Franziska Notes 2010 October 2010

Franziska Notes
No.7/10 October 2010

If Mother Franziska were given a theme for her life there would be a difficult choice between joy and gratitude. There is no contradiction however in these two qualities. The surest way to be joyful in all circumstances is to be grateful. Sometimes we associate joy with the infrequent events described as “luck”. How happy we would be if we won a large lottery prize, or if we found an unexpected bargain for an item that we have long desired. Real and lasting joy comes, however, with the first moment of awakening when we realize that we have been gifted with another day. We have twenty-four hours more to enjoy the many gifts showered upon us every day of our lives. A superficial glance at the obituaries in the daily paper tells us that many people have fewer days of life than we. How often do we notice the beauty in clouds. Millions of varied forms are displayed throughout a single day in one place. Even dark storm clouds can be fascinating.
A habit of gratitude is a direct way of “praying always”. All the good, true and beautiful things in our daily lives are gifts of a loving God. As we rejoice in them and thank God we come into natural, spontaneous contact with this loving Father. We are never alone or bored because we are surrounded by love. Mother Franziska knew this and it gave her the courage to overcome obstacles, personal fear, attacks of enemies and momentary failurextensive travels. She learned that she had a gift to give to others, a smile and a cheerful word. We know from her writings that she managed to smile at others even while her own heart was breaking from a personal sorrow. Gratitude helps us be joyful because we live in the “big picture”. Based on the promises of Christ we know, in the words of Julian of Norwich, that “all will be well”.
e. She was able to be a source of joy to those she met during the day and in her .

http://www.godslovefdc.org/

Franziska Notes September 2010

We see them marching off to school with brand new clothes and backpacks. They are the children going off to another academic year. They are full of enthusiasm to meet old and new friends and subconsciously perhaps looking forward to advancing in the acquisition of civilization’s store of accumulated knowledge.
When we were small we were often told to “grow up”. We also wanted to be older because of the imagined advantages and liberties. When there was something that frightened us, however, we were so happy to run to a parent or trusted friend for shelter and comfort., We found it easy to believe in the good and the beautiful and we rejoiced with each new discovery.
Mother Franziska learned in very early childhood to love the “Himmi .Vater” her heavenly father. She learned with her parents beside her that this great and good father is to be thanked, trusted and pleased by our actions.
This attitude toward God never left her. It was the melody of her entire life. She encouraged her sisters to see God as their good father and to thank him constantly for all his gifts. In difficult times she found comfort in his perfect understanding. When she took risks to advance the mission of her congregation, she trusted that he would be faithful.
We are living in a dangerous and threatening world. There are financial problems and possible physical harm from enemies. We know the limits of medicines and therapies. Our heavenly Father wants us to become his children again. He wants our joyful gratitude throughout the day. He wants us to trust in his very real and practical help. This gratitude and trust becomes a habit when we become more and more acquainted with his Son, Jesus and his holy Word in prayer each day. Soon we find that the joy and confidence of our childhood has returned

FRANZISKA NOTES April 2010

The first day of this month falls on Holy Thursday so our reflections on the spirituality of Mother Franziska Lechner occur in the atmosphere of the Paschal Mystery. Some of her sisters, in the southern hemisphere experience Easter at the threshold of winter. Even where preachers are locating the feast in the new light and life of springtime there are at least some hours of darkness before we light the new fire of the Easter night. Jesus gave us the great gift of the Eucharist before He and His disciples ventured out into the foreboding darkness of Gethsemane. We are armed in the best possible way for the darkness both physical and spiritual. We hear Jesus’ promise in our hearts, “Fear not, it is I,” and “I am with you all days even to the end of the world.” It was not too long ago that the church in the center of the village or on every few streets of the cities were open for a visit. In the recent past we were afraid the enemies of the Church would close the doors to our beloved sanctuary. Now we have ourselves taken the preemptive action of keeping them locked. This makes it more difficult but not impossible to be a Eucharistic people. There are wonderful stories of the Eucharist being celebrated in prisons and concentration camps. As the trials of our life increasingly weigh us down we become more and more thirsty for the tangible presence of the Lord who victoriously walked through the darkness for us. Mother Franziska made sure that there was a chapel in each of the houses she founded and she was often there pouring out her fears and sorrows. Perhaps there are religious houses among us where we would be allowed to come and worship the Lord treasured in their chapels, but neither we, nor the Lord are really limited by locks. While Mother Franziska traveled through Europe she noted the many church steeples dotting the countryside and she made a point of sending toward each one a greeting to the Eucharistic Lord housed within. Our thoughts, too, can fly to our parish church in greeting and we can find peace in our fear and trouble.

