The Perfect Joy of St. Francis

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formerlysure said:
Thank you all for very helpful questions and answers. I am working through a number of past hurts and in particular coping with a very violent rape in my past. A dear friend, when I spoke to him of this incident years ago, went to a priest to talk about his anger about what I had been through. My friend recently told me that the priest had told him that if my attackers did not repent they would be “salted with flames” in hell one day and that, in this way justice would be done, even though I have never been able to prosecute the men. My friend felt a desire to kill the two men who hurt me himself.

I am greatly touched by the love of the small handful of people I have told about this experience as each have wanted to do the same in protection of me and I know this impulse is an expression of love. On the other hand, I am glad it is only able to be rhetoric because the idea of justice in this situation leaves me cold (and I work in law - go figure!) I do not want anyone to suffer for what they have done to me. I want them only to see that what they did was wrong, and what it cost me and to be made human through that lesson. I want them to change and heal and repent. The only justice I want for myself is healing - I want to live my life, be able to have a normal relationship. I want an apology but accept I will never recieve one - I do not even know their identities.

I always thought these men, though they overpowered me completely and controlled me for hours, were acting from weakness and sickness rather than strength. I didn’t want them punished, just, if there is any small bit of God yet in either of them, I’d like them stopped and fixed - made strong and well and hopefully repentent. My counselor thinks that feeling sorry for these men is a result of their control over me, and part of their manipulation. I think it is simply humanity. I want them removed from society, I want the apology, I want them to go through a time of realization of what they’ve done and to feel what they put me through in that way – my hope is that these experiences would bring them closer to God and make them humane. I just have a hard time understanding the purpose of eternal punishment in hell.

Anyway - the learning and healing continue. I accept the suffering but part of the point of accepting it is to find a way to live with it, and therefore, I suppose, make it stop.
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Formerlysure…thank you so much for sharing your story and for allowing us to be a part of your experience. Your post is one of the most touching things I have ever read in my life. I was totally left speechless for a few hours after reading it. Your response to this horrific experience in life is one of pure mercy and unconditional love. I thank you for mirroring our Lord and for giving hope to each of us who reads your post that there are indeed those people who can truly transcend resentment and bring His Kingdom, His Love and His Mercy to our world, despite what the world sometimes offers. You are a shining example of being an instrument of His Peace. Shortly after I read your post, I heard a song that just “happened” to come on the radio that so speaks to this issue. Here are the lyrics…they remind me of you!

Testify to Love (Avalon)
All the colors of the rainbow
All the voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find
where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation
lives to testify

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I’ll be a witness in the silences
When words are not enough
With every breath I take
I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the seas
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the hope in every heart will speak
what love has done

Testify Your way
Testify Your truth
Testify Your life
Your love and mercy.

May God continue to bless you!!!
 
formerlysure said:
Thank you all for very helpful questions and answers. I am working through a number of past hurts and in particular coping with a very violent rape in my past. A dear friend, when I spoke to him of this incident years ago, went to a priest to talk about his anger about what I had been through. My friend recently told me that the priest had told him that if my attackers did not repent they would be “salted with flames” in hell one day and that, in this way justice would be done, even though I have never been able to prosecute the men. My friend felt a desire to kill the two men who hurt me himself.

I am greatly touched by the love of the small handful of people I have told about this experience as each have wanted to do the same in protection of me and I know this impulse is an expression of love. On the other hand, I am glad it is only able to be rhetoric because the idea of justice in this situation leaves me cold (and I work in law - go figure!) I do not want anyone to suffer for what they have done to me. I want them only to see that what they did was wrong, and what it cost me and to be made human through that lesson. I want them to change and heal and repent. The only justice I want for myself is healing - I want to live my life, be able to have a normal relationship. I want an apology but accept I will never recieve one - I do not even know their identities.

I always thought these men, though they overpowered me completely and controlled me for hours, were acting from weakness and sickness rather than strength. I didn’t want them punished, just, if there is any small bit of God yet in either of them, I’d like them stopped and fixed - made strong and well and hopefully repentent. My counselor thinks that feeling sorry for these men is a result of their control over me, and part of their manipulation. I think it is simply humanity. I want them removed from society, I want the apology, I want them to go through a time of realization of what they’ve done and to feel what they put me through in that way – my hope is that these experiences would bring them closer to God and make them humane. I just have a hard time understanding the purpose of eternal punishment in hell.

