Christmas: our being made divine.

 

 "The Lord of Glory has become our Brother!" - Saint Francis

The child to be born to Mary had his origins in the vast mystery of God. Indeed, Mary gave birth to Emmanuel – God with us, God among us, God for us.

In God’s complete gift of himself to us in Jesus, we can glimpse his limitless love. We can also see how great our hope and desire can and should be as we come in prayer before Emmanuel.

We can pray for many things – for health, financial issues, our various concerns. There is nothing wrong with this. God wants us to bring our needs to him.

However, the Lord wants us to know that frequently we desire too little. At times, our prayers and our hopes are too paltry. Our God is too small! 

At Christmas we are called to lift our heads and hearts and glimpse the splendour being offered to us.

To put it simply – God became human so that we humans could become divine.

Our entire Christian life is one long birthing into divine life, a life that already dwells within us by the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are asked to experience what is already given, to become what we already are.

In the mystery of Mary’s child we learn that anything is possible for God. 

Jesus wants us to expand our desire.

In faith, we must make God’s generosity, not our littleness, the measure of our expectations.

Jesus desires to fill us with his own life and love and joy. We are called to light our lives from the flame of his divine life. 

He asks us not to settle for too little, too soon, when so much is offered to us.

Jesus, Emmanuel, help me make space in my life for the gift of God.

Prayer: Slowing Down

Prayer is oxygen for the soul. Just as the body needs to breathe, so we need to allow our souls to draw in deeply the love that is the very source of our existence.

Often, we bring to prayer the hectic pace that can pervade our days. And then we can wonder why there was no awareness of the Lord’s presence. Many blessings of consolation and guidance and encouragement are not received because the vessel of our heart is already filled, busy about many things.

So, rather than rushing into prayer, it is good to change pace and prepare our hearts. We slow down, find some solitude, move into silence, and still the mind and heart. ‘When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen’ (Matthew 6:6). We consciously enter into our inner sanctuary.

A sacred space can greatly help. For some of us, it may be a corner of a room with a comfortable chair and a crucifix and Bible on a table, for others it may be a quiet spot at the back of a church we pass daily on the way to work.

There is a power in simple rituals to help us centre the heart and mind. Some of us may light a candle before an icon or cross. Others of us may bless ourselves slowly and prayerfully, invoking the Spirit to lead us in prayer.

We bring our bodies to prayer. If we notice that we are carrying tension in our bodies, we can sit straight and breathe in slowly and gently, holding our breath briefly before exhaling. Doing this several times can help ease stress and calm the body. All of this is both a preparation for prayer and a prayer itself.

The image of our heart as an open vessel, ready to receive, has been used to describe the interior disposition that most blesses us in prayer. We take time to prepare our heart so that we come before the Lord receptive and docile to his grace.

A powerful prayer of trust that gives the Lord freedom in our prayer might be: ‘Jesus, all that you want to give me, I long to receive. All that you long to do in me, with all my heart I want it to happen.’

Honest to God

The psalmist encourages us: ‘Pour out your hearts before him’ (Psalm 62:8). That’s easy enough when there is a strong sense of God in our lives, and our hearts are full of gratitude and praise, and good, positive feelings. But what of those times when ‘negative’ feelings predominate?

It is particularly important to share the emotions we consider negative with the Lord, such as disappointment (even anger) with God, bitterness at the unfairness of life, fear, desolation, grief, and confusing doubts. 

Sometimes we can make the mistake of thinking that we should only speak to the Lord of positive things and positive emotions, and so we bury the negative ones.

A sign of intimacy is when we can share our whole life, warts and all, with a true friend. The strength of the friendship shows itself in trust and openness. That’s the sort of relationship that the Lord wants with us.

Therefore, strong emotions admitted, named and shared in prayer, far from blocking our relationship with Jesus, become part of that bond and deepen it. Speaking candidly about these feelings means our prayer is genuine. 

We are letting the Lord into our real lives and his love can flow.

Honesty in prayer leads to intimacy with God. Hiding our negative emotions and always having to put on a good face weakens friendships, including our friendship with Jesus. Then, our prayer can be just going through the motions; we grow distant from the Lord and our relationship with him becomes formal rather than personal.

