“I have been disappointed by all politics for a long time now. In their absolute quest for earthly power and dominance, both parties are wildly inconsistent. Neither captures the true tenor of how I view the world.”
Nothing has happened since to change my mind. I am just as disappointed in my choice for President this year as I was when President Biden was elected. For the most part, I pay very little attention to politics, finding it such a downer that I cannot stand to listen to any politician or journalist speak for more than about thirty seconds.
That said, I acknowledge the need to be informed ahead of the upcoming election. I forced myself to watch the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and found it disconcerting on more levels than I can describe.
I also watched the Vice-Presidential debate. I had seen a little of JD Vance and was curious to know more. I had never seen Tim Walz and wanted to learn about him as well. I found this debate much more palatable. It was much more congenial, which I found refreshing.
In the midst of that debate, when the topic of abortion came up, I found myself liking what Senator Vance had to say. But I also could not help but feel that he missed the chance to say something that would have truly resonated with me and with the country at large.
The video above captures the beginning of the moment I am talking about.
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A little after this exchange, in response to an argument made by Governor Walls, Senator Vance said this: “Governor, I agree with you, Amber Thurmond should still be alive …….. I certainly wish that she was.”
Here’s the thing I wish he would have said after that sentence.
“The first thing the American voter should understand is this. The vast majority of Republicans, myself and President Trump included, are in favor of exceptions to restrictions on abortion that provide care when the life of the mother is in danger, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest. This is not just true now, but it was true on the day President Biden and Vice President Harris took office. At that point in time, the Democrats controlled not just the White House, but both houses of Congress as well.
If a narrow piece of legislation that addressed just those two items would have been introduced then, those exceptions would be the law of the land now, and Democrats would have been able to take credit for that law getting passed. This also means that Amber Thurmond would likely be alive today, because the state of Georgia would not have been able to deny her care given her condition.
It’s another example of your campaign promising to take action after the election, when action could be taken right now. In fact, if the Democrats in the Senate wish to bring forth a narrow bill tomorrow ensuring these two exceptions become the law of the land, I will be happy to co-sponsor it.
Democrats accuse Republicans of grandstanding on this issue, but the truth is, both sides are guilty. Instead of acting on the things we can agree on, we load bills such as these down with attempts to further our agenda on matters that are in dispute. Democrats refuse to bring forth such a narrow bill without tacking on provisions that would restore Roe V Wade. Republicans refuse to bring forth the same bill without insisting that national restrictions on abortion are attached to it. Both sides would rather see nothing done and use the issue to energize their political bases than compromise and do the right thing.
The politics on both sides of the aisle are what cost Amber her life, and every politician in America should be ashamed. We need to set aside our differences where we can and do what the American people expect us to do, which is to enact common sense initiatives that are important to the welfare of the country regardless of the politics. Donald Trump and I, when elected, will do just that.
I want to tell you, Governor, that I deeply admire your passion when it comes to the tragedy of Amber’s death. I believe it is sincere. I believe that you are personally aggrieved at the loss of her life.
That passion makes me wonder if you are as deeply aggrieved at the loss of the lives of Rachel Morin, Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungary, who were murdered by illegal immigrants who never would have been in the country if not for the failures of the current administration at the border. Are President Biden and Vice President Harris as aggrieved at their loss as you are at the loss of Amber? If so, what are they doing about it? Has the administration taken every step possible to ensure that no one who crosses the border is released into the general population without being properly vetted? Are they doing everything they can to round up and deport the hundreds of thousands of convicted criminals who have entered the country during their administration?
I wonder, Governor, if your passions have not blinded you. I wonder if you realize yet that you have chosen to defend abortion by making a passionate plea in defense of a life that was needlessly lost. The very passion that you show when it comes to Amber is in and of itself a dramatic argument in favor of restricting abortion. I have to ask, if Amber’s life was so precious, why are the over sixty-four million lives that have been lost to abortion since 1973 not just as precious?
The problem with your position is that it is deeply inconsistent. You can’t treasure the life of Amber, and not also treasure the lives of Rachel and Laken and Jocelyn equally. You can’t treasure the life of Amber without treasuring the lives of every aborted child since the initial ruling of Roe V Wade just as much. Living that inconsistency will tear you up inside personally whether you realize it or not, and when you ask the country to do it, it tears it apart as well.
The biggest problem with the abortion debate is that we never ask the question that matters most.
When abortion was legalized, why did so many women choose to go through with the procedure? The current population of the United States is approximately 333 million. Since 1973, 64 million abortions have been performed. One in every six Americans that could be alive today is not.
That is not due to threats to the health of the mother, or incest, or rape. It is due to a drastic change in American culture that began with the Roe V Wade decision. Pregnancy used to be viewed as a divine miracle. The American dream used to be centered on raising a family. That is no longer the case. Now, all too often, pregnancy is viewed as an inconvenience that gets in the way of worldly ambition or a definition of freedom that emphasizes avoidance of responsibility for our actions. Pregnancy is seen as a problem to be solved, not a blessing to be embraced and cherished.
A few years ago, there was an argument being made that abortion should be legal, but rare. Last year, despite recent declines in overall numbers, there were still over one million abortions performed in the US. That is not rare. The question of whether or not abortion will remain legal is answered. It will in many states. The next question is, what can we do to help women make a different choice? What can we do to encourage women to once again see a child as a beautiful gift, a supreme blessing, and an inexplicable miracle? What can we do to help America remember how to embrace life as precious at every moment and in every instance?
As I said before, the loss of Amber was tragic and I am ready to work with you, across the aisle, to try and ensure that the next Amber gets the medical treatment she needs promptly, wherever she is located. We do not need to restore Roe V Wade to make this happen. It could happen almost overnight if the two parties decided to make it happen.
But we must accept and acknowledge that no matter how much we lament the loss of Amber, the loss of 64 million children before they ever had the chance to see the light of day dwarfs her case. In all honesty, this is a tragedy whose effects on the country are not understood because we never talk about them. You would have us believe that abortion is a private decision that does not affect the culture, but I would disagree. I believe the ramifications of unfettered abortion are widespread and deeply destructive.
A couple years ago, the Covid pandemic stopped the country in its tracks. Almost every day we hear arguments about global warming and the destructive effect it is having on the environment, and rightly so.
But we never hear the idea of an “abortion epidemic” discussed at all.
I think this is a mistake. I think we have experienced just that, an “abortion epidemic,” over the course of the last fifty years, and I think the country was deeply injured by it. I think the discussion on abortion needs to be completely recast. I think we need to start talking about the long-term effects that abortion has had on the well-being of the country.
Otherwise, we are surely ignoring one of the main causes of the division and distrust that is plaguing our country and our politics at this very contentious moment in our history.
………. if we bear all these injuries with patience and joy, thinking of the sufferings of our Blessed Lord, which we would share out of love for him, write, O Brother Leo, that here, finally, is perfect joy.And now, brother, listen to the conclusion. Above all the graces and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ grants to his friends, is the grace of overcoming oneself, and accepting willingly, out of love for Christ, all suffering, injury, discomfort and contempt; …………….
Every time I encounter this story in either of these versions, I struggle to understand it. I have written about it in the past and thought I had it figured out, only to revisit my words and come away with the sense that I still have not quite gotten it right. I find it elusive, but it provides a natural conclusion to this short course of study, so I will try again to pin it down.
Recall again the emphasis of the first reflection. “All of us should be interested in learning how to accept, willingly participate in, and even benefit from personal suffering.” In the quote above, Francis ups the ante. He asserts that suffering is not just something to accept, but something to look forward to and embrace as the ultimate gift God can give.
The inference is this: When I reach the point where my basic response to suffering is “willing acceptance out of love for Christ,” only then have I completely discerned and surrendered to the primary essence of Spiritual Poverty, which necessarily includes Christ’s own suffering on the Cross. The unequivocal embrace of this essence is required for all barriers between Christ and I to be overcome. Only then can complete unity with Christ be achieved, and it is only in this perfect unity in suffering that true and perfect joy can be found.
This declaration is as counterintuitive and mysterious as the notion in Reflection #4 that God was “multiplying his mercy” on Francis by granting him a serious disease of the eyes.
To reconcile God’s mercy and the suffering of Francis in the writings of Celano, I had to embrace that aspect of Spiritual Poverty which calls on me to let go of all my earthly perspective and preconceptions. There is no human calculation that explains how suffering can equal Mercy. The only way to understand and reconcile these disparate concepts is to seek Revelation through Grace. To receive such Revelations, I must “overcome myself” by setting aside all I think I know and all my worldly assessments so that God can create space within me and fill that space with His Grace. That Grace then steadily works within me and reveals to me, in some small measure, God’s otherworldly and omnipotent point of view.
I find this next to impossible to do. In fact, I am sure I cannot do it on my own. This brings me back to Reflection #3 and the preparations that Francis made in prayer prior to receiving the stigmata. In the stillness and quiet of sustained prayer, Francis sought God. Or perhaps, more than actively seeking God, Francis simply did everything he could to empty himself and invite God in. Perhaps he slowly, over time, cleared himself of distraction and simply waited contentedly for God to make Himself known. When Francis achieved tranquility, God, through His Grace, made the connection between suffering and unity with Christ clear to him.
Either way, this conclusion was not reached by Francis through human cogitation. Instead, it was revealed to him through a combination of prayer and Grace. The unique thing that Francis did was accept this Revelation wholeheartedly. He did not fight against it, exercising his human perspective by trying to avoid the suffering that He now knew to be necessary for the Will of God to be fulfilled in him. Instead, he remained true to Lady Poverty and resolved to live out that devotion regardless of the personal cost.
