INTRODUCTION

October 4 is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.  Most of us know in general about Francis love for God’s creation, the animals, BROTHER sun, SISTER moon, and all that God has made.

Many parishes will be blessing pets today.  Pets are our companions and gift from God on our journey. They cheer us on even our worst day.  Thank God for your pets!

But today, I want to focus on St. Francis , Model of Virtue.  If we are going to fight off temptation and avoid sin, we must fight them with opposite virtues.

For example, if Pride is your particular weak spot then work and pray for humility.  If you have angry thoughts and say angry words then work and pray for patience.

A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. (CCC 1803) Moral virtues are acquired by human effort.  They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts. (CCC 1804)  Charity is the Theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake and our neighbor for love of God.

BACKGROUND

In 1182, Francis was born to a wealthy cloth merchant of Assisi, Pietro Bernardone, and his French wife, the Lady Pica.

Francis was a young man of charm and wit with a consuming desire to be a knight after the fashion of his heroes, the legendary knights’ errant of the court of King Arthur and the court of Charlemagne.

In his twentieth year, Francis rides off to battle against the neighboring city of Perugia.  Assisi is routed and Francis is taken prisoner.  While in prison, Francis becomes ill; his release from prison was ransomed by his Father.

After imprisonment and ill health, the world had lost some of its splendor for Francis.  It is in this desperate desolation that Francis begins to hear new voices within his old voices of vain glory and legendary tales of courtly love.  God’s voice became louder and clearer.

One day Francis hears: “Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh, is now your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will.

When you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter… but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy.”

Another time while praying in the chapel of San Damiano, Francis hears, “Francis repair my house which is falling into ruin.”  Francis begins selling his Father’s goods to raise money for repairs then resorts to begging for stones of the townspeople.

Enraged at his son’s profligacy, Pietro drags his son before the Bishop. Francis strips himself of his clothes before the Bishop and lays them at his father’s feet and utters the most dramatic words of his life,

“Listen to me everybody!  Until now I have called Pietro Bernardone my father.  But now that I am determined to serve God, I return not only his money but all the clothes I have from him. 

From now on, I can walk naked before the Lord, no longer saying “my father,” Pietro Bernardone, but, ‘our Father who art in heaven!‘

Thus begins the journey of Francis from his father’s house to the house of his heavenly Father.  The radical commitment of Francis to his Lord was nourished above all by the Scriptures.  Francis’ approach to the Bible was not one of analysis but one of immersing himself in the Word.

The tradition of courtly love, that so captivated Francis as a young boy, is the key to his singular vision of Christian virtue and spirituality.  It was another “Lady” that now impressed him, Lady Poverty, who he saw reflected the image of Christ,.

Francis solemnized his “wedding” with his beloved spouse, Lady Poverty, under whose name he surrendered all worldly goods, honors and privileges.

Francis began to understand better God’s call to “rebuild his Church” was more specific vocation to rebuild the spiritual life of the Church by bearing witness in imitation of Christ to the saving power of the Gospel.

Francis felt that evangelical poverty and victories over oneself were necessary means to spiritual growth in Jesus Christ.  It wasn’t long before Francis had a chance to put these two pillars of spirituality into practice.

One day Francis was riding across the plains of Assisi, he perceived a leper coming straight towards him.  In Francis’ day a leper had to ring a bell and shout, “Unclean.”  Society had embedded in Francis an incomparable loathing for all persons afflicted with this illness.

As Francis saw the leper approach his first reaction was horror then he remembered the resolve he made to attain perfection and to be a soldier of Christ meant victory over one self.  Francis dismounted his horse, kissed the leper, and gave him alms.

In this decisive moment of illumination Francis suddenly perceived in this leper the embodiment of God’s beauty, a human being to be loved and cared for tenderly.  By embracing the leper, the Saint learned to embrace all people just as Jesus did.

As we enter more deeply into the Christ mystery (Incarnation) we will come to know the Word Made Flesh, the Word of God through whom all things are singularly loved into being.  For Francis, to live the Gospel is to “put flesh and blood” on God and proclaim that God’s glory is fully alive throughout the universe.

