And I am very grateful to the Franciscans as well that they led you into Catholicism. In fact, I am exceedingly grateful.
Thank you, St. Francis.
Thank you, Franciscans.
They did such a good job, that when I was widowed, I decided to become a Franciscan. Now that’s what I call working overtime. :yup:
No, in all seriousness, what attracted me was the passion and sweetness in the friars whenever a Franciscan holy day came around and when they spoke about the Seraphic Father. They were so enthusiastic. No matter what you said, they always had a sage piece of advice from St. Francis or one of the early Franciscans. Then there is the great solemnity of St. Francis, which is a long as the Easter Triduum and follows the same patter of liturgical celebrations, culminating with the solemn mass celebrating Francis’ entrance into glory.
I was only 10 at the time. I was in their school because in southern schools they practiced segregation and we were not welcome. The only other choices were to move to another town or attend a Catholic school that welcomed Jews and did not try to convert us. When we found out that the Franciscans ran the local parish and school, my parents were thrilled. The Franciscans have a very good reputation among Israelis. They have been in Palestine since 1219. My brothers and I were the only boys in Catholic school uniforms who wore a kippah. We had to take religion class, because it’s an academic subject. We didn’t have to participate in any religious services unless we wanted to. My parents insisted that we attend and sit politely or stand when the congregation stood. We were not allowed to kneel. Jews don’t kneel.
The kindness of the friars and their love for their father triggered my curiosity about this man at the age of 10. I started to read as much as I could find on him. After my Bar Mitzvah it became clear to me that the next logical step, once I had accepted my place as a Jewish man, was to follow the Covenant. I found the Covenant being lived by the friars. This pushed me to want to learn more about Francis of Assisi. I wanted to know about this man that had such a tight hold on these men 750 years later.
You can’t study Francis of Assisi and not see Jesus. If you don’t see Jesus, it’s the wrong Francis. What impressed me most were his obedience, his detachment, his love for his brothers and his charm. He was everything but a stuffy Catholic as were many whom I had met. He was actually very funny and very naive at times, which made him adorable.
I had already been through years of religious education. See Catholicism lived by the friars and having it explained by Francis’ simple gestures and passion for the scriptures sealed the deal for me. By 16 I knew that in order to be a good Jew, I had to become like Francis. The rest is history. That was 46 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday.
From my perspective, the Good Friday prayer says exactly what it needs to say, because it is comprehensible to any Jew without being offensive. This is important when we raise public prayers for others. The prayer has to reflect our faith, be comprehensible to the person for whom we pray and avoid antagonizing that person. Otherwise, you’re asking God for the impossible. You’re asking God to convert someone who believes that you hate him.