To some extent I am guessing about how Francis proceeded, but I know myself well enough to understand that I cannot force compliance with the Will of God on my own. I am too sinful to accomplish anything by myself. I am too weak, too human, to align myself to the Will of God without assistance. I know I must learn to pray in the patient and peaceful way I have attributed to Francis here if I hope to live into Poverty as he did. I require the strength and succor of Jesus if I am to experience the unity with Him that leads to the true and perfect joy that Francis describes in these stories.
Perhaps one way to understand this teaching of Francis is to use this formula?
In extended and peaceful prayer, I invite God to reveal Himself to me.
God, in His Wisdom and Mercy, sends me suffering for my edification.
God’s Grace invites me to meditate on the suffering of Christ in the Passion.
Christ knows suffering. It is something we have in common that can unify us.
Overcoming myself through Poverty, I hope in and rely on the strength of Jesus.
I remember and embrace the unfathomable Love of Jesus revealed on the Cross.
In gratitude, I return His Love as sincerely and wholeheartedly as I can.
In the exchange of Love, I am newly united to Christ more closely than ever before.
Unified to Christ through the gift of suffering, I experience true and perfect joy.
Francis lived out the story he told Leo on the way to St. Mary of the Angels in the last two years of his life. I think we can safely assume that he both suffered and was truly filled with joy as a result. The Stigmata is integral to both sides. It contributed to his suffering greatly, but as an indication of the approval of God, it must have also served to enhance the joy despite the hardship.
Are you willing to pray consistently and gently in the hope of receiving God’s Grace and Revelation even if His Will includes your own version of Francis’ suffering? Does the example of Francis embolden you to the point that you might look forward to the opportunity of suffering? Might you even hope for it as Francis likely did, believing that suffering is the key to perfect emulation of, perfect unity with, and true and perfect joy in Jesus?
Do you accept that unity with Christ can be engendered by suffering? If so, would you then welcome the full experience of the last two years of the life of Francis into your life? Do you think that true and perfect joy, inspired by love and suffering, would help you believe more firmly in Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of God who came into the world?” If you faced suffering with joy, would that help you spread belief in Jesus to others? How would experiencing true and perfect joy as defined by Francis solidify and expand your hope for salvation?
Read the chapters (pages 277 to 287) multiple times. Then focus on this passage from chapter nine:
The whole city of Assisi rushed down as a group and the entire region hurried to see the wonderful works of God which the Lord of majesty gloriously displayed in his holy servant……………People considered it a great gift to be allowed to kiss or even to see the sacred marks of Jesus Christ which Saint Francis bore in his own body.
And seeing them,who would not be moved to joy rather than tears?And if moved to tears, would that not be more from gladness than sadness? Whose heart would be so iron-hard that it would not be moved to groan?Whose heart would be so much like stone, that it would not break with sorrow,that it would not burn with divine love, or would not be strengthened with good will?Who would be so dull-witted and senseless as not to realize the obvious truth.
This is a miracle worthy of everlasting remembrance and a sacrament to be rememberedwith unceasing and wondrous reverence.It presents to the eyes of faith that mystery in which the blood of the spotless lamb,flowing abundantly from the five wounds,washed away the sins of the world.O sublime splendor of the living cross,giving life to the dead!Its burden presses so lightly and hurts so sweetly,that through it, dead flesh lives and the weak spirit grows strong.
In the first reflection on the death of Lazarus, this paragraph was emphasized:
Lent is a time when the idea of suffering is front and center. We most often think of this in terms of the hardship that Jesus endured during His Passion, but here we are reminded that suffering is integral to God’s overall plan. None of us should expect to escape it. All of us should be interested in learning how to accept it, willingly participate in it, and even benefit from it.
Just like Lazarus, we may not always understand why suffering comes into our lives, but it is fair to say that the first two reflections on Celano speak directly to our need when it comes to handling the suffering God sends us. Francis not only willingly accepted suffering in his life, he clearly understood it to be necessary if he was to emulate Jesus precisely. A life of Poverty not only includes following the example and teaching of Jesus exactly, but it also includes sharing in the Poverty intrinsically contained in the tribulations of the Cross.
Nothing connects a person to Jesus more perfectly than freely embracing the suffering that God mercifully sends into our lives.
The second reflection from the gospel of John took this as its emphasis:
The baseline of my task is clearly set. Everything that I do while present on this earth must be pointed at encouraging, assuring, and securing my belief. All means necessary must be used to keep my belief thriving, growing, and increasing.
Celano makes a clear reference in the quote above to the gospel passage that was emphasized in that second lesson. Jesus told Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus words here have a certain mystery about them. How is it possible that someone can never die, or live even though they die?
Celano is emphasizing this same mystery (he even uses that exact word) when he talks about the “sublime splendor of the living cross, giving life to the dead! Its burden presses so lightly and hurts so sweetly, that through it, dead flesh lives and the weak spirit grows strong.” He is recalling this passage directly, insisting that the stigmata, present in the flesh of Francis, must lead to an increase in our belief in the power of the Cross and the person of Jesus. This belief will then ensure for us the eternal life that Jesus made possible by His sacrifice.
The pattern in the story of the death of Lazarus is this: The suffering and death of Lazarus is a blessing that Jesus uses to teach belief in Himself to his disciples and the Jewish community at large. Jesus directly states this in the gospel passage from the first reflection when he says “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” The resulting belief in the larger Jewish community that occurs after Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb is also stated directly in John 11:45: “Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”
This pattern is repeated in the life of Francis. The Will of God for the life of Francis begins with the call to emulate Jesus as precisely as possible. Francis understood this as a call to live a “gospel life” centered on the ideal of Poverty. At the end of his life, he took his understanding to its final, inevitable conclusion by discerning and embracing the need to experience the anguish of Jesus on the Cross as perfectly as possible through the mechanism of his own suffering.
The reward for Francis’ insight and devotion is the Mercy of the stigmata, which contains the suffering required for Francis to fulfill his faith. But the stigmata is more than this. After his death, it also becomes the outward sign that confirms the extreme holiness at the center of Francis’ suffering, a holiness that inspired belief in Jesus not just for those who witnessed the example and result of his life, but also in us 800 years later as we commemorate the anniversary of this “miracle worthy of everlasting remembrance” during our Centenary Celebration of the Stigmata.
Please, take a moment to reflect on the end of Francis’ life and how it parallels the story of the death of Lazarus. Make the link between the stigmata, the suffering of Francis in the last two years of his life, and the impact this has had on belief ever since, including, hopefully, your own ever-increasing belief.
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Francis, early in his ministry, received from Jesus, directly from the San Damiano Cross, the instruction to “rebuild His church.” This corollary to the call to a “gospel life” is, in effect, a call for Francis to teach people how to believe in Jesus again.
It would be easy, as we reflect on these last three chapters, to get caught up in the reward that Francis received at the end of his life. It is described exquisitely by one of the brothers, who tells of seeing “the soul of the most holy father rise straight to heaven over many waters. It was like a star but as big as the moon, with the brilliance of the sun, and carried upon a small white cloud.”
But we would be remiss if we did not focus on the impact Francis had on the world around him as well. The description of his transitus to heaven is striking, but just as striking is the effect that his death had on the everyday people of Assisi and the surrounding area. It is not just the brothers and sisters of Francis, the members of his order, who show up to celebrate his life. “The whole city of Assisi and the entire region” were deeply moved and effected by the life and death of Francis as a whole, and by the presence of the stigmata in his flesh in particular. “Each person burst into a song of joy at the urging of a joyful heart, and all of them had their desire fulfilled and blessed the almighty Savior.”
After reading the description of the events that followed Francis’ death, it would be difficult to dispute the notion that Francis succeeded in his quest to rebuild the church. It would be equally difficult to dispute the notion that belief in Christ increased substantially in response to his ministry. As your own vocation demonstrates, it is still increasing today, 800 years later.
A life lived according to the gospel will necessarily increase one’s belief in Jesus exponentially. Our vocation as a Franciscan, when lived successful, will inevitably encourage, assure, and secure belief in Christ as we mature. The closer one follows the example and charism of Francis the more their belief in Christ will thrive, grow, and increase.
But the life of Francis must take us further than that. As these chapters demonstrate, the Franciscan vocation is meant not just to encourage belief in Christ in the person who makes profession, but it also entails that person spreading belief in Christ by the example she or he sets as they journey through the world on their personal path to redemption.
This is what the last two years of Francis’s life, and the stigmata in particular, call us to. We must continue the pattern of increasing belief at every opportunity God places before us.
In his description of the stigmata, Celano says that “the nails themselves were formed by his own flesh.” That manifestation would be difficult to fake. If you accept the stigmata as true history, then you accept that the wounds of Christ appeared in Francis more than twelve hundred years after Jesus died on the Cross. It seems impossible that this could be a coincidence. How does acceptance of the stigmata as truth impact your belief that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into the world,” just as Martha confessed Him to be?
In your own vocation, are you consistently aware of your responsibility to encourage belief in Jesus as you live out your own journey toward salvation? The strongest tool you have in fulfilling this responsibility is not the words you use, but the example you set. How does your daily life manifest your belief in Jesus? Do you expect to be able to sustain your example even when God sends suffering into your life, hoping that you might live into the pattern established by Lazarus and continued by Francis in your own small way?
St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, Giotto, 1295-1300
Read the chapters (pages 266 to 277) multiple times with the passage below in mind. Pay close attention to how the suffering of Francis is a theme that runs through the narrative.
