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June – month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
We celebrated Pentecost on May 31st, and now it is June, the month dedicated by the Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A popular saint in France born in 1647 was Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. She was known as the "Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart. Jesus appeared to her three times and that third apparition took place in 1674. See: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/st-margaret-mary-and-sacred-heart
Jesus has so much love for us that he appeared to Sr. Margaret, a nun of the Visitation, and made some promises to her that affect all of us:
Study these promises and pray about them. There is some wonderful stuff there, straight from Our Lord Jesus Christ given to this devout nun and written down for all eternity. In these difficult times, let us pray to Jesus and His Mother, Mary, for our country where there is so much trouble right now. Let us continue to pray for an end of the Coronavirus Pandemic and to keep us all very safe. I will continue to pray for all who read my Reflections hoping that I can be instrumental in helping you.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
June 4, 2020
God's love for us: the Holy Spirit
By Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Who is the Holy Spirit? The answer is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, beginning with Article 683 "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!"' This knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son. †
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, said to be the love expressed between the Father and Son (the first and second person of the Holy Trinity). It is something we Catholics believe by Faith. There is ONE God in THREE persons, and to understand anything about the Faith (because Faith is a Gift of God) we have to listen to the Holy Spirit.
Article 686: "The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these "end times," ushered in by the Son's redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized, and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Pentecost is the Feast of the Holy Spirit, the Birth of the Church. Still there are many people, even Catholics, who do not understand the Holy Spirit's role in the Church. We cannot go to Heaven without the help of the Holy Spirit. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." How do we know the Will of the Father? At the moment we need that information, the Holy Spirit will assist us. (Matthew 7:21)
Or, in Luke 12:12: "For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." (NAB) Some Scripture translations say "For the Holy Spirit will teach you all things."
From before the Birth of Jesus, the Angel Gabriel told Joseph, and then Mary that [Mary] will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit. See Mt 1:20-25. And, again, in Mt. 3:11, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." There are 90 verses in the New Testament that deal with the words: "Holy Spirit."
It is through the wisdom given us by the Holy Spirit that we know and understand why Jesus called His Father "Abba!" In New Advent website: "Abba is the Aramaic word for "father." The word occurs three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). In each case it has its Greek translation subjoined to it, reading “abba ho pater” in the Greek text; “abba, pater” in the Latin Vulgate, and "Abba, Father" in the English version. St. Paul made use of the double expression in imitation of the early Christians, who, in their turn, used it in imitation of the prayer of Christ." Kevin Knight (New Advent).
"Abba" is an informal mode of address - it is the way a child would address his father as "Daddy." Didn't our Lord teach us to be as children, without pretense, without agenda? That's how we're supposed to talk with Jesus, without agenda. We do not tell Him what we are going to do and then expect Him to just tag along. No, we suggest what we might do, and let Him whisper His choice for us! "Let us examen the Catholic Charismatic Renewal as it exists today. It is the outgrowth from a retreat held in February 1967 of several faculty members and students from Duquesne University. Many of the students - though not all - experienced a movement of God’s Spirit called being “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” The professors had previously been “baptized in the Spirit” a week or two before. God’s action was also prepared for in a very human way by the students’ prayerful preparation in reading the Acts of the Apostles and a book entitled “The Cross and the Switchblade” by David Wilkerson.
What happened quickly spread to graduate students and professors at the University of Notre Dame and others serving in campus ministry in Lansing, Michigan. It continued to spread so that, as of this date, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal exists in over 238+ countries in the world, having touched over 160 million Catholics in its nearly 55-year existence. In 1975 Pope Paul VI greeted ten thousand Catholic charismatics from all over the world at the Ninth international Conference of the Renewal, “The Church and the world need more than ever that ‘the miracle of Pentecost should continue in history’ . . . How could this ‘spiritual renewal’ not be ‘good fortune’ for the Church and the world?” [others have translated “good fortune” as “a chance”]
As early as 1969, only two years after the Renewal started, the U.S. Bishops investigated the fledgling movement and the Committee on Doctrine wrote that “theologically the movement has legitimate reasons of existence. It has a strong biblical basis. It would be difficult to inhibit the working of the Spirit which manifested itself so abundantly in the early Church.” (Text from: Chariscenter, USA)
At St. Helen Parish, the Charismatic movement is very active. I consider the integration of the Charismatic with the more Traditional form of Catholicism so important because the Church has been through several tough battles over time, and it needs a total revitalization from within, also because we are racing toward the end times, although no one really know when that will be. There is room for both, but there should be no tension between the two camps, if you will. We are ALL Catholics, and a divided house will not last, so we need to be strong and pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and Grace.