The first person we meet in prayer is ourselves. Authentic prayer is showing ourselves to Jesus with candid honesty. Honesty is a sign of intimacy and honesty deepens intimacy. 

The real person before the real God – that’s real prayer!

Seasons of the Heart

Like any relationship, our friendship with the Lord, expressed in prayer, goes through different stages and seasons. So there are times when prayer comes without effort and flows with ease. We experience the Lord’s closeness and receive helpful insights when we pray. 

These times of sweetness and light cannot be permanent.

At other times, we can experience a sense of dryness and boredom when we come to pray. Our enthusiasm for prayer wanes. The Lord can seem a thousand miles away behind a brick wall. We may feel forgotten by Jesus and wonder why we bother.

But these are the very times when our love is being matured and deepened. We are moving beyond just what we can get out of prayer to really wanting to be united with the Lord and his will for our lives.

Fidelity and perseverance in prayer at this stage are vital. It may seem to us that nothing is happening, but the Spirit is working in a hidden manner and with intense love within our souls – far below the level of thought and feelings. What we experience as absence and darkness is the presence of the Lord given to us in a new and more profound manner. 

In time, and with faithfulness, there comes a gradual re-awakening of the heart – a greater conviction of how unquenchable is the Lord’s love, and a fuller awareness of all the ways he is present to us.

Our growth in prayer is measured not by experiences and warm feelings, but by fidelity and by an increasing gift of ourselves in love to the Lord and to others.

Whatever the season of the heart, we are asked to remain faithful to prayer.

"Profoundly United with Every Creature"

Pope Francis' wonderful teaching, Laudato si: on the Care of our Common Home, ends with two prayers he composed: A Prayer for Our Earth, and A Christian Prayer in Union with all Creation.
 
They powerfully express the Christian-Franciscan vision of our place before God as one with all He has created.

These prayers are filled with a spirit of praise and joyful gratitude, and also a humble awareness of failure and our need for grace to live out our divinely-given vocation on this earth.

One would hope these prayers become well known among the Lord's disciples and help form our self-understanding as creatures, children and servants of the Most High God.       

For the ancient principle still holds true: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi - as we worship, so we believe, so we live.

A Prayer for our Earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

A Christian prayer in union with creation
Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!

Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.

O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.

"Laudato si" - a Franciscan Voice

The message from recent documents of the Franciscan Order is clear: commitment to what is now called JPIC – Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation – is “part of our DNA, of our spirituality, and is one of the characteristic elements of our charism”.

From the beginning of his Petrine Ministry, Pope Francis made it clear that his choice of his papal name was indicative of his concern for what may be called “JPIC issues”. And in his historic encyclical “on the care of our common home” he confirms the profound and all-embracing implications of our Gospel discipleship.

His radical teaching draws its title from the opening words of the Canticle of the Creatures - Laudato si. It goes on to speak of the Poverello’s vision of how to live on this earth as God’s child in fellowship with all other creatures. Indeed, the Pope reflects the saint's spirit and wisdom throughout the document.

While the encyclical is popularly referred to as a climate change encyclical, it is first and foremost about human relationships. The Pope writes, “Human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself.” Violate any of these relationships, and we offend God, promote injustice, and exploit our home.

Other religious Orders would be delighted with this celebration of their particular tradition. It certainly provides the friars with a graced opportunity to embrace more fully what has been passed on to us as our heritage and mission.

 

Bill Short OFM writing of our Franciscan faith vision says, “People seek an alternative language, an alternative way of looking at the human person, at Christ, salvation and creation. We have a hopeful word, a distinctly Franciscan voice, to speak to the concerns of our day.”

May this encyclical help the Friar Minors rediscover with confidence our full “Franciscan voice” and so inform, inspire and influence our thinking and our actions.

Missionary Disciples

The Irish Franciscans are gathered for their Provincial Chapter - held every three years - from Sunday 29 June to Friday 4 July. The meeting takes place in the Franciscan College, Gormanston, Co Westmeath.

During the week some 90 friars, including two friars from our Custody in Zimbabwe, will pray, reflect, discuss and make important decisions. With both Irish society and the Church going through a time of major transition we Friars Minor need to make sure that our life and mission are responding to 'the signs of the times' - our times.