Anyway - the learning and healing continue. I accept the suffering but part of the point of accepting it is to find a way to live with it, and therefore, I suppose, make it stop.
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Dear Formerlysure,
I read this post this morning and to be quite frank it ripped my heart out and I have not been able to get it out of my mind since. So I just wanted to come by and thank you for giving me encouragement and inspiring me and to let you know you are in my prayers…just stay close to Jesus and His Mother Mary and as you say let the healing continue…
 
formerlysure said:
Anyway - the learning and healing continue. I accept the suffering but part of the point of accepting it is to find a way to live with it, and therefore, I suppose, make it stop.
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Dear formerlysure, I thought I would come by and try to explain why your post hurt so much to read this morning…and why at the same time I found it encouraging…

Although I would not consider myself as ever having been through what you have been through I have been through things that have caused me great pain and suffering and I am having a hard time healing from it all. I was told recently that everything is out of love, as missguided as it is, it is out of love. So I have been trying to see past the hurt and pain and to try and see how it is all out of love and to let that love sink in. But it is really hard to see it in some cases. In other cases it is easy. I would not even know where to begin in what happened to you. But when I read how you could see that they were driven by there weaknesses and sickness it gave me hope and encouragement that maybe I can work through some of my pain also… I beleive in a lot of ways I am driven by my weaknesses and sickness and right now I just want to let the healing begin and find peace with it all, to just figure out and acknowledge what I have done incorrectly, try to fix it or correct it, and heal from it. In your sharring of your story I was reminded of what I am trying to do myself…see past the hurt and pain and heal from it all, weather I inflicted it on others or myself or if it was inflicted on me by others…that is why you encouraged me and I wanted to encourage you… I know it is not an easy thing to do or go through but I know if I keep Jesus and His Mother Mary close I will be ok…
Please remember you are in my prayers and that I pray you do find a way to heal from it…and find amid all your suffering, His Peace…*
 
You know I was rereading this thread last night and I woke up this morning with a question,…is the perfect joy of St. Francis being able to accept or embrace not only the pain and suffering and give it back to Jesus but also the peace and joy?
It’s like I always hear how we should take everything to Jesus…but what I believe I never really fully understood is how do we take it or give it to Jesus. I remember going through hurt and pain when I was younger and always going to Jesus and His Mother Mary expecting it to be somehow “magically” taken care of. But what I found out was the pain and suffering never went away. I had to learn how to embrace it. What I believe I am beginning to see or understand is that in the embracing of it I was somehow taking it to Jesus and giving it back to Him. Is this what the perfect joy of St. Fransic is? Taking everything that happens to us, directly from Him or through others, accepting and embracing it, and then giving it back to Him? Only in the accepting and embracing of it are we able to then take it and give it back to Him, either directly or through others? If we do not accept it and embrace it we can not offer it back to Him. It is like we are empty handed because we never accepted or embraced what He had to offer us in the first place. Does that make any sense? Am I finaly being able to see again?
 
formerlysure

Words and Prayers of St. Isaac the Syrian
What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person’s heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled and one cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or slight sorrow in any in creation. For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm her or him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner such a person prays for the family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns with without measure in a heart that is in the likeness of God.

The person who is genuinely charitable not only gives charity out of his own possessions, but gladly tolerates injustice from others and forgives them. Whoever lays down his soul for his brother acts generously, rather than the person who demonstrates his generosity by his gifts.

God is not One who requites evil, but who sets evil right.

christianmystics.com/traditional/early/stisaacthesyrian_2.html?ChristianMysticism=NEXT++%E2%96%BA

you have a Godly merciful heart. I am so sorry.