“His right side was marked with an oblong scar, as if pierced with a lance, and this often-dripped blood, so that his tunic and undergarments were frequently stained with his holy blood ………. It chanced that he touched the precious scar in his right side. As soon as he had touched it, the holy one of God felt great pain and pushed Rufino’s hand away, crying for the Lord to spare him ……… During this same period his body began to be afflicted with different kinds of illnesses, and more severe than usual ………. So the precious vessel in which the heavenly treasure was hidden began to shatter all over and lose its strength ………. God multiplied his mercy on him, and he contracted a serious disease of the eyes. Day after day the disease grew worse ………. His head was cauterized in several places, his veins opened, poultices applied and drops poured into his eyes. Yet he had no improvement but kept getting steadily worse ………. Then all the rest of his body started to show signs of serious illness. His stomach had been destroyed, and his liver was failing. He was vomiting a lot of blood. So much that he seemed close to death ………. swelling began in his abdomen, his legs and his feet ………. He lost all bodily strength, and deprived of all his powers, he could not even move ………. Not one of his members remained without great pain and suffering, his bodily warmth gradually diminished, and each day he drew closer to the end. The doctors were amazed, and the brothers were astonished that the spirit could live in flesh so dead, since with his flesh all consumed only skin clung to his bones.”
The last two years of Francis’ life begins with this realization:
“This man filled with the spirit of God then understood that he would have to enter into the kingdom of God through many trials, difficulties and struggles.”
As the description of his physical state unfolds, beginning with the stigmata itself, it becomes clear that Francis’ prophetic powers did not fail him. If anything, the words of the realization seem to fall woefully short. What Francis endures in his last two years might best be described as tortuous, cruel, or brutal. But then again, that seems apt, given that what Jesus endured in His Passion might also best be described by those words.
Amid this description, Celano says that “God multiplied his mercy on him.”
Does that assertion seem out of place? Does it defy your understanding and expectations of what God’s Mercy ought to entail?
Is what Francis was asked to physically endure in these last two years the exact opposite of what you might expect the end of a supremely holy person’s life to look like?
In chapter two, Celano asserted that Francis, “having the spirit of God, was ready to endure any suffering of mind and bear any affliction of the body, if at last he would be given the choice that the will of the heavenly Father might be fulfilled mercifully in him.” (There’s that word, mercy, again.)
In chapter seven, when Francis is questioned by one of the brothers about what he would prefer to endure, this long-lasting illness or suffering a martyr’s cruel death, he answers like this: “My son, whatever is more pleasing to the Lord my God to do with me and in me has always been and still is dearer, sweeter and more agreeable to me. I desire to be found always and completely in harmony with and obedient to God’s will alone in everything. But to suffer this illness, even for three days, would be harder for me than any martyrdom. I am not speaking about its reward but only of the pain and suffering it causes.”
The context asserts that Francis’ is suffering so that God’s Will might be fulfilled. At the same time, it also asserts that God is fully endowing His Mercy on Francis. How can these two seemingly contradictory actions be reconciled to one another?
When God first called Francis, he invited him to take on the responsibility of emulating Jesus as precisely as possible. This is, in essence, what it means to live a gospel life. Francis, after a period of prayer and discernment, wholeheartedly accepts this call from God. He understands the call to be God’s Will for his individual life and he sets out to emulate Jesus as closely as possible for whatever time God grants upon this earth. One example of many that might be cited is Francis’ strict adherence to the charism of Poverty. Jesus set the example of how a life should be lived according to the ideal of Poverty, and Francis followed that example quite possibly better than anyone else who has ever lived.
During his life after his conversion, Francis’ “belief in Jesus” (see the gospel passage that heads the second reflection) never waivers and his commitment to living out the original call of God escalates. He is single minded in his pursuit of the gospel life. As his life unfolds, he begins to understand that the gospel life is about more than just living into the teachings and ministerial example of Jesus. He realizes that for a life to fully emulate Jesus, that life must go beyond Poverty, or, perhaps more exactly, he realizes that Poverty includes not just the actions of Jesus during his ministry, but also the type of death that Jesus suffered. Francis, in his desire to fulfill the Will of God by emulating Christ perfectly, reaches the conclusion that he must also suffer as Christ did.
Without the suffering, his attempt to emulate Christ can only fall short. As his life approaches its fulfillment, the need within Francis to share the suffering of Christ increases. God, in His Wisdom, sees that Francis has reached a full understanding of what the original call entailed. Therefore, in God’s Mercy, He grants Francis what he desires most. He allows Francis a full share in the suffering of Christ.
The stigmata is a glorious event in human history. It is an earthly indication and confirmation that while it might be exceedingly difficult, it is possible to live a gospel life well enough that God is satisfied in the attempt. But despite the glory, the stigmata is not without cost. Francis lived for two years with the pain of the wounds of Christ (and more) afflicting him every day.
That pain, while intense, is the source of Francis’ greatest joy. It is also, as the last three chapters will make clear, an indication of the stunning and marvelous reward that awaited Francis at the end of his trials.
Be completely honest with yourself and where you stand in this exact moment of your Franciscan journey. If you were given the opportunity and the choice, would you willingly take on the stigmata? Are you ready to endure what Francis endured if that ensures that you are fulfilling the Will of God in your life?
Read all three chapters several times. (The Second Book starts on page 258 of the link.)
Because the focus of this study is the Stigmata, it is tempting to concentrate on chapter three, which gives the details of Francis receiving the wounds of Christ. Chapter two, however, sets the scene and defines the conditions that make the receiving of the stigmata possible, so it will be the focus of this reflection.
Please reread chapter two several times, and then focus on this paragraph.
“Raising from prayer in a spirit of humility and with a contrite heart, he prepared himself with the sign of the holy cross. He took the book from the altar and opened it with reverence and fear. When he opened the book, the first passage that met his eye was the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ that tells of the suffering he was to endure. To avoid any suspicion that this was just a coincidence, he opened the book a second and a third time. Every time he found either the same text or one that was similar. This man filled with the spirit of God then understood that he would have to enter into the kingdom of God through many trials, difficulties and struggles.”
Think back to Lent and Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, the gospel reading for the Mass is the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Year A is Matthew’s version, year B Mark’s, and year C Luke’s. On Good Friday, the gospel reading is the Passion according to John. If you are fully participating in the Holy Week liturgies, then you hear the Passion at least twice. If you are concentrating on making your Lenten experience complete, you probably read all four versions at least once if not multiple times.
Take a moment to recall your reaction to reading the various Passions. What was the overarching lesson that you took from them?
If you are like me, you find yourself concentrating on the Love and Sacrifice of Christ. Jesus endures His Passion in order that the path of salvation might be opened to all despite our unworthiness. This is a supreme act of unfettered Love unequaled anywhere else in the history of Creation. Only God could Love so completely and purely. The triumph of Jesus is rightfully and joyfully celebrated not just on Easter Sunday, but throughout the entire Easter season. If we are lucky, that joy carries throughout the entire liturgical year, always present, always overlaying every other gospel lesson with the foundational joy that comes from being so thoroughly loved, desired, and cherished by our Merciful God despite our propensity for sin.
This is a valid and uplifting take. Nothing wrong with it. It is generally the focus of the season and the take the Church wants us to come away with.
But, as this quoted paragraph from Celano proves, it is not the only take. Contrast the typical focus of Easter with how Francis reacts to encountering the Passion in this paragraph. Francis does not speak about Love and Sacrifice. Instead, he focuses on what the Passion of Christ means for how his individual life must inevitably unfold.
Yes, the path of salvation is opened. The euphoria of the Easter season makes it tempting to believe that Jesus has done all the hard work. It would be easy to conclude that the journey along this path will be pleasant and easy, nothing but sunshine and butterflies.
But here Francis has recognized the hard and perhaps uncomfortable truth revealed by the “trials, difficulties and struggles” that Jesus had to endure to make eternal bliss in heaven in union with God possible. The suffering of Jesus was real. It was not just unpleasant, but horrific. It would be the height of ingratitude for anyone to journey along the path of salvation without keeping the misery and anguish of Jesus omnipresent as part of that journey.
Francis acknowledges and reveals the depth of the consequences of the Passion and translates them into a concrete realization about what shape his life (and mine?) must inevitably take. If Christ had to experience the agony and woe of the Passion for the way to salvation to be opened, it is only just that Francis experience something similar as he journeys along the way that Christ opened for Him. Check the last sentence of the paragraph again to see if you agree:
“This man filled with the spirit of God then understood that he would have to enter into the kingdom of God through many trials, difficulties and struggles.”
As we saw in the first lesson in this series, this reality was lived out by Lazarus, close friend and disciple of Jesus in the flesh. It held true for the eleven apostles and so many other saints down through the ages who were martyred on their way to salvation. We will see in the next lesson just how intensely true it turned out to be for a saint the caliber of Francis.
How could it not also be true for me?
At the beginning of chapter two, in preparation for this revelation, Francis distances himself from the world and diligently seeks the Will of God. It is only after much time spent in silent prayer and yearning for union with God that Francis acquires the “spirit of humility with a contrite heart” that makes him prepared to open the gospels and accept whatever it is they will reveal.
What does this say about the importance of and links between the charisms of Prayer and Poverty within the Franciscan experience?
Francis “was not disturbed by oncoming battles.” “He was not afraid that he would yield to the enemy.” “He remained undisturbed and happy.” He accepted unequivocally that the Passion of Jesus would translate into his own “trials, difficulties and struggles” as a prerequisite “to entering the kingdom of God.”