CLOSING PRAYER

O Almighty and all-knowing God,
without beginning or end,
who art the giver and preserver of all virtue:
Grant me the virtues I am most in need of
Prudence to resist the wiles of the Devil
Temperance to hold to moderation in all things

Patience that I may bear what may seem to be unbearable
Grant I may never lust after the goods of my neighbor but pray for my neighbor that they be blessed
Grant that the goods I am blessed with may be shared generously with othersAnd grant that I may never rush to do things hastily,
nor balk to do things demanding,
Amen.

FEAST DAY OCTOBER 1

BACKGROUND

On September 30th, 1897, a young Carmelite nun living in France succumbed to tuberculosis, dying in obscurity, known only to her sisters in religious life.

Yet, this particular Carmelite would prove different in this respect. Within years of her death, her spiritual autobiography, Story of a Soul would captivate the Church.  Miracles attributed to her intercession began to be reported.

In 1914, just seventeen years after her death, Pope Pius X signed a decree introducing her cause for beatification.  She was proclaimed a Venerable Servant of God on August 14, 1921, and beatified by Pope Pius XI on April 29, 1923., Blessed Thérèse was canonized On May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI, becoming Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

At the hundred year anniversary of her death,(1997) Pope John Paul II declared this formally obscure Carmelite nun to be one of the Doctors of the Church, a title given to only a privileged few of the Church’s saints.

At the heart of Therese’s understanding of the spiritual life is the principle that holiness can be appreciated and accomplished not only in the performance of mighty deeds but in a willing surrender to the purposes of God as we engage in seemingly ordinary experiences of life.

  THE LITTLE WAY OF THE LITTLE FLOWER

Thérèse didn’t want to just be good; she wanted to be a SAINT. “I have always wanted to become a saint. God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint”.

  She thought there must be a way for people living hidden, little lives like hers During a trip with her Father.  They stayed at a hotel with an elevator/lift. That lift persuaded her that she did not have to do all the heavy climbing to the arms of Jesus.

Therese gave us “the elevator metaphor, God would come down to her and lift her up to Him

“for I was far too small to climb the steep stairs of perfection. So I sought in Holy Scripture some idea of what this life I wanted would be, and I read these words: “Whosoever is a little one, come to me.” It is your arms, Jesus, that are the lift to carry me to heaven. And so there is no need for me to grow up: I must stay little and become less and less.” Story of a Soul

Therese discovered through God’s grace that one does not have to journey to lands hostile to the Faith and suffer martyrdom to know what it means to suffer for the sake of the Gospel.

At the heart of Therese’s understanding of the spiritual life is the principle that holiness can be appreciated and accomplished not only in the performance of mighty deeds but in a willing surrender to the purposes of God as we engage the seemingly ordinary experiences of life.

St. Therese said before she died at age 24, “After my death I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.  I will raise up a mighty host of little saints.  My mission is to make God loved”

REFLECTION

St. Therese’s “Little Way” is an inspiration to us all.  It is hard to think of ourselves, as we age, as children, especially in our senior years. But, We must be child-like (wholly trusting) in God our loving Father. “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Therese’s understanding of the spiritual life is that holiness can be appreciated and accomplished not only in the performance of mighty deeds but in a willing surrender to God’s will as we engage in ordinary experiences of life.

Do we make that surrender when our food is served cold, when we are tempted to curse the person who cuts in front of us on the highway or grocery store, can we love our neighbor and wish them no harm, when our computers go berserk, do we ask for patience, when a person insults us, do we turn the other cheek?  Daily we are faced with our will vs God’s will.  How are we doing?

Opportunities to know and serve the Lord will find us wherever we are, and when they do, will we rise to the occasion to seek to serve the Lord? How about in our family?

POST SCRIPT

LOUIS AND ZELIE WITH THERESE

 Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin, parents of St. Therese, married in 1858.Within the next fifteen years, Zelie bore nine children, seven girls and two boys. “We lived only for them,” Zelie wrote; “they were all our happiness.”

This happiness turned to shock and sorrow as tragedy relentlessly stalked their little ones. Within three years, Zelie’s two baby boys, a five year old girl, and a six-and-a-half week old infant girl all died. Although suffering left its mark on mother and father, it was not the scar of bitterness.

Zelie and Louis Martin’s lives show us that when we live with love, we grow in holiness. Pope Benedict named them “Blessed” in 2008.  Pope Francis officially Canonized them both as saints in 2015. They are the first married couple to ever be canonized together.

