Nothing More, Nothing Less

St. Francis is credited with saying “I am what I am before God. Nothing else. Nothing more. Nothing less.” And he adds, “Have mercy on me a sinner.”

This quote was shared by one of my brothers this weekend in his homily. It is a beautiful illustration of today’s Gospel (Luke 18.9-14) about the Pharisee praying and saying all the good he does and claiming that at least he is not like those other people. One of those other people is a tax collector who is downcast and beating his breast asking for God’s mercy.

The tax collector and St. Francis accurately expressed a truth… we are only ourselves and no one else before God. This is beautiful and rewarding and challenging and calls us to claim the truth of who we are downsides and good sides, but no matter what wrapped in God’s mercy and endless love. God raises us up with mercy and love and we more confidently stand before God as redeemed sinners, with the promise of eternal life.

 “Who am I?’ I ask. And God creates a space in me that allows me trust and shows me my true and authentic self.

“How do I put You first?” I ask. And God guides me in ways great and small that are revealing, everlasting and hopeful.

“How do I be authentic?” I ask. And God says, “By focusing on Me and My love and knowing that every good gifts comes from Me.”

“What do You want me to be?” I ask. And God says, “Yourself – fully alive, awakened in Christ, serving the world and choosing to radiate Christ.”

“What do you want done?” I ask. And  God says, “My will: lived through you, driven out of love for Me, utilizing who you are created to be - a disciple of Christ and an instrument of peace and love.”

“Amen,” I say. And God says… “I am with you always.”

So, Yes I am reminded that I am nothing more and nothing less than who I am before You, my God and that is beautiful and holy and good. With confidence I can pray, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner, for I place all my hope in you.”

And God says again... "I am with you always!"

Path to Holiness

 

In this my second year of being a Simply Professed Friar, I have been given permission to seek out more opportunities for ministry. With my background in parish ministry I have come to realize that ministry (and ministering with others) is a big part of my story and a way in which I experience Christ in a personal, communal and significant way.

As I continue to explore options for what future ministry may include I am currently involved in two ministries that are very different but both are calling me to share my skills, talents and experience.

The first is that of being on Student Council at Newman. I am part of the executive which is made up of laity (both men and women), religious and seminarians. This diverse group of people in different programs and in different years of schooling come together to be the voice for the students and provide activities and opportunities for the student body.  My role is that of Social Vice-President. I am responsible for planning and coordinating social activities on campus. Our aim this year is to build community - so in simple ways we are trying to do that by planning luncheons, coffee breaks, seasonal gatherings and a speaker series. This role is indeed calling to use my planning and communication skills, is challenging me to work through obstacles and to enjoy the opportunity to minister with all types of good people desiring to share their gifts.

The second area of ministry is with the Secular Franciscans. This is not a club it is an order of men and women who form part of the Franciscan family. After a period of formation they make their profession to live the gospel following the example of St. Francis and live by a rule of life. Very similar to us as Franciscans. The biggest difference is that they live out their profession/vows continuing to live with their families and working regular jobs. The term Secular indicates just that that they live in the world, where as a Religious Franciscan I live in community.

My role with this Secular Franciscan Fraternity is that of Spiritual Advisor. I have just begun to journey with them and it has already been a blessing. I have the opportunity to meet with their council and with the whole fraternity where we pray together, discuss our way of life, look to St. Francis for guiding us closer to Christ and we plan activities/events to foster our faith journey in living out the gospel. It is a diverse group, both men and women of vary ages who embrace their faith. I am enjoying getting to know them and their journeys.

One of the topics we were discussing at a recent meeting was formation. The formation director stated that formation and living as a Secular Franciscan is our path to holiness. That is a powerful point to consider for all of us. I know it enflamed my heart and got me thinking about how I embrace the gospel, how I live it out and how I radiate Christ. Lots to reflect on...

 

All of our lives our paths to holiness, however we must continually stop along the way to be fueled up, nourished, rest and do maintenance. Our path to holiness can be busy and full and sometimes distracting – yes even with good things, it is the fueling up, nourishment, rest and maintenance that allows for living out the gospel way of life empowered and nurtured. The path to holiness is not a race! (I need to remind myself of that often.) It is like a long car trip, it takes preparation and all the above mentioned care functions. It takes time, it can be bumpy at times, we can even break down or have to take a detour to get to our destination, no matter how the journey goes we have to remember we do not journey along, heck… maybe we shouldn’t even be driving… as the song says… Jesus take the wheel. Jesus himself is the path to holiness.

So yes, the path to holiness… a blessed journey, a rich journey, a life-long journey and just consider the final destination – it is too good to pass up. I pray that each of us will continue to embrace the path.

I humbly ask for your prayers for the Newman College Student Association and the Saints Louis & Zelie Martin Secular Franciscan Fraternity for their journeys on the path to holiness.

Blessings to you on your own path to holiness.

The Blessing of St. Francis

The Lord bless you and keep you,

Show his face to you and have mercy on you,

Turn his face towards you and give you peace.

The Lord bless you.

 

This is the ancient prayer from the Old Testament in which St. Francis gave his blessings to his brothers.

As we enter into the Transitus (October 3) and Feast Day (October 4) of our beloved St. Francis this same prayer is still echoed among the Friars and one we extend to our neighbors, families, friends, benefactors and even strangers.

God’s ways are rich and abundant, may we continually grow in awareness of how blessed we are.

God’s care and compassion are also rich and abundant, may we truly know we are kept close to God’s heart.

Each day God manifests God self in ways great and small, may we be open to seeing God’s face in our everyday.

Each day God pours forth what we need for God is love, may we embrace the gift of great mercy.

Blessed, Transformed, Renewed – these are the gifts of God turning God’s face toward us.

Blessed, Transformed, Renewed – these are the gifts of God giving us peace.

God indeed blesses each one of us, today and always. Let us count our blessings so we may in turn be a blessing to those around us.

On this Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we pray that we may be agents of blessing, transformation and renewal just as Francis was in his time and place. We are all called to live the gospel as our way of life. Some of us chose to live it in a radical way (religious life, priesthood), others chose to live it in another form of radical (married life or single). Mo matter how we live the gospel, we can be assured that God walks with us, call us to life and equips us to live out our call.

As Saint Francis once said: “May I feel in my heart, as far as possible, that abundance of love with which you, Son of God, were inflamed.”

Yes, this is our call to live the gospel. Yes, this is the blessing of God! Yes, may our lives be inflamed today and every day in big and small ways. Yes, Lord Jesus you are the way, the truth and the life!

St. Francis… pray for us…

continue to guide us to Christ.

Happy Feast Day to All!