of a sperm and an egg contains all the DNA information for a complete and unique individual person! In earlier times they did not know that, and discussed when an embryo or a fetus was 'quickened,' i.e., when it received its soul. Yet now, we know that the 'human-ness' of each person goes all the way back to conception. Science tells us that, yet some choose to ignore it.

The feast of the Birth of John the Baptist is also significant for Franciscans, because that is Francis's baptismal name: Giovanni Battista. His father later made everyone call him Francesco, "Frenchy." This was probably because a cloth merchant didn't think it appropriate for his son to be named after a man who wore camel's hair! Francis didn't seem to live up to his patron saint at first, but his life showed that he was more like the Baptist than anyone would have guessed.

May John the Baptist help us to witness to Christ, to follow him, and to live our vocation to love as God loves, a vocation given to every one of us from the moment of our conception.

God bless!

The Clay God Uses: Anthony of Padua

2007-06-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
At the Basilica of Anthony of Lisbon (he was Portuguese, though he died and was buried in Italy) in Padua, one of the major relics on display is Anthony’s tongue, a reminder of his great ministry of preaching. Anthony would probably think this very appropriate because, while the tongue is used in speech, in itself it is just a muscle, with no power to make a sound or communicate anything. The tongue needs the breath from the lungs and the vibrations from the vocal chords.

So the preacher does not give his own message, but has to open himself to the action of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Word of God. Yet, just as the tongue is important in forming words, so the preacher is called to use his gifts to share the Word of God with the men and women.
St. Anthony used the science and culture of the thirteenth century to communicate to others the Gospel message, but always grounded himself in prayerful contemplation of that message first. In this he followed the example of St. Francis while also showing a different aspect of Franciscan ministry.
May he help us today, to live and proclaim the Gospel, to be the tongue giving voice to the Word of the Lord in the Spirit.
God bless!

The Clay God Uses: Barnabas

2007-06-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! A wonderful trait of St. Barnabas seems to have been his ability to see potential in people. It was he, the Acts of the Apostles tells us (12:25-26), who went to Tarsus to seek Saul to help with the wonderful work of the Spirit in Antioch. The other Christians had sent Saul, the former persecutor, away to Tarsus and seemingly forgot about him, perhaps even still suspicious of his conversion. But Barnabas saw his potential, which he wonderfully encouraged. (His name, after all, means 'son of encouragement.' Acts 4:36)

It is interesting that later in Acts he and Saul (now Paul) have an argument about his young cousin John Mark, who had abandoned them earlier Acts 15:36-39). Barnabas saw the potential in the young man and argued strongly that he deserved another chance. Paul disagreed, and in the end they parted. In this matter Barnabas was wiser, for John Mark is usually identified with the author of the Gospel of Mark. So Barnabas' encouragement was wise.

I think of Francis encouraging others to the gospel life. Some of them, perhaps, would not have seemed to be very good material. His prejudices would have warned him that Clare and Rufino were nobles and too used to an easy life. But he saw in them great potential, and encouraged it.

I pray that St. Barnabas will both encourage us in our own lives and vocations, and help us to discern the good in others and the possibilities in them for God's grace to work.

(The painting is of Paul and Barnabas is Lystra Acts. 14)

God bless!

The Patience of Tobit?

2007-06-06T13:27:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
Yesterday's reading from the book of Tobit included a scene where the blind Tobit was told by his wife that a goat he heard was a gift: Yet I would not believe her, and told her to give it back to its owners. I became very angry with her over this. So she retorted: “Where are your charitable deeds now?Where are your virtuous acts? See! Your true character is finally showing itself!” (Tobit 2:14)

This reminded me of a saying of St. Francis: "Blessed are the peacemakers, since they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). The servant of God cannot know how much patience and humility he has in himself, while he is satisfied. However when the time has come, that those who ought to satisfy him, do the contrary to him, as much patience and humility as is there then, that much he has and not more. (Admonition 13)

Times of trial, problems and difficulties can bring out the worst in us. But this, too, is a blessing from God, because the faults revealed have been there all along. Once we see and recognize them, however, we can ask God's help to be converted from them and grow in grace and wisdom. The temptation is always to ask, "Why is this happening to me, Lord?" But it would be better to ask: "What are you teaching me through this, Lord? How can I grow in Your love and learn to glorify You in my littleness."

That is what Francis learned to do. It does not make our pain go away, but it helps us to know that Jesus Christ walks with us through our pain and wants to lead us through it on the way to salvation. A hard lesson at times, but another grace of the Gracious One.

God bless!

Our Exemplar: the Visitation

2007-05-31T13:48:00.000-04:00

Peace! Just the awesome idea that someone who has just been told that she will be the mother of the Messiah, the Son of God, then undertakes a difficult journey to serve her cousin, who is pregnant with the messenger for the Messiah. Worldly values turned upside down! No wonder St. Francis looked to Mary as the first and foremost disciple of Jesus, following her Son down the path of love and giving. God bless!

Peace and Good!

2007-05-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

This blog will continue, but recent events and a death in the family have kept me distracted. Keep me in your prayers. May the Holy Spirit bless us all.

Out of Sight!

2007-05-20T13:49:00.001-04:00

Peace and Good! The liturgy of the Ascension celebrates Christ being taken beyond our sight. The Alternative Opening Prayer says: “Our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight.” The Second Preface for the Feast of the Ascension says that he “has passed beyond our sight not to abandon us but to be our hope.”
Perhaps if we had Jesus visible among us (and who could bear that sight?), we would be tempted to say that we know where he is, and we would not look any further. Yet we believe that his presence is among us in so many ways: in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ, in the poor and in the beauty of the world around us, and especially in the suffering he shares with us that we might share His Glory.
Francis came to know this in a very particular way, through his experience of God’s sweetness in his encounter with the leper. He experienced that Jesus Christ was truly present there, in that poor sufferer in front of him. From that experience Francis knew he had to seek the presence of Jesus in all its different manifestations.
Our conversion involves our letting go of an image of Jesus which restricts his presence to the places or ways we are comfortable with. He has gone ‘beyond our sight’ precisely so that we will never stop looking for him. May God help us to open our eyes, or better, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit (for the Ascension is always tied to Pentecost) so that the Spirit may help us to see with spiritual eyes Christ among us, beyond us, within us, beside us.
God bless!

The Clay God Uses: St. Felix

2007-05-18T11:36:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Felix (baptized Peter) was born in a small mountain town. Yet he spent almost all his life as a Capuchin in the midst of the busy city of Rome. He was known as Brother "Deo Gratias," because that was what he was always saying, "Thanks be to God." He is the first saint of the Capuchin Order, a man of simple humility and prayer. He is a great example of someone who learned to see God everywhere. His time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament helped him to see the same Christ present in the poor and the beggars of Rome, and in such friends as St. Philip Neri (in this painting with him). May he ask God to help us see, and be like him, Felix (happy, joyful). God bless!

