The St. Katharine Drexel Region of the Secular Franciscan Order

Be Contagious in a Good Way

Life has been mighty hard lately; so, aren’t we all ready for something to change? One of my favorite hymns is Let There Be Peace on Earth.  If you are familiar with it, you know the next line is….and let it begin with me.  But there aren’t any instructions in the hymn on how to do that.

PP (prior to the pandemic) instead of giving up something for Lent, I would try to add something.  Hold the door for the person coming out of the store behind you.  Help someone with a large grocery order put the bags in his or her trunk;  and the easiest one of all….smile at people.  Say hello, have a nice day.  More times than not, the other person will smile back, hold the door for the person behind him or her, say hello back to you.  See???  It’s contagious!

Fast forward to DP (during the pandemic)  We are all wearing masks.  You can’t tell if someone is smiling or sticking their tongue out!  You step back at the end of the aisle in the grocery store to let someone else pass by but they don’t see that kind smile on your face.  How do they know you are trying to be neighborly?  In the Prayer of St. Francis, he asks to be an instrument of peace.  Francis isn’t praying to have peace himself.  He is asking to be the instrument.  Let your peace pass through me to someone else.  These days are different – standing 6 feet apart, no hugs or shaking hands, and the first impression someone gets of us is hidden behind a mask.

We need to shake things up a bit and step out of the box where we are safe, protected and alone.  The rest of the world is outside of your box so step out in faith.  Find a way to project your neighborliness. Even though Lent is several weeks away, why not start now to make that sacrifice of adding something to every day instead of giving something up.  Drop a “Thinking of You” card in the mail to someone you haven’t seen or spoken to in a long time.  Pay for the person behind you in the fast food line. Take your neighbors’ trash can back to their house after the trash truck passes.  Ask your elderly neighbor if you can pick up a book for them at the library.

Life is different now.  We can’t live like we always did and expect to fit in with the new way. We need to change.  Don’t wait for life to get back to normal….this is normal now.  We have to catch up and move slightly ahead.  Ask God to be His instrument, and it wouldn’t hurt to ask Him just how He wants you to do that!  Did I hear an Amen??!!

Seeing the Good When Nothing Around You Is!

I’ll be honest with you. So far, I’m not all that thrilled with 2021.  But I have to admit that in spite of the rough spots, there have been some pretty hefty blessings.

Being alone at Christmas is dismal.  Between Christmas Eve and Christmas day however, I was visited by three Christmas angels who all arrived separately and brought some unexpected presents…my very own version of the Magi!

But it was the fourth Christmas angel that brought the biggest blessing.  Yesterday morning started with some very upsetting news that a family crisis was unfolding.  I immediately headed to my sister’s house to do what I could to help.  She needed some scripts picked up at the drug store and then asked me to get milk and bread.  Getting the scripts was no problem but the CVS didn’t have the 1% milk and I never did find the bread.  Down the street is a super WaWa so I stopped in there.  No 1% milk.  About a block away was an Aldi store.  I was glad to go in there because I needed a few things myself and could take care of my sister and me at one place.

I didn’t get much – it all fit in the seat part of the shopping cart.  I waited in line and had a very pleasant cashier checking out my order.  As she was getting to the end of my items, I went in my purse for my debit card.  It wasn’t there.  Being a stubborn redhead, I must have gone through my wallet ten times before I was willing to give up.

Unfortunately, when I counted my cash, I had a five and five ones.  The total was $18.  I wanted to crawl under the conveyer belt and stay there.  By this time I had apologized at least a dozen times and told the cashier I only had $10 and would have to put some things back.  When I started reaching for some things to put back – my face a brilliant crimson –   the cashier said “Hold on a minute, Honey, I’ll be right back”.  She was right back but I used the time to look once more through my wallet willing that card to magically appear.  Didn’t happen.  But what did happen was the cashier handed me a slip of paper and said “Here’s your receipt, you are good to go”.

I was completely and utterly confused.  She looked at me standing there and said “Go ahead, you are all finished”.  I was finally able to mutter something like “How can that be” and the cashier said “Happy New Year, Honey, now go on.  You are all checked out.”  I started to cry and she quickly said, “No need for that, now…Happy New Year”  To the relief of the customer behind me, I finally started walking away.  I turned around twice before I got to the door and caught the cashier’s eye long enough to say thank you.

