There are no seats the driver warned. Not wanting to inconvenience the person I was meeting I decided to board anyway. I no sooner planted my wobbly legs as stiff pillars on the rocking bus floor when a lovely young woman offered her seat. To spend the trip asking many good angels to bless and bring extra sunshine on her day I asked her first name. "Jackie" she said with a smile. Her kind deed did not and will not end with sundown today. As all good deeds the kindness she showed me added a good feeling to my heart which added conviction to my good wishes to all I met during the day. As tomorrow dawns I will again think of Jackie's kindness with a warm feeling. I will remember to pay it forward to others, and will remember it for a long time.
We must never underestimate a good deed. It balances the amount of good, true, beautiful and loving in the world. These are qualities which counter the amount of sadness, evil, brutality and ugliness that are also part of life. It costs nothing to add to the beautiful and good. Sometimes a simple smile will do. We must remember that the person at the check out counter is not part of the machinery. How much they appreciate a smile and a kind word. Perhaps we can pay a sincere compliment about efficiency or neatness. We can be patient when there are difficulties or accidents... a great gift when there is a mounting tension.
There were many beggars sitting along the streets of Rome when I lived there. I put aside a particular coin for these poor people and kept a supply in an easily accessible pocket to distribute them. One day ahead of me I saw a Religious Sister of the order of Charles Foucould. She did not drop a coin into a box. She bent down and started a conversation with the poor woman holding a sad child. A moment later she went into a bar and came out with a capaccino in a cup and a lollipop for the child.
Yesterday's Gospel reading tells us Jesus counts as done for him what we do in kindness for others. I wonder how he enjoyed that coffee and lollipop. I know he was pleased to sit down on that croweded bus this morning... thanks to Jackie. May he reward her and those she loves for years to come.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Franziska Notes March 2011
On the day of Consecrated Life 2011 the Holy Father quotes Simeon who declared Jesus as a “light of revelation to the gentiles”. This light of Christ is meant to shine in our world today in the people who seek God’s will above all. The charism of a religious congregation can be pictured as a prism which transforms God’s pure white light into many various “colors”, each highlighting a particular part of the God’s infinite beauty.
From her writings we can deduce that the charism most valued by Mother Franziska, the quality she hoped would always be part of her congregation is joy.
The Holy Father speaks of the joy of seeking the will of God by living as Jesus did, totally dedicated to the Father’s will.
True joy does not mean an absence of suffering, sorrow or stress. Mother Franziska writes of a terrible disappointment that threatened the very foundation of her young community. She shares in a private writing that she could not stop weeping and did not know where to turn after a betrayal by a trusted co-worker. At the same time she knew that she owed her sisters a spirit of joy and before them made the effort to be serene and smiling.
How can we be joyous when the disappointments, hostilities, pain of life assail us? When we suffer truly deep depression it can seem that there is no way out of the endless darkness. We can reach for a tranquilizer or mood altering drug or drink or try a worldly, flashy entertainment which finally leave us even deeper in the painful abyss. Or we can turn to Jesus who loves us and who said that he would give us the Holy Spirit if we only ask. One of the greatest gifts of the Spirit of God is a joy that the world cannot understand nor extinguish. It is the joy of the Lord that Scripture tells is our strength. This is also the gift, once received, that becomes the greatest good that we can give generously to all we meet and thereby bring beauty and light to our sad and conflicted world.
From her writings we can deduce that the charism most valued by Mother Franziska, the quality she hoped would always be part of her congregation is joy.
The Holy Father speaks of the joy of seeking the will of God by living as Jesus did, totally dedicated to the Father’s will.
True joy does not mean an absence of suffering, sorrow or stress. Mother Franziska writes of a terrible disappointment that threatened the very foundation of her young community. She shares in a private writing that she could not stop weeping and did not know where to turn after a betrayal by a trusted co-worker. At the same time she knew that she owed her sisters a spirit of joy and before them made the effort to be serene and smiling.
How can we be joyous when the disappointments, hostilities, pain of life assail us? When we suffer truly deep depression it can seem that there is no way out of the endless darkness. We can reach for a tranquilizer or mood altering drug or drink or try a worldly, flashy entertainment which finally leave us even deeper in the painful abyss. Or we can turn to Jesus who loves us and who said that he would give us the Holy Spirit if we only ask. One of the greatest gifts of the Spirit of God is a joy that the world cannot understand nor extinguish. It is the joy of the Lord that Scripture tells is our strength. This is also the gift, once received, that becomes the greatest good that we can give generously to all we meet and thereby bring beauty and light to our sad and conflicted world.
Franziska notes February 2011
The culture of Valentine greetings has now spread to almost every country of the world. It is a beautiful custom to send greetings of love and appreciation to others. It does not have to mean a surrender to commercialism. The “best things in life are free” is most true when applied to signs of love. God is love and every small act of courtesy, a smile, a kind word, a gesture of help is a sign of God’s presence, whether recognized as such or not.
Mother Franziska was almost by instinct a loving person. She realized that friendliness and even a spirit of fun made her world a better place reflecting the Creator who saw all of his creation as good.
One does not need to be especially religious to be pleasant and polite but when one is conscious of the presence of God and sees kindness as a mission and ministry, the act and the world become holy. What a beautiful meditation to take the sunrise as a model of behavior for the day. Jesus said that the sun and rain fall on the good and the bad. We can begin our day with a prayer asking God to send us where our blessing of joy will give him glory.
Mother Franziska made an effort to be joyful to others even when her own heart was wounded and breaking by disappointment of direct attacks by enemies. She saw joy as an indispensible quality for a Christian and a religious. She did not wait until she felt joyful to dispense happiness. She made the effort to “give joy and make happy” and found that her own smile became genuine. Looking for the good and the bright side helped her to see the humor in many situations that would have felt humiliating to lesser souls. It is difficult to humiliate someone who can laugh at themselves.
“The joy of the Lord be your strength.” Is a blessing often used in the liturgical prayer of the Church. It can be a source of strength, zeal and courage to all who ask God for this grace and practice it daily.
Mother Franziska was almost by instinct a loving person. She realized that friendliness and even a spirit of fun made her world a better place reflecting the Creator who saw all of his creation as good.
One does not need to be especially religious to be pleasant and polite but when one is conscious of the presence of God and sees kindness as a mission and ministry, the act and the world become holy. What a beautiful meditation to take the sunrise as a model of behavior for the day. Jesus said that the sun and rain fall on the good and the bad. We can begin our day with a prayer asking God to send us where our blessing of joy will give him glory.
Mother Franziska made an effort to be joyful to others even when her own heart was wounded and breaking by disappointment of direct attacks by enemies. She saw joy as an indispensible quality for a Christian and a religious. She did not wait until she felt joyful to dispense happiness. She made the effort to “give joy and make happy” and found that her own smile became genuine. Looking for the good and the bright side helped her to see the humor in many situations that would have felt humiliating to lesser souls. It is difficult to humiliate someone who can laugh at themselves.
“The joy of the Lord be your strength.” Is a blessing often used in the liturgical prayer of the Church. It can be a source of strength, zeal and courage to all who ask God for this grace and practice it daily.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)