Choosing Matthias

2007-05-14T08:29:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Today we celebrate Matthias, chosen to take Judas' place among the Apostles. The method of choosing him has always fascinating me. The Acts of the Apostles says:

So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas,who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.Then they prayed,“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.

So what was involved was discernment (who to propose), prayer, and the casting of lots, which could be called luck, except that this was done with trust in the presence of God, more specifically of the Holy Spirit. This puts human decision making in perspective I think. We need to do all we can to make good and right decisions, but in the end we have to trust the power of God to bring about the good.

This helps in understanding the famous story of St. Francis and Br. Matteo. On a preaching mission, they came to a crossroads and were wondering which way to take. They talked about it, prayed, and in the end Francis turned Matteo around and around until he was dizzy and then let go and waited for him to fall. In whatever direction he pointed, they would go. It may sound silly, but it reflects a deep faith and also a key to true peace: to put all we can into making our decisions, but in the end trusting that it is God's will that will ultimately prevail.

Not so easy at time to remember. So we ask St. Matthias to pray for us as we walk on the road and make decisions, big and small.

God bless!

The Clay God Uses: Philip the Apostle

2007-05-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

Peace! Philip, like Thomas, is most often remembered for a deficiency. At the last supper Jesus says, "After I have been with you so long, do you still not know me?" Yet, in the Gospel of John, Philip is also the one who brings other to Jesus, both Nathaniel, and the Greeks who want to see Jesus. Our task, like that of the apostles, is to bring others to Jesus, even if we don't always understand completely what God wants to do with them. We trust, like Philip, that Jesus is the one who can show us the Father--as Jesus tells him and us, that is exactly what He came to do. Francis believed this. May Philip, James the Less, Francis and all the saints help us to come to Jesus, and to bring others to Him. God bless!

St. Joseph the Worker

2007-05-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

Peace!

My father loved to sleep in. My father used to get up every morning before 5 a.m. (sometimes as early as 3:30 a.m.) to be able to get to his construction jobs to support his family. I have always thanked God for this example of love.

St. Francis mentioned that the brothers who received the grace of work should do so, but always in such a way as not to extinguish the Spirit of the Lord and His holy operation. Labor with our bodies, our minds, and our hearts, can be a sharing in the work of God (opus Dei), if we allow Him to work in and through us. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, well-known or obscure, if it is done in God. May St. Joseph help us to remember this, and honor one another and all the labor that is done in the name of love. God bless!

The Clay God Uses: Fidelis of Sigmaringen

2007-04-24T09:55:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Today I am reminded about the true meaning of the word 'martyr:' witness. Fidelis worked hard for the unity of Christians, and would not compromise his adherence to the Catholic faith. What makes him a witness is that he was willing to die to defend that faith, but not to kill for it. Thus, he followed Jesus faithfully (his name means faithful). I would love to see us remove the name martyr from those who kill others and themselves in the name of God. But better, maybe we can pray to St. Fidelis to help us all resist the power of hatred while standing firm in favor of the power of God and the love Christ teaches us.

They didn't know it was Jesus

2007-04-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

Peace! In John's accounts of the resurrection appearances, the setting seems so unremarkable. A man in the garden, a figure on the lakeshore. I once read this gospel in the spot where tradition says this occured. It was an incredible sensation, to read the words, "They were not far from shore, just about a hundred yards," and then point to the spot. Jesus did not appear in flashes of lightning or amid wind and earthquake, but quietly walking on the lakeshore and giving some fishermen advice. God walks in the everyday world. Our task is not to make God appear among us, but to recognize His presence. That is what Francis learned to do, like the apostles learning to recognize Jesus' presence even in the humiliating and painful events of life. God help us all, too, for His love is for all of us. Happy Easter!

I See Nothing but Violence and Strife in the City

2007-04-19T08:40:00.000-04:00

Peace! Blessings in the Risen Christ!

As we are daily reminded, there is much violence in the world. At the extremes we can either try to ignore it as much as possible or let it dominate our thoughts. Or take the third way: know that there is violence and evil, but never believe that they are ultimate. The reason to believe that: Jesus' death and resurrection. This is what helped Francis survive his own experiences of violence, both in the world around him and within his own heart. Thirteenth-century central Italy was an incredibly beautiful world, filled with an incredible amount of violence. Francis had experienced Assisi's war with Perugia, a very violent local affair, not as an observer but a participant. That experience of the futility of violence, when opened up by the teachings of the living Christ, helped make him an "instrument of God's peace." May St. Francis help us to be such in the world where violence still seems to reign, from Virginia to Iraq to Darfur. And with Francis may we humbly do what we can to be instruments of peace. God bless!

Will He Come to the Passover Feast?

2007-03-31T10:15:00.000-04:00

“So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” (John 11)

The hostility of his enemies is growing, and Jesus knows that his actions will have consequences. He does not push things unduly, but he has a choice: celebrate the great feast of the Lord’s deliverance in a public place, and so put himself within the reach of his enemies, or hide away and praise the Father quietly in private. John always emphasizes in his Gospel that Jesus chooses, he is not just some unwitting pawn.

That is part of conversion: choosing to act, to do things, even though some of them may open us up to attack. That is a choice Francis had to make in regard to facing his father. For a while, he was too afraid of the consequences and hid from his father. But at last he knew if his choice were to be truly authentic, he had to face his father no matter what. I am sure Francis hoped his father, Pietro, would understand his choices and support him, or at least let him go with a tacit blessing. But he knew his father, and knew that there were other more likely reactions. He went forth, anyway, right into the heart of town, to meet Pietro and see what would happen, trusting that whatever happened God would be there.

Knowing God is with us in hard decisions is so vital. And so Jesus chose to show us the truth of it: His Father was with Him, even when He chose to go to Jerusalem for the Passover and face the hostility that was building. May God give us this faith and courage too, in all the little decisions as well as the big ones that are difficult to make.

Peace and Good!

The Word Betrayed

2007-03-29T13:24:00.000-04:00

We near Holy Week, and the readings take a definite turn. The tension is mounting as Jesus confronts the unbelief of this world.
In deciding to live among us, the Word opened itself to both being accepted and being rejected. That is what love does, and so decisions made from true love have to be made with the awareness that betrayal is always an option. Yet, that is what God calls us to: choosing to love others while knowing that love will be betrayed in one way or another. Even the death of a loved one is a form of that betrayal, because human love promises eternity but can’t deliver it. Which is why, of course, it has to be grounded in divine love.
Francis’s conversion included accepting others: “The Lord gave me brothers.” These were the brothers who loved and supported him, who challenged and pained him. But he accepted it as part of the via crucis, the way of the cross.
So, Love: but know you will be disappointed and even betrayed. Love in Christ: and know that the crucifixion and resurrection are tied together in the one great mystery of faith.
Peace and Good!

