A little bit of both... Francis and Faustina
So today is the memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska! She is a beautiful Saint and I seek her intercession regularly. (I think of her often because of my great love of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.) I'm hoping that I will have time later this evening to sit and reflect on her awesome life and her great gifts to us from God.
I was reading though some things from yesterday, the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi and wanted to reflect back on a few things I did not have a chance to post about then. It was mentioned several times what a shame it is that he is often linked most with kitty cats and puppies and birds when the man was so hardcore about faith and living the Gospel. It's great that he cared for the animals but the truth of the matter is this: he was so in tune with the workings of God on this earth that he had this sort of unheard of way with animals. It is said that he spoke firmly to a wolf and commanded him tame and he was.
Last night at choir rehearsal I was approached several times by choir members that were either just hearing about my discernment or just had more questions (they have a lot). I probably talked to four or five of them about it throughout the course of the evening but none struck me more than the last.
As I stood there telling him all about the order and their way of life, he stared - almost in shock. He had a goofy grin on his face and didn't really know what to say. I got a lot of 'Wow's and 'really?'s while I was talking and the worst part was I had no idea what to do. I hadn't had anyone be so completely dumbfounded by what I was telling them that they couldn't say ANYTHING. I mean... I'm sure he wanted to say something but couldn't think of just what to say. By the end of the conversation our director had come up and joined in. He was commenting along the lines of 'Isn't that great?', 'Isn't that neat?', and 'Isn't that cool?' I think that helped to relieve some of the pressure. Finally he said, 'Yeah it is. I just can't put myself there. I'm in such a different place in life.' I had to agree! Certainly this life that I desire is not for everyone. I reminded him that he was responsible for the domestic church and that he was asked by God to do that. How great is his vocation!
The point I was trying to get across the entire time though was that the Franciscans are indeed a 'radical' order. They are St. Francis in the world today. They live the Gospel to the fullest extent and they are JOYFUL about it. No one forces them to live this lifestyle. They do it freely because they know that it pleases God. Pleasing God pleases them.
I am so passionate about their mission that I too wish to pick up my cross and follow Christ. I do wish to leave all things of the world behind in order to serve God in His people. I wish to care for the sick and dying, the poor and needy, the old and the young. I care to serve those children of God that have no one to care for them. I want to spread the love of God through my actions and I think God wants that from me as well. I am being called to live this radical life and I find great joy in it because it is of God.
These sacrifices are big but in the long run they are not important to me. What is important to me is doing the will of God joyfully.
Saint Francis was hardcore. I want to follow in His footsteps as he followed in the footsteps of Christ. I want to live this radical, hardcore life and I want to do it for the greater glory of God. I want to do it for the sanctity of His beloved children on earth. I want to do it because I know it will be pleasing to Him and I want nothing more in life than to do that - to please God.
More on Saint Faustina later...
I was reading though some things from yesterday, the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi and wanted to reflect back on a few things I did not have a chance to post about then. It was mentioned several times what a shame it is that he is often linked most with kitty cats and puppies and birds when the man was so hardcore about faith and living the Gospel. It's great that he cared for the animals but the truth of the matter is this: he was so in tune with the workings of God on this earth that he had this sort of unheard of way with animals. It is said that he spoke firmly to a wolf and commanded him tame and he was.
Last night at choir rehearsal I was approached several times by choir members that were either just hearing about my discernment or just had more questions (they have a lot). I probably talked to four or five of them about it throughout the course of the evening but none struck me more than the last.
As I stood there telling him all about the order and their way of life, he stared - almost in shock. He had a goofy grin on his face and didn't really know what to say. I got a lot of 'Wow's and 'really?'s while I was talking and the worst part was I had no idea what to do. I hadn't had anyone be so completely dumbfounded by what I was telling them that they couldn't say ANYTHING. I mean... I'm sure he wanted to say something but couldn't think of just what to say. By the end of the conversation our director had come up and joined in. He was commenting along the lines of 'Isn't that great?', 'Isn't that neat?', and 'Isn't that cool?' I think that helped to relieve some of the pressure. Finally he said, 'Yeah it is. I just can't put myself there. I'm in such a different place in life.' I had to agree! Certainly this life that I desire is not for everyone. I reminded him that he was responsible for the domestic church and that he was asked by God to do that. How great is his vocation!
The point I was trying to get across the entire time though was that the Franciscans are indeed a 'radical' order. They are St. Francis in the world today. They live the Gospel to the fullest extent and they are JOYFUL about it. No one forces them to live this lifestyle. They do it freely because they know that it pleases God. Pleasing God pleases them.
I am so passionate about their mission that I too wish to pick up my cross and follow Christ. I do wish to leave all things of the world behind in order to serve God in His people. I wish to care for the sick and dying, the poor and needy, the old and the young. I care to serve those children of God that have no one to care for them. I want to spread the love of God through my actions and I think God wants that from me as well. I am being called to live this radical life and I find great joy in it because it is of God.
These sacrifices are big but in the long run they are not important to me. What is important to me is doing the will of God joyfully.
Saint Francis was hardcore. I want to follow in His footsteps as he followed in the footsteps of Christ. I want to live this radical, hardcore life and I want to do it for the greater glory of God. I want to do it for the sanctity of His beloved children on earth. I want to do it because I know it will be pleasing to Him and I want nothing more in life than to do that - to please God.
More on Saint Faustina later...
posted by Laura H. at 10/05/2006 04:17:00 PM
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