Have you ever thought about the Passion in these terms before? If so, how has this shaped your Franciscan journey? If not, how are you reacting to this revelation now? What adjustments do you need to make to the expectations you have for the unfolding of the balance of your earthly journey? Are you prepared to maintain your belief in both Jesus and St. Francis no matter the hardships that God may place before you?
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him.When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
It’s hard not to focus on verses twenty-five and twenty-six when reading this piece of scripture. When Jesus boldly and clearly declares Himself “the Resurrection and the Life,” I cannot help but be drawn to what He is teaching in this moment.
In just two sentences, Jesus fully differentiates between two definitions for the word “life.” The first definition, life with a little “l,” is the life I lead here on earth. The second, Life with a capital “L,” is the eternal Life that I am meant to strive for as I live out that first life.
The distinction between the two definitions is what allows me to both die and never die. My death in this little life is certain. There is no eluding it. But death in the second Life is avoidable if I live the first life correctly.
In His Generosity and Mercy, Jesus also gives the key to living my first little life correctly in these two sentences. The secret is belief. If I believe in Him, then even though I die in the first life, I will never die in the second.
Point of Emphasis: The baseline of my task is clearly set. Everything that I do while present on this earth must be pointed at encouraging, assuring, and securing my belief. All means necessary must be used to keep my belief thriving, growing, and increasing.
This is not as easy as it sounds. When I put myself in Lazarus’ shoes in the last reflection, I saw it is very easy to find my belief faltering. I am often asked to undergo suffering or hardship without understanding the reasoning behind it. Jesus routinely tests me to see if I can maintain my belief despite a lack of clarity regarding the difficult events He inevitably (and justly) introduces into my life.
When I waiver, will I fall back on my faith and ask Jesus to ensure my steadfastness? Or am I tempted to doubt Him and let my sinful nature seek explanations that fit my limited human understanding?
This gospel gives us a glimpse of both sides. In verse twenty-seven, we see Martha, bolstered by Jesus, affirming her faith. But at the end, we see some of the Jews expressing doubt in Jesus. They seem to acknowledge the Love that Jesus had for Lazarus, but they are quick to draw an exceedingly human conclusion and blame Jesus for the death of His friend.
Picture Jesus, aware of these comments, glancing over His shoulder at these Jews, and thinking to himself, “Friends, I will give you a clear reason to believe in me. If this does not convince you, then perhaps you simply do not wish to be convinced.” Then He proceeds to call Lazarus out of the tomb.
Are you convinced? Would it be a good idea to add the words of Martha in verse twenty-seven to your regular prayer routine to help your belief flourish and prosper?
By way of introduction, this formation path contains six short reflections prepared for use during the Centenary Celebration of the Stigmata of St. Francis taking place in calendar year 2024, which is precisely 800 years after the actual event, which took place in 1224.
The first two entries come from a series of reflections for the season of Lent that I have written for myself but not published anywhere yet. Perhaps I will work on that before Lent rolls around next year. They are included here as introduction and preparation for what is to follow.
Entries three, four and five are focused on the Stigmata itself as presented by Thomas of Celano in Book Two (starts on page 258) of his original hagiography, The Life of St. Francis, written for the occasion of Francis’ beatification. The reason the first two reflections are present is hopefully made completely clear by the context of these three reflections.
The sixth entry recalls Francis’ definition of True and Perfect Joy, the understanding of which is always challenging, but which is perhaps clarified by the five entries that came before.
This first entry examines the death of Lazarus (from the perspective of Lazarus) with the intention of inviting the reader to meditate seriously upon the reasons that God not only allows but often deliberately introduces suffering into our lives. (Hint: It has nothing to do with disciplining us for our sins, no matter how much we might be worthy of that discipline.)
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John Chapter 11:1-16
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
In verse three, John makes it clear that the sisters of Lazarus believe that Jesus loves their brother. In verse five, He explicitly reinforces this idea by declaring Jesus’ love outright. Why then does Jesus wait two days before heading out to see his sick friend?
This delay might not be a big deal if I did it, because I do not have the power to heal my friends from their illnesses. But Jesus does. He explains to the disciples (twice) the reason for the delay. In verse four he tells them it is for God’s glory and the glorification of His Son. And then in verse fourteen, after he tells them that Lazarus is dead, he tells them the delay is meant to help them believe.
There is no indication that Lazarus was aware of Jesus’ plan. Perhaps, like Joseph, an angel could have been sent to him with assurances that everything was going to be ok. But if that had happened, one would expect that such a visit would have been recorded and presented to us with the rest of the story.
When I occupy the place of Lazarus, I find myself with many questions:
Did he understand the seriousness of his illness? Did he know his sisters had sent for Jesus?
Was he hoping or even expecting that his powerful friend would come and heal him?
Short of healing, did he at least want to be comforted by Jesus before he died?
As time drew out, did Lazarus become more and more despondent over the absence of Jesus?
Was the faith of Lazarus shaken by Jesus’ delay?
Did Lazarus continue to believe, even to his last breath, that Jesus would somehow make everything ok? Or did he, perhaps, feel abandoned or forsaken by Jesus at the end?
Point of Emphasis:Lent is a time when the idea of suffering is front and center. We most often think of this in terms of the hardship that Jesus endured during His Passion, but here we are reminded that suffering is integral to God’s overall plan. None of us should expect to escape it. All of us should be interested in learning how to accept it, willingly participate in it, and even benefit from it.
We must admit and believe that God will turn all suffering to good, and here we have a story where Jesus openly demonstrates this ability. Lazarus is expected to suffer and die for the edification of his fellow Israelites. His permission is not sought, and Jesus does not feel the need to forewarn him that his hardship is part of a bigger plan that will result in great good being accomplished.
Jesus uses the suffering and death of Lazarus as a teaching tool to turn eyes and hearts toward Himself and His Father in heaven and, ever the obedient Son, He does not allow His Love for Lazarus to interfere with the overarching plans of His Father.
Be assured that He will do the same with you and me. Is that distressing, or comforting?
When I suffer, I experience the same kind of doubts I attribute to Lazarus. How does knowing the outcome of the story help prepare me for the suffering and hardship that I will inevitably be asked to endure for the good of the Kingdom?
Francis and Lady Poverty from the Basilica in Assisi
Our journey through the gospel of John has come to a conclusion. Since there is no scripture to immerse myself in, I went back to the Introduction and used it as the material I prayed over this month.
I still, however, used a similar approach. I read the Introduction multiple times, allowing it to sink in. I put myself in the scene to the extent that I tried to recall my frame of mind as I wrote that Introduction and prepared to make this Journey through John. I also tried to let my own words narrow down as I read and reread. Just as with the scripture, I tried to be aware of which words were speaking to me and then to focus in on those. (This approach to prayer works with any spiritual reading, not just scripture.)
That introduction took as its jumping off point two foundational statements directly from the OFS experience. The first came from the binding text that every OFS speaks during Mass on the day of their profession:
I promise to live all the days of my life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its rule of life.
This professional statement directly commits the new OFS to obedience to the Rule moving forward, so it’s only natural that the second come directly from the Rule itself. Because the gospel was our concern, it was article four of the Rule that made the most sense:
The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.
Christ, the gift of the Father’s love, is the way to him, the truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the life which he has come to give abundantly.
Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to careful reading of the gospel, going from gospel to life and life to gospel.
The Introduction proposes to investigate the question begged by the first quotation, namely “how do I live all the days of my life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ?” Or, if you prefer the second quotation, “how do I go from gospel to life and life to gospel?”
But the intent was not to answer the question by argument or proof, but instead to seek an answer to the question by experiment, trial and error. Rather than describing a method by which one should live, the reflections on each chapter attempt to actually do what the profession text and chapter four of the Rule require of us.
They are an attempt at immersion in the gospel to such an extent that the gospel itself, even if in subtle rather than dramatic ways, becomes a vehicle for conversion in the life of the reader.
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When I hearken back to my state of mind as this journey began, I have to confess to a bit of selfishness in my motivations. During my own initial formation, and even after my profession, article four of the Rule was always tugging at my consciousness. The phrase “gospel to life and life to gospel” was what defined the Franciscan charism for me. I kept waiting for it to be explained more fully or to be acted upon more completely, but nothing ever quite met the depth of the hunger I was feeling.
When Dick McCloskey became ill and asked if I would stand in for him as Formation Director, this personal interest began to exert itself immediately. A journey through a gospel with reference and links to the foundational documents of the Franciscan charism was, if you will, on my bucket list. The desire to do this within the context of ongoing formation only intensified as my time as Formation Director unfolded.
This meant using an actual gospel as formation material, so I proposed this to the council. I was unaware of any existing materials that I could use to supplement this endeavor, but my prayer experience led me to believe that I could provide the material that was needed to make this work. I thought that with the help of the Holy Spirit, I could lead a journey through a gospel that would be meaningful and useful to the fraternity.
But I have to confess that while there were times when I thought I was being called to this, there were also times when I thought this was just so much hubris. To hearken back to Peter in the last chapter, there were times when I feared that my attempt at this would end with me looking extremely foolish.
I have to thank the council for allowing me to make the attempt. I do not know whether they thought this would work at the beginning, but they allowed me to try. There was a time a couple chapters in when I got an email from Sister that said something like “now that’s the way it’s supposed to be done!” I can’t express to you how much that meant to me.
I also cannot express to you how much the kindness of the members of the fraternity has meant to me throughout this effort. I have been told on more occasions than I can count that I was on the right track and that has meant the world to me.
It allowed me to continue forward with confidence that I was, at least in some small way, conforming myself to the Will of God.