The Word Made Flesh

2007-03-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! There are two extreme views of human free will: the ‘scientific’ view that we have none, that all is genetically, physically, and chemically predetermined, or its opposite, that our own will is the ultimate reality, the ultimate good. It is this second view that Milton puts into the mouth of Lucifer: “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”
The feast of the Annunciation tells us that neither extreme is correct. We have a free will, and that will enables us to consent or not to being what we are: creatures of God. Yet, saying ‘yes’ to God does not mean that things are within our control. Mary says ‘yes’ to God through the angel (thank you, Mother), but she does not know all that it will entail. She does not control the way in which her Son will be the Messiah. That’s why her ‘yes’ was not complete until she stood beneath the cross and accepted that her Son, crucified and dying, was still indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.
Francis did not know what accepting the Lord’s will in his life would entail. He reminded himself often in prayer that it was “a true and holy will.” Sometimes this was obvious, sometimes it was not. But he ultimately had faith in the fact that God is good and so God’s will is what is best for us.
We all have to struggle to live this by learning to say ‘yes’ to God in our lives. We do this in many different ways. Parents accepting a child into their lives are called to say, ‘yes, we will accept this child,’ even though they have no idea how that infant will turn out. The way of conversion is the way of faith, believing the in goodness of God and seeking His will. We don’t do that all at once: conversion is a daily process.

Today let us ask those who have gone through this to help us: Holy Mary, our Mother, Francis and all the saints. Let it be done to us according to God’s Word, the Word made Flesh who dwells among us.

Preaching the Unwelcome Word

2007-03-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Jeremiah the prophet had it hard: not only was his message unpopular, but God even told him that no one would listen to him! So why go on? Because God's word burned with in him. There are three reasons to preach, to share our faith: to praise God, to help others, to remind ourselves. Francis knew this. He preached as much to remind himself of the power and goodness of God as to tell others of it. This is why he was able to be a preacher both humble and yet forceful. And in all, praise the goodness and power of God. That is what we all are asked by God to do, a task not always easy, but one in which is life.
God bless!

Clipped and Manured

2007-03-11T23:08:00.000-04:00

“I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it.” (Luke 13:9) So the gardener says in the parable of the fig tree which bore no fruit. In plants, growth is often stimulated by things which might seem contrary: cutting them back, and surrounding them with smelly waste products. In our life of conversion, the same thing is often true. The things that seem to cut us up, to take away what we think is vital, are what God uses to help us to grow beyond what we can imagine, like roses which are cut back drastically to help them blossom in an amazing way.
So Francis discovered in his life. It was at moment’s of pain—the expression of his father’s anger and greed, being thrown into a ditch by robbers—that he found out more clearly who he was, who God called him to be. Even when he was surrounded by the manure of his own and his brothers’ weaknesses, he found deeper growth.
I think Francis had to learn this in his life, and it was this truth he wanted to share: the goodness of God is found even in garden shears and piles of manure! God is good, all good, ever good, the supreme good, who will not force us to grow, but rather invites us, again and again. We ask the strength to choose him, to become fig trees that do what they were made to do: bear figs.
Peace and Good!

Do Not Judge; Love your enemies

2007-03-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

The Gospel readings these days have told us of the importance of humility, its centrality in our following of Christ. The saints tell us that a great aid to our humility is to focus on our own littleness, but more importantly to focus on the greatness of God. To be open to God’s actions is to learn to be humble, because God acts often when we least expect, and uses the instruments we least suspect. This is connected with Jesus’ command not to judge. Of course we must make judgments in our lives, about good and evil, about situations and decisions. But Jesus warns us against judging anything, or anyone’s ultimate value. That is for God alone, who gives rain to the just and the unjust, the saints and the sinners. Any person’s value ultimately comes from God, and is not subject to human judgment or determination. It is hard to accept this at times, for it leads us to Jesus’ command: Love your enemies. Pray for your persecutors.
Humility led St. Francis to the great realization that we should not only pray for our persecutors, but even thank God for them, because sometimes the Lord uses even our enemies to guide in our lives. Who knows what instruments God will choose? If we judge and put ourselves above others, we may not be able to listen to God speaking through them.
Francis learned this lesson through the experiences of his life. One major one was his encounter with the leper, of course. In his wildest dreams he never would have thought that God would touch him through the disgusting, diseased flesh of a leper. Yet, as he tells us, that is exactly what God did.
Even more important, I think, was Francis’s experience with Bishop Guido of Assisi. They tell us Guido was a passionate, greedy man in many ways, prone to fits of anger. Francis could easily have judged him and condemned him in his heart. He certainly would have been suspicious of any help he might receive for his new gospel venture from the bishop. Yet, with faith he turned to Guido as a minister of God’s Church, and found that God used that bishop to help him discover his vocation. When Francis’s father left him naked in the piazza, it was Guido who covered him with his mantle and helped him on his way. Francis found support from this ‘worldly’ bishop and turned to him for advice. Francis, too, had a good effect on Guido. This experience probably helped Francis grow in his faith in Christ’s promise to be with his Church always, despite the failings of some of its members.
Lent may be a good time for us to ask God’s grace to listen even to those who annoy us, those who hurt us, even those who persecute us. Whatever their intentions, God may use them as instruments. And, who knows: God may want to use us as instruments in their lives.
Peace and All Good!

Transfiguration and Conversion

2007-03-04T21:51:00.000-05:00

Peace! This second Sunday of Lent always brings us the story of the Transfiguration, because witnessing that event was part of the road to the Apostles’ conversion, and ours. God calls us to open our eyes, or more precisely, let the Spirit open them for us, so that we can see more of ‘what’s there.’ We all have limited vision: limited by our upbringing, our experiences, our character, our expectations. We can only see part of the truth, and need to be shown there is more. And to accept it.
Peter was expressing the temptation to not accept that vision. We often take his saying, “Let us build three booths,” as a sign that he wanted to hold on to the experience, didn’t want to leave. But I think another part of it was that he didn’t want the experience to end, because it meant he would have to look at the world differently, he would have to change once they climbed down from that mountain. And that frightened him. God’s call to see more is always frightening. Think of the ‘terrifying darkness’ that enveloped Abram as he heard God offer him the covenant. To see the world differently is frightening, because of what it does to our lives: turns them upside down.
Francis with the leper had this experience: his expectations we turned upside down. He had always seen lepers as the sign of God’s absence from the world. The fact that society rejected them meant that they were no concern of him. But in him embrace he suddenly saw them differently. They WERE a concern of his, and a sign not of God’s absence but his sweet presence. No wonder after his embrace, Francis tells us he still “lingered in the world” a little while. It’s not easy to get your bearing when God turns everything upside down.
But it’s worth it. Once the disciples were enveloped by that frightening cloud, they heard the voice. ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” What better reason to listen to Jesus each day, to let him constantly shake us up with words like “Love your enemies.” And how good and great it is of God to be so patient, and let us come back again and again, since we forget the lesson so easily.
St. Francis, pray for us. Sts. Peter, James and John, ask God to grant us vision and hearts that are willing to see.
(P.S. Thank you for your prayers. My exams went well. God bless!

