St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 website: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
November 2022
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you peace!
November is the month the Church dedicates to the remembrance of the Holy and Suffering Souls in Purgatory. We are reminded to reflect upon God’s loving mercy and providence that goes beyond time into the vestibule of eternity. We are encouraged to open our hearts to the hope-filled existence of those who were where we are, and are where we will be …in God’s mercy.
Death is not an appealing thought for most people. Our materialistic and consumer-driven society conditions our view of this most solemn moment in life: the young discard the thought of death as non-existent in their life, and the teenager questions it theoretically but sees it too distant to be relevant; the middle-ager runs away from its reality through ‘busy-ness’; the elderly nostalgically hold on to the past in the hope that they can prolong life’s journey; and those who realize they stand before the reality of having to let go of this world, often live in confused apprehension, fear, and even anger. It may not be this way for all, but I believe that a sufficient number of God’s children fall into one of these categories. Why? Where am I?
The response lies in what we believe of the Article of Faith in the Apostles Creed regarding ‘Everlasting Life’. We say, I believe in life everlasting, but we want to determine which life is going to be everlasting. What fools we can become when we allow the seductions of the world in which we live to make us their slaves rather than their masters! How foolish we are in trying to make eternally meaningful those things and aspects of this world that change, corrode and corrupt with time! Yet, how difficult it is for us to see beyond this world when our eyes are blinded by the everyday glitter of the creation that we have allowed to distract us from the eternal splendor of its and our Creator. Was it not St. Augustine in his Confessions who “apologizes” to God for having sought after the creature for comfort rather than the Creator for meaning and fulfillment?
As strange as it may seem, even these attitudes are signs of our desire to know more about the reason and goal of life. Holding on to all we know is an expression of our yearning to live. The exhilaration and excitement that the young seek – isn’t that living life and the desire to fulfill a need to feel alive and be capable of anything?! The ladder-climbing of the corporate world and the go-get-it-ness of those in the middle years – isn’t that recognizing talents, dreams, gifts and a need to know one has achieved a successful level in life among and maybe even above his/her peers, thus being necessary for life to be meaningful to others as well as one’s self?! The constant recounting of personal achievements or offering ‘solutions’, even when not requested, by those in declining years – isn’t this the hope of leaving a legacy that will keep one’s name alive in the hearts of others long after that person no longer walks this earth?! Reaching the latter years, the memorabilia we keep of loved ones, the monuments we erect in honor of people, and so much more – isn’t this a way for us to try to keep alive today, now, those of yesterday whom we recall and honor?! We all believe in life and living, and just desire to make it “last forever”.
It is rather easy to speak about life. People are usually interested in hearing what others have to say. But, when the thought of our passage from time to eternity is concerned, many would rather not be told or reminded. Like little children, we believe that closing our eyes, everything will be different when we open them.
We are Christians! We believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! We believe that Jesus redeemed us from the power of Satan’s infernal seductions. We believe Jesus opened the way for us to the Father’s eternal embrace through His total self-emptying death on the Cross.
November, the month we dedicate to the remembrance of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, urges us to reconsider this most solemn moment in life. November urges us to see beyond the veil of our physical barrier, and with the eyes of faith to see the Life we have been created to share. An entire life – all experiences, successes, failures, disillusionments, confusions and the like – converges at the moment of death into a power-packed point of one’s total being. A life “concentrated” is ready to “burst” into true Life at the call of our Creator and Eternal Life-Giving God!
The Paschal Mystery fulfills itself in the life of the person soon to enter eternity. The soul prepares for that moment, that instant, that twinkling of eye (1 Corinthians 15: 52) when it will explode with gratitude and joy into the loving embrace of the Eternal Father Who waits for one of His children summoned by love to come home.
Saint Francis of Assisi was God’s Troubadour, the Herald of the Great King, as he called himself. He sang of God’s creation. He saw the majesty and beauty of God in all things and all people. Life was exhilarating and exciting for him. And, when he was informed of his terminal condition and the inevitability of his imminent death, he sang and added a stanza to the Canticle of the Creatures, that famous song he composed to praise God in all creation. He sang: Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death from whom no living being can escape. How dreadful for those who die in mortal sin! How blessed are those she finds in your most holy will for the second death can do them no harm. O praise and bless my Lord, thank him and serve him humbly but grandly!
