Reflections on the Rule - Chapter 2 - Article 12

12. Witnessing to the good yet to come and obligated to acquire purity of heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves free to love God and their brothers and sisters.

The third evangelical counsel to which we are devoted is that of purity of heart.  Throughout our journey of reflecting upon our Rule of Life, we have already encountered both obedience (¶ 10) and poverty (¶ 11).  We recognize that these three ideals form us into the faithful followers of St. Francis that we truly wish to become.  As we continue our journey, perhaps this counsel is the least understood of the three.  So often, we believe that it is related solely to our chastity in sexual matters alone.  But as we reflect more deeply, we find that it has much broader meaning.  Let’s begin this step of our journey with a phrase from our Constitutions:

4. They should love and practice purity of heart, the source of true fraternity. [General Constitutions; article 15]

The first thing we notice is that this paragraph speaks of purity of heart, not just conjugal purity.  As we come to understand what this means, we are directed back to the two great commandments that are Jesus’ response to the question of a Pharisee [scholar of the law]:

 ³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”  [ Matthew 22; New American Bible]

How does this relate to the concept of purity you may ask?  As we look at the definition of purity, we see

1--the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc. [Dictionary.com]

“…freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes…”  In other words, any thing that diverts our attention from the utmost principles of our faith are counter to the idea of purity.  We must give our full attention to the love of God and the love of others.  We can’t be distracted by social standing, material desires, positions of power, temptations of the flesh or spirit—a full and complete voluntarily giving over our lives to the sole purpose of loving God through our love of others in order to bring the Kingdom of God to this present world.  Benet Fonck, OFM puts it another way:

It is placing limits on our attitudes and actions so that we can work toward true liberty: that moral stance that give our inner and outer self complete reign to achieve a Christ-centered life and to give witness to the person and message of Jesus in our everyday dealings.  [Called to Follow Christ; Franciscan Press; 1997]

We put everything that detracts from this purpose aside and intransigently focus our lives on this concept of love—love of God with everything that we have and love of our neighbors (without exception).

The Catechism sheds a little more light upon this ideal:

2055 …The Decalogue must be interpreted in light of this twofold [love of God & love of others] yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law:

The commandments: "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹⁰

2067 The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor.

…charity comprises the two commandments to which the Lord related the whole Law and the prophets . . .

2072 Since they express man's fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.

Thus, the Church clearly states that we have no option but to live by these commandments.  In so doing, we develop a purity of heart and brings us closer to following our Lord through following the steps of our Seraphic Father.

2519 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty. [Catechism of the Catholic Church]

In living this way, we gain a freedom that those who live for possessions and power do not.

1738 Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person… [Catechism of the Catholic Church]

Typically, we have less issue with loving God, although often we restrict our love of God to Sunday mornings.  What we begin to understand is that this love of God is without limit nor restriction.  It is a total, complete love that engulfs our entire life.  We give, unreservedly, our love, attention, and obedience to God’s Will.  This effort is very great and causes us to reflect upon our actions prayerfully each day:  How have I been selfish today?  How have I not listened to God in my prayers?  Do my possessions rule me, or do I rule my possessions? As we attempt to see with the eyes of Francis, whom do we perceive to be the “blessed” ones? [Benet Fonck, Called to Follow Christ; Franciscan Press; 1997]

Often, our understanding of loving others, although it may intellectually spread to all peoples, is, rather, restricted to our personal political beliefs.  In other words, we limit ourselves to whomever we believe are deserving of our love: our friends, neighbors, and certain other people for whom we have a political affinity.  As always, Francis shows us the way.  If we are to follow in his footsteps, we must significantly broaden our understanding of “others.”  If he lived his life in the restrictive definition of others that we frequently use, we wouldn’t have the Franciscan order.  It is because of his expansive definition of others, that we exist at all.  Francis’ first recorded step of love of others was the embracing of the leper.  In his time, lepers were the scourge of humanity—to be avoided at all cost.  Francis turned that belief upon it head and reached out in love to another person who was in great distress and need.  This embrace led to his developing belief that all of God’s creation is our brother and sister and deserving of our love. 