peace
 
This is very refreshing. Honestly! I feel anew even though St. Francis has always been a known name to me as a Catholic. Reading his life has truly given me a peace that I can’t find any other way. He is only leading me to the Master Himself, the Prince of Peace. Thank you all. Reading this book has begun 🙂
 
simple_soul said:
You know I was rereading this thread last night and I woke up this morning with a question,…is the perfect joy of St. Francis being able to accept or embrace not only the pain and suffering and give it back to Jesus but also the peace and joy?
It’s like I always hear how we should take everything to Jesus…but what I believe I never really fully understood is how do we take it or give it to Jesus. I remember going through hurt and pain when I was younger and always going to Jesus and His Mother Mary expecting it to be somehow “magically” taken care of. But what I found out was the pain and suffering never went away. I had to learn how to embrace it. What I believe I am beginning to see or understand is that in the embracing of it I was somehow taking it to Jesus and giving it back to Him. Is this what the perfect joy of St. Fransic is? Taking everything that happens to us, directly from Him or through others, accepting and embracing it, and then giving it back to Him? Only in the accepting and embracing of it are we able to then take it and give it back to Him, either directly or through others? If we do not accept it and embrace it we can not offer it back to Him. It is like we are empty handed because we never accepted or embraced what He had to offer us in the first place. Does that make any sense? Am I finaly being able to see again?
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First, we have to understand that Francis is using allegory to speak about an ancient theological concept. This statement below probably best summarizes this point of Traditional Catholic Spirituality.

** “In the name of charity, which is God, I bid all the brothers to set aside every obstacle, care and concern, so that they may serve God freely and love him and honor him with a pure heart and right motive,” (pg 202).**

Perfect Joy is not an emotional experience, though it can be. But for the mystics, it’s much more. It is a peace that one experiences when several things happen.

Like John the Evangelist, Francis reminds us that God is Love.

1 John 4:16
“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Observe his opening phrase “charity, which is God.” The beginning of Perfect Joy is the admission that regardless of what happens, God does not cease to be Love. This produces a sense of security that everything is going to be alright. For this reason, Francis, following the tradition of the Prophets, Apostles and the early Desert Fathers and Mothers, directs his brothers to set aside “every obstacle, care and concern.” In other words, if God is Love he will not abandon us. We have this promise from God himself.

Isaiah 42:16
“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them”

John 14:18
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Francis does not teach us that we will not experience pain and suffering. He is reminding us of how to face pain and suffering and he’s drawing from Traditional Judeo-Christian Spirituality. Unfortunately, we have steered far from that spirituality. We don’t trust God to guide us one step at a time. We want quick fixes to problems. We want others to get their act together NOW. We want the Church to fix itself yesterday.

Francis presents another alternative. God will guide us, one step at a time. Pray and wait. There are no quick fixes to problems, because we’re on a journey. The key is to remain faithful and trust that God will show us what to do. We can’t change others and we can’t fix them. They have to choose to change and change can take time. We have to be compassionate and supportive, not just firm. Francis never shied away from being firm. However, he tempered firmness with compassion, even for the greatest sinner. He would often laugh at himself when he lost his cool over the failings of others. He realized that he had faults and weaknesses. Despite the problems of the Church, he did not expect her to fix herself yesterday or overnight. While he worked and prayed for change, he was also prudent and patient as were the Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ, the Apostles, the Fathers of the Church and the Desert Fathers. If one can summarize Perfect Joy in one word, that word would be “patience”.

This takes us back full circle. Only the man and woman who believes that God is love and therefore He will not abandon us can be truly patient.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Simple Soul - thank you for your kind and loving comments. My prayers are with you. I haven’t figured anything out yet - I unravel one little piece at a time, and frankly, I buried the hurt for over 20 years before I started to face it - there is no easy solution that I’ve found, and what I’ve been through, though it may sound dramatic, is really not so different - we all suffer in one way or another. All I can say is that since I turned back to my long-abandoned faith, and turned away from my doubts about God and simply asked him to come into my heart and life, I found I was able to start doing what I need to do to move forward in my life. Mercifully, though my story is private (far easier to tell strangers like on this strand than even my immediate family), since I started confiding in a few carefully chosen individuals, getting counseling and above all, returning to my faith, it seems everyone around me has offered huge measures of love and support. People who know nothing of what I’m working through are simply there. People I’ve counted among my closest friends have become closer and inexplicably more present though I’ve done nothing new or different in our relationships- there is no explanation for it but that God is providing for me.