St. Francis joyfully invited Sister Bodily Death to come to him. The Poverello detached himself from society’s seductive enticements – whether persons, places, things, honors, and the like. Though his eyes were physically blinded from his infirmities, his heart saw far beyond the world in which he lived. He saw, unobstructed by “earthly debris”, the splendor of an Eternal Home that awaited him. And he was overjoyed! Our Seraphic Father, was a clear and evident sign of transcendency and of the supernatural. Seemingly bereft of all, even good health, one could desire in life, he possessed all because he had nothing, and could easily “let go” at any moment because such is the good that awaits me that all pain is a delight (St. Francis of Assisi). His heaven had already begun, but not yet. (reference of Vatican Council II regarding Kingdom of God) His stigmata ultimately signed him as an evident image of Jesus, the God-made-man, Whose love accepted death for the life of the world. His presence alone, the Universal Brother whose heart was literally opened for all, was a sign and a stimulus to reflection and conversion of heart. He was a challenge for others to “see beyond time” and yearn for holiness. True holiness, “other worldliness”, that is achieved after time becomes eternity.
St. Francis knew how to preach a message simply and effectively with words, but first and foremost by his life. His was a message of love. In a world and even a Church so torn and divided in many ways, his message is more valid than ever.
The message of love is liberated and liberating when we recognize love not as we understand it in time, but as we understand love in the light of eternity. It is a total surrender that makes heaven real in the heart for life’s journey, until it is fulfilled in eternity. Then we too, as St. Francis, can joyfully await our fulfillment through Sister Death.
It is a purified and purifying message. It is up to us to accept it. It is our job to put it into practice. It is our duty to bring it to others because we have all been called to pursue the same ideal and to conquer the same aims which were the ideals and goals Jesus Himself set for all who call Him, “Lord and Master”.
The call to holiness is the Father’s reminder that we do not have a permanent dwelling in this world.(cfr. Hebrews) Our Universal call to holiness is a call, as the word ‘holy’ in its basic meaning denotes, ‘to be other-worldly’. So, to be holy means to live in the light of the other world. Doesn’t this mean to live in expectation of that moment when we will finally enter the fullness of all that is “the Other”- even if we must pass through a place of God’s mercy that purifies us for heaven – Purgatory?
Once a person surrenders him/herself to God, that person lives their entire life in light of the “moment of encounter”. For them, it was not a dark or ominous thought. It helps to place all things in perspective – the perspective of heaven, the perspective of God.
We are Spiritual Children of the Seraphic Father of Assisi. We are also human beings subject to all the fear, confusion, doubt, anger, apprehension, and all the other negative characteristics that are connected to facing an uncertain future. The future is uncertain for those who have no faith. For those who believe, life is accepted and celebrated every day as the gift that it is. We celebrate life with joy and gratitude, and we seek to be a support and encouragement to others as we strive to develop all the gifts and talents the Lord has entrusted to us. As we do this to fulfill our part to restore all things in Christ, (cfr. St. Paul letter to Ephesians, Motto of St. Pius X) we long for that day when the Father calls us to His loving embrace. As a great pontiff once said we do not place limits on Divine Providence, (Pope Leo XIII on the occasion of his birthday) but we do not fear the return home of a loving child to the embrace its Loving Eternal Father.
St. Francis’ song at the time of approaching encounter with Sister Death, serves as a guide and encouragement. We live out our years with Jesus and Mary in our hearts and on our lips. We look to the heavens each day to remember the heights to which we are called. We remember those who were where we are, and who are where we hope, in God’s mercy and providence, one day to be – the Holy Souls in Purgatory: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
Before concluding this monthly reflexion, please allow me also to extend my sincerest blessings and best wishes to all of you for a Happy and Grateful Thanksgiving. Be grateful that God is God! Be grateful God created you to know, love, and serve Him. Be grateful for God’s love, mercy, and providence, without which we could never survive! Be grateful for the experiences of your own personal life! As a Franciscan, Be grateful!
May God bless you. May Our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you. May our Seraphic Father St. Francis and Holy Mother St. Clare watch over each one of you and your loved ones with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
