Franziska Notes November 2009

Franziska Notes
No.6/11 November 2009

November is a month for the final harvest of the fields. Even in the Southern Hemisphere there are feasts of Thanksgiving for the good things we receive from the earth. Mother Franziska recognized gratitude as one of the most important virtues. Grateful people are humble and kind. Many are lamenting the loss of simple courtesy in social interaction. We notice that the media is now allowing more suggestive language than ever before. Insults make up a great portion of comedy routines. World leaders, even those that lead our own country are described by the coarsest adjectives. Parents do not seem to realize that while venting their anger at politicians they are modeling behavior for their children to use against all authority figures and that eventually they will be the objects of this learned disrespect.
In Mother Franziska’s day the social classes were very distinct so it was remarkable that she showed the same respect to the Emperor as to a servant girl or child. She saw every human being vested in the dignity of a child of God. Her love of God the Father would not allow careless or cruel language for any of His children. Today parents read books about raising their children’s self-esteem. Those in the work force receive courses in polite interaction in order to assure the company’s profits. There was a time when this was learned from early childhood. Children felt secure and had a good self-image because of the consistent kindness and forgiveness that was the fabric of family living. There was relative peace in the workplace because one did not have to fear a “put-down” at every question.
We encounter dozens of God’s children in our ordinary daily actions. If they each receive a smile and a kind word, we are giving them an intuitive reason for thinking the world is ruled by a loving God. We are giving hope, spreading joy and ultimately pointing to heaven.

Franziska Notes October 2009

The times in which Mother Franziska lived seem, from our perspective, to have been simple and calmer. Her own life, however, was filled with a hectic parade of activities as she attempted to meet the needs of the poor of her time and environment. As we read her biography we become breathless as we see her travel by coach and train throughout the vast and diverse Austro-Hungarian Empire and spending the time at home with visitors, sisters and candidates. Let us just say that she would understand our tensions and conflicts.
We know from the constant teaching of the Church that we are all called to holiness. How can we achieve that beautiful goal in the daily stress of our day? In October our thoughts turn quickly to the Rosary. Many people of our time discarded this devotion as ‘boring’. Perhaps it is the ‘boring’, the mantra-like repetition of the Hail Marys that is the precise vehicle that can center us on God in all the activities that seem to militate against recollection. Those that pay huge sums to learn secular meditation techniques often buy music CDs to provide a background of calm for “emptying” their thoughts. The Hail Marys, punctuated by the Lord’s Prayer and the Doxology of praise to the Trinity, can have the same effect. Instead of an empty silence we fill our mind and heart with the story of our salvation. We follow the life of Jesus and Mary and learn to live in our secular world according their example. We also experience the supernatural strength that is the fruit of prayer. Slowly we become more patient, we begin to judge according to the standards of the Gospel. The Rosary was again proposed in Fatima as the chief weapon for world peace. The daily headlines should be enough motivation for a continued devotion to this exercise. There are many ways of praying the Rosary and Pope John Paul II with the addition of the Luminous Mysteries has rounded out the Life of Christ. Taking another look at this devotion can truly transform our world.

www.godslovefdc.org

Franziska Notes September 2009

If we think about the life of Mother Franziska we can imagine the beautiful Bavarian countryside of her childhood. Every kitchen garden in the village of Edling included besides herbs and vegetables, also flowers to brighten the homes and to add color and beauty to the celebrations in the little village church. Prominent among these flowers was the beautiful sunflower. Most children love to watch these giants as they quickly grow far over their heads in a season. All summer long their massive heads follow the sun in its travel across the bright sky. Surely Christian parents pointed out the symbolism of this flower as a parable for the Christian who wants to remain faithful to the Lord in all of the events of daily life. As the heads matured both children and birds enjoyed snacking on the nutritious seeds.
There is another lesson we can learn from this wonderful flower. One can plant the seeds from one packet and come forward with many different results. If the seed was planted in good soil in full sun and received adequate water, a giant emerged, sometimes with a two-inch diameter stem. On the other hand, seeds from the very same package that found themselves in poor, shallow soil, or shade, or which did not receive enough rain, produce a tiny, though recognizable flower hardly more than a daisy.
Did Mother Franziska notice these things in her mother’s garden? Did this contribute to her ideas of education and motivate her to provide healthy Christian environments for those in her care? In her day it was almost unheard of for a woman from the lower and middle classes of society to receive a higher education. This was not an impediment to her dreams. Education was all around, ready to be “picked” by anyone open enough to understand. We are responsible for what enters our minds and hearts, for that is what we will pass on to those whom we meet. Will they flourish or shrivel because of their encounter with us?

