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March 2024
How we view the persons of the Holy Trinity
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When we begin our prayer with the Sign of the Cross, we are calling to mind one of the core beliefs of the Christian faith: that God is one, and God is three.”¹ What do you think about when you invoke the Holy Trinity, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Let us examine this relationship. What does the Trinity mean to us?
There is ONE God in three persons. The FATHER: The Father is the Creator, a mighty Ruler, He feeds us through growth, what we plant in our gardens He makes grow. The beef or pork we eat comes from animals He created. He created chickens whose eggs we eat for breakfast, and He provided this earth with bodies of water, water we have to drink. He created us human beings, our love for our spouses comes from Him. Our children are His gift to us, to parents.
The SON of God, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. He used to be with us here on earth until He died on the Cross for us, to redeem us. To redeem our sins, to give us the opportunity to live with God in Heaven. Even though the Son is no longer with us on earth, He is always with us in the Holy Eucharist on the Altar, and in our hearts and souls. He is in our thoughts if we let him and we should. We, the people of God, are involved in His redemption. We help other people to love Jesus and to evangelize the Faith, to tell others of our love for God. “We restore relationships and build the unity Jesus called for whenever we forgive someone who has hurt us. The one who listens with empathy to a grieving friend is helping to redeem them from the pain and isolation of their loss.”¹
The third Person of the Holy Trinity: the HOLY SPIRIT our advocate, our guide in this earthly pilgrimage. The Holy Spirit is said to be the love between Father and the Son, and indeed the three Persons of the Holy Trinity love each other totally. We should reciprocate this love by living a God-fearing holy life. Sin less, and if you can, Sin No More! The root of all sins lies in man's heart. If we love God, we will control our sinful inclination.
The Holy Trinity, we cannot live without loving the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They love us, we love them by living a holy life. Yes we can!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
March 4, 2024
1. “Understanding the Trinity” FranciscanMedia.org
The Brief Day of Our Lives
A reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. (1933-2014), in one of the videos shown on his former website, speaks of the "brief day of our lives." In context, he prays that "we ask only that we may ask God to guide us to spend those brief days in our lives." There is no time in God's realm. He IS. He IS now and forever. Our human reckoning of time has ceased for him. Our lives are but a brief day in the meaning of time. It is mysterious and it is awesome.
Much in the Catholic Faith is awesome and some of the thoughts of Saint Bonaventure, and other Doctors of the Church, in their writings, bring back the awesome and the mysterious. I had a discussion a couple of years ago, with a woman who lamented the change from Latin into English of the Sacrifice of the Mass. She claimed, no matter where I am (presumably on vacation in a foreign country), at least I can understand what is going on because the Mass is the same everywhere. But when you really examine this statement, you begin to realize that she really didn't understand Latin... she remembered the sounds of that language. Not the precise meaning. Which was the whole point of changing the Mass to the language of the people, so they would understand the precise meanings of the liturgical aspects of Holy Mass. And she spoke of the "holiness and awe" that one felt in a Church.
I think the "holiness and awe" is something we bring to the Mass, by possessing an interior calmness and piety, as we desired in our hearts to participate in and with the Mass. What happened here? Where did the piety disappear to? Are we taking liturgy and rubrics far too seriously? Although the "form of the Mass" is important, that's not what we come to watch for when we attend Holy Mass. We are there to praise God, adore Jesus for giving us the opportunity to sit down with Him at the table, where He breaks the Bread, and we Eat and Drink from His Sacred Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
In our Parish Church, the Music Director makes an effort to use the somewhat traditional Catholic choir music rather than all this new-fangled music. She does this, I believe, first at the request of the Pastor, but also to use music the person in the pew knows. We would like the congregation to participate in the singing, rather than just sitting back and listening to it. The choir's purpose is not "perform" - instead, it is there to animate the people in Church to take an active part in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Lately, the choir has been using Latin for the key parts. It is simple and beautiful.