So much to learn from this string - I can’t see now who originally posted it, but it is life-changing so thank you. To all those who have specifically addressed my post and offered prayers and support, thank you as well. It fills my heart and I promise you all that you are changing the life of a stranger - I will read all your links, recommended books - contemplate your words and good wishes. This is what comes from seeking God and I am deeply moved.
 
One thing I have always prayed about is radiating the joy of Christ.

This doesn’t mean I want to walk around looking like a buffoon with a grin from ear to ear. Necessarily. But I want to radiate peace with myself and my circumstances so that I can be a true light 🙂 to the world.

I find for myself that when I am thinking about spiritual matters, I tend to get a serious look. And that is not what I want at all.

I want to radiate so much that people will be curious about my joy, which will then allow me to share my faith.
 
TrueLight said:
One thing I have always prayed about is radiating the joy of Christ.

This doesn’t mean I want to walk around looking like a buffoon with a grin from ear to ear. Necessarily. But I want to radiate peace with myself and my circumstances so that I can be a true light 🙂 to the world.

I find for myself that when I am thinking about spiritual matters, I tend to get a serious look. And that is not what I want at all.

I want to radiate so much that people will be curious about my joy, which will then allow me to share my faith.
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TrueLight, that is beautiful!👍 Blessings!
 
I ordered the book today 👍 and look forward to reading it and - hopefully - joining in a bit more usefully with the discussion on this thread!
 
formerlysure said:
Simple Soul - thank you for your kind and loving comments. My prayers are with you. I haven’t figured anything out yet - I unravel one little piece at a time, and frankly, I buried the hurt for over 20 years before I started to face it - there is no easy solution that I’ve found, and what I’ve been through, though it may sound dramatic, is really not so different - we all suffer in one way or another. All I can say is that since I turned back to my long-abandoned faith, and turned away from my doubts about God and simply asked him to come into my heart and life, I found I was able to start doing what I need to do to move forward in my life. Mercifully, though my story is private (far easier to tell strangers like on this strand than even my immediate family), since I started confiding in a few carefully chosen individuals, getting counseling and above all, returning to my faith, it seems everyone around me has offered huge measures of love and support. People who know nothing of what I’m working through are simply there. People I’ve counted among my closest friends have become closer and inexplicably more present though I’ve done nothing new or different in our relationships- there is no explanation for it but that God is providing for me.

So much to learn from this string - I can’t see now who originally posted it, but it is life-changing so thank you. To all those who have specifically addressed my post and offered prayers and support, thank you as well. It fills my heart and I promise you all that you are changing the life of a stranger - I will read all your links, recommended books - contemplate your words and good wishes. This is what comes from seeking God and I am deeply moved.
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Thank you for your prayers formerlysure, they are very much appreciated. …I am trying to look at it the way you do… unraveling it one piece ate a time…I like to call it taking baby steps… but when I found CAF for some reason I thought I had found a way to ask questions and figure it out…and the love and support of so many people here has been appreciated but I am beginning to see that the pain I am trying to deal with is a pain that is so deep and so traumatic that I believe it sent my very soul into shock and left it numb…the kind of numbness that makes one forget the pain so that they can survive. This pain is like it was so severe that my memory of what caused it is a blank or I can just not see it…but it is there and I am so keenly aware of it! After reading your post I believe it has helped me in some ways to realize some of the things I thought was causing my pain do not go deep enough…my pain is coming from something deeper…if that makes any sense… Anyway believe I can understand now why it needs to be unraveled one piece at a time…it is because of it being so traumatic…if it unravels too fast it might send me into shock again…this frightens me in some ways but I still want to face it…but at least now I am beginning to understand why it has to unravel it one piece at a time…Thank you for helping me see this…with my continued prayers…
 
JReducation said:
First, we have to understand that Francis is using allegory to speak about an ancient theological concept. This statement below probably best summarizes this point of Traditional Catholic Spirituality.

** “In the name of charity, which is God, I bid all the brothers to set aside every obstacle, care and concern, so that they may serve God freely and love him and honor him with a pure heart and right motive,” (pg 202).**

Perfect Joy is not an emotional experience, though it can be. But for the mystics, it’s much more. It is a peace that one experiences when several things happen.

Like John the Evangelist, Francis reminds us that God is Love.