Franziska Notes August 2009

Can God make it snow in August? On the fifth of this month we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Snows. What a strange location for a holiday! It is even stranger, in the heat of the Roman August to see crowds streaming toward the Basilica of St. Mary Major. They are coming to rejoice with Mary in this beautiful shrine, so feminine in its lovely mosaic and appointments. The painting over the high altar is of the Nativity and the arch above shows the story of Mary’s life with her divine Son, Jesus. To understand the snow one must look at the chapel on the left, the most richly marbled chapel in Rome if not the world. A marble relief shows a Pope marking something in the snow with his staff. It is the outline of this very basilica, whose location was indicated in a dream by a rare August snowfall on the Esquiline Hill. The icon in this chapel is the inspiration for the favorite portrait of Mary for the Daughters of Divine Charity throughout the world and was often kept as a day for important events in the life of the sisters.
But getting back to the August snowfall we can look at Mother Franziska who had no trouble at all in believing in miracles large and small. We have numerous accounts of her trusting in God’s providence and signing contracts for buildings and renovations when there wasn’t a “penny” in her pocket. The line between daily life and eternity was not marked in concrete for her. She passed easily and joyfully from human encounters to talks with her heavenly friends. It was St. Joseph who was counted on to provide the means and manly support for the most daring ventures. Never was she disappointed. All over Europe today there are buildings which she built for poor servant girls, the education of youth or the convalescence of the sick. She never asked, “How much will this cost?” or “Do we have the money?” but only, “Is this what God wants?” and then the infinite resources of the Heavenly Father were at her disposal.

St. Anne -- Feast Day -- July 26

Franziska Notes July 09

Franziska Notes
No.6/7 July 2009

During the month of July there are many reminders of our Mother Franziska and her life. One must imagine the sunny fields of Bavaria, the fruitful farmland and the distant mountains. The little Fanni’s lifetime cheerful disposition was surely nurtured by the beautiful ripening fields of golden barley where she gathered the red, white and blue wildflowers of poppy, daisy and cornflower at the edges of the grainfield. Her bouguet was placed in front of the little shrine in the corner of the room where her family ate, celebrated and said their daily prayers.
July is the month of the Saints of Summer, including a Bavarian favorite, St. Anne. Mother Franziska brought this devotion with her to the Mother House Church which she built in Vienna, St. Anne at the side altar and St. Joseph on the other. These two saints were revered because of their relationship with Jesus. Anne, the grandmother, who surely shared her love of Sacred Scripture and devotion to the will of God with her blessed daughter, Mary and St. Joseph who provided for the child and his mother.
Mother Franziska’s devotion to her favorite saints was almost as intimate a part of her as her breathing. She stepped easily from the problems and joys of daily life into the realm where these special friends of God enjoyed his presence without interruption or distraction.
It is during the quieter days of summer that we can look again at that eternity which is our destiny. The beauty around us can call us to “minute meditations” lifting our hearts and minds to our heavenly friends, those shared with the Church Universal and those who were our friends and relatives during life. Jesus had a grandmother and a human father. His love for them shaped his human life and this joy also shapes our appreciation of all the human race beloved and redeemed by God.

www.godslovefdc.org

Vienna celebration.....

The date is June 28, 1939 and the beautiful Mother House Church, built by Mother Franziska herself is in danger to become a vicitim of Hitler's ambitions. On this date Cardinal Innitzer offically accepted the Church as a parish church for the Archdiocese. For seventy years Mother Franziska's dream of providing a place for the people of neighborhood to worship the Eucharistic Lord, praying and singing with the sisters. At the same time they honored a young, newly ordained priest, Stephan Massolle, from Paderborn, Germany who had served there during his field practice and won the hearts of Sisters and parishioners. The festive Mass contained also a renewal of vows in the 50th wedding anniversary of a couple who were very involved in the parish and the presence and performance of Mother House kindergarten children.