Franciscan Views

Mary the Mother of God and our Mother

A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

Rule 9 of the Secular Franciscan Order: “The Virgin Mary, humble servant of the Lord, was open to his every word and call. She was embraced by Francis with indescribable love and declared the protectress and advocate of his family. The Secular Franciscans should express their ardent love for her by imitating her complete self-giving and by praying earnestly and confidently.”

Our sisters and brothers should imitate her complete self-giving by praying with confidence. We do this because we know that Mary has the ear of her Son. He listens to her and so our prayers get answered. And they do. I pray at least one Rosary each day, in addition to the Liturgy of the Hours. I would like to go to daily Mass but I can’t because I do not have a car anymore, and can’t afford one. With three friends I manage to get to Sunday Mass but that’s not always guaranteed. A few weeks ago, all three were out of town, so no Mass. It bothers me but it cannot be helped.

With so many people wishing to be prayed for, I hope they are praying for me that I can get to Church and Reconciliation. A Eucharistic Minister comes to the house once a week, praise God. Currently there are over 200 people on my daily prayer list. I pray for each person. These prayers aren’t long but I think of their prayer wants as I read each name. Many are known to me. I wish people in these OFS Regional prayer lists (Five Franciscan Martyrs Region) could tell me how they are doing. But feedback after the initial request is rare. I don’t even know if they are still alive. We continue to pray for them and sometimes I ask Jesus or Mary if the person isn’t with us anymore, could the prayer be applied to another needy person?

Let’s face it, the times we are in are a mess! We seem to be on a path of destruction of property, people, family, and ourselves. Let us all pray that these conditions return back to normal. One hears of riots in Colleges and Universities almost of a daily basis. It sickens me that the Jews in this world are again under fire as they were in the Second World War. I lost parts of my mother’s family to Nazi-Socialism. It sickens me that their suffering is beginning again. Let us ALL live as brothers and sisters should, in peace and joy. Please pray to Jesus and Mary for their help.

In St. Francis,

Fred Schaeffer, OFS
5/5/24

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