God my God, You I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
God said (to Solomon) “ask something of me and I will give it
to you.”
God my God, You I crave my soul
thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
“Give your servant, an understanding heart”
God my God, You I crave my soul
thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
“Lord, let your kindness comfort me for I love your commands
more than gold.”
God my God, You I crave my soul
thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
“All things work for
good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”
God my God, You I crave my soul
thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure.”
God my God, You I crave my soul
thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.
In the journey of life we discover
the treasures God has buried in our life. You just never know where you are
going to discover them and how they will lead you closer to God. I have been pondering
the treasure of baptism, of the Eucharist, and of reconciliation. I have been pondering
the treasure of family and friends. I have been pondering the treasure of
community, fraternity and minority. I have been pondering the treasure of the
vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. I have been pondering the treasure of
the gift of St. Francis and his deep relationship with Christ.
All those treasures have been running
through my mind as I prepared to come home and celebrate here and as I
reflected on my year past and year ahead.
When we discussed the possibility of
my being here for a weekend it never crossed my mind to flip through the
Lectionary to look at the scripture. Well I must say that our God is a good and
gracious God and our God has a great sense of humor for when I read for the
first time the readings we just heard, I laughed out loud and said, ‘really
God, okay I get it. You are speaking to me again very clearly. I’ll listen a bit more closely.’ J In pondering, listening and
reflecting I would like to share with you these treasures that today’s
scripture have inspired as I share with you a bit about my journey.
I chose to begin at the baptismal
font and journey forward because my craving for God that was ignited in baptism
those 37 years ago has propelled me forward into a deepening relationship and
journey with God. Each time I place my hand in that font I am reminded that God
satisfies all my cravings that my life is a journey full of faith, of great
treasures and my cup does indeed overflow.
When I read from Kings I saw a
parallel to my own journey. God telling Solomon to ask something of God is
similar to how my journey to the Franciscans began. In early January 2012 while
in prayer I was reflecting on the New Year ahead, a phrase from a reflection
kept running through my head… ‘Do something new in me Lord.’ It was in that
time of prayer that like for Solomon God was very near and said to me, ask of
me. So I did, I prayed ‘do something new in me Lord, I am yours, I trust in you
and so I give you permission to do something new in me.’ Well my friends, if
you haven’t caught on be careful for what you ask of God, because my something
new has lead me to the path of St. Francis and the Franciscans and I didn’t see
that one coming at all. J
A year ago
this weekend we gathered in this space for the first time (wow!), a treasure
indeed, the Mass that weekend was my last official task as Pastoral Assistant
here at Resurrection. The chaos of that last week, the blessings in my farewell,
the first Masses and the prayers of this parish and my family have encouraged
me over this past year in trusting God more and in journeying deeper with
Christ. Like Solomon’s prayer, “give your servant, an understanding heart”
those words have been my prayer over this past year. I prayed help me understand
Lord, how I will live through this year away from my supports and comforts and
familiarity. Help me understand Lord, how to walk this path and how to trust
more. Help me understand Lord, how to serve in new ways, how to respond to this
calling, how to embrace the gifts of being a lesser brother. Help me understand
Lord, how the charism of St. Francis is infusing my life and how I’m called to
live it out. (and this still is my prayer)
As my
Postulancy Year now comes to a close I see how my heart has opened up, how the
gift of understanding has taken root and how I need to continue to nurture it.
I reflect back on a year that including moving to Victoria,
living in community, studying, coming to understand Francis a bit more,
learning the depth of brotherhood, deepening my prayer life, being challenged
to share my gifts, explore my gifts in new ways and continue to be open to God
doing something new in me over and over again.
The year sailed by very quickly and now here I stand again on a
threshold of the next step on the journey.
I find
myself craving God’s awesome plan more and more. I find myself surrounded by
support and prayer. As the letter to the Romans says, I find myself as did
Francis desiring “to be conformed to the image of the Son”. In saying these words aloud I have to smile
for I can only imagine how God will shape them in my journey ahead as being
conformed to the image of Christ has a lot to do with God doing something new
in me (and each of us). J
Today I look around and I see a
community that desires and strives to be the image of the Risen Lord in our
society, I look around and see a community that craves to have the Lord work in
them, I look around and see fellow believers on the journey, renewed by the
Font of Life, nourished by the Banquet of the Lord, I look around and see
fellow believers who are people of prayer and service that continue to inspire
and support my journey. I am grateful for the continued prayers and support of
this community. (I don’t know if I can express my deepest gratitude knowing
that you have held me in prayer.) It is the treasures of your prayers and
support that help me and others to look forward to the year ahead.
The treasure
of my Novitiate Year begins on August 15, I will travel to
Burlington Wisconsin to meet up with my 14 Postulant Brothers. We will be
received into the Franciscan family on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. We
will live and journey together with our 4 Formators for the next 50 weeks. Yes
that is 19 men living together for nearly 1 year under 1 roof. Thank you Jesus
it is a big house! J The year will be, if you will, an intense retreat year. A
routine of prayer, Franciscan learning, community events, personal growth, a
deeper opening of my heart, and a deepening of God doing something new in my
life will guide the Novitiate Year. It will be a full year away (without coming
home, without a cellphone or a weekly blog) but a year I am very much looking
forward to. Today I humbly stand before you and ask for your prayers and
support not only for me, but also for my brothers and our Formators. My
brothers (whom I’ve been away at summer school with) come from all walks of
life and backgrounds from coast to coast of the US, from El Salvador, Mexico,
Iraq, Ireland and from Quebec. My brothers come to this journey from roles as
students, in the film industry, a police officer, a manager at Walmart, in the
business field, and world travels. Together we have begun to form a
brotherhood, where we are learning to trust each other, challenge each other
and discovering who can cook, who cleans up after themselves and who will make
it to prayer on time. J Our Formators come from 4 different Franciscan provinces and
have all each been friars for over 20 years. It will be a very interesting and
graced filled year to treasure.
My Postulant Director called the
Novitiate Year a year of Summer Camp. I can attest that after 4 weeks, summer
camp is enough, so I know for sure that a year of summer camp is way too much.
Like I said I prefer Intense Retreat! J No matter what the year is or how it
turns out, by the grace of God, I will continue to be open to conform my life
to Christ, and my heart will be filled with deeper understanding, courage, a
fuller embracing of the charism of St. Francis and many moments to treasure. And
by the grace of God, I will come back home next August in a brown Franciscan habit
as simply professed Franciscan Friar. With God all things are possible!
From the
font… to a life journey and now wrapped in a Franciscan journey that includes asking
something of God, to desiring to be a servant with an understanding heart, to
being open to God’s will according to God’s purpose, to embracing the journey
as a treasure that will lead to the kingdom of heaven, I say here I am Lord, I
come to do your will. In the words of St. Francis, ‘if God can work through me,
God can work through anyone.’ Each of us are called, no matter our age, God
simply says to us… ask me. So today as we come forward to receive nourishment
from the Banquet of the Lord, let us allow ourselves to be consumed by Christ
and as we take leave of the church and place our hand in the font let us remember
the treasure of the kingdom of God is ours to behold.
I invite you
to trust in our loving God and dare you to pray for something new to happen in
your life. I invite you to pray with me the
prayer that St. Francis prayed before the crucifix…
Most High,
Glorious God,
Enlighten the darkness of my heart
And give me true faith,
Certain hope and perfect charity,
Sense and knowledge, Lord,
That I may carry out
Your holy and true command.
Amen.
God my God, You I crave my soul thirsts for you like a
dry and weary land.
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