Approaching the Day!!

As Transitus (the eve of the passing of St Francis to eternal life) and the Feast of St Francis get closer, I am feeling more and more a sense of belonging to the OFS (Order of Franciscans Secular), a desire to simplify my life, a hunger for the Gospels, and a certain feeling of  being "set apart",  if that makes sense. Last Friday, Sep. 19, I had my interviews with the Fraternity Council and Father John, a First Order priest, who traveled up from Denver to meet with us, share a meal, and talk with me about the Order. It helped me to tell him and the Council of my journey of faith up to this point. Even though I know my own journey, it helped me to hear it, as I explained my desire to join the Order, my feeling of belonging, and  a feeling of possessing that Franciscan "spirit" in some small way all of my life.

Even though I would have liked to have been able to pick the readings for the Mass where I will make my profession, it really doesn't matter that much that I will not be able to, it being a Sunday Vigil,  because I am glad to make this profession  where my fellow parishioners will be able to see that there are opportunities for  vocation for everyone in the church. I want my profession itself to be a witness of the Gospel life right out of the box,  my first act of evangelization as a Franciscan. I am inviting only a handful of people who know me and have shared in my journey since I moved to Rapid City. I want these dear friends as witnesses as I enter the Order.

I covet your prayers and I make my final preparations.

Preparation for Profession

On October 4, 2014 I will make my lifelong profession in the Order of Franciscans Secular. I will publicly profess my purpose to live the life of the Gospel of Christ, following in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi. I will profess to live my life in continual conversion so that I may be conformed to that perfect image of Christ relying on the promise of God relayed by St Peter to us

2 Peter 1:2-11

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound,  you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This profession is the culmination of a lifelong journey starting when I was nine years old. At 33 years old I came into the Catholic Faith after reading the life of St Francis. My previous preparation in the Baptist and Assembly of God protestant traditions was valuable in leading me to a faith in Christ and a love of scripture which in turn led me to a love of truth and a constant hunger to go deeper into the things of God.

With the help of my Franciscan fraternity, I will be strengthened to live my life going from the gospel to life and from life to the gospel. I covet your prayers and thoughts as I make this final step.

The Feast of St Francis

Franciscans all over the world observed 'Transitus' on Oct 3rd, the day before the Feast of St Francis on Oct 4th. Transitus marks the transition from life to eternal life for Francis of Assisi. At his death, he gathered his friends and followers around him and encouraged and exhorted them to keep the faith and the rule of life that Francis authored. I was asked lately about my choice to join the Seculars and I did some thinking and reading before answering. One of today's readings in the Divine Office gives Paul's exhortation to model ourselves after those who have been proven to be true to the faith.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.     So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.

So we see that there is a scriptural foundation for the establishment of religious orders. Some are attracted to this saint or that and following a particular saint's rule of life helps to add stability and purpose to their spiritual life. For me, that saint is Francis of Assisi. In my youth, he had a counter-cultural appeal, but now that appeal has matured into a fervent zeal to model after someone who so clearly lived out the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On the Feast of St Jerome

I am reminded today on reading the Divine Office on this Feast of St Jerome about the Parable of the Sower. Jesus tells us of the sower who sows seeds on rocky ground, among the thorns, where the birds eat it, and finally on good ground. For me, I was born in a garden with rich soil and the Word of God was planted there. But the analogy doesn't quite hold because we move around during various periods in our lives to areas where it is rocky and in my case where the thorns and weeds were. The word was choked as the cares and frivolities of this life took all of my energy. Now that I am back in a garden with good soil, I want the remainder of my life to be spent pursuing eternal truth. I want to surround myself with companions of like mind who also see the beauty and indeed the necessity of pursuing the things that last, the eternal, the holy, and ultimately, the friendship of God, as we read today from the Book of Wisdom, the seventh chapter,verses 13-14:

Simply I learned about Wisdom, and ungrudgingly do I share - her riches I do not hide away; For to men she is an unfailing treasure; those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God, to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them.

I am entering the period of Candidacy in the Order of Franciscans Secular. This is a period of prayer and study as I prepare to make my profession. This period will last anywhere from 18 months to 36 months. I was brought into the church on the inspiration of Francis of Assisi and I hope to live my life following his Rule, going from the Gospel to life, and from life to the Gospel. Francis was a follower of Christ, a joyful saint whose love for God spilled over into love of God's creation and creatures. His ministry to the poor, to the outcast, to the lepers in his day, has always inspired me and I want to live my life following that model. As St Paul tells us "imitate me"; we are given guides in this life who have been given the grace to set before us paths to follow according to our various temperaments. Francis' spirituality suits me and challenges me to imitate him as he imitated Christ so completely.

..for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty

I am thankful today for the Lord's Church and the Sacraments by which the Graces of our Lord Jesus Christ are given to us. I am especially thankful for the holy priests who stand daily to administer these heavenly gifts. The scripture quoted by Saint Ambrose below says it all "The lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek the law from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord almighty."

The official Year of the Priest is over, but we should continue to lift up our priests and bishops in prayer. They are assaulted right and left by the enemy and by the world. Just as Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, we should always be faithful to hold up our holy priests and bishops in prayer. We should be full of gratitude for their lives, given freely for the Gospel



From the beginning of the treatise On the Mysteries by Saint Ambrose, bishop
Catechesis on the rites preceding baptism

We gave a daily instruction on right conduct when the readings were taken from the history of the patriarchs or the maxims of Proverbs. These readings were intended to instruct and train you, so that you might grow accustomed to the ways of our forefathers, entering into their paths and walking in their footsteps, in obedience to God’s commands.