God's Grace

2007-02-13T12:13:00.000-05:00

Peace! Just to let anyone who reads this know that I am sorry about not posting lately. I am in the midst of my comprehensive exams but will be back posting regularly soon. Keep me in your prayers. God bless!

I call this photo: The Icy Hand of Winter.

A Little Help from His Friends

2007-01-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

Blessings and Peace on the Feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus!

“Jesus sent out his disciples two by two.” We are not supposed to ‘go it alone,’ because we are part of the body of Christ. Paul, in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, shows us that even a powerful believer and preacher can use ‘a little help from his friends.’

“For this is why I wrote, to know your proven character, whether you were obedient in everything. Whomever you forgive anything, so do I. For indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for you in the presence of Christ, so that we might not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not unaware of his purposes. When I went to Troas for the gospel of Christ, although a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no relief in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
“For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way--external conflicts, internal fears. But God, who encourages the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged in regard to you, as he told us of your yearning, your lament, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.”

Sts. Timothy and Titus helped him out.
St. Francis had his friends, like Br. Leo and Lady Jacoba, who encouraged and helped him on. May we thank God for those who help us along the path of life, and the way of faith!

Conversion of Paul, Ananias, Francis

2007-01-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

To see Christ in the ones you persecuted
and the people of God in the heathen Gentiles.
To see God's chosen servant
in the very man who had sworn to destroy
God's people.
To see a leper on the road, and embrace Jesus.
Thank You, Lord, for conversion.
Help us all to see!

Life

2007-01-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

Peace! Yesterday we had the beautiful reading from St. Paul about being the one Body, and how all the parts have to work together. He mentions how those parts that seem less honorable we clothe with greater care.
We can use this to reflect on our society. How do we work together to support the whole body? An important question: how do we treat those who are least able to defend themselves? How do we treat the unborn, the ill and incapacitated, those debilitated by age or other factors?
Once as a hospital chaplain I was called in to visit a mother who had given birth prematurely. I visited the baby, so tiny and helpless. All the doctors and nurses were working so hard to help this child survive. We prayed and baptized him.
Why does our law commend, and even command, such heroic efforts in regard to a child born early, and yet gives no protection at all to a child, the same age, still in its mother’s womb? Both are precious, both children of God. The debate about abortion raises such contradictions, and reveals the dark side of our culture and society.
I know these are not new reflections, but they have to be repeated. Not so that we can attack them, those outside of us, and so feel smug in our pro-life stance. It is so we can first of all face the basic contradictions in ourselves, in all of us. And first bring that contradictory self to God, the only light in the darkness. This is what St. Francis prayed: “Lord, enlighten the darkness of my heart.”
And, yes, from that place we must act. I commend all those who are on the march for life this day, all those who are fighting in a public way to change our laws. We all have to be part of that struggle, as God guides and gives us. Again: not one of us can do everything, but each of us can do something.
As St. Francis told his brothers; “Let us begin to do good, for up to now we’ve done so little.” And yet, even our little can be taken up by the Good God.
Let us begin today!

Fulfilled in Your Hearing

2007-01-21T16:25:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! I think one of the secrets of St. Francis' attraction is that He learned to consider Jesus Christ a living presence, not just someone from the past. This is what happened in his encounter with the leper on the plain of Assisi: he experienced God as present, there and then. So when Francis sought to imitate Jesus, it was not so that he could live the life of a first century Palestinian preacher--it was to be a living Gospel and witness to Christ present in 13th century Italy.
And we are called not to become 13th century saints, but living witnesses of the living Christ in 2007.

Many people are gathering in Washington, D.C., to witness to the value of human life and the need to protect it. They tell me, once more, that despite the problems and evils around us, God has not abandoned us. Christ is among us. He fulfills His word.
And, like Francis, we have to decide if we want to be witness of that living presence.
Thank You, Lord, for those who allow Your face to shine in theirs. Thank You, too, for Your whole body. None of us can do everything, but in You each of us can do something, and You will fulfill Your promise to be with us, even to the end of the world.

Do Whatever He Tells You

2007-01-20T12:29:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good!

Here is a prayer composed by St. Francis:

Hail, O Lady, Holy Queen,Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church
chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.
Hail His Palace!
Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling!
Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant!
Hail His Mother!
And hail all you holy virtues which are poured into the hearts of the faithful through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that from being unbelievers, you may make them faithful to God. Amen.

It might seem odd, the way “hail all you holy virtues” seems tacked on to a prayer to our Lady. But it is a deep insight of Francis, reflective of his knowledge of the scriptures. In the Gospel from last Sunday (the Wedding at Cana), Mary is an instrument, bringing the needs of the couple to her Son, Jesus. She also says, “Do whatever He tells you.” And when we pray for her help, she says the same to us. And that, of course, is virtue, following the words and example of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, which can only happen in the Holy Spirit.
(Note: icon from the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Seraphim, Dallas TS)

God bless!

The Clay God Uses: St. Bernard of Corleone

2007-01-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

Many people have heard of Corleone, Sicily, though mostly through the Godfather movies. “Hey, that’s the town Don Vito is from; that’s where he got his name!” It was an appropriate choice, actually, as the town has had a reputation for violence. Its seal (which I put here) is a lion eating a human heart.
Philip Latino soaked in a culture of violence, and adapted to it, becoming an excellent swordsman with a fierce reputation. But from his parents he had also absorbed the Christian faith, and an example of another way. So when he severely wounded someone in a sword fight and felt regret in his heart, he knew there was another way he could live. He turned to Christ and ended up joining the Capuchins, living a holy life in the midst of a violent society. He is St. Bernard of Corleone, whose feast is today.

Our world is a violent one, and violence seems the only effective response. But St. Bernard shows that there can be an alternative, even for those who have given in to the lure of violence.
St. Francis lived in violent times, and he too was lured by violence, even to fighting in Assisi’s war against Perugia. But defeat, imprisonment and illness made him disillusioned with violence. By God’s grace, he, too, saw another way was possible, and walked in it.
God’s power to transform is not limited. I think we should keep that in mind when we consider our own lives and our faults and sins, as well as those of others. We should pray for those who use terror as a weapon. Pray not for their death but their conversion. Imagine if all that energy were used to build up the world! Hard to imagine, yes. But it is just as hard to imagine that slaying the Messiah would, in fact, be a work of redemption.
God’s mercy and love are not limited. May God help us believe that, and live the consequences.
Peace and Good!

I Do Want it: Be Healed

2007-01-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! Today's Gospel is Jesus' encounter with the leper in the first chapter of Mark's gospel. It is a simple, powerful scene. There is the leper's confident plea, and Jesus' response. First of all, "I do will it." We can forget that God wants our healing, our salvation. We don't have to make God love us, but that is often how we look at our religion. God wills us to be healed; the question is: Do we want to be healed?