So, then, we ask ourselves, “What does this mean for my own life?” If we truly are to call ourselves Franciscan, we must ask ourselves, “Who is my leper? Who is so very repugnant to me that it turns my stomach?  Who is so undeserving of love?” The answer to these questions and joyful embrace of the people identified will guide us in our adherence to the command to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  Does this mean that we can pick and choose between the various groups who are the needy of society? Can we emphasize one group over another in our response to God’s great gift of grace to us?  Can we say, “I don’t care about them.  This other group is more important to me.”  NO!  The one thing that we mustn’t do is to restrict our love of others to only those whom our own political group says are worthy of care.  In fact, to be a true follower of Francis, we must set aside all political inclinations in favor of the expansive love of God and Others enumerated in Jesus’ explanation of the Ten Commandments.  Who are your lepers?  Who are your blessed ones?  How you answer these questions determine how fully you have decided to follow Francis and our own Rule of Life and thus define your purity of heart.

Just a final comment from the Catechism:

2013 "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity." All are called to holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that . . . doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus, the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.

And, a final meditation on the three evangelical counsels from Philip Marquard, O.F.M.:

A practical manner of helping ourselves to live in the spirit of the three counsels is to pray the Angelus each day.

 In the first invocation and response,

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We think of Mary’s and our own openness to God and detachment from things [spirit of poverty].

In the second invocation and response,

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We consider Mary’s [and our own] dedication to doing God’ will [spirit of obedience).

In the third invocation and response,

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We reflect on Mary’s purity of mind and heart and our own [spirit of chastity].

Then, in the prayer that follows, we pray for God’s help:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

[P. 47; Called to Live the Dynamic Power of the Gospel; Franciscan Press; 1998]

Pace e bene

Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation - PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

The preferential option for the poor is a principle that we read about early in the Scriptures.  Right away in Genesis 18: 1—15 we read of Abraham & Sarah’s hospitality to the three visitors.  In the chapters & books that follow the Ten Commandments, we see a clear mandate presented:

You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. --Exodus 22: 22 

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.  —Deuteronomy 10:18;

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you:  Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.   --Micah 6:8).

Our Bishops (USCCB) have a good listing of applicable scriptures for this topic on their website.

Our own Franciscan tradition begins with our Father St. Francis spending time in the local leper colony in Assisi.  Our brothers in the First Order and Third Order Regular focus much of their ministry on the poor areas of our cities, towns, and villages.  Many of the Third Order religious communities are devoted to serving the poor, homeless, marginalized, hungry, and destitute.

Our Rule states:

15. Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith.

Our General Constitutions further clarify this responsibility:

Article 22

 1. Rule 15 Secular Franciscans should "be in the forefront ... in the field of public life." They should collaborate as much as possible for the passage of just laws and ordinances.

 2. The fraternities should engage themselves through courageous initiatives, consistent with their Franciscan vocation and with the directives of the Church, in the field of human development and justice.  They should take clear positions whenever human dignity is attacked by any form of oppression or indifference.  They should offer their fraternal service to the victims of injustice.

3. The renunciation of the use of violence, characteristic of the followers of Francis, does not mean the renunciation of action.  However, the brothers and sisters should take care that their interventions are always inspired by Christian love.

Our Bishops (USCCB) in their 1986 Letter “Economic Justice for all” remind us of our responsibilities to care for the poor with clear statements on the issue:

8. …As a community of believers, we know that our faith is tested by the quality of justice among us, that we can best measure our life together by how the poor and the vulnerable are treated. This is not a new concern for us. It is as old as the Hebrew prophets, as compelling as the Sermon on the Mount, and as current as the powerful voice of Pope John Paul II defending the dignity of the human person.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

10. As bishops, in proclaiming the Gospel for these times we also manage institutions, balance budgets, and meet payrolls. In this we see the human face of our economy. We feel the hurts and hopes of our people. We feel the pain of our sisters and brothers who are poor, unemployed, homeless, living on the edge. The poor and vulnerable are on our doorsteps, in our parishes, in our service agencies, and in our shelters. We see too much hunger and injustice, too much suffering and despair, both in our own country and around the world.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