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I hope every time someone said something nice to me about one of my reflections, I remembered to deflect the praise to the Holy Spirit. I do sincerely believe that whatever I have accomplished in this, the accomplishment belongs to the Holy Spirit. If I have a skill, it is not as a writer or as a developer of keen insights, it is in being open to wherever it was the Holy Spirit wanted to take me.
It is extremely important to me that this be the emphasis of this Conclusion. To whatever extent this endeavor has been a success, it is a success because God made it a success, not me. All the glory and the praise and the thanks belong to Him.
I have, on several occasions, been told that what I did here was something that not everyone can do. The reason it is so important to me that this be seen not as my accomplishment, but as God’s, is because that opens the door to everyone to do and experience what I have experienced during this journey.
I have been more than happy to share my reflections with you, and if those reflections were helpful in some way, then I am pleased about that as well. But please understand that the purpose of the journey has not been for me to impart my wisdom to you.
The purpose is for you to learn how to open yourself within the context of your own life to the gospels and the Franciscan charism in such a way that the Holy Spirit also has room to work within you based on your own place, time and needs.
The gospels have plenty of mystery associated with them, but when I think back over this experience, one thing is crystal clear. Jesus loves us and wants us to know Him. He experienced Incarnation, death on the Cross and everything in between so that we would come to know Him in ways that were otherwise impossible. It makes no sense that my ability to glean insight from the gospels would be unique to me. The Holy Spirit was sent to each of us, and the Holy Spirit will reveal the nature of Truth to each of us as we require it.
Thus, I will dispute to my dying breathe and beyond that I did something here that others cannot do. Right now, through my words, the Spirit is calling you to the exact same thing He called me. There are three more gospels that lie untouched by this experiment. He wants you to pick up those gospels and read them. As was noted in these reflections, the gospels are the peace that Jesus left us. He wants us to know and love Him intimately, and the Spirit is the peace He gives to guide us through those gospels to that intimacy.
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If there is one single piece of advice for me to give based on my experience in writing this series of reflections, it is to be patient.
When I reread the introduction, the word that called to me the loudest was immersion.
Because we have ongoing formation at our monthly meetings, I had a full month to be immersed in each chapter of John. You should understand that there were times when it took most of that month for the reflection to emerge. There were times when halfway through the month I thought I would not have anything to share for the next meeting. I made sure to start reading for the next month almost immediately after finishing the last reflection. I learned to do this right away because I found that it did take time for the message to emerge. It did not jump out at me on the first, or second, or third readings.
I would read the gospel chapter multiple times over the course of at least a week, if not longer. It might take ten or twenty or more readings before a section of the story became preeminent. And then it might take a few more readings before a specific verse or phrase within that section of the story became truly dominant. And then it would take multiple more readings before the message of that single phrase became clear. Interspersed with this was the research into the Franciscan sources. When a phrase caught my attention I would take the verse, and the word or the person or the place and search through the index and read through what the references took me to.
It was the coalition of all these things that ultimately led to the reflection.
But the key was time and patience. If I had not had that month, I doubt that I could have had as much success as I did.
So, the best piece of advice I have to give on how to “live all the days of your life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” or, if you prefer, how to “go from gospel to life and life to gospel,” is to exercise the patience and dedication that keeps you present to Jesus in the gospels over an extended period of time.
Decide now that you are in it for the long term. Make the commitment to immerse yourself each day in the presence of Christ the Truth as revealed in the gospels and do not be afraid to devote time to developing your relationship with Him. What more important thing is there for you to do? Let your worldly concern go, including the worldly concern that says you must have answers now and immediately. Jesus does not experience time the way you do. And to the extent He does experience time, He will react to you on His terms, just as He did in the last chapter with Peter.
Your responsibility is just to be there with Him, and to trust that He will reveal Himself when the time is right. This is mostly a matter of persistence. Pick another chapter from another gospel and stay with it for a week, or a month, or a year, however long it takes. Don’t worry about results. Just be with Him by reading it day after day. When you experience distraction, reread the chapter or the passage or the verse to bring yourself back. Do not become frustrated, just come back. Allow the words of the gospel to work in you absent from any expectation at all. Allow the words of the gospel to convert you in the way you pray from a person in a hurry to a person who loves to dwell in the presence of your Savior, all agendas aside.
The time will come when you experience His presence. After you have exhausted that encounter, go to the next chapter and repeat. As your reps increase, you will discover that your relationship with the Spirit is progressing. Your ability to be open has increased. Your connection to Him has intensified. The distractions never disappear, but you know how to come back to Him without guilt or frustration and thus the barriers associated with those negative emotions are broken down.
You come to believe that He is always there, always available to you, always present with you whenever you make yourself present to Him, even if it is just the quiet experience of sharing the same space together with nothing momentous to mark the time.
Eventually, He will become an old friend, one of those folks where communication does not require words or even thought. Communication is simply intrinsic to the time you spend together, a given in your relationship.
When you reach that point, then you will know you have achieved conversion, and that an ever-deepening ongoing conversion through this ever-deepening relationship with Jesus is something attainable in your life.
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Please, please, please, above all else, do not allow the conclusion of this journey to be an end, but instead be determined to make it a beginning. Whatever we have discovered together in this Journey through John, our efforts to know and emulate Jesus through Francis have not culminated, but only taken a small step forward. Our human frailty remains, and it demands that we dedicate ourselves to the search for ongoing conversion in just the way your profession and your Rule require.
We must, at all times, be seeking an ever-closer relationship with Jesus our Lord and Savior through immersion in the life and peace that He reveals to us in the gospels.
This is what we promised to do the day of our profession.
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The final plea for your continued striving and conversion I will leave to Lady Poverty. Here are excerpts from the final words she spoke to Francis and his company in the last chapter of The Sacred Exchange between Saint Francis and Lady Poverty.
She ordered all of them to be seated about her and spoke to them the words of life. “You are blessed by the Lord God Who made heaven and earth, my sons (and daughters). You who have received me into your home with such a fullness of charity that it seems to me that today I am with you as in God’s paradise. I am, then, filled with joy…………I see what I have yearned for; what I have desired I now possess, for I am joined on earth to those who bear the image of Him to Whom I am espoused in heaven.
I ask and greatly beg you as dearly beloved children to persevere in what you have begun by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, not abandoning your perfection as is the custom of others. After you have avoided all the snares of the dark, however, may you always strive for what is more perfect. Your profession is very lofty. It shines with a more brilliant light……….
Let there be no doubt about your possession of the kingdom of heaven. Let there be no hesitation among you! For you already possess a promise of a future inheritance and have received the pledge of the Spirit. Signed with the seal of Christ’s glory, you respond in everything, by His grace, like those of that first school which He established upon coming into the world. For what they did in His presence, you have thoroughly begun to do in His absence. Isn’t it what you dare to say: ‘Behold we have left everything and followed you?’
Let the length of the race and the immensity of the labor not deter you for you will have a great reward. While focusing on the author and goal of all good, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, after he condemned its shame, endured the cross for the sake of the joy that awaited Him, hold onto the unwavering confession of your hope. Run in love to the race that is set before you. Run with the patience which is especially necessary for you that, while you are doing God’s will, you may receive what is promised. For God is able to bring to completion with joy what you have begun with His grace beyond your powers, because He is faithful to His promises………..
Therefore, I beg you, brothers (and sisters), through the mercy of God which has made you so poor, do that for which you have come, that for which you have risen up from the waters of Babylon. Humbly receive the grace offered you. Always use it worthily for the praise and glory and honor of Him who died for you, Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Who lives and reigns, conquers and rules, with the Father and Holy Spirit, God eternally glorious, forever and ever. Amen.
Duccio Di Buoninsegna, Italian, 1310, “The Apparition of Christ on Lake Tiberius”
For this last chapter of the gospel of John, I once again found myself in the in-between time as I entered the scene. By the end of chapter twenty, Jesus has appeared twice to the disciples. In the second appearance, he deals directly with Thomas and his doubts. What is missing, however, is any contact with Simon Peter. Presumably Peter was present, but there is no discussion of any interaction specifically between Jesus and Peter. If Jesus had forgiven Peter in either appearance, you would think John would mention it.
The context of chapter twenty one seems to confirm this hypothesis. Make that assumption and put yourself in Peter’s place. How frustrating would it be to have denied Jesus three times, to be truly repentant, to find yourself in the presence of the Risen Christ, and to not have the chance to reconcile with Him? Peter testifies about Jesus in chapter twenty-one, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” If Peter believed this during the two appearances in chapter twenty and Jesus did not acknowledge him, how much guilt and doubt must Peter be carrying?
It’s easy to imagine that Peter has returned to his roots at the Sea of Tiberias, in Galilee, to gather himself. When something negative happens in our lives, especially something monumentally negative, the natural instinct is to return to a place of comfort to deal with the crisis. It’s even easy to imagine that the other disciples have traveled with Peter out of concern for his wellbeing. Given what has happened, Peter’s despondency would have been hard to hide and his friends would have rightly been worried about him.
You can see this in verse three of the chapter. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” Peter doesn’t know what to do with himself, so he does something familiar. His friends do not wish to leave him alone so they roll with the punches. If he wants to go fishing, they will go fishing. They have no luck, but perhaps that’s to be expected. They might have been going through the motions of fishing, but their hearts and minds likely were focused on other issues given the events that have just taken place.
I have to admit that I do not have a confident explanation for Jesus’ motives. Why wait? Why not interact with Peter right away if it was still His intention to found the church upon him? It’s one of those mysterious things that I cannot fathom, which also makes it one of those mysterious things where the only real choice is to trust His judgment.