The theme for the Chapter is taken from Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel: 'Missionary disciples, witnesses who never cease to be disciples!'

We are honoured that our Minister General, Michael Perry OFM, will be with us to lead us in a 'spiritual day' on Monday. However St Francis teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the true Minister General of our Order. If we are not being open and docile to His inspirations and guidance little else matters!

We ask you to pray with us that the Spirit of the Lord may be with us with divine grace, light and courage.

May our deliberations be guided by His wisdom. May whatever decisions we reach help us live more faithfully the Gospel life we have promised, and may they bring glory to God and serve His people.


Please keep us in your prayers!

Enjoy the Lenten Feast

It is several years since I came across the list below on Fasting/Feasting, describing a different type of fasting during Lent.  It still makes a great deal of sense to me.

What we feed in ourselves grows strong, for better or worse. We can be unaware of the powerful impact our habitual way of thinking has on ourselves and others.

Authentic religion brings about inner transformation. We can focus on the inessentials, the externals while the Lord looks to the heart.

In the Franciscan story we read that Gordan of Giano was a novice at the Pentecost Chapter held in the woods below Assisi in 1221. Several thousand friars had come together. Gordan tells us that Francis went among them collecting all their instruments of penance, hair shirts, corded ropes, whatever.

He did this for two reasons.  Firstly, he did not want his brothers in their fervour  to overdo their bodily penances. But especially Francis realised that physical self-denial can simply inflate one's spiritual pride.  It is a danger warned of by Christ in his parable: "The Pharisee lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed: I thank you Lord that I am not like the rest of men. I fast twice a week..."

It is easier to give up chocolate than unkind words.

It is easier to increase our devotions than our spirit of gratitude.

It is easier to abstain from food than from bitterness.

So this list is not simply a Lenten exercise but a programme for life, for daily living in grace and generosity. It goes straight to the core of the Gospel: the renewal of our hearts and minds.

FAST from judging others;                     FEAST on the Christ within them.

FAST from emphasis on differences;   FEAST on the unity of life.

FAST from apparent darkness;             FEAST on the reality of light.

FAST from thoughts of illness;              FEAST on the healing power of God.

FAST from words that pollute;              FEAST on phrases that purify.

FAST from discontent;                            FEAST on gratitude.

FAST from anger;                                     FEAST on patience.

FAST from pessimism;                            FEAST on optimism.

FAST from worry;                                     FEAST on trust in God.

FAST from complaining;                         FEAST on appreciation.

FAST from negatives;                               FEAST on affirmatives.

FAST from unrelenting pressures;        FEAST on unceasing prayer.

FAST from hostility;                                 FEAST on non-resistance.

FAST from bitterness;                              FEAST on forgiveness.

FAST from self-centredness;                  FEAST on compassion for others.

FAST from personal anxiety;                  FEAST on eternal Truth.

FAST from discouragement;                   FEAST on hope.

FAST from facts that depress;                FEAST on verities that uplift.

FAST from lethargy;                                 FEAST on enthusiasm.

FAST from suspicion;                               FEAST on truth.

FAST from thoughts that weaken;         FEAST on promises that inspire.

FAST from shadows of sorrow;              FEAST on the sunlight of serenity.

FAST from idle gossip;                             FEAST on purposeful silence.

FAST from problems that overwhelm;  FEAST on prayer that under girds.

   —anonymous

The Psalmist prayed: "My soul shall be filled as with a banquet" (Ps 63:6).  We can choose with what we will nourish our souls. My prayer for us all during this season of grace is that we will feast richly on all that will make our lives flourish in Christ-like serenity and goodness. 

Bono on Grace!

 

I recently came across Bono's reflections on grace - well worth a read....

“It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma…

You see, at the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one.  Its clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe.  I’m absolutely sure of it.

And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “As you reap, so will you sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.

That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep shit. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.

The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled….its not our own good works that get through the gates of heaven…

If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed.  All I do is get up on the Cross of the Ego; the bad hangover, the bad review. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my shit and everybody else’s. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man?  And was He who He said He was, or was he just a religious nut?  And there it is, and that’s the question.  And no one can talk you into it or out of it.”