Now the season reminds us that we must speak of the mysteries, setting forth the meaning of the sacraments. If we had thought fit to teach these things to those not yet initiated through baptism, we should be considered traitors rather than teachers. Then, too, the light of the mysteries is of itself more effective where people do not know what to expect than where some instruction has been given beforehand.

Open then your ears. Enjoy the fragrance of eternal life, breathed on you by means of the sacraments. We explained this to you as we celebrated the mystery of “the opening” when we said: Effetha, that is, be opened. Everyone who was to come for the grace of baptism had to understand what he was to be asked, and must remember what he was to answer. This mystery was celebrated by Christ when he healed the man who was deaf and dumb, in the Gospel which we proclaimed to you.

After this, the holy of holies was opened up for you; you entered into the sacred place of regeneration. Recall what you were asked; remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world and its dissipation and sensuality. Your words are recorded, not on a monument to the dead but in the book of the living.

There you saw the levite, you saw the priest, you saw the high priest. Do not consider their outward form but the grace given by their ministries. You spoke in the presence of angels, as it is written: The lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek the law from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord almighty. There is no room for deception, no room for denial. He is an angel whose message is the kingdom of Christ and eternal life. You must judge him, not by his appearance but by his office. Remember what he handed on to you, weigh up his value, and so acknowledge his standing.

You entered to confront your enemy, for you intended to renounce him to his face. You turned toward the east, for one who renounces the devil turns toward Christ and fixes his gaze directly on him.

Responsory

We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray; we passed our days in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another; but God, in his mercy, saved us through the water of rebirth and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

All of us lived according to our natural desires, and we too were naturally bound to suffer God’s wrath, but God, in his mercy, saved us through the water of rebirth and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

-text gratefully borrowed from the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary time.

We Proclaim Christ to the Whole World

I wanted to share this magnificent homily with you. This lays out so beautifully the focus of the Catholic Church in all of its simplicity and profundity. As St Paul said "I am determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified". This very focus drew me into the Catholic Church back in 1984. I soon learned after coming into the Church, that the attention given to the Mother of our Lord was again turned back to her Son in her words at the wedding in Cana "Do whatever He tells you". Even the rosary is a Christological prayer, it being both a prayer and a meditation on the events of the life our Lord, seen through the eyes of Mary, asking at each step for the prayers of His first and best disciple to please pray for us sinners.
I think this focus should be the focus of every Christian everywhere, no matter what faith tradition. Jesus is why we are here, for "in Him, we move and have our being"



From a homily by Pope Paul VI
We proclaim Christ to the whole world

Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.

All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfilment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.

I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.

He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.

The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator – the bridge, if you will – between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.

Remember: it is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.

Responsory

Our Saviour Jesus Christ has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, and out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace.

The whole universe has been created through him and for him. He exists before everything, and all things are held together in him, and out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace.


Amen.

St John Southworth (d. 1654)

I haven't posted in a while. This article on the Universalis website for today caught my eye. The other saint for today is St Cyril of Alexandria who championed the cause of Orthodoxy regarding the two natures of Christ at the First Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
However St John Southworth's story really spoke to me about standing for the faith against all the power of the state being placed against you. It made me realize how much we owe the martyrs who gave everything they had to be true to the Lord and to the Church. It makes my petty struggles seem so small. I hope this blesses and encourages you all. May I encourage you to study the lives of the Saints who have gone on before. The Book of Hebrews states that they are a "great cloud of witnesses" who watch over us. The Book of the Apocalypse (Revelation) speaks of the prayers of the martyrs and saints praying for those of us here in the Church Militant. We are all one body in the Lord, death does not separate us from them. We can petition them to pray and intercede for us for they are not dead, they are more alive than we are, because they are in the very presence of the Lord Jesus.

John Southworth is normally lumped in with the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, and only in the diocese of Westminster, where he died, is his feast kept separately, on the anniversary of his execution. But if he was worth canonising, he is worth knowing; for saints are not canonised to make up an arbitrary quantity.
John Southworth was the only English martyr to suffer under a dictatorship. The English Civil War ended; the King was executed; the Elizabethan Prayer-Book outlawed; freedom of conscience proclaimed. But Catholics, who had been accused of plotting against the King, were still persecuted when there was no King; they had been fined for refusing to accept the Prayer-Book, and they were still persecuted when there was no Prayer-Book; all they asked was freedom of conscience for themselves and their countrymen, and it was denied them. Priests had to come and go, in secret, in fear of betrayal and death, as they had done for more than a generation.
He first came to the attention of the authorities in 1637, when Westminster was devastated by the plague, and he was seen visiting an infected house. There could be only one reason for anyone to visit the sick under such dangerous circumstances, and so he was arrested and charged with being a priest. On that occasion the authorities quietly set him free; but such clemency enraged the Puritans, and, seventeen years later, in 1654, when they were in power, they had their revenge.
At his trial, it was open to John Southworth to plead Not Guilty to the criminal and capital charge of being a priest – most of the missionaries did, to cause as much trouble as possible to the persecutors. But he did not. If he had pleaded Not Guilty, the court might have acquitted him (as it was, the judge wept as he passed sentence): he would have saved his life, but he would have been denied the glory of solidarity with all the other English martyrs. Although the penal laws remained in force, perhaps the sight of such an obviously innocent man being tortured to death discouraged their application; for it was 24 years before the next priest was martyred. And no doubt his prayers have helped to win the temporary liberty of conscience that England now enjoys, imperfect and threatened though it may be.
May the prayers of all martyrs, everywhere, win true liberty for us all.

-from www.universalis.com for Sunday, June 27th