Pope Francis in Assisi for the Feast

Tomorrow on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis will be in Assisi for the day.  I’m rather excited about that prospect.  His day is filled with visits to the poor, the ill, and the marginalized.  I imagine that even the walls in Assisi will be speaking to our Pope about Francis of Assisi.

The Bishop of Assisi sent Pope Francis a letter shortly after he was elected reminding him that he lives where Francis undressed before his speechless father, in order to free himself entirely for God and for his brothers.  As the day got closer, the Bishop took the liberty to say to Pope Francis: “So Father, it would be great if among your many other commitments …, you came here [to the room in the Bishop’s residence where Francis undressed] at least to say the Our Father, as Francis did 800 years ago.” The Pope’s response was: “The Our Father? But I want to talk about how the Church should undress and somehow repeat that gesture Francis made and the values inherent in this gesture.” (Source: Vatican Insider, October 2, 2013)

My heart is filled with expectation.  I think our beloved Pope will absorb much of Francis’ spirit in this small little town.  St. Francis will be overjoyed at his namesake.  St. Francis revered Popes even in his day when they weren’t exactly the compassionate witness that our Pope is, so imagine his excitement at having Pope Francis in his home town.  Francis would invite him to follow the same voice that he received before the San Damiano Cross inviting him to “rebuild my Church.”  Indeed Pope Francis’ desire to have a Church for the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice will be exactly what Francis had in mind.  Indeed Pope Francis' own words indicate that he and Francis have a common heart: ”I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity,” he said. Like Francis of Assisi, our Pope realizes that the Church is not the buildings or the Roman curia or its hierarchical structure but it is the “people of God” alive and struggling each day.  We have a Pope who, like Francis, chooses to be “brother” to us all because he is a Pope in tune with the extravagant love of God!  May God bless him and bring him deep peace and joy so that he can be an instrument of peace in this troubled world.

The Simple Way of the Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux

 I’ve always been  fascinated by St. Therese of Lisieux.  I think the fascination comes from the fact that she did very little and yet ended up being canonized.  When I was a young religious I thought she was a bit too flowery and pious for me but as I age I have become awed by her simplicity and her determination.  She entered religious life at the age of 14 over the protest of everyone and died at the age of 24.  She never founded a religious congregation, never became a great missionary, never did any great work and the only book she had published was her own personal journal which was published after her death with intense editing by her sister as The Story of a Soul. 

Therese lost her mother when she was only 4 years old and her older sister filled in but then entered the Carmelites five years later leaving Therese alone again.  She felt abandoned as many motherless children do.  Therese was, by her own admission and the recollection of everyone else, a spoiled child who was overly sensitive, desperately in need of affection and affirmation of every sort, and unable to contain her emotions.  She never denied these weaknesses but used them as a way to understand herself and the depths God’s love despite these weaknesses.  She had a great affection for St. Mary Magdalene who she perceived as also having difficulty holding and expressing her emotions.  But what she knew was that Jesus loved Mary Magdalene and that Mary was transformed by that love and so she was determined to be equally as transformed by God’s love. 

Therese recognized God’s infinite love and compassion for each of us and identified this as her “simple way” of becoming a saint.  Brother Joseph Schmidt tells us, in his book (2012) Walking the Little Way of Therese of Lisieux:  Discovering the Path of Love, that Therese believed that “mercy and compassion, not perfectionism, was the Gospel call to holiness and that, for her, to love God was to receive God’s love into her heart.”  Despite her self doubts, she knew beyond any question that she was loved by God and knew also that her calling was to love others and help them to recognize the love of God.  In the ordinary everyday tasks and annoyances of life she could remember that love and share it with others.

And so, on this feast day of a young woman who recognized God’s love despite her weaknesses, I choose, with all of you, to live this “simple way” of love and compassion.