288. A Rich Diversity

288. A Rich Diversity

A thought came to me this evening, as I was watching a wonderful remake of an old movie, "The Preacher's Wife" with Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines, and others (1996), that we are so blest to have such a rich diversity of talent in the world. Their Gospel singing was most uplifting even though it was only for a movie!

The Secular Franciscan Order is a lot like that. The Order is made up of Franciscans from all walks of life, from about 95 different nations, all with their own ethnicity, customs, talents, problems (suffering, poverty), but we all share in the Catholic Church, and we all are sisters and brothers in Saint Francis of Assisi. And one more very important thing: we all get along in charity and in joy. There is no Rule of St. Francis for this country or that area: we all serve the same charism, using the same Rule of St. Francis, with a goal of leading a deeper spiritual life in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And in the United States, there is a rich diversity also, among Franciscans, who come from different backgrounds, upbringing, economic levels, and all are welcome. There is no discrimination in the Franciscan Order, no hatred, no hardness, no ill will, but there is only deep respect and love for one another, recognizing each person's talents and again, that common zeal to want to please our Heavenly Father by adherence to the Rule of St. Francis, as active Catholics.

We are a group large in number, but in the world with 6.6 billions of people, and more, we're only a drop in the bucket. Don't let that thought stand in your way to evangelize our Catholic Faith, and our Franciscan love to those around you. Getting our fraternities to grow in number of people isn't done with fancy advertising but by living the Rule of Saint Francis and bringing God's love to other people.

Pope John Paul II, often used the following Scripture in his homilies and public appearances: "Put out into deep and lower your nets for a catch." (Lk 5:4). As you may recall, the Apostles sputtered, telling Jesus they had fished all night without success, but when they lowered they nets, they came up with a net full and overflowing with fish. We need to have that Faith, to trust Jesus when He tells us to do something. And, as Franciscans we also must put out into the deep, and lower our nets for a catch - we must be fishers of men, of people - people who see something in us, and through our example are led to a new vocation in their lives.

Potential Inquirers won't find out about the Franciscan spirit and charism, if you belong to a fraternity all locked up to themselves. A fraternity where people do not see eye to eye, and yes, unfortunately, there are some of those too. Those fraternities won't grow because they do not attract people. And, unfortunately, there are other fraternities where all members are elderly - this is not their fault - but unless they are open to younger people coming in and participating in Council and activities, those fraternities will not grow either. But we can do something about that. We can reexamine why we became Franciscans in the first place, and recall how it used to be. We can set our differences aside and work with each other in the Lord's Name, and the dynamic will return. May take time, but those fraternities can overcome through prayer and being open to one another.

Fortunately, there are not all that many fraternities in trouble. And that is as it should be. We should, however, pray for the Franciscan Order in general, and the Secular Franciscan Order in particular. We are in a very difficult time period, where there is so much strife and where more people, each year, stop going to Church and also in Europe. There is much to be done, many people are hurting, and I am not talking about those in the Franciscan Order, but of many other people, ordinary people, people who have succumbed to the forces of evil, to the devil, to temptation, and who have lost the ability to discern right from wrong.

Discernment is to determine if something, something you might do, is good for your soul or is not. It is to find out if the action you are contemplating comes from God or from the devil. Discernment is important to save your soul. It is not something to be trifled with. Let us ask each day, for the help of the Holy Spirit, of God, to help us with discernment.

Humility is seriously lacking in this world. Humility is the realization that God is all powerful, and we simply are not. Without Him, we can do nothing, we cannot even take the next breath. Stop doing things your way. Start living His way.

Sin can be overcome. A lot of people shuffle this truth under the carpet by stating "We all sin, so what!?" - That doesn't make it right. Sin CAN BE OVERCOME - by taking advantage of the Sacrament Jesus gave us, the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession, if you will), and then making a firm decision, to sin no more. Sin is the absence of love for God on your part. Deliberate sin is dangerous for your soul. Stop being weak and spineless, and know that you CAN do better. So go DO IT! Become a friend of Jesus. Become a different person. Clean yourself up, your way of living, your habits, your soul. If you do, life will be worth living and you will have a lot of fun and satisfaction in your life. You will meet other people, good people. As long as you are open to God's healing love.