16. All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable. From the Scriptures and church teaching we learn that the justice of a society is tested by the treatment of the poor. The justice that was the sign of God's covenant with Israel was measured by how the poor and unprotected—the widow, the orphan, and the stranger—were treated. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed in his word and ministry excludes no one. Throughout Israel's history and in early Christianity, the poor are agents of God's transforming power. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me--therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor" (Lk 4:18). This was Jesus' first public utterance. Jesus takes the side of those most in need. In the Last Judgment, so dramatically described in St. Matthew's Gospel, we are told that we will be judged according to how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental "option for the poor"—to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess lifestyles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This "option for the poor" does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

27…. No one may claim the name Christian and be comfortable in the face of the hunger, homelessness, insecurity, and injustice found in this country and the world.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

So, the question becomes, “How are we Secular Franciscans in Central Illinois reaching out to the poor in our communities, both individually and as fraternities?”  What are we doing to help the hungry, homeless, destitute, widows, unborn, elderly, disabled and any other marginalized person in our communities?  We may not have a ready-made situation like our brothers & sisters in Los Tres Compañeros Region, but most of our town, cities, and counties have folks, our brothers & sisters in Christ, who need our help.  So, what are we doing?

Pace e bene 

Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation - PATRIOTISM

July 4, 2019 is the 243^rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the beginning of the United States of America.  Following that eventful day, were seven more years of war with Great Britain as our forefathers struggled for our independence from autocratic rule.  It was not until 11 years later, on September 17, 1787, that the new Constitution was signed, thus beginning this experiment of a democratic republic that we call the United States of America.

After completing the work on the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin stepped outside and was asked, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what kind of government do we have?”  His succinct answer is shown in the meme.

In today’s world, we continue to strive to keep our Republic and despite all the rancor, we continue to have a system of government that works fairly well. 

Mr. Churchill’s comments 160 years later help bring perspective to our concerns about the direction of today’s government.

‘Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947

Many folks get all uptight about today’s government and what happens or doesn’t happen.  We hear claims and counterclaims about who is the most patriotic group in our country. 

Patrick Henry brings focus to much of our current considerations, as well.    We are

reminded of the true nature of our governmental system as Mr. Lincoln so eloquently said at the battlefield in Gettysburg,

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We who claim to be Franciscan, take a higher view of all this falderol in today’s atmosphere.   Articles 13-15 of our Rule explains where our focus should lie.  Articles 18-20, and Article 22 of our Constitutions further clarify where our efforts should be concentrated.  Simply put, even though we participate in our democratic processes, we must keep in the forefront of our mind that “…[we] should collaborate as much as possible for the passage of just laws and ordinances.”  So, we have an obligation to participate in our governmental systems, but our focus is outward to those who are less fortunate, both materially as well as spiritually.  Nearly a year ago, we wrote of our responsibility as Catholic Christians for participating in our governmental processes. 

Although we are in this world, our motto remains “Gospel to Life—Life to Gospel.”  When we do this, we don’t allow ourselves to get caught up in the trivial disagreements that prevail in our current day.  We focus on the “Common Good”—what is right for all people—ALL people—not just those who happen to agree with us.  We  set aside the contrary differences of political acrimony and work for the good of all—our citizens, the immigrants, the poor, the homeless, the ill, the unborn, the refugees, the imprisoned, the marginalized, and so on.   So, our patriotic duty lies in how we work for the common good.  We don’t allow ourselves to become bound by partisan differences or ideologies.  Our focus remains helping and comforting all those who come to us with their needs.  And, we do it with Franciscan Joy.  We can do no less to fulfill our profession as Franciscans. 

Pace e bene 

Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation - TRUTH

“What is Truth?”—Pontius Pilate (John 18: 38)

“Truth is not Truth.”—Rudy Giuliani (Meet the Press, August 2018)

Well, what are we to think about this?  I know that I am really disturbed by the fluidity of truth in our world today.  So, I ask the question, “Is there really some “truth” that we can believe is actually true?”  In researching to write this article, I became aware that the word “truth” has many philosophical and semantic meanings, almost as confusing as trying to understand the fluidity of rational response to situations today.  But the question still goes begging for an answer: “What is Truth?”