All text taken from Chapter 11 of Bono on Bono: conversations with Michka Assayas, 2005 (Hodder).

Divine Self-Squandering

Carmelite Ruth Burrows writes: “God is the ultimate self-squander, always giving Himself as far as He can be received, and always trying to enlarge our capacity so He can give Himself even more fully.” Christmas celebrates how this self-giving is revealed in an astonishingly tangible way. And as our Franciscan tradition emphasises it does not stop there. The “sublime humility” that Francis wrote of continues in the Passion and daily in the Eucharist – the Crib, the Cross and the Cup.

 

Francis’ encounter with the God who squanders Himself in love led Francis to an understanding of sine proprio - living without anything of one's own - that is far deeper than material poverty. Responding in grace to this God “who gives Himself totally” Francis asks us to “hold back nothing of ourselves for ourselves”. 

 

He teaches, especially in the Admonitions, how our hanging on to, our refusal to surrender our comforts, our status and position, our entrenched attitudes, our ways of doing things, our hurts and resentments – how this greatly hinders the work of the Spirit of the Lord in us and through us. The aim is to be fully available to God and fully free to serve the Gospel.

This deeper understanding of sine proprio came to mind when I read Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium. He issues a radical call to Gospel freedom, a willingness to surrender what no longer serves the mission entrusted to us. “I dream of a ‘missionary option’, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

The Pope says rather than being afraid of "going astray," what the Church ought to fear instead is "remaining shut up within structures that give us a false sense of security" and "within habits that make us feel safe."

Of course, what Francis writes of the Church can also be applied to my life and to Order and fraternity I belong to. There is always the danger of routine instilling staleness into life and ministry, a sapping spirit that robs them of joy and energy so that “mission” is reduced to certain routine practices.

In contrast to such an attitude Pope Francis sees mission as rooted in his very identity: “My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an “extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world.”

Only the deep inward working of the Spirit can stirs us to generous self-giving by granting us a share in the Divine Self-Squander's love for the world.

The Embrace

The images went viral after the papal audience on Wednesday. Pope Francis met, embraced and kissed a man suffering from a rare disease called neurofibromatosis, a painful and disfiguring skin condition.

Those who know the story of St Francis embracing the leper, the most loathed in his society, can immediately see a connection. Surely the physical pain of that poor man in Rome is matched at times by the emotional pain of being shunned because his disturbing appearance. We see in the Pope's gentle love, his physical touch a glimpse of the divine compassion that reaches the least of the Father's children.

However I also believe that these images reach something even deeper in our hearts. In recent years Franciscans have looked again at the story of Francis and the leper. We now speak of how we are called not simply to embrace the "leper" we meet - those who for whatever reason are rejected and despised - but also the leper within.

In a powerful passage in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung writes “The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life."

He recognises that Christians can often show great love towards others. But he asks a disturbing question.

 "That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ - all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself - that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness - that I myself am the enemy who must be loved - what then?"

 

Then sadly Jung writes that from his experience for most believers compassion does not extent to self.  "As a rule, the Christian's attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long-suffering; we say to the brother within us Raca, and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.”

 

Looking at the profound images of Francis holding in his arms the disfigured and the shunned is an invitation to cease rejecting the broken and despised within, to tenderly give to ourselves "the alms" of our own kindness.

 

Gospel Mission - People First, Always!

Brother Juniper O'Brien, 1925-2013

When he was in Brazil in July Pope Francis met with the bishops there and posed a fundamental question: “I would like all of us to ask ourselves: are we still a Church capable of warming hearts?”

Hearts are warmed by love, by compassion, by a presence that accompanies with understanding and wisdom.

On Sunday 20 October the Church celebrates World Mission Day and Francis marks out a path for that mission to our contemporaries.

“Today, we need a Church capable of walking at people’s side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey; a Church able to make sense of the ‘night’ contained in the flight of so many of our brothers and sisters from Jerusalem; a Church which realizes that the reasons why people leave also contain reasons why they can eventually return. But we need to know how to interpret, with courage, the larger picture.”

Writing recently in the Washington Post, Michael Gerson focused on the priority that Francis gives to the person.

“This personalism is among the most radical implications of Christian faith. In every way that matters to God, human beings are completely equal and completely loved.