Saint Francis asks us to live the Gospel as we move among each other, “to go from Gospel to Life and vice-versa.” But living the Gospel is no easy task. It takes daily conversion of sin, daily re-direction of viewpoint, a renewal of piety. He did not suggest that we look pious... that would be like the Pharisees. They often had this look of piety, but it was all lip service, it was all an act. They didn't mean it inside. In order for us Franciscans to be effective for Jesus, we have to be genuine. Our piety must be truthful and honest. The awe and holiness we want to feel must be real and must come from a deep belief in Our Lord Jesus Christ, a great admiration for and prayerful relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary and with all the Saints and Blessed we pray to for intercession.
Also, besides Mary, Saint Francis, Anthony, Bonaventure and all Franciscan Saints and Blessed, our best intercessors are our deceased parents, siblings, others in our family who have gone before us. We praised them on earth. We certainly should continue to pray to them, not in the same way as we pray to Jesus but to ask for their intercession. They are in heaven, thus closer to Jesus.
Now 20+ years ago when I could still walk without a walker, I gave Holy Communion to a 98-year woman in a nursing home, who was preparing to die. Having known her for several months, I had no doubt that she would go straight into God's Arms. When we are younger, however, we can prepare for that day. A day no one knows when it shall happen. We all know that we will die, but no one knows when. Sometimes the very sick seem to get this feeling that it will be very soon. We can repent and attempt to live better. Not better in the material sense but in the spiritual sense. We try very hard to love God with perfection. That can only be accomplished when we're promising not to sin anymore. With dogged determination this is possible. After making a good confession it is even more possible.
Our lives are brief. What is 80 or 90 years compared to all eternity? Just a flyspeck of time, in our total awareness of God. I pray for my readers that you will take the little time you have, seriously. So that one day, we shall all meet in Heaven, where there is only happiness, wholesomeness, and awe. Amen.
Peace and all Good!
Fred Schaeffer OFS
March 5, 2024
Jesus is totally present in the Tabernacle
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Jesus is totally present in the Tabernacle, in the Chalice, in the Ciboria, and on your tongue. He is present in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity!
In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession." (CCC #1378)
Then how is it possible that many do not realize what they are doing when receiving Jesus in Holy Communion? Jesus is giving us His Life, and His inestimable love… Do we even give this a second thought?
In His wisdom and love our Lord devised a way of remaining with us. While He remains in glory at the right hand of the Father, He is also with us in the Blessed Sacrament. The relationship He desires to have with us and we desire to have with Him is that of the tenderest mother and the most loving child. The Blessed Sacrament is the gift of Jesus Himself. He gave this Gift to us the night before he died.
"And whatever you ask in my name, I will do…." What a wonderful gift!!! But what does this statement imply? It implies that we love God. If people sin they do not love God. If people sin they cannot ask what they desire in His Name except forgiveness. Sinning and desiring to have prayers answered is a contradiction in terms. It is a breakdown in love!
People who do not sin often have a growing desire to be with Jesus. Those are the people who seek Him in the Blessed Sacrament and who will sit or kneel in front of the Tabernacle every day. They are the people who attend daily Mass (unless a very weighty reason prevents them from doing so.) They know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is really, truly, actually present in the Blessed Sacrament. Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He is truly present, in a sense far transcending that of the divine power and grace which operates in the other sacraments. He is truly and really present! That’s why we speak of the Real Presence. He was just as present as He stood among His disciples after His resurrection as he was in the glorified condition at the Transfiguration.
He is present in the Tabernacle all day. He is our Brother, our Friend, Counselor and Teacher. But often he is, like a prisoner in solitary confinement, when there is no one who comes to the church to be with Him for an hour, even for just a half hour. Suppose that Pope St. John Paul II would come to our town…. Wouldn’t you do all that is possible to go see him? Sure, you would! Then why is it that so many people do not make an effort to attend daily Mass, or just make a 10-minute visit? I pray that everyone reading this writing be blessed with His grace and that you may find great desire to go often to pay Jesus a visit. God bless you!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
March 9, 2024
Jesus was betrayed
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Pontius Pilot said: "I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourselves." (Mt 27:24), and all the people answered: "His blood be on us and on our children." (Mt. 27:25). Judas, after realizing what he did when he betrayed Jesus, said, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." (Mt. 27:4). All people who are sinners have had a hand in His betrayal, not any one particular person.