Even more impressive is the fact that Jesus stretched out his hand to touch that leper. This was a violation of the law as well as common sense. You just didn't touch a leper. Unless you're Jesus, God's compassion made flesh.
This all brings to my mind Francis of Assisi and his encounter with the leper outside of Assisi. Here we see his first real attempt to be Christ-like, to do what Jesus did. It was hard for him, I am sure. But he himself testifies that God worked in the whole experience: what was bitter was changed to sweetness of soul and body. Francis was faced with the question: do you want to be healed. And that day he answered, I do will it.
Finally, let's not forget the lepers, either in the Gospel or in Assisi. They were not just props, objects to show the power of Jesus or the conversion of Francis. They were real persons, loved by God. Maybe God did something powerful for those lepers in their encounters. We know he healed the man in the Gospel. But maybe the leper outside of Assisi needed someone to embrace him, to remind him that he was human, to keep him from despairing. Maybe Francis was God's instrument of the leper as much as the leper was for Francis.
God is wonderful.
God bless and keep you!

St. Elizabeth Ann

2007-01-08T08:29:00.000-05:00

Peace! Since my last post, I've had a chance to visit the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It is a beautiful place. I am attaching a couple photos. It is a great thing to reflect on her life, knowing that she didn't live all that long ago, and was an American by birth and life. May she intercede for all of us!

The Clay God Uses: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

2007-01-04T10:30:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good!
Today's Gospel from John mentions three times "which is translated as..."
The saints are those who learned how to translate the Gospel into living witness.
Elizabeth Ann Seton was called to do this in many ways.
One dramatic moment: after her conversion to Roman Catholicism, she was shunned by many of her family, who were angry that she joined the "shabby, shiftless, scrubby Catholics." They made her life very difficult, and tried to get her out of New York, her home. But one of them became ill, and asked for Elizabeth to visit her and help her as death neared. Elizabeth had to decide if she would go, despite the pain that her relatives had caused her. She decided she needed to 'translate' the Gospel message, to show love to those who made her suffer. She went to the bed of her relative, and helped her to die in prayer and peace.
This was one of the big reasons people were so drawn to St. Francis of Assisi: he 'translated' the Gospel into living witness. In an era when there was much debate over words and concepts, he made the Gospel message real by his example and life.
This is what Jesus calls us all to do.
Why do we think it's possible? Because first of all, that is what Jesus Himself does. The Incarnation is the 'translation' of God's love into terms we can understand. "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son."
Jesus Christ is this love made present, not only in the past, but each day, each moment. One of the things that caused St. Elizabeth Ann's conversion was here awe at the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. It made real for her the Lord's promise to be with us (as it did with St. Francis). Through Jesus she also came to know Mary, His Mother, whom He gave to us as our Mother too.
Secondly, we have the example of the saints. Each in his or her own way translated the Gospel into a living message. And we are all called to do the same, each in a particular way.
May God bless and help us in this New Year 2007 to believe in Christ present among us, and, like Mary our Mother, ponder on that in our hearts and then live it in our daily lives.
God bless and keep you!

Mary, Mother of God

2007-01-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! I just read somewhere that the idea of making Jan. 1 the beginning of the New Year was actually Julius Caesar's. The month of January was named after Janus, the two-headed Roman god who watched the gates and doors, a sort of guardian. Mary has often been called the Gate, so it's good to enter the New Year with her feast. She is the one who opened her heart and her body to receive God's Son, and then opened them both to give Him to the world. Thank you, Blessed Mother of us all. Help us to open ourselves as you did.
As the reading today says, and St. Francis often repeated:
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the light of His countenance fall upon you.
May He turn His face to you and have mercy on you.
May the Lord give you peace!
God bless us all in 2007.

And Dwelt Among Us

2006-12-31T11:49:00.000-05:00

Peace! Blessings on this feast of the Holy Family. A thought struck me in the Gospel today: Luke tells us that Jesus went back to Nazareth and was obedient to Mary and Joseph, and that Mary pondered all these things in her heart. Part of the dynamics of family is that all the members learn from each other. So Jesus, as a human being, learned from Mary and Joseph, and they, of course, learned from him.
Francis of Assisi learned from his family, in both positive and negative ways. He learned about the faith, about life, about perseverence and courage from his father and mother. He also learned about the power of greed and acquiesence to wrong. I hope, also, that his family learned from him. It's easy to think that his mother did. But perhaps Pietro di Bernardone did, too.
This feast reminds us that God is the ultimate foundation and hope of any family, and that the Holy Spirit can work within any family dynamics, both the most beautiful and the most dysfunctional. Thank God for that.
Holy Jesus, Savior, help us in our struggles to love. Mother Mary, St. Joseph, guide and help us on the way.
God bless you all. Happy New Year!

Seeing and Not Seeing

2006-12-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

Peace! Happy Feast of St. John the Evangelist. The readings today talk about seeing. The First Letter of John talks about what "our eyes have seen." The Word of Life made visible. Yet, the Gospel says that the beloved disciple "saw and believed." But he believed because of what he didn't see: no body, no visible presence of the Lord Jesus, only a few pieces of cloth lying around. The Lord tells us through John that the Word was God, from all eternity, yet in time became visible. That dynamic of seeing and not seeing is part of our spiritual journey. There are times when God's presence is clearly visible, clearly discernible. Then, there are times when God seems hidden, obscure, or even completely absent. Faith calls us to believe even when we do not see; to love even when we do not feel love.
This was the secret of St. Francis, to believe in God's presence even in those places where it does not seem to be, or even be possible. He learned that from his encounter with the leper. He never would have imagined that God could be present in a diseased and shunned leper. Yet, in a leper he encountered a "sweetness of body and soul" which could only come from God.
We ask St. John to help us to believe in the Word of Life made visible, that with him, with Our Lady and Francis and all the saints, we may continue to walk by faith and believe He is with us.

When the Snow Hung Round about...

2006-12-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

Peace! Happy Feast of St. Stephen. I pray everyone had a blessed beginning of this wonderful Christmas Feast! I recall that at the death of St. Francis the bells of the little Church of St. Stephen in Assisi began to ring. One Christlike person receving another. Thank you God for them both. God bless!

How Small He Became

2006-12-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

The Gospel of this Fourth Sunday of Advent (which is also the entire fourth week of Advent) recounts the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized the great work that God was carrying out in Mary. An important point is how she came to know this. What was the sign that pointed it out? It wasn't anything big or spectacular. Mary was not bathed in a heavenly light, or arrayed in gold and silver, or preceded by a fanfare of angelic trumpets. Rather, Elizabeth felt the baby move within her, leap for joy at God's presence and the fulfillment of the promise. How often in the history of the world has a baby kicked within the womb? How normal, uneventful, small such a thing is in the scheme of world history. And yet, it was through such a small thing that God opened Elizabeth's heart to reveal to her the great mystery present in her young cousin coming to visit. This reveals to us so much of what the Incarnation is all about. And calls us to remember what Christmas means. I don't think we should waste our time or energy railing against the commercialism or glitter or political correctness battles. Rather, we should take time to listen to God speaking in the midst of it all in the seemingly ordinary and small things.
That, I think, was one of the great secrets of St. Francis. He looked for God in the small things of every day. In the stars and the sun, in the lepers and the poor, the prelates and the rich, in the daily joys and sorrows. And Christmas for him was a reminder that God was there in all those things.
Where did he learn that? From Mary, who teaches us to pay attention, to ponder these things in our hearts, and to proclaim the greatness of the Lord.
Merry Christmas! Blessings and Peace always!

