Franciscan at Home

We stand in a double and contrary relationship to objects outside ourselves. We stand to the world and all its contents as when God brought the animals to the first man for him to name. Among them all, Adam could find no companion. Between man and the rest of creation there is a barrier of difference, which neither scientific knowledge nor moral depravity can remove or efface. Man is of another make from every other earthly creature. To him they are foreign. His kinship is with God.

Walking,—how many people know how to walk? It is not hurrying along at a kind of run, or shuffling along at a snail’s pace, but a composed and firm forward movement. There is a spring in the tread of a good walker. He lifts, not drags, his heels. He is straight, not stopped-shouldered, and his steps are sure and even.

In this meditation, Guardini wakens us to the fact that as merciful as God is, we still need to acknowledge our sinfulness to receive his mercy. The outward sign of striking the breast during the Confetior loses its significance, when our interior life denies any need for God’s forgiveness.

When the priest begins Holy Mass, while he is standing at the foot of the altar, the faithful, or the servers in their stead, say “I confess to Almighty God…that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault,” each time they confess their guilt and they strike their breasts. What is the significance of this striking the breast?

In this article we want to explore how effective storytelling can assist in the work of catechesis and also examine the roots of storytelling within the Franciscan tradition.

Let us begin with St. Francis. About those who minister the Word of God, St. Francis said: “The preacher must first secretly draw in by prayer what he later pours out in sacred preaching; he must first of all grow warm on the inside or he will speak frozen words on the outside.”[1] Tis is enlightened advice, as well, for catechists, religious education teachers and others who have the opportunity to minister the Word of God. That is, before speaking, teaching or preaching, one needs to set aside adequate time for prayer to draw in deeply God’s inspiration and listen to the Word.

'The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the Sacraments of marriage, the family is the 'domestic Church' where God's children learn to pray 'as the Church', and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit' (CCC 2685).

A few paragraphs further on, at 2688, the Catechism adds: 'The catechesis of children, young people and adults aims at teaching them to meditate on the word of God in personal prayer and internalising it at all times in order to bear fruit in a new life.'

This is perhaps sufficient explanation for starting an article on family catechesis with the section that deals with prayer, rather than with the Creed, the sacraments or morality. The purpose of catechesis, according to the Catechism itself, is to establish Christian meditation and prayer as the foundation for a new life in Christ. A family is where that prayer is normally first learnt.

Of course, through prayer one will come to a deeper understanding of the Creed, the sacraments and Christian morality. But unless the teaching of these things is rooted in 'the life of the new heart' (2697), we are all building on sand, or casting seeds among the rocks and thorns.

Let us start, then, with prayer. The fourth Part of the Catechism, on prayer, contains two Sections, of which the second is a detailed exposition of the Lord's Prayer itself. We will come back to that in a moment. The first Section is called 'Prayer in the Christian Life', and it starts by explaining the nature of prayer as a 'covenant relationship between God and man in Christ' (2564). It then describes the history of this relationship, culminating in the prayer of Jesus (2607-15) and of Mary (2617-19), leading to the formulation of the normative types of prayer in the early Church (2623-43). This tradition is then explored more deeply in Chapter Two of that Section.

How can catechesis awaken desire for God? This question is especially relevant at a time where the practice of the Catholic Faith in the Western world tends to depend less on cultural and family values and more on personal adherence. How can catechesis foster this personal adherence through awakening desire for God?

Although there are few references to desire for God and its importance in catechesis in the documents of the Magisterium, they are all unanimous in pointing to desire for God as an essential element of human life whose finality, at once personal and universal, is found in God. The most important statement is at the very beginning of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

‘The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for.’1

This desire for God is therefore inseparable from the ‘“desire for true happiness’2 and resounds when man is faced with making moral choices. This desire for happiness finds an earthly fulfilment when the Beatitudes are taken as a rule of life.3 Moreover, it is this desire for happiness, this desire for the coming of the kingdom of God, which prompts our prayer and petition to God,4 and it is out of desire to see ‘the Face of the Lord’ that we enter into prayer and into the liturgy.5

This liturgical meditation is take from Guardini's book, Sacred Signs.