This Canonization of Louis and Zelie Martin is a beautiful sign of support for Christian Families especially in this secular world that mocks faith and worships idols like fame and fortune. Pray for your family and other families that they may remain faithful to the Gospel, despite the turmoil and noise of this world.

WE ADORE YOU O CHRIST, AND WE BLESS YOU

BECAUSE BY YOUR HOLY CROSS YOU HAVE REDEEMED THE WORLD!

BACKGROUND

 The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Triumph of the Cross), celebrated every year on September 14, recalls two historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena,  mother of emperor Constantine, and the dedication of churches built by Constantine (335) on the site of the Holy Sepulcher and Mount Calvary

After the death and resurrection of Christ, both the Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem made efforts to obscure the Holy Sepulcher, Christ’s tomb, in a garden near the site of His crucifixion. The earth was mounded up over the site, and pagan temples were built on top of it.   According to tradition, Saint Helena, Mother of Emperor, Constantine, nearing the end of her life, decided under divine inspiration to travel to Jerusalem in 326 to excavate the Holy Sepulcher in an attempt to locate the True Cross.

Three crosses were found on the spot. Saint Helena and Saint Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, assumed that one was the True Cross and the other two belonged to the thieves crucified alongside Christ. They devised an experiment to determine which was the True Cross. According to tradition, the body of a dead man was placed on all three crosses. The True Cross restored the dead man to life.

In celebration of the discovery of the Holy Cross, Constantine ordered the construction of churches at the site of the Holy Sepulcher and on Mount Calvary. Those churches were dedicated on September 13 and 14, (335), and shortly thereafter the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross began to be celebrated on September 14.

 COMMENTARY

The cross reminds us of many things: atonement, forgiveness, mercy, redemption, salvation, love, and hope.  This instrument of torture, designed to disgrace and dismiss the worst of criminals, became the life-giving tree that reversed Adam’s Original Sin when Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden

At Mass, we offer in an unbloody manner the same sacrifice offered on Calvary.  We offer ourselves with the priest who acts in the person of Christ (persona Christi) to the Father in a sacrificial atonement for our sins.  When we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we do not simply unite ourselves to Christ; we nail ourselves to the Cross. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

At Jesus’ death, the Temple veil before the “holy of holies” was split in two from top to bottom revealing the inner heart of God.  There is no longer a veil between us and God’s heart.  The cross of Jesus fully reveals what God looks like!  The cross of Jesus doesn’t just reveal God’s unconditional love for us; but also reveals that vulnerability is the path to intimate relationship with God.

When we become like little children, vulnerable, dependent, and acknowledge that we are powerless,  then God can come into that vulnerability/weakness.  St. Paul puts it this way in 2^nd Corinthians, “Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.^* 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God will not abandon us nor did He abandon His Son on the cross.  With the words, “It is finished,” Jesus acknowledged that He has remained faithful to the Father’s will and trusts that all will be well.  On Easter, Jesus is raised in glory and sits today and forever at right hand of the Father in heaven, preparing a place for us.

 For the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness . . . ” 1 Corinthians 1:22-23. When we can no longer help ourselves because we have become paralyzed with fear and overcome by darkness, Trust in Jesus! God can still come through our locked doors, stand inside our fear and paralysis, and breathe peace among us..  “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst “Peace be with you.” John 20:19

 REFLECTION

 Today, more than ever, non-Christians see the Cross as foolishness. What kind of Savior triumphs through death?  For Christians, however, the Cross is the Tree of Life.  Christianity without the Cross is meaningless.  Only by uniting ourselves to Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross can we enter into eternal life. O cross, you are the glorious sign of victory. Through your power may we share in the triumph of Christ Jesus!

 God is not a wrathful God..  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^* the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17   God does not coerce our free will.  God is like a gentle mother coaxing her child to take that next step in learning to walk.     The cross and resurrection of Jesus reveals a redeeming God,

Jesus, in his human nature, takes upon Himself all the hate, bitterness, resentment, violence, and sins of this world.  Suffering in this world is inevitable.  God did not promise us a thornlrss “rose garden” .  He did promise to nurture, feed, and prune that rose garden as He brings it to the fullness of glory in heaven. Don’t resist God!  Do you really want to be all there is for all eternity?  Are you enough?  Or is there something that says to you like St. Augustine, “My heart is restless until it rests in Thee!”

O HAPPY FAULT THAT EARNED FOR US SO GREAT,

SO GLORIOUS A REDEEMER!