I am just one person, making these suggestions that I firmly believe in, in the Name of Jesus, and I hope that someone most in need of healing, will see this message tonight, tomorrow, and feel driven by it, to go through these steps to return to Jesus. I'm not talking to Franciscans here - I am talking to everyone, especially those most in need of His Mercy. If that is you, talk to God, pray to Him - ask Him to heal you. Have faith that He will. But you must do something too - you must love Him, love Jesus, by taking on that daily conversion to rid yourself of bad habits, of sin. I am talking not only to Catholics, but to anyone who reads this ... If you do not believe in Jesus then pray to whomever you believe in, but change yourself before it is too late.

Some day, and we do not know when or where, the end will come, be it the end of our lives, or the end of this earth. Some people say there will be a world war, or some natural disaster; do not pay heed to these tales. Although they could be right, that is not our and my concern right now. That's speculation. NO ONE knows when the end will come. No one but God. So live each day, as if it were your last day. And if you do that, today will be your best day.

Franciscans can help. Help you! We are willing listeners. Some of us are doctors, nurses, counselors, prison ministers, visitors to nursing homes or the homebound sick, the elderly. Some help out in one way or another, in soup kitchens, in programs for the poor. In fact, Secular Franciscans can be found in all walks of life, we are among the poor, because many of us are poor ourselves. We are among the suffering, because many are suffering with you. And, many of us give of their time and treasure to help other people whom no one cares about anymore. We aren't being paid for helping others, not in currency.

This website is an all volunteer activity. I spend hours and hours writing to reach people, and have been doing this for more than 14 years. I am happy that Jesus uses me in this way, and I thank Him every day for His Grace. This is a good website, but only because the Holy Spirit has a hand in this effort. And Our Lord is helping me to listen to Him.

Have you ever considered this - if you are doing something good for your spouse, your Church, your community... the Grace to do so comes from Our Father. He inspired us to meet certain people, perhaps. He made it possible to begin something. Many a time, I get this thought, a certain cue, if you will, to go sit down at the computer, and the text, of which I had no prior knowledge just flows. My fingers hit the keys, as I speak the words in my mind out loud at the same time, and these reflections come together. Praise God!

In the previous Reflection #287, I wrote about St. Francis's wish to praise the Lord. He considered it a duty, an obligation. I have an overbearing urge many, many times a day, to say "Praise God" as I see something go right, be it with me or with others, in the strangest of circumstances. Most of all, I say "Praise God" that He asked me to become a Franciscan! And this was through a circumstance stranger than fiction. A tall lady entered a hall, where a Prayer Meeting was ongoing, in 1992 in Vero beach, Florida. Her name was Jeannie Kurtz. She asked the crowd if there was anyone there who could help her start a Secular Franciscan Fraternity. I am not sure why, but I raised my hand, as I was sure, that very minute, that I could help her, even though I wasn't a Franciscan at that point, myself. Many years previous to that, I had been with the Capuchin-Franciscan Order for 18 months, and maybe that was the stimulus that helped solidify my decision to stick up my hand.

It goes without saying thanks to the Holy Spirit, our loving God, that this Fraternity came to be, that I was its first Minister, and that 7 people joined me in this effort at that time, and many more later. And also, a dear lady was involved from the very start, Corinne McCarthy, and her husband, Bill (Bill, and also Jeannie are with the Lord now). Corinne is back in Maine, from where she came. But the others are still here, and our fraternity, Canonically Approbated by the Bishop and the Franciscan Order (OFM), in 1996, is a vibrant and happy fraternity. So let us continue to Praise the Lord! - for bringing Divine Mercy Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order to Vero Beach. Thank you, Jeannie, Corinne and others, for your Faith in God and in St. Francis. You have brought to us a rich diversity of talent and prayerful assistance. Praise God!

May God bless you!

Fred Schaeffer, SFO
2/18/2008

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