I have similar experiences in my life. There are times when my desire for Jesus is so intense it causes me to ache. For His reasons, He chooses His own time to react to my need. This scene in the gospel is perhaps a place of refuge for me in those dark times. Whatever troubles me, it likely does not outdistance the doubt and fear that Peter experienced in this in between time. For Peter, this was a time of cross bearing. For me, it is the same.
Jesus knows how much I can bear and the benefits I will experience from the bearing, even if I cannot see them in the moment. He chooses based on calculations I simply cannot comprehend.
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John Chapter 21, verse 7:
That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
Are you still with Peter in the scene? Have you been experiencing his despondency this entire time? As you dwelt in the in-between time, were you able to feel the fear and doubt associated with the possibility that you missed your chance and forgiveness may never come your way?
If so, can you empathize with Peter’s reaction to hearing that Jesus is once again available to him? Can you feel a desire to be with Him so intense that the boat cannot hold you? Are you unwillingly to wait even the few minutes that it will take to row the hundred yards to shore? Will you jump into the sea in order to not be separated from Jesus for even a moment longer than you must?
It would be more convenient for me as a Franciscan if Peter had been clothed and disrobed before he jumped. Then maybe I could draw a parallel between Peter and Francis in the scene with the Bishop and his father Pietro. I could note how Peter stripped himself of all worldly raiment in his anxiousness to be closer to Christ and then observe how Francis did the same.
But this might be better. Peter is a little out of his mind. It makes no sense to cloth yourself just before you are about to jump into the sea. All the clothing will do is weigh you down and make the swim to shore that much harder. Peter wants so desperately to be with Jesus, but at the same time, there is this worldly concern about appearances that still lingers with him. Peter remains so very human, and this is perhaps the last of what Jesus is looking to remake in him.
Imagine Peter coming out of the water and Jesus looking at him with an unspoken expression that says, “Really?” Perhaps Jesus then turns away to stir the coals in His fire, but really to laugh to Himself as Peter takes in the ridiculousness of what he has just done. And perhaps, somewhere in that unrecorded moment, something clicks for Peter that allows him to recognize and shed his worldly attachments, thus clearing the way for Jesus to go forward with His plan. Perhaps Jesus delayed precisely because He knew how this moment would unfold and what it would mean for Peter.
Whatever the motivation of Jesus, it worked. If you read ahead into the Acts of the Apostles, you will see that Peter has become grounded. By the middle of chapter two, he is giving a sermon at Pentecost. At the beginning of chapter three, he has healed a lame beggar with the name of Jesus and he is boldly preaching repentance in the Temple, which leads to his arrest (along with John) at the beginning of chapter four. The powers that be are once again confounded, but they release the two of them because the people were praising God for what had happened.
And all of this is rooted, in some mysterious way, in the intense desire Peter demonstrates for Christ by his decision to jump into the sea.
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There is a certain innocence, eagerness, and even foolishness that is present in the moment when Peter is standing on the shore of the sea, drenched to the bones, in all his clothes, in front of Jesus.
In several of the chapters that have preceded this one, I have suggested to you the possibility that Francis read a particular passage of the gospel and acted directly because of it. This scene is a little different. I don’t think it likely that Francis took some direct action because he read about Peter jumping into the sea. But I think, maybe in his later years, Francis could have looked back and recognized some kinship with Peter.
This is because Francis also carried a certain innocence, eagerness and even foolishness with him as his vocation and conversion got started.
Think about this scene from chapter nine of The First Book of The Life of St. Francis by Celano:
One day the gospel was being read in that church about how the Lord sent out his disciples to preach. The holy man of God, who was attending there, in order to understand better the words of the gospel, humbly begged the priest after celebrating the solemnities of the Mass to explain the gospel to him. When he heard that Christ’s disciples should not possess gold or silver, or money ……… the holy man, Francis, immediately exulted in the spirit of God. “This is what I want,” he said, ……… The holy father, overflowing with joy, hastened to implement the words of salvation, and did not delay before he devoutly began to put into effect what he heard. Immediately, he took off the shoes from his feet, ………
Note the eagerness being conveyed. In one paragraph, the word “immediately” appears twice, along with the word “hastened,” and the phrase “did not delay.” Compare that to the urgency that made Peter jump in the water as soon as he knew that Jesus was present.
Francis’ reaction to hearing Jesus say “go rebuild My house” is similar. Celano describes it like this in chapter Six of the first book of The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul:
He does not forget to care for that holy imagenor hesitate to carry out the command.He gives the priest money to buy a lamp and some oil,lest the sacred image lack, even for a moment, the honor of light.He then runs quickly to fulfill the rest,working tirelessly to rebuild that church.Although the divine word spoken to himwas really about the Churchwhich Christ acquired with His own blood,he did not immediately reach that level,but moved gradually from flesh to spirit.
Francis “does not hesitate.” “He runs quickly to fulfill the rest,” and he “works tirelessly” at the task. Again, the eagerness is present, but here we also see the innocence and foolishness front and center. Francis misses entirely what Jesus is actually instructing him to do. It takes a while before he figures out that it is not just the bricks and mortar of San Damiano that Jesus is telling him to rebuild, but the entire church. Again, you can picture Jesus laughing to himself, knowing that Francis will get it eventually.
Perhaps this kinship between Francis and Peter reveals a little about the intent of Jesus in making Peter wait. Remember that Jesus at one point tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Is it possible that in order for Peter to truly leave behind human things, the kind of human things that led to him denying Christ, he had to pass a foolishness test?
Only in doing something truly foolish in the eyes of the world, without an ounce of regret, can one be truly shed of worldly entanglement? Maybe Peter was not qualified to lead the new church until he jumped out of that boat and then recognized his own foolishness as he stood in front of Jesus on the shore, soaking wet?
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At this stage I want to hearken back to the reflection on chapter eight. Article 12 of the SFO Rule was under consideration:
Witnessing to the good yet to come and obliged to acquire purity of heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves free to love God and their brothers and sisters.
The discussion then was about freedom and Love. Jesus said in the verse from that chapter, “anyone who sins is a slave to sin.” The reflection concluded with the assertion that freedom is a pre-requisite of Love. If we are not free, we cannot Love, and thus the ultimate purpose of Creation, the expansion of Love, cannot be fulfilled.
Peter, when he denied Christ, put himself in a state of sin. He allowed worldly concern to undermine his relationship with Christ. He might have rightly feared that the repercussions of admitting he was a disciple were life threatening, but even so, his denials were sins.
In that state of sin, Peter was not pure of heart, nor was he free to love God as the Rule suggests.
Recall that in the chapter Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter says yes three times and ultimately Jesus accepts his assertion. If Peter is able to love Jesus at that time, he must have shed his state of sin in favor of a state of freedom.
I want to suggest to you that jumping in the sea was the action that took Peter from one state to the other. This action, whether you want to call it innocent, or eager, or foolish, or any other word you might ascribe to it, was at its core a rejection of worldly concern. No one caught up in the world would put their clothes on in order to jump in the sea. In fact, they wouldn’t jump in the sea at all. They would be too concerned about the danger of drowning, or catching cold, or the way others might react.
But when Peter took that action, none of those things crossed his mind. His only concern, his only desire, was to be reunited with Jesus as quickly as possible, consequences be damned. In that moment, he separated himself from the world in a way that became life changing, and in doing so, he gained a level of freedom that he had never possessed up until that point in time. That freedom allowed him to answer with an honest “yes” when Jesus questioned him about his love.
Now, recall the end of this section of the chapter. Jesus tells Peter “when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” And John adds, in parentheses, “This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.”
During the Passion, Peter sinned against Jesus by denying Him because he was afraid of the “kind of death” that might result. Jesus has now informed him that he is going to experience that kind of death anyway. This time Peter does not shy away. He does not sin and deny Jesus again. Instead, as Jesus requests, he “follows Him” despite being told of the hard outcome that awaits him. He now belongs to Jesus completely, even to the point that he is willing to give up his life for Him if that is what his commitment requires.
The freedom to love and follow Jesus without reservation empowers Peter completely. He is only able to preach, and to heal, and to defy the Jewish powers that be because he is no longer a slave to sin, but instead free in the Truth and Love that is Christ.
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Francis was similarly empowered by his innocence and eagerness and foolishness and the freedom they engendered. Recall this scene, referenced above, from chapter six of The First Book of The Life of St. Francis by Celano:
When he was in front of the bishop, he neither delayed nor hesitated, but immediately took off and threw down all his clothes and returned them to his father. He did not even keep his trousers on, and he was completely stripped bare before everyone.
If you can, think back to the very first time you heard this story. Did Francis’ actions seem entirely foolish to you? Did you think to yourself, I would never do that? If you are honest with yourself, is your first reaction to Peter jumping out of the boat the same? Is that something you could never see yourself doing?
It’s hard to imagine anyone less concerned with the opinions of others than Francis was in this moment. His conversion to a life of Spiritual Poverty represented a total rejection of worldly concern and this was his public affirmation of his intent. Just as it did for Peter, the conversion of Francis moved him from a place of sinfulness to a place of freedom. Francis, like Peter, became a gifted preacher and a person capable of miraculous healings. Peter led the church at its founding. Francis was called to lead the rebuilding of a church that was, to quote Jesus on the San Damiano crucifix, “all being destroyed.”
Different men for different times, but definitely kindred spirits both empowered by the freedom that comes from rejecting the world in favor of loving Christ in a way that the world can only see as foolish.
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The question that confronts me now is how to live into this?
If I am a follower of Francis, and Francis is marked by such a love for Christ that he tosses aside worldly concern to do the Will of God without a second thought, how do I respond in similar fashion?