Christ our Key

2006-12-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

The Key

Peace and Good! I love the “O” Antiphons used during these later Advent days, approaching Christmas. Sunday we hailed Christ as the Wisdom of God, Monday as Adonai, the Lord of Hosts, and yesterday as the Root of Jesse (Radix Jesse). Today we send our plea for redemption to the Clavis David, Key of David.
The preacher at mass today made a great point. He said that when we think of a key, we usually think of a door or gate, being locked or unlocked. But the word also has another meaning: that which guides interpretation, as a key to a map. And that truly applies, for it is Jesus Christ who is the key to understanding life, the universe, and everything. The universe is there before us, but we need a key, a vision and way of understanding to make it intelligible. Which is why the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, that we might see the glory of God and know what it is we are beholding.
I think this is what Francis encountered in Jesus: the one who made sense out of his world. And I pray He will help all of us as our key, opening for us the magnificent vision and teaching us the truth: God so loved the world, that He sent His only Son. God bless you!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, leading us to Jesus

2006-12-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

Paz y Bien! I have always been moved by the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I visited the Basilica last August and was very touched in seeing both the image itself, and the faith of the people who were there with me. Our faith tells us God uses the Virgin Mary to bring Christ into this world, both in the Incarnation and in its continuation in the Church. St. Francis called Mary, "The Virgin Made Church." There is no competition between Jesus and His Mother. No one can really be devoted to her without listening to her words, "Do whatever He tells you."
One fact about the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe: she wears the symbols of a pregnant woman. Which means that when one gazes on that image, one is in fact gazing not just at her, but at her Son, Jesus. Mother, help all peoples to come to know and love your Son, and with you to serve Him in our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need.
(By the way, this image is a photo I took of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe that is in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. She really is world-wide!)

The Clay God uses: Saint Andrew

2006-11-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! I have always admired St. Andrew. The gospels show us a man with a generous heart and a willing faith. St. John tells us that, at the multiplication of the loaves, he was the one who presented the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus. He did say, "But what good is that for so many?" Yet, he had enough faith to present those small resources, and trusted Jesus could do something with them. We all know how small sometimes our gifts seem, and how little they seem in the face of the needs of the world. But Andrew can tell us: Bring them to the Lord. You never know what he can do with them! God bless us all!

Thanks to God/Buying and Selling

2006-11-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! I have been ill, even in the hospital, but am better,thanks be to God and His gift of modern medicine. I will reflect more on the whole experience soon. I also ask prayers for my Aunt Annette who died last Sunday. Her funeral mass is tomorrow morning.
One quick thought of the day: how interesting, to have Jesus overturning the money changers on the day called "Black Friday" because it so focuses on buying and selling! Not that Jesus was against business; he uses images of merchants and economics in some of the parables. But he was concerned always about priorities: that we remember what is what and why. Economics are to serve the good of people, not the other way around. And of course, it should serve ideally to help us love and praise God. But we forget so easily. I think that's what so motivated Francis. He knew the life of a merchant, he knew the power of money and wealth. And he knew how it could be so easily abused, turning things upside down. He experienced how his own father had chosen money, possessions and all to his own son. May the Lord help us, like Francis, to value things with their true value and keep our priorities. God bless!

Walls

2006-11-05T23:32:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! A Franciscan Friar today shared at mass about the conditions for Christians in the Holy Land. He talked about one young woman who, after obtaining a theology degree in the United States, returned to her native Bethlehem to teach the children the faith. It's a hard life there now, especially for the Christian population. One thing she mentioned as being particularly hard is seeing the wall go up, the wall the Israeli government is erecting around the town, making it feel like living in a prison.
It just made me wonder: how effective are walls? How well did the Great Wall of China work, or Hadrian's Wall? More importantly, how do they help make the world better?
I remember Francis, answering the bishop of Assisi, who wanted the friars to have possessions. "If we have possessions," he replied, "we would need walls to guard them and weapons to protect them."
Walls may work in one way, but do they help us to "love God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves"? Robert Frost quoted the proverb: "Good walls make good neighbors." But do they make loving neighbors?
I pray God will help us tear down the walls in our hearts so that one day, in His grace, we will live in a world where no walls are needed, except maybe to sit on while we eat an ice cream cone!
God bless and keep you!

The Clay God Uses: Martin de Porres and Charles Borromeo

2006-11-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

Peace and Good! These are two saints who amaze me, as much for what they didn’t do as what they did. They both had reason to walk another path, and yet both heeded the Gospel and walked in the way of the Lord, though in very different circumstances and places.
Martin de Porres had every reason to be a bitter man. He was treated badly by his father, looked down upon as someone illegitimate and of mixed race. When he joined the Dominicans he was kept for several years from becoming a full member because of prejudice. Yet, rather than becoming a bitter man consumed by anger, he used these circumstances to open his heart in compassion to others and obedience to God’s grace. He like Francis, was known to extend his kindness even to the smallest creatures, feeding the mice who plagued the priory rather than killing them. I think of the story of Francis telling someone who was bitter against injustices done against him that such bitterness would only bring about the only true loss, loss of his soul. Martin, by God’s grace, shows us that such bitterness is not the only way to cope with life’s disappointments and unfairness.
Charles Borromeo had the opposite. His was a life of privilege and wealth, full of palaces and power. He was related to the Medici family, and had relatives who were cardinals and even popes. This brought him position and privilege. He could have forgotten all about God and the good of others and put his energy into the politics of that era, both secular and ecclesiastical, and done quite well. But, again by the grace of God, he did not see what he had as being something he should use for himself, but that he should give himself to the love of God and others. He became a model archbishop and true Christian pastor. He used his gifts for others and thus turned worldly advantage into true discipleship.
Both these saints show us that there is no limit to what God can do, nor any particular type of person who can be a saint. Francis told us never to despise or look down on others. I think it was because he knew how powerful the grace of God could be, and how God often chooses the most unlikely instruments. He felt that he himself was an example of this, and he was right. Who would have thought that the party boy, spoiled son of a merchant, would ever amount to anything in the sight of God.
Francis, Charles, Martin: pray for us, that we too may emerge from whatever we’ve experienced in life, that with the grace of God we may be His instruments, his saints.
God bless!

