We usually look to Mother Franziska as a model for living her spirit and charism in our daily lives today. As we end this year it seems we should come begging her intercession that we may live the spirit of Christ in a very different world. The culture she lived and worked in was pretty much shaped by the Gospels and the Hebrew Scriptures. The enemies of the prevailing culture were weakened and distant. This inimical spirit touched the Drina Martyrs in the form of a small band of partisans. Later this became institutionalized in a large part of the world dominated by atheistic Communism. The Church counts thousands of martyrs from this period.
Today we are threatened by a culture of materialism that ignores or even mocks and attacks the judeo-christian heritage that shaped its greatness. This materialism is dangerous because most of the time we are not aware that it is robbing us of true joy and love, substituting a superficial pleasure that puts the self in place of the giving spirit proclaimed by Jesus.
We ask Mother Franziska to pray for us so that we may be servants of God’s love--that we may be alert to the many opportunities of welcoming and comforting the suffering whom we meet every day. We do not need to be afraid to be generous. The example of Christ that we celebrate this month, is both our model and our strength for the task. The Son of God left the status and wealth of heaven to become a baby in a manger entrusting himself to weak human beings as he does today in the Eucharist. Jesus promised that those who “lose” their lives here will gain eternal life. God’s love cannot be surpassed. In giving of ourselves and our possessions we find a joy that surpasses by far any of the pleasures promised by the false values of our prevailing culture. Mother Franziska who responded to the call of the Lord in your time, be with us and teach us to see rightly in our own.