Their dignity runs deeper than their failures.

They matter more than any cause; they are the cause.

Francis knowing that he has been criticised by some over his comments about gays, observed in his interview for Jesuit publications: ‘Tell me, when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person.’

While the Pope's views on moral topics are orthodox, his critique of legalism is radical and unsparing. The Church must be more than the sum of ‘small-minded rules.’ ‘We have to find a new balance,” he said, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards.’

This teaching - to always consider the person - was disorienting from the beginning. The outsiders get invited to the party. The prodigal is given the place of honour. The pious complain about their shocking treatment. The gatekeepers find the gate shut to them. It is subversive to all respectable religious order, which is precisely the point. With Francis, the argument gains a new hearing.”

The photo with this blog is that of Brother Juniper O’Brien who went home to the Lord on 13 October in Harare in his 89^th year. A Dublin man he had spent 49 years as a missionary in Zimbabwe where he was deeply loved and respected by both the friars and people. He spent his days building churches, missions and schools, training apprentices, plumbing and painting, whatever was needed. And when his strength decreased he raised turkeys and gardened.

To my knowledge Brother Juniper never preached a homily in his life. However in the witness of his life of prayer and service, in his humble, cheerful way of being with people Christ’s love was proclaimed strong and clear.

Loving concern for the individual comes first, always. Or as the Pope puts it: “The proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives.”

Stripping in Assisi!

During his visit to Assisi on the feast day of St Francis, one of the first places Pope Francis visited was the “Sala della Spoliazione” - the room is the site where Francis stripped himself of his clothes before his father, the bishop and the townspeople, saying, "From now on I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven.”

When forced to choose by his father – Francis chose the call of God and sonship in Christ.

A radical turning point in his, at times, painful journey of conversion

Pope Francis used this evocative setting to speak a strong message on “the cancer of worldliness.”

He did not read the address he prepared, choosing to speak off the cuff. He began by pointing out that in recent days the newspapers “fancied” how the Pope would “strip” the Church in Assisi, the habits of the Bishops, the Cardinals, and himself. He said that this was a good occasion to invite the Church to strip herself of worldliness.

However, all of us are the Church, beginning with the baptized. “We must all go on Jesus’ path, who followed the path of despoliation of himself,” recalling that Jesus made himself slave, servant, he let himself be humiliated to the Cross, he added. The Pope reminded those present that “if we want to be Christians there is no other way.” He also warned about the danger of being “pastry shop” Christians, nice cakes but with no real substance.

“What must the Church strip herself of?

Pope Francis stressed emphatically the danger of worldliness, “a very grave danger that threatens the whole Church,” a worldliness that leads to vanity, arrogance, pride. “This is an idol, and idolatry is the strongest sin,” he noted. Once again he said that all of us are the Church and that it “is sad to meet a worldly Christian.” As he has already stated on other occasions, the he warned that "one cannot work for both sides: either one serves God or one serves money.”

Francis addressed those present: the poor people assisted by Caritas. He said that many of them have been “stripped by this savage world that doesn’t give work, doesn’t help and is not concerned if people die of hunger, who flee seeking freedom, with so much sorrow we see that they meet with death, as yesterday in Lampedusa. Today is a day of mourning. These things  are done by the spirit of the world.”

He ended by reminding us all, “the strength of God is what pushed Saint Francis to strip himself and I invited you to pray for the grace to have the courage to strip yourself of this worldliness that is the cancer of society.”

The Pope's Interview

There is a story told of the future Good Pope John when he was Cardinal Archbishop of Venice. Dining with some of his senior clergy in his residence he listened as his Vicar General spoke harshly of a particular priest who was drinking too much and causing scandal.

The future Pope took his empty wine glass and asked, "Monsignor, to whom does this glass belong?" "It is yours, Your Eminence," was the reply.

The Cardinal let the glass fall to the ground. Then, indicating the broken glass, he asked, "And now to whom does it belong?" The answer, "It is still yours." The Cardinal replied, "And so it is with the brother you speak of - he is still my brother!"

Those who deserve love least need love most.

Mercy is the most beautiful face of God. There is more mercy in the Lord than sin in us. We will always underestimate His goodness.