1 John 4:16
“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Observe his opening phrase “charity, which is God.” The beginning of Perfect Joy is the admission that regardless of what happens, God does not cease to be Love. This produces a sense of security that everything is going to be alright. For this reason, Francis, following the tradition of the Prophets, Apostles and the early Desert Fathers and Mothers, directs his brothers to set aside “every obstacle, care and concern.” In other words, if God is Love he will not abandon us. We have this promise from God himself.

Isaiah 42:16
“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them”

John 14:18
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Francis does not teach us that we will not experience pain and suffering. He is reminding us of how to face pain and suffering and he’s drawing from Traditional Judeo-Christian Spirituality. Unfortunately, we have steered far from that spirituality. We don’t trust God to guide us one step at a time. We want quick fixes to problems. We want others to get their act together NOW. We want the Church to fix itself yesterday.

Francis presents another alternative. God will guide us, one step at a time. Pray and wait. There are no quick fixes to problems, because we’re on a journey. The key is to remain faithful and trust that God will show us what to do. We can’t change others and we can’t fix them. They have to choose to change and change can take time. We have to be compassionate and supportive, not just firm. Francis never shied away from being firm. However, he tempered firmness with compassion, even for the greatest sinner. He would often laugh at himself when he lost his cool over the failings of others. He realized that he had faults and weaknesses. Despite the problems of the Church, he did not expect her to fix herself yesterday or overnight. While he worked and prayed for change, he was also prudent and patient as were the Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ, the Apostles, the Fathers of the Church and the Desert Fathers. If one can summarize Perfect Joy in one word, that word would be “patience”.

This takes us back full circle. Only the man and woman who believes that God is love and therefore He will not abandon us can be truly patient.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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*Br Jay…would it be a correct understanding that part of being patient is learning to trust in and have confidence in Divine Providence that no matter how bad, sinful, ugly, or misguided we are He will be able to extract good out of it? *
 
Okay on a lighter note, why did Friars shave the top of their heads and just leave that little circle of hair? Did St. Francis wear his hair like this?
 
PrayRosary said:
Okay on a lighter note, why did Friars shave the top of their heads and just leave that little circle of hair? Did St. Francis wear his hair like this?
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He did not shave the top of the friars’ heads. We used to receive the tonsure as a sign of celibacy. You cut five pices of hair in the form of a cross in honor of the five wounds.

There was a mistaken opinion that lasted for a long time in the Latin Church, that if you were tonsured, you were a cleric. This is not true. Most Franciscans are not clerics and were not clerics. The tonsure was a sign of chastity. It is was also used as one of the minor orders, which is no longer in use in the Latin Church.

Actually, Francis never cut his hair or his beard, because it was an ancient Jewish custom that men did not use blades on their hair or beards. The early friars had very long hair and long beards.

The look that you’re describing is what the Italians called the corona. The corona came long after Francis was dead. It was not unique to Franciscans. It was common to the mendicants. The other orders did not wear it.

To the people of his time, Francis and his brothers looked like slobs. They never cut their hair or shaved. They did not practice oral hygiene. They bathed only once a month. They washed their habits only once a month. They had only two habits and they patched them when they tore. The habits were not uniform. They’re still not. We wear many different habits. You can fill a room with Franciscans and see at least 15 different habits, maybe more and in different colors too. The long brown tunic with cowl is the most common. Which is funny, because it is the one that Francis never wore. His habit was grey. It was Capri length. He wore trousers that went down to the knees, like those long shorts that kids wear today. You could not see the trousers. However, what he called trousers are what we call boxers. They wore a shirt to keep them warm and a short mantle, not a long one like the Dominicans and Carmelites. Their mantle reached only to the wrist. They wrapped leggins around them in the winter.

Also, if you notice, very few Franciscans wear a crucifix or a rosary. That came much later. Originally, Francis did not allow the use of a crucifix. The brother was to be Christ and the habit was cut in the form of the cross. There were no rosaries, because it did not exist. They did have prayer beeds that they carried in their sacks. They used these to pray the Office of the Paters, if they couldn’t read the breviary.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
simple_soul said:
*Br Jay…would it be a correct understanding that part of being patient is learning to trust in and have confidence in Divine Providence that no matter how bad, sinful, ugly, or misguided we are He will be able to extract good out of it? *
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Francis once said, “See how good the Lord is to turn wolves into lambs.” He taught his order that our focus must be on our own sins and rooting it out of our lives. God will make things happen, we can trust him.