Jesus came on this earth for only one reason, because the Father sent Him to redeem us. His death and resurrection was the result of this betrayal. Had there been only one person on earth at the time of His death, He would have gone through with it, because Jesus loves everyone, even sinners. He does, however, not love the sin.
By His unselfish act of giving His life for us, for all of us, on the Cross, His innocent blood is used for the good of mankind, He redeems us of our sins to give us the opportunity to be with Him forever in paradise. No, Jesus did not punish us for betraying Him, He forgave us because He is our brother! I thought of this, when I watched a movie about the Vatican, where there are images of Pope Saint John Paul II touching and hugging lepers. The staff photographer of the Pope remarked something about the terrible stench that accompanied these lepers, of rotted flesh, and still the Holy Father embraced them. That's something only a few have done in this life. Jesus kissed the lepers, so did St. Francis of Assisi, and on October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien de Veuster in ceremonies at the Vatican. He worked with the lepers at Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands. Father Damian contracted leprosy as a result of his constant exposure to this disease.
Nowadays, modern medicines have done much to help lepers. I spent approximately one hour with a group of lepers in 1996 at the Leprosarium hospital in Carville, Louisiana. It is a disease very much misunderstood. It is an experience that is with me very often in thought, because it gave me some insight how those who had protracted contact with patients must have felt. As one reads about St. Francis, it is easy to conclude that he didn't have the slighted hesitation in embracing these unfortunate people - all he saw were people who suffered their Cross along with Jesus, and Pope St. John Paul II probably felt no different. Jesus' love for his brothers and sisters (that's us), probably felt the same way - not fear of infection, but deep compassion for one and all. This innocent man, we betrayed Him, and we did not bat an eyelash, if one reads Mt. 27:24-25.
"Lord, if you will, you can make me clean," said the leper (Mt.8:2). When we sin, and we do that a lot, then we are also diseased, very much like a leper. Yet, we ask the Betrayed for His help, despite our denial of Him. St. Peter denied Him three times before the cock crowed, as was prophesized.
Our denial does not end there. How many times have we succumbed to temptation by saying that God does not mind. Do you really think so? I would think about this carefully. Some say "God understands me!" Yes, He sure does, but He didn't give us permission to disobey, to lie and cheat, to mistreat people, to mistreat ourselves. The Ten Commandments, which we love to deny, still are God's Word to Moses. Just by hiding those tablets we betray God over and over again, but His Law still stands and is to be obeyed.
1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
(Above is the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments; other faiths may have slightly different wording or different numbering) General reference: Exodus 20.
The Ten Commandments aren't really that difficult to figure out. Let's not betray Jesus again, let's accept His Law, and that of the Church, and His everlasting Grace will help you and bless you. Amen.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
4/17/2011 slightly rev. 3/15/2024
With Humility and Simplicity
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Most people abhor the ideal of humility and/or simplicity simply because it does not fit in with their lifestyle. They respect members of religious orders who can and often do live a life of simplicity and humility, but for themselves the people who are not in religious life find all this counter-cultural and too difficult. But it's not that counter-cultural when seen in light of Jesus' words: "Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" (Mat. 19:23-26)
Jesus also said that He wants us to follow him by distributing our riches to the poor, taking just two tunics and a staff... And to this day, certain religious communities issue two tunics or habits to their members and that's it. There's a lesson to be learned here. Simplicity is a philosophy of life. There's outer simplicity and inner simplicity. Living with less, is outer simplicity. Getting "more stuff" seems to be the American trend, because some associate power with wealth and with things. And oftentimes this aggregation of things becomes a family nightmare. "Things" do not bring true happiness. Large credit card debt in the thousands of dollars can bring financial ruin and leads to much unhappiness. We are focused on a certain "busyness" that drives all thought of God totally away. Our minds are closed to everything that is of beauty. Endless clutter!