If we as Church forget these basic truths, fail to open ourselves to that mercy and mirror that mercy we are all lost.

As Francis puts it: "The thing the Church most needs today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. It needs nearness, proximity."

There has been a huge international response to Pope Francis' interview with its tone of compassion and graciousness. And some in the Church are trying to "explain away" some of his statements. And, as expected, some sectors of the media are reading into his words what is not there. But overall there is a sense of breathing in lung-fulls of fresh air; the response has a tone of hope and freedom and blessing.

Why? Because we are all hearing once again with simplicity and clarity the Gospel of Grace. This is the Word of love that draws and attracts us even with all our sin and brokenness, and then refreshed in mercy we are able to accept the redeeming grace that heals and puts us on a new path. He loves us first always and frees us to love in return.

In one of his homilies - commenting on the phrase, "Jesus was teaching in the temple each day" - Gregory the Great said that the Lord continues to teach daily in the temple that is His Body, the Church, if only we have ears to hear.

Through His servant Francis the Lord is definitely teaching us at this time. We are being taught that the Church is to be a place of welcome, mercy and healing. It is as if the Lord repeats to all of us what he once said to those who complained about Him eating with sinners: "Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy not sacrifice."

May we learn their meaning at depth!

Our fundamental vocation is to rejoice in the Gospel of Grace - to be a people who continue to experience the tender mercy of God, and celebrate, proclaim and live in that mercy.

'The Secret of our Joy'

David and Hugh

Just back from a wonderful celebration of the Solemn Profession of our brother David Collins in Adam and Eve’s Church, Dublin. Our Provincial Minister, Hugh McKenna, received David’s vows on behalf of the Order.

He told David: ‘Our world needs to see people of joy and faith and hope and love.’

And he reminded him of the words the Pope spoke to a gathering of young religious in Rome this summer for the Year of Faith, an event David attended. 

Pope Francis said: ‘In calling us God says to us: “You are important to me, I love you, I count on you.” Jesus says this to each one of us! Joy is born from here, the joy of the moment in which Jesus looked at me.'

'To understand and to feel this is the secret of our joy. Don’t be afraid to show the joy of having answered the Lord’s call, of the choice to love and witness His Gospel in the service of the Church. And joy, real joy, is contagious; it infects … it makes us go forward.’

Hugh continued: ‘David, like our Father Francis before you when he discovered his Gospel calling, you too have been able to say: “This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what I desire with all my heart.” And I pray that God’s call may always fill your heart with joy as you continue your journey of faith.’

The Cry for Peace!

A Prayer for Peace in Syria:

O Prince of Peace, we come before you sinful and sorrowful.
We know that we are all guilty of hatred and contempt,
and yet we ask for your mercy and forgiveness.

In Syria, millions of our brothers and sisters are suffering greatly.
And it seems that their suffering may be increased by people
who themselves wish to bring peace to this land.

We know that it is you who turn our hearts to peace,
and so we ask you to turn your eyes to Syria,
so near the towns and villages where you grew up and ministered,
to look upon that Holy Land, and bring an end to violence.

Help us do all that we can, physically, morally, legally,
to support dialogue, foster reconciliation and promote justice. 
End the terrible violence directed against so many Syrians
from so many places, and turn their hearts to forgiveness, compassion and love.

Open our own hearts to the needs of the millions of refugees. 
Help us to see that they are our brothers and sisters in crisis,
for you were a refugee yourself once,
along with Mary and Joseph.

Most of all, let us not bring more violence and suffering
upon a people who have already suffered immensely. 

Bring them peace, O Prince of Peace.

(Photo: Raghad Al-Hussein, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee, holds her newborn child inside their makeshift shelter in the village of Jeb Jennine, in Lebanon.  CNS Photo: Paul Jeffrey.)

Monuments of Mercy

All smiles: Vincent and David after their profession.

I was in our friary in Ennis on Saturday as we celebrated the First Profession of our two brothers - Vincent Finnegan and David Connolly. Having completed their novitiate year they took this major step on the path of their Franciscan formation. 

This coming Sunday the friars gathered again, this time in Dublin. We have the joy of celebrating the Solemn Profession of David Collins. David will make a final, life-long commitment to live out his Christian discipleship as a Friar Minor within the Irish Province.