This wasn’t a case where I was a dollar short and the person behind me paid it.  It wasn’t a case where I was a few cents short and the cashier waved me on.  My entire bill was paid in full.

I called a friend to share this story and when I got to the end, she said…..”That must be how it feels to come to the realization that Jesus has paid your debt.”  The gasp I heard was my own.  Although I have known from a young child that Jesus paid for my sins, I was never able to see it so clearly.  Or feel it so deeply.  Or be so utterly grateful.  Or to love Him back so completely.

Am I embarrassed that I didn’t have the money to pay for my groceries?  Yes, indeed!  Am I grateful that this happened so that I see Jesus a little more clearly?  You bet!!

I was still flabbergasted when Joan Pesta, OFS, Minister of Holy Dormition, called to discuss a few things.  When we had taken care of her concerns, I timidly asked if I could tell her a story.  She, too, was moved and suggested that I share it.  So, thanks Joan, for your encouragement!

Happy New Year brothers and sisters.  May you, too, take a step closer to Jesus in the coming year.

The words are brutal;  the attitude – ugly.  Accusations are made, Stories, true – half true or completely untrue are repeated and repeated and repeated.

It must be a Presidential election year!  What a great time to be Franciscan!!

I first wrote this piece in 2008.  I have drug it out and dusted it off every four years since.

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This is not a political blog.  I am not here to foist my political views on anyone.  I don’t care who you are voting for – that’s your right and privilege.  What I do care about is how easy it is to get caught up with the crowd.  And that’s not Franciscan.  Don’t we naturally tend to swim upstream? …against the tide of what everyone else is doing?

As we get closer to the elections, the real mud slinging begins! There are far, far too many people who believe every word that crosses their screen.  It’s no different than all the people who believe every word that is written in the Star or the National Enquirer.  If it’s in print, it must be gospel!

We really need to be vigilant in what we do…and how we do it.  Taking part in slander is very wrong.  Even passing on true information can be wrong if we have no business passing it on.  Lies and even hurtful truths take on a life of their own.  There are political ads and political cartoons running viral on the internet.  We are not called to forward everything that passes through our computers.  We are called to be peacemakers;  and forwarding or even posting to your Facebook page an ad or cartoon that is inflammatory is not about to bring peace to anyone.

I am not saying Franciscans shouldn’t forward any messages on the Internet.  But before you do, stop and think WWFD…What would Francis do?

Our reading from Morning Prayer on Friday, Week I comes form Ephesians, 4:29 – 32:  Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them.  Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander and malice of every kind.  In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.

 This Presidential race will be more lively than most. The closer we get to election day, the more tightly wound everyone will be.  In this election year, wouldn’t it be better…more Franciscan …to pray for the right outcome? Ask God to guide us in getting the person in office that He wants to be there.

It’s been a long, hot summer and that has nothing to do with the weather!  Wouldn’t it be nicer to stand back, hold onto our Franciscan serenity, and stay out of the sensationalism? This year especially has tried our serenity.  There has been no respite from disasters large and small and our serenity cloak is wearing thin.  God already knows who is winning this election. Start saying your thank you prayers now.  Act like it is so, so it can be so.

Here is a prayer put forth by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Prayer Before An Election

Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.

We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters, one and equal in dignity, especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.  We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned, Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender.

We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom. We pray for discernment so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word, live your love, and keep in the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.

We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Along With Everything Else in the World, Communicating Has Turned Upside Down!

Oh, the times we live in!  Could you ever imagine (outside of a Stephen King novel) that churches are locked, most people are not working, most retail business is closed and in order to go out of your house, you must wear a mask!?  Who would have thought? I’m not sure even Stephen King could dream up all that we have been through in the last two months that feel like two years. And I haven’t even touched on the virus itself and how it is robbing us of our loved ones, our health, our peace of mind, our livelihood, and our lives as we knew them.

Nothing is the same;  we’ve been shaken to our boots and yet, here we are.  Many of our local Councils and fraternities have met through conference calls or ZOOM meetings. Formation has started up again using some form of meeting virtually.  The only way to attend Mass is by watching it on TV or streaming on the computer.  Who would have thought??