Our country overspends into the Trillions all because we've "got to have it NOW!" - Never mind when we can afford it, but right now! There are numerous benefits to moving toward a simpler lifestyle. A simpler lifestyle brings us away from the desire of the flesh (excessive shopping and having what we want right now, among other questionable practices) and much closer to humility and leading a prayerful life.
There are thousands of people living on Social Security in a poverty living-standard. People who retired years and years ago and now cannot seem to make ends meet. You won't find them in the high-rent district. More likely, you will find them in the older mobile-home parks. And, we're not talking about fancy mobile homes but single-wide, short units that have a tiny bedroom, a tiny kitchenette and a small living room. A friend of mine who recently passed away, from cancer, lived in such a small unit. But he was happy and even in his most difficult months and weeks before he went home to Jesus, whom he deeply loved, he was happy and that, to me, was a great example of inner simplicity. My friend found joy in living a simple life. People such as he are around but you most likely won't find them in middle-class neighborhoods. People who live simply possess that inner beauty of humility and simplicity that brings them to Heaven very quickly.
Saint Francis of Assisi lived a very simple life. Imagine, Francis was ashamed to meet someone poorer than himself. He met this poor fellow who really had nothing except the clothes he wore. Now Francis had professed a Vow of Poverty, and in meeting this poor man, he felt he should practice a deeper poverty. If simplicity in one's daily life is desired, then one should apply it to all facets of life. It's a philosophy for those who desire to share their life with things of God rather than with material things. You don't need that fancy car made overseas that costs $35,000 when a more ordinary quality car at $20,000 suffices. You don't need a home costing $500,000 when a very nice home at half that price will do. But you also do not need that $100 item, when one at $50 will do. And personally, I think nothing of it to go to a used-clothing store, and purchase a clean, good-looking shirt for $3.75 when it would cost $30.00 new in a department store. In fact, I purchased a used (but in very good condition) suit jacket for $5.00 which sometime later was found at a department store for $78. When you finally have your living situation simplified, then begin on yourself. Your desires, your wishes, your views about God and Church, and realize that the eye of the needle is coming into your reach.
All that simplicity makes us humble. Humility and meekness are virtues of God. "Jesus make my heart like onto Thine because you are Meek and Humble of Heart." It's an old prayer but it's true. Some people in this century think that meekness is being without guts. I didn't say that you should be everyone's "doormat." It's not necessary to let people walk all over you. That's not what humility and meekness is all about. But treat those who try to manipulate others with courtesy, and with a firm hand whereby you are not manipulated. Help them see, in a quiet manner, that you are your own person.
In the end, Catholics are Christians because they follow and love Jesus Christ. I exhort all Christians to conduct their lives by the example of Jesus. If you truly want to be Christian to your friends and neighbors, Christian virtues will become a part of you, too. Take your wish for simplicity to Jesus in prayer. He will set your free from "those things" and lead you closer to Himself. Amen.
Peace & Good.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
2004, revised 3/16/2024
Based on Fwriting5
The Soul is God’s workplace
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Dad’s workplace as a tailor and shirt designer was his atelier (a workshop or artist studio). There he plied his trade along with several men and ladies. What reminds me of this arrangement is that in the old days (1940-1950), they sat on long trestle tables, cross-legged, as they cut large pieces of cloth into patterns for suits, shirts and other gentleman’s clothing. This morning, I answered a message in the Dutch language, my native language, and Dad’s atelier came to mind since it was in Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, where I was born. The thought flashed through my head that our soul is Jesus' workplace. That’s why it is so important to keep our soul clean of all sin.