Witnessing the profession of a brother is a particular grace. The actual profession of vows, made 'into the hands' of our Provincial Minister, is a very radical statement. Listening to it the friar cannot but challenged.

On Saturday I realised that I need, even more than ever, to lean on, indeed to fall back on the grace of God. Any fidelity to this life flows from the action of the Spirit.

As St Francis unceasingly experienced and taught - All is Grace!

The words of Theodore Jennings are striking: 'If grace is to be real, then it must have real effects. And these effects must be palpable, visible. When the divine enters the world, it produces changes everyone can see, not invisible craters, but manifest "monuments of mercy".'

May the lives of our young brothers and all our lives be monuments of mercy!

Making Demands of God

An insightful reflection from Kayla McClurg, Church of the Saviour, on Psalm 82... a faith that can demand of God, a faith that dares to pray, hope and work for a different world. "The psalmist has experienced God as a God of justice and mercy, but when he looks at the vast needs of so many, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, the nations failing to serve, he has to wonder. He interrogates the Holy One, demanding response. “What’s going on, God? How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? How long will you delay?” Would we dare such boldness? Do we have such raw and intimate relationship with God? The psalmist talks to God as one might a spouse—a spouse who has been quite a disappointment lately. Not only does he take the risk of haranguing God, he lays out in plain language what he thinks needs to be done. The psalmist gives God a “honey-do” list, a reminder of what awaits repair if God hopes to clean up the mess the world is in. Here is the psalmist’s list (I wonder what would be on mine): Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute; rescue the weak and the needy. Just do it already! Do you notice the psalmist does not ask for God’s intervention in his personal life and community? The relationship between them is greater than that. For the psalmist, God is not a personal peddler of goods, a well-stocked pantry to whom he goes for replenishment. In the psalmist’s daring, we hear what a deeper, more intimate connection sounds like, what it means to be in alignment with God’s own heart. When we dare to speak honestly on behalf of the silenced ones, perhaps it is because we know that God and we want the same things, that we are bonded with a covenant love that can be trusted., and we will be yoked together in the tasks at hand. In the depths of this kind of love, we can dare to ask boldly, dare to call God, our beloved, to task. C’mon, God, show us the right hammer and nails for the job. You know how to fix this!"

Clare: A Heart Free For the Lord

St Clare, whose feast we celebrate on 11 August, was a woman who responded to Christ's call and grace with magnificent courage.

Christ, poor and crucified, captured her heart. Thereafter her one desire was that she be utterly his.

She sought to allow grace form in her a heart turned fully toward the Lord, and she taught her sisters to walk the same path of absolute surrender to Christ.

The external poverty and simplicity of the life she embraced was the sacrament, the outward sign of an interior disposition - a heart utterly free for the Lord!

This passage, from her First Letter to St Agnes of Prague, reveals a woman who knew the treasure that was hers in Christ, a brave woman willing to jettison all that would hinder the deep work of his redeeming love.

 

Be strengthened in the holy service you have undertaken

out of an ardent desire for the Poor Crucified,

who for the sake of all of us 

took upon Himself the Passion of the Cross.

O blessed poverty,
who bestows eternal riches on those

who love and embrace her!

O holy poverty,
to those who possess and desire you
God promises the kingdom of heaven
and offers, indeed, eternal glory and blessed life!

O God-centered poverty,
whom the Lord Jesus Christ
who ruled and now rules heaven and earth,

who spoke and things were made,
condescended to embrace before all else!

What a great laudable exchange:
to leave the things of time for those of eternity,
to choose the things of heaven for the goods of earth,
to receive the hundred-fold in place of one,
and to possess a blessed and eternal life.

Mr Obama: No Guns for Syria!

Christian leaders in USA, including the Franciscans, have written to President Obama with a clear message concerning the civil war that is tearing Syria apart.

They ask for strong diplomatic efforts, and continued humanitarian aid, but they state arms should not be sent to Syria as it will only prolong a brutal war.

The Franciscans in Syria (members of the Custody of the Holy Land) know the suffering and devastation at first hand as they struggle to protect and support those from all communities impacted by the war.

Letter to President Obama