Am I willing to do the equivalent of “throwing myself into the sea” or “stripping myself completely bare” in public in order to confirm the preeminence of Christ in my life?
We have come to the end of the gospel of John. There will be one more reflection in the form of a conclusion to bring things full circle. We can revisit what we set out to do at the beginning, summarize the major themes that emerged, and talk about how to stay emerged in the gospels going forward.
But when I look at the questions above, I have to acknowledge that, at least for me, I have a long way to go. I can affirm to you that I have never come close to throwing myself in the sea or stripping myself bare in public. Nor do I feel particularly ready to do such things despite the many graces that came to me during this Journey through John.
I have to confess that at the end I do not see myself as appreciably more disconnected from the world than I was when I started. I am more aware of what Jesus taught about worldliness and the need for separation, but to truly achieve results would require a change in lifestyle that I am not sure how to achieve given the perceived constraints of my secular life.
It’s curious and interesting and mysterious that the end has turned out to be no end at all. This last reflection has not tied things up neatly, but instead resulted in questions that I am feeling unprepared to deal with.
But I suppose that is, in and of itself, a Franciscan outcome. Article seven of the Rule does say this:
United by their vocation as “brothers and sisters of penance,” let them conform their thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior change which the gospel itself calls conversion. Human frailty makes it necessary that this conversion be carried out daily.
I still need a tremendous amount of interior change in my life before I am ready to jump out of boats or strip myself bare on the square. My frailty remains ascendant in my life. As a Franciscan, I must acknowledge that my conversion will likely never be complete. There will always be unanswered questions and goals that require my daily attention.
But perhaps words like penance, radical, conversion and frailty suggest a little about what the next topic in formation wants to be if I am to continue to progress toward the goal of “perfect Christian love” that I undertook on the day of my profession.
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Perhaps, as I come to the end of this Journey thru John, it is appropriate to revisit all the words of beginning that I spoke on the day I made my profession:
I, Timothy Short, by the grace of God, renew my baptismal promises and consecrate myself to the service of His Kingdom.Therefore, in my secular state I promise to live all the days of my life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its Rule of life. May the grace of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and our holy father St. Francis, and the fraternal bonds of community always be my help, so that I may reach the goal of perfect Christian Love.
That goal of “perfect Christian Love” is eternal.
Peter strove for it. Francis strove for it. All those who achieved the honorific of Saint throughout history strove for it. In order to achieve that goal, they “set themselves free to love God.” (Again, Article 12 of the Rule, above.) To become “pure of heart,” they abandoned all their worldly concerns in order to be free and thus able to love God wholeheartedly.
For me to do the same, I must embrace the work of Penance and Spiritual Poverty, which ask me to turn my face completely and unconditionally toward God, leaving all earthly worry behind, just as Peter and Francis and all the Saints did. To the extent that I succeed, the conversion I experience will be radical, capable of empowering me to overcome the frailty of my human condition.
My embrace of Penance and Spiritual Poverty is likely to be incomplete. Therefore, it is necessary to pursue these principles daily. Peter and Francis both went through long periods of doubt and distraction before they ultimately succeeded in their quest to make Penance and Poverty integral to their daily lives. All Saints have lived through such experiences in the pursuit of this goal of “perfect Christian Love.” (If you doubt it, read The Confessions of Saint Augustine!)
Worldly authority will inevitably see this pursuit as foolish. “Such a goal is simply unattainable! It is too hard! It is impossible! It cannot be done! Think of all the good you can do if you master the ways of the world! You are powerful! You possess the wisdom and strength to embrace the world and serve God at the same time! It is better to focus on life in this world, enjoying what this world has to offer while you can! Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil! You will not surely die!”
Worldly influence did everything it could to distract and dissuade Peter and Francis and all the other Saints from their goal. There is no reason to think it will not do the same with me.
Above I asked, how do I live into the example of foolishness that Peter and Francis set for me?
The gospels, in their entirety, are meant to teach me the courage it takes to embrace that foolishness. They are meant to teach me that in the end the foolishness of the Saints is not foolishness at all, but instead it’s very opposite. The foolishness of the Saints is Wisdom.
Do I have the strength and the courage to accept that Truth and live into it?
Do I have the strength and courage to “jump in” and follow not the foolishness, but the Wisdom of Peter and Francis as this Journey thru John concludes and I determine how to take the next steps of my spiritual development?
Caravaggio, Italian Painter, 1602, “The Incredulity of Thomas”
We are down to the last two chapters. Jesus has completed His Passion. When I enter the scene in between chapters nineteen and twenty, I find myself locked in a room with the disciples for fear of the Jews. The room is heavy with anxiety and disappointment. Just the night before, I enjoyed a meal with my beloved Teacher. Now He has been crucified and all the good that I anticipated would come from His presence seems to have been lost in an instant. I cannot begin to process what has happened.
My friend Simon Peter is in the corner. He is despondent because the prediction Jesus made about him came true. He denied Him just as Jesus said he would. I want to console him, but where would I start?
As the night passes, I sleep in fits. The horror of the previous day keeps me restless. When I doze, the images in my dreams are more than I can bear. I see Jesus with Pilate, wearing a purple robe and a crown of thorns. I see Him carrying the Cross through the streets, falling again and again. I see Him being nailed to the Cross and then the Cross raised in the air. I see Him take His last breath. Over and over again these images run through my head. There is nothing I can do to stop them.
Despite my fatigue, I am grateful when the morning comes. Anything is better than the lonely and empty dark. Then Mary Magdalene comes in and says that the stone at the tomb was rolled away during the night and the body of Jesus is missing. Simon Peter and the other disciple get up immediately and go out, so I follow them. I run along behind them to the tomb.
I take my turn looking inside. I see the burial wrappings lying there, the face cloth set off to the side. My confusion, fear and disappointment are not allayed, but they build to even greater heights. What is happening? Who has done this? As yet, I do not understand. I return home with the others.
And a little later, Mary comes in and says she has seen Jesus. I desperately want to believe her, but this is impossible. I watched Him die yesterday. She must be going mad in her grief. There is no way she could be telling the truth. She’s not lying, but she is too distraught to know what she is saying.
The day presses on and I do not know what to do with myself. I am lost without His guidance. I have not eaten, but I am not hungry. I am paralyzed by my grief, not interested in anything. Is this how it will be from now on? Will my life ever feel full or have purpose again? Evening comes on and I am gathered with my friends in the midst of a stifling sorrow. We sit and look at each other. No one knows what to say. The silence is oppressive.
And suddenly, despite the doors being locked, He is there! To say that we are glad is the greatest understatement in the history of Creation! He is there, standing amongst us, showing us His wounds and speaking to us!
There is no way to describe the astonishment and the joy!
You have to be there! You have to enter the scene!
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John Chapter 20, verses 21 and 22:
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
I hope you stayed in the scene long enough for Jesus to breathe on you. Could you imagine the risen Jesus being close enough to you that you physically feel His breath upon your face?
I also hope you are filled with joy at this very moment. If you aren’t, then go back to the beginning and read the introduction again and again until you are. If Jesus appearing to you in the room is not enough to make you joyful, then you better pray for the help of Thomas until you come around.
And finally, I hope that all the confusion, fear and disappointment engendered by His brief absence has departed from you, and that they have been replaced by the peace that comes from being in His presence along with the knowledge that you never have to worry about Him departing again. With His Resurrection, He has triumphed over death and thus He can and will always be there to guide you if you simply have enough humility to allow it.
Remember that peace is essentially an internal quality. It is a grace that comes about when we embrace minority, conversion and penance with enough intention that our faces are turned toward Christ and we are united to Him. When we reject the world and embrace the gospels, we walk in His peace bestowing presence. If we were able to live flawlessly the message of the gospels we would be perfectly united to Christ, and that perfect unity would leave us in a state of pure peacefulness. This is what Jesus meant when He said “my peace I leave you.” The entirety of His gospel teaching is a pathway to peace.
Because of our human frailty, we cannot be flawless. We require assistance. Jesus, in His Wisdom, gives us (my peace I give you) the Holy Spirit to bolster our efforts. If we desire it, the Holy Spirit will assist us as we attempt to remember, understand and live the teachings of the gospels. He will help us to accomplish, as much as we are able, that perfect unity with Christ which translates into that state of pure peacefulness.
It is no accident that the ideas of peace, sending and the Holy Spirit are linked in these two verses. Jesus has reiterated his teaching from chapter fourteen by once again linking peace and the gift of the Spirit together. And then he has added as a necessary consequence of the possession of peace the requirement to go forth and share it. The most intense desire of Jesus is that He be united to every individual in this state of pure peacefulness that His coming made possible. We are meant to help Him achieve that.
Our calling, then, with the help and support of the Spirit, is to carry that peacefulness into the world. In the words of Francis, as quoted in the reflection on chapter fourteen, “let everyone be drawn to peace and kindness through your peace and gentleness.”
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The SFO Rule embraces completely this sending of the disciples by Jesus, making it a requirement of the Secular Franciscan life. The instruction to go forth is linked specifically to the act of profession in chapter two, article six:
…… they have been united more intimately with the Church by profession. Therefore, they should go forth as witnesses and instruments of her mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by their life and words.
And then the emphasis on peace as a primary part of our message is unmistakable in article nineteen:
Mindful that they are bearers of peace which must be built up unceasingly, they should seek out ways of unity and fraternal harmony ……..
The transition “therefore” is binding upon us, linking profession and going forth without question. It does not leave us with a choice. When we made our profession, we agreed to go forth and proclaim Christ, bearing the peace He offers as part of the deal.