In his sermon to the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM, Cap, who is a Capuchin Brother said, “Renewal begins not in vilifying others, but in examining ourselves honestly, repenting of our own sins, and changing ourselves,”

Read more: ncregister.com/daily-news/archbishop-chaput-the-church-belongs-to-jesus-christ/#ixzz1UC53dVc3

This is Franciscan Spiritual Theology of patience. We don’t renew the world or the Church by pointing fingers, but by changing our behaviors and trusting God to do his part.

He continued with Franciscan Spiritual Theology by saying,

Although sin and failure “need to be named,” he said, “when people deride their bishops and priests out of pride and resentment or some perverse desire for what they perceive as ‘power,’ they undermine the Church herself, and they set themselves against the God, whose vessel she is.”

What he’s doing is bringing Francis’ teachings to the chair of the bishop. Sin and failure should be condemned, but the clergy must never be attacked, nor should we ever hold resentment toward the clergy. To do so is antagonistic toward God.

Patience is that virtue which identifies evil and calls it for what it is, but avoids pride, resentment, power and argumentativeness. Patience focusses on fixing the self, not everyone else. This is very important, because we can develop a fase sense of charity. We can use the mantle of charity to bash and bully others into doing what we believe is right. Then we say that we’re only teaching them truth and morals. That’s not what the Fathers of the Church taught us and how Francis handed it down for the rest of us, including the laity. The patient man knows when to chastise, who he has the right to chastise and who is out of his jurisdiction, how he should chastise and when to keep his counsel.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Br. Jay…I love the part of Archbishop Caput’s speech that speaks of the “imprudence, the passion, and the recklessness to give ourselves ENTIRELY to Jesus Christ”…“that kind of faith shifts the world on its axis” !
 
rainbow1 said:
Br. Jay…I love the part of Archbishop Caput’s speech that speaks of the “imprudence, the passion, and the recklessness to give ourselves ENTIRELY to Jesus Christ”…“that kind of faith shifts the world on its axis” !
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That’s a very Franciscan concept. If you notice in the life of St. Francis, he does not enter a monastery nor does he allow his brothers to become monastic. In fact, he did everything possible to stay away from the monastic tradition, because it’s a very structured way of life. Francis’ spirituality is based on “spiritual wrecklessness.” You throw yourself, the Church and the world into God’s hands and you live one day at a time, always trusting that God is leading the way. This is a very difficult spirituality for most people. That’s why it’s not spoken about too much on these fora.

Most people want a theology and a spirituality that is more like that of Aquinas, organized, systematic, defined, structured, almost predictable. Franciscan theology is rooted in the mystery of God whereas Thomistic theology is rooted in the reasonableness of God. They are both going to take you to the same place, but the former requires that one detache from the self, be patient, take care of one’s business and let God do the rest. It’s very Marian.

The Franciscan school leads you down the Marian path. You say yes to the Lord, even though you have no idea what he plans and you have no worries after that. You simply trust that God will do what he will do. He will turn the lions into sheep. He will convert the hearts of those whom you touch, even if you never say a word. He will be with you, even when you sin. He is always the loving Father drawing you home. Therefore, you just have to trust that he will forgive you and ask for the forgiveness. Once you’ve done that, you leave the rest up to his mercy. You accept the fact that others are imperfect and that you will not change them, but God can, if you are williing to lay down your life for them.

We see this kind of spiritual wrechklessness in another Franciscan saint and theologian, Maximilian Kolbe. He did not have a clue where things would lead. He followed. He ended up in a concentration camp, twice. The second time he was asked to forfeit his life. He throw himself into God’s arms and says, “Yes,” just as Mary did.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Br Jay,
I really appreciate your statement, “You say yes to the Lord, even though you have no idea what he plans, and you have no worries after that”. I love the spiritual wrecklessness of boldly saying yes to our Dear Lord, trusting Him so completely, and knowing He is up to fantastic plans that are good beyond our human imaginations!!! And knowing that after we say yes, that He will indeed be using us as his instrument for His plans, though we probably won’t know how. So awesome!
 
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