It was morning. I had climbed a height and was turning back. Deep below lay the lake, and all round in the early light stood the mountains, great and silent. All was pure – the sky high above, the trees with their nobly formed fresh branches. And in myself, all my being was full of clear joyous force, so that I felt as if innumerable, invisible fountains were springing silently forth and all mounting into the bright wide heavens.

Then I understood how a man’s heart may overflow, as he stands lifting up his face, and, with outstretched hands, as if holding a paten up to endless Goodness, to the Father of Light, to God Who is Love – and offers to Him all that is around and in the world below, welling up, and brightening in the overflowing silence.

It must be to him as if all things rose up clear and holy from the paten in his hands.

In this article, Sarah Pedrozo invites us to see that Christ is not so far removed from all the bustle of Christmas after all.

Amid all the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations normal to our culture these days, it is easy to be swept up into a seemingly endless list of tasks. Everything from packing and traveling, to hosting guests and dealing with varying family dynamics, not to mention the added expense of presents and charitable donations can all combine to make us overwhelmed and exhausted. Where, we might wonder, is Christ in all of this? How can we hope to truly join in the Advent preparations of getting ready in heart, mind and soul for the birth of Christ when we have so many additional demands on us? Maybe we simply wish to leave it all behind, withdraw from the world and spend Advent and Christmas in prayerful retreat. While there is no doubt that it is always a challenge to keep Him at the center of our Christmas activities in the midst of an increasingly secular society, perhaps what we need more than a change of location or activity is a change of perspective.

St. Bernard of Clarivaux wrote that, in reality, we can think of three comings of Christ. The first occurred in the stable at Bethlehem, over 2000 years ago. The 2nd Coming will take place in the future, at a time known only to God, when Christ will return in glory and majesty. But the 3rd coming is going on right now. It is the time in between the 1st and 2nd Comings, called a “ hidden intermediate coming,” when “only the elect see the Lord.” St. Bernard says that in this 3rd Coming, Christ comes “in spirit and in power.” There is a unique synthesis in activity between all three comings of the Lord. Particularly at Christmas, the activities we engage in (during the 3rd coming) reflect the 1stcoming while at the same time preparing us for the Final Coming of our Lord.

Kelly Colangelo reminds us that service activities are first and foremost opportunities for serving Christ in others.

St. Vincent de Paul said, ‘Go to the poor and you will find God.’ Oftentimes we go to the poor, but we forget that we are seeking and serving Christ. But community service is to be the giving of ourselves to help others rather than just a ‘project completed’ or ‘hours counted’. As Jesus said, ‘For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve’ (Mk 10:45).

In recent years, community service and volunteering has played an integral role in the lives of young people. This may be a result of a school and/or Church requirement; but regardless, active involvement in community service is on the rise with youth. With increased participation in community service, one would hope this means more young people growing in their relationship with the Lord and putting their faith in action. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. One might suspect, in fact, that there is more and more outreach, but less of a presence of God.

What is the greatest word, the most powerful word we say in our life? Each of us has his or her own answer. So, let us ask: what is the greatest religious word? It is ‘Amen’.

When you receive Holy Communion you say ‘Amen’. You receive Jesus into your life. ‘Amen’ is ‘Yes – I accept you Lord’. We could say our ‘Amen’ better – be more loving, more thankful, be a more religious person when we say our ‘Amen’. I do not want to go into how good or how poor our ‘Amen’ may be. I do want to show how special we are just in being able to say our ‘Amen’ to Jesus.

We say another ‘Amen’ at end of the Eucharistic Prayer - the central part of the Mass - and we are saying ‘Amen’ to what the priest has just said – and what has happened. We are part of this long prayer. It is our prayer, too. Let us look at what is happening in this Eucharistic prayer and what is at the same time happening to us.

In the centre of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest takes the bread and says ‘This is my body given up for you.’ Then, taking the chalice, he says, ‘This is my blood shed for you so that sins may be forgiven’, ending, ‘Do this in memory of me.’

The words of Jesus refer to his death and he wishes us to remember this. Good Friday is all about our remembering. We gather together in Church to remember the death of Jesus.

St John tells us who Jesus really is – the eternal Son of the Father. He also tells us why Jesus is dying – to save the whole world. We come together and allow the Church to guide us, to lead us in this remembering. We could say that we share in the memory of the Church.