But…………… and you knew that was coming, right!?  There are many good things coming out of the pandemic.  We have prayed the rosary together on the phone and we prayed the Stations of the Cross and the Divine Mercy Chaplet….on the phone.  Who would have thought?  The first night of the rosary, there were 80 of us on that call.  And although the parts where we prayed together sounded like a joyful Tower of Babel, we were one, saying one prayer with one purpose.  Who would have thought??

I was asked the other night what ministries we can be involved in with all these restrictions.  My immediate answer was “We are each other’s ministries!”  We need to check in with each other on a regular basis.  And that is not a task that has the ministers’ names on it.  It is something all of us can and need to be doing.  And I’m going to up the ante.  S-T-R-E-T-C-H those dusty Franciscan skills and call someone from your fraternity that you don’t regularly talk to or sit with at meetings or maybe don’t even like. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation and if it helps, write down a couple questions before you call.  Then, if the conversation lags for some reason, you are ready with some backup topics.  We have been given the gift of time and wouldn’t it be such a blessing all around if we actually got to know one another better?  Who would have thought??!!

We need to learn how to communicate and convey our love and joy….from behind the masks we are wearing.  That’s a skill that is going to take some work. If all someone can see of us is our eyes, are they getting the kindness our smile would normally be conveying?

When I was in high school – oh so long ago! – I went on a weekend retreat and late on Saturday afternoon, we were given the hardest task in the world.  We had arrived on Friday after school and the group consisted of high school seniors from the local Catholic high schools.  We were assigned rooms so we couldn’t bunk with our best friends.  We were separated into groups that had a good mix of kids from different schools.  And then we were assigned places at table for meals.  All to have us with someone we didn’t know.  And then came the group task on Saturday afternoon.  After listening to a wonderful presentation on forgiveness and accepting people as they are, each of us was told to go pair up with someone who we didn’t particularly like.  What a humbling experience.  We each had to go to someone we didn’t like and say, will you be my partner in this exercise.  At that point, we didn’t know what the exercise was.  For each pair, one was the leader and one was being led.  The one being led was blindfolded and taken outside by the leader and taken on a Blind Faith Walk.  The blindfolded one could not speak and had to rely on the leader to tell him or her when to turn, when to step up, when to step over and these directions were coming from someone we admittedly didn’t like!  So how hard can it be to pick up the phone and check in on someone?  Now, don’t get the wrong idea and think that anyone who calls you is someone who doesn’t like you!!  Look at it as the one who called you would really like to get to know you a little better and as a Secular Franciscan, is reaching out in love and concern to see how you are doing.

We all know this isn’t going to be over any time soon so I would like to go even further and perhaps once a month, have each minister trade phone lists with another minister and have the folks in your fraternity call from the list of another fraternity.  We might really end up knowing each other!  Who would have thought??  And the answer is simple.  Who would have thought?  God.  Pure and simple.  The pandemic has given us a lot of lemons.  God has given us the recipe for lemonade.

“Let each one confidently make known his need to another that the other might discover what is needed and minister to him. Let each one love and care for his brother as a mother loves and cares for her son in those matters in which God has given him the grace.” St. Francis   ~ St. Francis of Assisi, The Earlier Rule, (IX: Begging Alms), 71  Thanks, Cindy Louden, OFS, for this beautiful and very appropriate portion of The Earlier Rule

Dear Father, Almighty Healer and Physician, we bring our fears, anxiety and petitions to you during this outbreak of coronavirus.  Please restore our inner peace so that we can be a shining light to those stuck in the darkness.

And let us pray for

+        All those who have the virus and fear the outcome, may they find their peace in you.

+        All the medical staff who cannot work from home but need to be in the ‘trenches’ taking care of the sick, may they have the stamina and good health to continue to serve.

+        For all the working parents who are suddenly faced with their childrens’ schools being closed. Help them to find a solution that does not impact their earnings too greatly.

+        For all those who are worried, please grant them the peace to get through this time.

+        For all those working extra hours to provide more test kits, masks and sanitizer, shower them with the ability to keep up their difficult schedule.

+        And for all the rest of us, please help us make good decisions about where we go and when to stay home, what supplies we buy and how much/many, and most especially keep us calm and filled with Your grace so that we are able to reach out to others in need.

We ask these things through the Sacred Heart of Your Son, Jesus.  May we be open to Your Ministering to us so that we are equipped to minister to others.   Amen