The soul, we each have one, is defined in the Glossary found in the back of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [second edition]:
“The spiritual principle of human beings. The soul is the subject of human consciousness and freedom; soul and body together form one unique human nature. Each human soul is individual and immortal, immediately created by God. The soul does not die with the body, from which it is separated by death, and with which it will be reunited in the final resurrection.”
Life within, in the soul, is a life of strong conviction for some, and a very fragile life for others. Either the flame burns brightly, or it is pinched off by human pride. When that flame burns brightly, all is well, and the relationship between a soul and our Lord will evolve into a beautiful and holy relationship. When that flame begins to flicker, the relationship will lessen, and, when the flame goes out, there will not be a relationship anymore. When the life of the soul ceases, sin follows almost immediately, because we have lost the continual war with Satan. The soul is reserved for a special relationship with Jesus, a strong relationship of total love with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That means God always comes first.
A soul where that flame burns brightly is never without temptations. It takes suffering on the part of most people to maintain this total immersion in obedience, chastity and poverty. (Religious and Lay people). It can be a very rocky pilgrimage, on a path strewn with many boulders. God, however, loves a well-fought fight. He looks for dedication, zeal, and the strong will to please Him. He loves conquerors. He identifies with those who will give this fight their 100% effort. God is also a very forgiving Master. When we have erred, we confess our sins, and we promise to do better. We can say we love God, but do we really? Do our actions, our striving to obey Him, indicate willingness to try harder, or is it only a halfhearted effort?
Peace and All Good,
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
March 18, 2024
Index
He gave his only Son
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." (John 3:16) Jesus, only son of the Father, was sent to be among us, to redeem us. Through the institution of the Holy Eucharist, His Body, His Blood, Soul and Divinity, He lives among us and He is with us every step of the way on our pilgrimage of life.
Yes, we are on a pilgrimage, a trip. If you live your life in an honest and God-fearing manner, and you do onto others as you would have them do onto you, then you will not perish and you will have eternal life. Eternal life. Many people, even those who are pious people, who honor the Lord and keep His commandments, do not think about Eternal Life and the full import of what this means, or should mean, to them. Like almost all of us, we struggle with the daily vexations in life, the joys and the sorrows, the pain and the periods of peace, and "Life Eternal," is very far away. Often, people in their seventies and eighties start getting serious about the preparation for what is to come. That's great. But if we were to begin this process earlier in life, then this world would be a better place.
My road to where I am now, has been a rocky one. There were years I had been away from Church. Maybe these were my years of rebellion. These could have been my years of "going it alone," and you know what, it was a flop. These years were unfocused, on the edge of sin, in the morass and out, and I could have spent these years in a much better and spiritually productive way. I am sorry for these years because they set a rift between myself, my ego, and the beauty and love of Jesus, His Father, and of Mary, Our Mother, and the Angels and the Saints. Through the wonderful Sacrament in the Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, these years were forgiven and forgotten and now I'm again, on my pilgrimage heading, at last, in the right direction. One's pilgrimage is littered with pits, snags, big rocks, it is a bed of thorns, temptation and worries. They can be overcome. To overcome them we must have backbone. We must be able to say "Enough!" This is unproductive. This doesn't get me anywhere. I don't need this in my life.
"Spiritual backbone." One of my aunts, Sr. Benedicta of Saint Joseph, O.D.C. (d.1989), who lived a very troubled life until she realized she hadn't gotten anywhere. She realized she was further away from God than ever. She also said "Enough!" and although this took a few years, she joined the Discalced Carmelites as a contemplative nun. She sent me a little parchment placed on a magazine picture of a squirrel in a tree (because from her cloister window she looked at a squirrel now and again in a nearby tree). The parchment and picture is on my wall, and although in German, it reads: "God could remove all difficulties but He really wants conquerors." God is looking for people who will go the extra mile for Him. People who don't give up. For our jobs, we often go the extra mile. If the company does better, makes a bigger profit than our jobs are secure and we get a bigger pay packet. One could say, if our soul thrives in God, in His Grace, in His Love, and we work at it day by day, to be more receptive to the Gifts He gives us, then we are secure in Him and we receive even more of His guidance and grace. Why? Because we are at his disposition and we are open to His Word. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."