In his message to the World's Youth in Australia in 2008, and again, in his more recent visit to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI (Emeritus) asked the Holy Spirit, in prayer, to descend on us to enlighten us to what we must do to be saved. Listen to Him, and ask Him what to do. In these very difficult times, times of social unrest and vast moral problems, let us turn to prayer and repent our sins. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will again become whole.
We wish you a Happy Pentecost!
Please stay well, and trust in the Lord always.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
May 30, 2009, rev. June 2, 2022
†Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference.
Francis Saw the Trees for the Forest
by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Re-reading "St. Francis of Assisi" by G.K. Chesterton (1924, 1957 Image Book #D50) I came upon a sentence that struck me as a key to Jesus' command for us to love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves. Holy Scripture states: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (Lk. 10:27) Note that it really does not say "Brothers and Sisters" but while this is implied, please take note that it says "neighbor" as a single (not plural) term.
Chesterton describes St. Francis as a person who was unable to see the forest, he saw only the tree. To quote this precisely, in the chapter, titled "The Little Poor Man," Chesterton writes: "In a word, we talk about a man who cannot see the wood for the trees. St. Francis was a man who did not want to see the wood for the trees. He wanted to see each tree as a separate and almost a sacred thing, being a child of God and therefore a brother and sister of man."
There is a parallel between the Scripture verse and St. Francis attitude toward his neighbor. Francis saw his neighbor not as a part of humanity in general, but as a precise human being, made in the image and likeness of our Lord! We, as Franciscans, could state that we love all humanity, but such a generalization would make the statement meaningless.... it is easy to say such a thing, knowing that we probably won't meet but a tiny fraction of humanity. That is what makes the statement meaningless. But what Our Lord and St. Francis want us to do is to love the person who stands before you as an individual, most important at that point in time to Our Lord, and therefore, to ourselves.
When you talk with someone, especially someone who has come to you for support or spiritual advice, we must give them our undivided attention. Our Lord would have given this person his full attention, and given a solid teaching or guidance, or word of the Holy Spirit, to alleviate pain, or bring a moment of happiness. This is done by listening carefully and making eye contact with the person seeking help so that they know, we are 100% there for them at that given moment.
St. Francis was the master of the personal interview as was clear from his demeanor toward other people. St. Francis was Christ to them. He was Jesus' representative, having suffered with the Lord through the wounds of the Stigmata. I dare say that Francis knew what was coming for those who did not obey the Lord, as he did for those whose obedience, chastity and frugality was well meant and admirable.
If you read of St. Francis interaction with the early friars, it becomes evident that he knew them, as well as the lepers he met from time to time, as individuals rather than a band of brothers or suffering souls. That was also why, another Franciscan was so successful in converting souls, and that was St. Padre Pio. Padre Pio was able to see people as individuals, and not just a number in a big crowd. That is also the case with Mother Theresa, who was noted for her charity toward the individual, for whom she had immense love and respect. Many Franciscan friars to date are seen totally involved with those to whom they minister.
That is what we must cultivate also, as Franciscans. We will love our brothers and sisters when we begin with people close to home, our neighbor, brother, or sister (except I don't have any, but I have a very large extended family). Sure, we want to love many people, and that's not bad overall, but it is much more meaningful to love the individuals we meet by praying for/with them, conversing with them, getting to know them so that they will get to know us., and inviting them to perhaps come to Holy Mass with us, etc. There will come a time that they will recognize your zeal, your enthusiasm in serving Jesus and your Franciscan Rule, the example of St. Francis of Assisi, whom we follow with enthusiasm.
May God bless you and give you, His peace!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Orig. circa 2012; Rev. June 2, 2022
A Question: As Formation Director, I hope to review the Life of Saint Francis as a form of Ongoing Formation; please let me know which of the texts or books you prefer. Thanks. --Fred S.