If you are like me, the idea of going forth is intimidating. This is especially true when you are seeking to live a life of minority. There seems to be some inherent conflict there. If I am truly humble, how can I be worthy of proclaiming the peace of Christ to the world? And yet, that very humility is what makes me qualified and capable of doing the proclaiming. It is a mystery that causes me to doubt myself.
Think of the vast majority of people with public voices in our world today. They might be politicians, reporters, celebrities or even athletes who think that kneeling during the national anthem is appropriate. How many of them would you characterize as minor or humble? How many seem to be mostly concerned with forwarding their own worldly agenda?
How many are you attracted to in a way that makes you say I want to follow or be like that person?
How many would you characterize as messengers of peace?
I know that I live in a culture that is deeply divided. At least half of the strongest voices I hear are actively working against the things I believe in as a Franciscan. And then, in all honesty, when the ones I am inclined to agree with speak, I often find them unattractive. There is so much divisiveness in the messages of both sides that they all often appear ugly to me.
I think, after contemplating it, that this is because neither side ever speaks about peace, even in generic terms. The desire for peace is built into us, but no one is calling for us to gain peace. Instead they are calling us, always, to confrontation with those who are supposedly against and different from us. Or they are calling us to more and more worldliness in the pursuit of false happiness. They tear our peace from us for their own personal advantage in the pursuit of worldly power and/or material gain.
Who among them would offer a message of poverty, penance and humility and thus a message of true peacefulness and joy? Can you imagine them even thinking about the peace of Christ as they prepare their public pronouncements?
The Franciscan charism is desperately needed in the world today, just as it was in the time of Francis. I want so desperately to make a difference, to do something that will safeguard the future of my children.
But I am unsure how to proceed. So, as I must, I turn to Francis to see what insight he has to offer.
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In The Legend of the Three Companions, chapter eight describes the going forth of Francis. Francis is at Mass and he hears Christ instruct His disciples as He sends them out to preach. Francis conforms himself to the gospel by donning a “cheap and plain tunic and girding himself with a cord” and he sets out.
Applying all the care of his heart to observe the words of new grace as much as possible, he began, inspired by God, to be a messenger of evangelical perfection and, in simple words, to preach penance in public. His words were neither hollow nor ridiculous, but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, penetrating the marrow of the heart, so that listeners were turned to great amazement.
As he later testified, he learned a greeting of this sort by the Lord’s revelation: “May the Lord give you peace!” Therefore, in all his preaching, he greeted the people at the beginning of his sermon with a proclamation of peace.
…….
Immediately, therefore, filled with the spirit of the prophets, the man of God, Francis, after that greeting, proclaimed peace, preached salvation, and, according to a prophetic passage, by his salutary admonitions, brought to true peace many who had previously lived at odds with Christ and far from salvation.
Of course “he learned a greeting of this sort by the Lord’s revelation.” He learned it directly in this chapter of the gospel. Both times that Jesus appeared to the disciples, the first thing He said was “Peace be with you.” Francis, as was his utmost and deepest desire, is imitating Jesus precisely by using this as his greeting.
He is also imitating Jesus by placing peace at the core of his message. If the gospels, in their entirety, constitute a pathway to peace, that makes the core of the entire message of Jesus an invitation to deep, personal peace. If Jesus was continually inviting all people everywhere to share in His peace, it is only natural that Francis make this the core of his own preaching.
Be sure to note that all three components of the gospel verses, the greeting of peace, the going forth, and the presence of the Spirit, are present and united in this story of Francis. As Francis goes forth, he greets his listeners with a message of peace, and as the passage declares, he does so while “filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.”
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In The Legend of the Three Companions, the next paragraph reads like this:
As both the truth of blessed Francis’ simple teaching as well as that of his life became known to many, two years after his conversion, some men began to be moved to do penance by his example and, leaving all things, they joined him in life and habit. The first of these was Brother Bernard of holy memory.
In Celano, The First Book, chapter ten, we hear this:
….., brother Bernard, embracing the delegation of peace, eagerly ran after the holy man of God to gain the Kingdom of Heaven.
As these passages make clear, the combination of the presence of the Spirit and the message of peace in Francis’ preaching is what makes Francis such a powerful figure. It might be tempting to say it is all the Spirit, but the message must be one in harmony with the Spirit, and spreading the good news of peace is one of the priorities assigned to the Spirit by Jesus. Thus the “delegation of peace” is instrumental in defining what Bernard found so attractive that he ultimately was willing to give up all his worldly possessions in order to follow Francis. Bernard (like all of us) was built to seek peace, and Francis capitalized on this part of his nature.
I asked earlier whether or not the voices of today are attractive to you? Do they inspire you to imitation as Jesus inspired Francis and as Francis in turn inspired Brother Bernard and all those who would follow after him? Or do they do the opposite?
It is clear that Jesus was a man who was attractive. People saw Jesus and thought, “There is something about Him. I am not sure what it is, but I want that for myself.” That something was the great sense of peacefulness that He exuded. Just as we find our peace in Him, He found His peace in God, and that bond between He and God caused Him to radiate a magnetism that people found irresistible. People were willing to set aside their entire lives in order to follow Him and be in His presence. They sought then and we seek now to imitate Him by following His teachings, frail and failing human beings that we are, in pursuit of His peace.
Francis is also clearly an attractive figure. Bernard was the first, but within a space of twenty years or so, Francis and his message of peace had attracted enough people that his movement became permanent. Eight hundred years later, he is still attracting people to his charism.
That all begins with his decision to go forth and preach a message of penance, Poverty and salvation that encourages a unity with Christ that can then be summarized in the word peace. The attractiveness of that gospel inspired message of peace is the reason that you and I are Secular Franciscans today. It secured the following that ultimately grew into the three orders of the Franciscan movement, which have sustained the message of Francis for all these years. If Francis chooses a different emphasis, he disappears from the pages of history and you and I might still be looking for that elusive something that no one else embodies quite the same way that Francis does.
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I would like to tell you that I can enter the scene of Francis’ preaching and understand the details of the attractiveness that he displayed. I would like to tell you that I know the secret to Francis’ success and that I am happy to share it with you right now so that you and I can preach peace as successfully as he did. I would like to insert some bullet points at this juncture that we all can follow as we go forth into the world and begin to attract converts just as Francis did.
I have tried to enter that scene and I have to admit that I failed. I can’t tell you how to go forth. All I can tell you is that when you do, carry peace with you if you want to be heard.
I think the main reason for this is that I am simply not ready yet. I have not achieved enough conversion or made enough progress to truly grasp the peace that Francis exuded as much by his presence as by his words. I have been graced enough to understand that profound peace through unity with Christ is possible, but I have yet to make true and meaningful progress as I work my way toward that goal. I am still too connected to the world, too ensconced in the habits of fifty plus years of secularity to be able to approach the holiness that Francis displayed as he preached.
I am not Francis, nor am I truly close to understanding and imitating him, let alone imitating Jesus.
But I do, at least, feel like I have a much clearer purpose now. When I started this journey through the gospel of John, this conception of peace through unity with Christ was not something I could have articulated. I would not have even been able to identify peace as the thing I longed for. I knew that I needed to draw closer to Jesus, but I did not know how to name that which I was seeking.
Now I can at least name what my conversion is pointed toward. That is an incredible grace in and of itself.
Thanks to both Jesus and Francis for bringing me this far.
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In closing, I want to share one more story with you about the going forth of Francis. In chapter fifteen of The First Book, Thomas of Celano tells us what the mature version of Francis’ preaching resulted in. I offer you this because I often get very discouraged about the current state of our culture and it is an expression of profound hope for the future.
This passage from Celano begins with the same combination of peace, going forth and Spirit as the gospel verses. He then goes on to give a very hopeful vision of what the Franciscan charism can accomplish when these things are properly employed in unison.
Francis, Christ’s bravest soldier,went around the cities and villages,proclaiming the kingdom of Godand preaching peaceand penance for the remission of sins,not in the persuasive words of human wisdombut in the learning and power of the Spirit.………………Men ran, women also ran,clerics hurried,and religious rushed to see and hear the holy one of God,who seemed to everyone a person of another age.People of all ages and both sexes hurried to behold the wonderswhich the Lord worked anew in the world through his servant.At that time,through the presence of Saint Francis and through his reputation,it surely seemed a new light had been sent from heaven to earth,driving away all the darkness that had so nearly covered that whole regionthat hardly anyone knew where to turn.Deep forgetfulness of Godand lazy neglect of his commandmentsoverwhelmed almost everyone,so that they could barely be roused from old, deep-seated evils.He gleamedlike a shining star in the darkness of night,
and like the morning spread over the darkness.Thus, in a short time,the appearance of the entire region was changedand once rid of its earlier ugliness,it revealed a happier expression everywhere.The former dryness was put to routand a crop sprang up quickly in the untilled field.Even the uncultivated vine beganto produce buds with a sweet-smell for the Lord,and when it had produced flowers of sweetness,it brought forth equally the fruit of honor and respectability.Thanks and the voice of praise resounded everywhere,as many,casting aside earthly concerns,gained knowledge of themselvesin the life and teaching of the most blessed father Francisand aspired to love and reverence for their Creator.
There’s more if you want to seek it out. But I think this is enough to give you an idea of what a message of peace delivered with the aid of the Holy Spirit might accomplish in our culture.
The beginning of that effort is, of course, to repeat to you the greeting of Francis, and to encourage you to use it as often as possible by saying to everyone you meet,
OFS Ongoing 