Bartimaeus Sets the Pace

2006-10-30T16:14:00.000-05:00

“And they should be glad when they live among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers and the beggars on the side of the road.” So St. Francis told his brothers. I think that Francis says this not just so that the brothers will learn to be compassionate and generous with those in need. More importantly, Francis is urging them to open themselves to learn the ways of God from those who often know them best: the poor, the blind, the lame.
In the last Sunday’s Gospel (Mark 10:46-52), of all the crowd that follows Jesus, it is the poor, blind beggar Bartimaeus who shows most clearly what it means to have faith. The crowd only looked at him as a nuisance and tried to shut him up; then as an object of pity, telling him not to be afraid. Bartimaeus was not intimidated or distracted by them: he kept yelling until he was heard by Jesus, and then leapt to his feet when Jesus responded and called him. He even left behind the only little bit of security he had in the world: his cloak. And when Bartimaeus receives what he thought was most important, his sight, he uses it to do what he discovers is even more important: following Jesus down the road. Thank God he didn’t listen to the crowd and shut up, content to let Jesus go by without making any waves. Rather, Bartimaeus was called to show to all that crowd, and to us, what it means to have faith.
Such faith reminds us that we never know through whom God is going to speak, so we have to learn how to listen well. And Francis said that this begins with the poor and the lepers and those who live by the side of the road. They can teach us what real faith and perseverance is.
I have experienced this in my life, though I always need to be reminded of it. I found that it is good to reflect also on what we heard from the prophet Jeremiah in Sunday’s first reading. The Lord through the prophet says that he will lead the people: “Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child.” The pace of any group is set by the slowest members. Yet, right in the middle God will place the blind and the lame, the mothers and those with child. Those who are least able for the journey are set in the middle, not only to be protected, but also to set the pace! We are usually inclined to see anyone who holds us back or slows us down as a nuisance and a hindrance, just as the crowd considered that annoying blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Yet, by the grace of God and the persistence of his faith, he set the pace.
God tells us: My ways are not your ways. I pray that with Francis we can learn to leave our ways behind and, like Bartimaeus, walk in His ways, following Him down the road.
Peace and Good!

Music Musing

2006-10-26T09:14:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
The power of music. Once Francis was ill and asked a brother to play him some music to help him through. The brother demurred, not thinking it fitting. Later Francis heard music, as if played by an angel on a heavenly violin. It helped him in his suffering and revealed yet another aspect of God’s compassionate love for us.
In the last two days I have had two experiences with music which have made me reflect on its power. Last night, I had a classical music station playing as I finished up some work. At first it was just background sound, but suddenly something plucked at me and I started listening to it. I could not tell you whose work it was (I’m not great at recognizing composers), but I only know that its beauty and power suddenly touched my heart and led me to stop and listen and enter into it. I thanked the Lord for that moment, and the gift of the composer, as well as the musicians, who cooperated with the Holy Spirit to express such beauty.
Today, after finishing my swim, I entered the locker room. Someone was playing some rap song or other (I really couldn’t tell you who composed that). I noticed right away that that music made me uneasy, and I hurried to get changed and get out of there. I don’t know how the others there were affected by it. I’ve been there before when such music was playing and, although I’ve never liked it, this was the first time I noticed its effect on me.
In neither case did I set out to listen to music and make a judgment about it, but both times I noticed how it affected me, both positively and negatively. Two things came to me from this.
Firstly, it is important what kind of ‘music’ we allow into our lives. We have to realize the way various things can affect us, and make our choices accordingly. Francis let the music of the Scriptures and Sacraments, love of God and of others, as well as the rhythms and beauties of creation, fill the ears of his heart and lead him to the one who is Beauty and Harmony itself. So it shouldn’t be strange that he heard angelic music that night as he lay suffering. He trained himself, or better, let the Spirit train him, to listen and truly hear such music.
Besides this, however, it’s also important to ask what kind of ‘music’ I am playing for others. My life affects others, by its harmonies and its disharmonies. My words and my actions, my attitudes and decisions, produce a certain quality of music. Francis realized that his life was lived not in splendid isolation but in the midst of God’s world, and that what he did, how he lived in that world, was important. So he also tried to produce for God as beautiful song as he could, even when that meant rubbing two twigs together and weeping for the passion of Jesus Christ. The music of his life still reverberates, even in the blogosphere!
So, Lord, this day I thank you for lovely music and ask that I may learn to listen to your angelic viols and take my own part in the divine symphony you conduct each day. Francis, my brother, teach us how to listen to and play the music of the Gospels, with Jesus as composer, conductor, and orchestra member. Amen.
God bless you all!

Brother Wind and Sister Leaves

2006-10-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

Peace! I have always wondered about the interaction of grace and nature, especially in regard to becoming holy. St. Francis has always taught me that all good comes from God (which he got, of course, from Jesus!), and so all is gift. And yet, we have to strive and expend our effort. And although I’ve heard people quote St. Teresa of Avila, “Pray as if everything depends on God, work as if everything depends on you,” I’ve still wondered how the two could work together.
God gave me a glimmer of an answer yesterday. I was walking home on an afternoon marked both by the beautiful light which speaks the joy of autumn and the blustery winds which announce the coming of winter. Then, another mark of autumn also caught my attention: the leaves falling from the trees, and being moved all around by the wind. I’ve always thought of it as a dance, a dance of the leaves, and loved to watch it happen.
Yesterday it came to me that there are two things which help produce the way this dance happens: the wind that blows and moves the leaves, and the shape of the leaves themselves, which affects how the wind moves them. Now obviously the wind is the major factor, for without the force of it the dance would not happen. Yet, the shape of the leaves does contribute to their motion as they are moved by that wind. They dance in the wind as they are formed, and respond to its impulse because of what they are.
So maybe the Holy Spirit, the force that makes us holy, is that wind (not an original idea, I know; it’s been said before), and without that wind nothing can happen. The wind blows where it will. Yet, the shape of each leaf is also part of the equation, both for the dance of the individual leaf and of the whole dance of creation. So it matters for each of us and for all the way we let ourselves be formed, the shape that we take. That shape affects our part in the dance, and so it matters what we do, how we live.
Thank God for the dance of the leaves, and the dance of our lives, for his wind that blows invisible and yet irresistable. May we learn to love that wind and the dance it calls us to dance.

St. Teresa

2006-10-15T23:38:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good! Although her feast is not liturgically celebrated today, it was good to pray to Teresa and honor her memory. Her story is so different from Francis of Assisi, yet they were alike in ways too. But I like best her bookmark: Nada te turbe, nada te espante, quien a Dios tiene, nada le falta. Solo Dios Basta (Let nothing disturb you, nothing affright you, whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices). God bless!