Saint Francis of Assisi, a holy man who lived 800+ years ago, well known to people of all Faiths, was a man of God. He began his life as a rich man, following worldly desires. He had a time of rebellion in his life, as I think we all have, a time to choose, to find ourselves, to find what we want to do with our lives. But Francis heard God's call, "Rebuild my Church!" So Francis found this broken down abandoned edifice, once a Sanctuary, and with mortar and stones began to rebuild God's Church. Francis has done more than rebuilding a broken down chapel with stones. His following, the devotion to Francis by thousands, Franciscans of many ages, both male and female, priests, religious brothers, deacons, contemplative nuns, mendicant [begging] friars and many thousands who follow Franciscan ideals as a lay person (Secular Franciscans), have and continue to shape and thus, rebuild, the Church. And what is Church? We are Church!
So when Jesus told Francis to go "Rebuild the Church," He wasn't talking about a building, but Jesus was talking about us. He was addressing the Cross... we are the Church but we are also the Cross. Jesus died for us to redeem us, to save us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." To follow Jesus whether through the example of St. Francis or another Saint, we must take a stand. We need to take stock and say "Enough!" "Stop!...it's time for some honest self-examination." Knowing that God desires people who go the extra mile for Him, like St. Francis who suffered the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ, or similarly like Saint Pio of Petrelcina, who millions know as "Padre Pio," who also had the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ, not as adornment but as living reminders of the pain and suffering Jesus felt for our sins. But you know something, when Saint Pio died in 1968, the wounds of Christ disappeared. This is a wonderful confirmation that when we get to Heaven there is no more suffering, there is only peace. There is only God and in God there is all in all.
We seek a life in Jesus not because we wish to be pain free. We seek that life in Him, because we love Him above all else. St. Francis exhibited this love for Christ by living as a humble servant. Francis had no desires to be rich. His richness came from washing and caring for the outcasts of society in those days, the lepers. I pray that if we become ill, with a life-threatening condition, that we won't blame it on God, but that we may see this suffering come our way as an opportunity to endure it as Jesus did on the Cross: without complaint! You should be so blessed to suffer as Jesus did, for all of us are involved in God's Creation, and in caring for our brothers and sisters be it through services for the poor, or through suffering offered up for the people of God.
Saint Francis, poor man of God, lived a strict life of penance and pain. Nowadays his followers in friaries all over the globe know that they cannot live like Francis in a strict and unwavering ascetical style. In such a radical way - counter-cultural in this Century. Lately (after Vatican II), there has been a resurgence, of religious (and the Friars of the Renewal, Fr. Benedict Groeschel's people, come to mind) who wanted a harsher life, a life of self-denial, so that they can direct all their faculties and energies to God through prayer and to those who need God's help the most. I've met some holy men in my dealings with religious. They didn't have a note pinned to their tunics that said "holy," no, their holiness was evident in their sense of humor (inner joy), in their deep caring for others, in their simplicity, their love for all, as Jesus loves us. They said "Enough!" They took a stand. They said YES I will follow Jesus through that "impossible dreamer" (Fr. Groeschel's description of St. Francis), St. Francis of Assisi.
I've been in religious life for five years, met many friars and monks who quietly go through life struggling for the love of God, helping hundreds find Jesus and ultimately, find Him in eternal life. But I like the idea of "Renewal." That's what we should all do, stop the train. Examine how we might do better. Take a stand, and say "Full steam ahead for God." There isn't a moment to lose. Jesus loves us and encourages us. He's egging us on, like an impatient football coach, hoping we will score big, because that "Touchdown" in heaven will be stupendous. Not like any other we've ever experienced. Eternal life. Be there. The Father is counting on you. He gave us His only Son.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
2014 rev. 3/27/2024