In an article entitled, “If Truth Isn’t Truth, What Is It?  Truth is correspondence to reality, despite Rudy Giuliani and Jordan Peterson,” Paul Thagard, PhD, writes that “…science finds out about the world…” and, therefore, tells us about what is true.  Further, he continues that there are three kinds of evidence supporting this view. 

•      scientific experiments are remarkably resistant to the desires and efforts of scientist;
•     science is unusual compared to other social enterprises such as religion and fashion design in having a remarkable amount of agreement among its practitioners; and,
•     science has been dramatically successful in spawning technology…[which] requires understanding the world’s physical mechanisms that are largely independent of mind and society. 

Certainly, that really clarifies things, doesn’t it?  Well, at least for the physical world it does; but, what about the “not so physical” world?  

As we experience our lives in today’s society, we keep hearing words like “fake news,” the Giuliani quote, and other statements that don’t coincide with the reality that we see before us.  All of this would lead us to believe that truth is more or less pliable and fluid—St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XIII have labeled this relativism—what ever you believe is true and right—everything depends upon context.  But for us who claim to be Franciscan Christian, this just doesn’t sound right—it has a false ring to our ears.  We know that something is inherently wrong with this approach to life; and, that comes from our solid belief in the simple words of Jesus, “Everyone on the side of truth, listens to me.” (John 18: 37) and “I am the way the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

So, in light of our belief in the words and life of Jesus, we believe in the concept of “objective truth,”—that “there is an objective truth. It's one truth that's the same for all people. This is the common-sense view. It means there is one answer per question.” (Elliot Temple, FEB 2010, Fallible Ideas Blog.)  What this means for us is contained in the second sentence—"truth is the same for all people.”  In the realm of science this is easily proven—gravity, H₂O, 2+2=4.  In the world of personal interaction, faith, and philosophy, such truth is not as readily apparent, but it does exist for the same reason as the scientific truth does—it is real and agreed upon, through observation and testing by a great many people—it’s  wrong to kill others, it’s wrong to steal from others, it’s right to care for others.  We call these sorts of agreement—both physical and philosophical—universal knowledge.  Knowing that there is a universal knowledge not dependent upon context is comforting and provides a level of certitude.  

But, can we know for certain what is true?  “I accept that we never know what the truth is for sure. We can be mistaken. But to be mistaken, there [must] be an objective truth! The idea of a mistake is that there is a truth and we have it wrong.” (Elliot Temple, FEB 2010, Fallible Ideas Blog.)  

What does all of this have to do with being a Franciscan, you may ask?  Actually, it’s quite simple.  We have the advantage of 2,000 years (if you count the Old Testament—4,000 years) of the Church discussing, formulating, testing, and proving that the tenents of God explained through the inspired texts of the Bible are true and right.  We have the advantage of witnessing through the history of the Church, hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of these tenets working rightly.  Consequently, we know that the ideas, philosophies, instructions, and examples of our Christian faith are universal knowledge and, therefore, are objective truth.  We know that we are right to follow the principles that are contained in the Catechism—in our Franciscan Rule.  We know that, despite all of the modern efforts to undermine what truth is, those who accept relativism are just, plain wrong.  Our moral life is not dependent upon opinion.  Certain actions and ways of behaving are not only inappropriate, but sinful.  We know that the need for getting set “right with the Lord” is our way of Life.  We know that we have a measuring stick that is true and correct.

And this is why St. Francis calls us to be Brothers & Sister of Penance.  Our human predilection naturally goes against the commands of God (Original Sin), but yet begs us to set things right through contrition and penance.  We know that if we follow the examples of St. Francis and adhere to the principles of self-sacrificing love as outlined in Matthew 25, we are headed in the right direction.  We know that our Rule of Life directs us to the true way to live our lives and that the Franciscan charism of helping the poor (in both physical and spiritual ways) is just plain the right thing to do.  Contrary to the philosophy of today’s relativistic world, we are reassured that our chosen way of life is good and right and true.  So, we carry on with contemplation, prayer and self-sacrificing service, just as St. Francis asks us to do. 

Pace e bene