Conversion: Go and Do Likewise

2006-10-09T20:13:00.000-04:00

Peace and Good!
I’ve added a subtitle to my blog name, recognizing something I think is important. In regard to Francis of Assisi, hard and fast dates for his early life are hard to come by. He was probably born 1181 or 1182. We have a foundation date for the Franciscan Order of 1209, and his death, of course, was the evening of October 3, 1226 (the evening being counted as part of the following day, hence his feast on October 4). Most agree that his process of conversion began sometime in 1206 or 1207. So we are in the midst, most likely, of the 800th anniversary of his conversion, which I think just as significant, if not more so, than the 8th centennary of his birth or of the founding of the Franciscan Order. I am urging all Franciscans I know to mark this anniversary, most appropriately by seeking our own ongoing conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Regarding his own conversion, it was a process, but Francis picked out his encounter with lepers as signally important. “It was bitter for me to see lepers,” he says, “but the Lord led me among them, and what was bitterness was changed into sweetness of body and soul.” In the biographies we have the story as Francis meeting a leper on the road, overcoming his initial repulsion, and helping and embracing the leper. This led Francis to realize that the sweetness of life, the sweetness of God, which he had been seeking and which eluded him in both war and commerce as well as parties and praise, was to be found when he reached out in compassion, just as Jesus had done, especially in the first chapter of Mark.
I think this so much reveals to us some of the meaning of the gospel of today’s mass, the parable of the Good Samaritan. I always notice that Jesus does not, in fact, answer the doctor’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” Rather, he puts it: “Who was neighbor to the man beaten by robbers?” Many are people are frustrated and scandalized in reading the Gospel ideals and then seeing the way things are in the world, even among Christians. But Jesus’ message is not to sit back and wait to be treated like neighbors, but to be neighbors. “Go and do the same.” In opening ourselves in compassion and acting on it we can enter into the mystery of salvation offered by Jesus, who was the one who was so moved by compassion that he came and dwelt among us.
We friars have to remember we are not called to join a community, we are called to create community, to learn how to be brothers. That is the call of all Franciscans, if we would follow Francis’ example. Concentrate on being brothers and sisters, being neighbors, acting with compassion. It’s a struggle, and can be painful, and even lonely at times. That’s what Francis found, in the footprints of Jesus Christ. But as his Master, he also tells us: “It’s worth it.”
So I hope not to merely reflect on Francis’ conversion, but to be open to my own, in the Lord. God bless!
(BTW, I could only find images of Francis already in the habit doing this. Does anyone know of an image of the Francis ‘of the world’ embracing the leper?)

Our Lady of the Rosary

2006-10-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

Peace and good! This may be a 'politically incorrect' feast these days, in that it was established as a thanksgiving for the victory of the West over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. But again, it celebrates the fact that what we do in this world matters and that God cares about what goes on. And what a way to remember that: to pray rhythmically the beautiful scriptural prayers so that we can do what Our Lady did: ponder the deeds of the Lord in our hearts. Francis' devotion to her was great, and it always led him to consider her in relationship to God, specifically to the Holy Trinity. One of his prayers says of her: "You are the one...chosen by the Most Holy Father in heaven, whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son, and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete..." She leads us into the very heart of God! Thank you, Mother. May God bless and keep you all!

Peace

2006-10-06T20:27:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share this image that Francis himself drew. God bless!

The Power of the Word

2006-10-06T09:50:00.000-04:00

As a pilgrim to the Holy Land, I visited the ruins of Capernuam. As the bus drove down the road, our guide pointed to a grass-covered mound and was told, "That's where Corazin was. On the other side of the road you'll see the site of Bethsaida."
Then I remembered the Gospel words of Jesus, heard at mass this morning:
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.'"
I wonder if Francis thought of these words when he roamed the Holy Land? He learned to believe in the real power of the words of Jesus, which is why he tried to put those words into practice in his life. It's a good thing to meditate on, and return to the Word. Pax et Bonum!

Why after him?

2006-10-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

I thought last night as I joined almost 300 other Franciscans of all sorts in remembering Francis' passing into the fullness of life (called the transitus): what an amazing man, to have all these people praying in his honor all these years later. And truly he is, a gift from God to us all. Not to call us to be him, but to do what he did: find our true selves in the will of the Good God who made and makes us. What we are before God, as Francis reminds us, is what we are. No more, and no less. That is the true basis of all humility. Francis was aware of his gifts, and was willing to use them with great conviction, but never wanted to forget that they were gifts and so he needed to focus on the Giver and never claim them as simply his own, to do with as he pleased. I pray God will help us all do the same, and trust that He will if we open ourselves to him, as little and imperfect as we are. Remembering God's love of the saints is not an indictment against those who admire them, but a call to believe that God can indeed love, and does choose to love us. As one friar said when he witnessed a moment of gruffness from Padre Pio, now St. Pio: "If that man can be a saint, then there's hope for all of us!" And Pio smiled at him, because he knew it was true.
So remember: if God could love Francis, the vain, showy, spendthrift son of a merchant, he can love each of us. And love us into holiness, if we say yes.
Say yes.
Pax et Bonum!

Violence andFrancis

2006-10-03T17:13:00.000-04:00

Pax et Bonum! Yes, it is the eve of the feast of a great saint, a great man, a genius: Francis, son of Pietro di Bernardone, of Assisi. We need to heed him, and his message. I just read sadly about the young children killed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. God rest them! And it can make us think our world is more violent than ever. But I don't think it is, I just think we have more efficient tools! Medieval Italy of Francis' time was quite violent. So how did Francis become a man of peace in the midst of it all? Not because he wasn't tempted to be as violent as the world around him: he was, and constantly. But he remembered the words of his wise and patient savior: Those who live by the sword will die by the sword, and Love your enemies. But what impressed Francis was not what Jesus said, but what he did: loved his enemies even to dying at their hands, without raising his against them. That is not an easy message to live, but we are promised it is the real way to peace. Help us, Francis of Assisi!

St. Jerome

2006-09-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

The man single handedly translated a huge amount of the scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, without computers, typewriters, or even a decent desk lamp. So he was a little cranky! Who wouldn't be. Thank you, Jerome, for all that hard work. Thank you, Lord, for Jerome, and all the rest who work so hard to help us enter Your Word and Your Word enter us. Peace and Good!

2006-09-29T09:35:00.000-04:00

Angels

Peace and Good! Today we celebrate Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. St. Francis had a great devotion to St. Michael. Are angels still a part of our lives in the 21st century. I think so. The feast reminds us of two things: we are part of something much bigger than ourselves, and that the service of love is part of the fabric of the universe. The angels we celebrate are always presenting as serving: serving God, and serving us. What an amazing thing, if you think about it. Thank God for angels and flowers and galaxies and rocks. God bless!

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

2006-09-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

Peace! First of all, it is Saint Pio, not Saint Padre Pio. Just a semantic preference of mine.
But he is a great saint, and I am proud to be his brother, but ask his assistance. He had the external marks of the crucified Jesus not to make him better but to witness to the world of God's power and the reality of the love shown on the cross. That's not always easy to believe, which is why we are given men and women who are God's mercy writ large. Saint Pio, pray for us!