the Grocer and the Nail

He was an immigrant who had arrived in New York with fifty dollars, the obligatory deposit to the steamship company that brought him to our shores. After much work he fulfilled his dream of opening a small grocery store which he insisted was a delicatessen… a throw back to his native Germany where the root word signifies “gourmet”.

His bookkeeping involved a long nail on a lead base. When someone couldn’t pay their bill he simply asked them to sign the adding machine slip because the cash register did not do math and so the groceries had to be tallied on a separate device. Most of these bills were paid soon enough, but some lingered at the bottom of the nail until they yellowed and crumbled. Every once in awhile the grocer looked at the ragged papers and said, “Look at the money I didn’t get.”

Many years after he retired to his native Germany, he became ill and left for his new and eternal home. What follows is my imagination but I am sure it is true in its basic concepts.

As the grocer approached the gates of heaven an angel handed him an envelope. It was sealed but said in bold golden letters: Admission.

When he met the Lord, the angel signed that he should hand over his envelope. As the Lord and judge opened it, out fell many, many, ragged and yellowed cash register receipts. Jesus smiled and told the grocer how much he had enjoyed the food, candy and paper goods that those pieces represented, for they were really given to the One who counts all loving acts as done to himself.

Reflections on a Fig Tree

From a parable in the thirteenth chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel

The landowner went out to survey his property. He found a fig tree in his orchard that was barren and remembered that it had not borne fruit the previous year. He told the gardener to dig it up and discard the worthless tree. The gardener, being a man of the soil found it as difficult to kill a living plant as a shepherd a lame sheep or a pet owner, a cross-eyed cat. “Please”, he said, “Let me try again for this one more year.” When the land owner agreed he went to work. He dug around it and pruned it and fertilized it. As if it were a senscient would have complained about the annoying digging and the foul smelling fertilizer… but what a difference the slight inconvenience brought about! No sooner did the sun grow stronger than the leaves reached out and the tiny buds of summer figs came forth along the slender branches. The landowner’s children’s children looked forward each summer to the delicious fruit.

Franziska Notes March 2010

Anyone who becomes familiar with the life of Mother Franziska is struck by her devotion to the saints, especially St. Joseph. When she purchased the new mother house on the Jacquingasse in Vienna she might have been overwhelmed by the work needed to make it a suitable convent home. Her solution was to carry a statue of St. Joseph from room to room showing him the renovations and repairs necessary and reminding him that her purse was, as usual, empty.
Aside from the fact that he is a favorite of her homeland, St. Joseph is honored by the Church as its patron. The humble carpenter of Nazareth was given the care of the very beginning of the Christian era, the virgin Mary and the tiny baby who was the Son of God Incarnate. Very much was asked and very little human status accorded him.
I am sure that Mother Franziska would approve of our assigning today to St. Joseph the protection of children and young people, especially women. Everything in our culture seems designed to destroy their moral innocence and even their physical integrity. How many children and women are abused in our time! All of us must oppose this trend with our prayers and action. We must become friends of the women and children in our environment and pray for those who are beyond our circle. Let us never join in the laughter or comment that demeans women and children. Let us have the courage to become involved when we have a chance to help someone in need.
St. Joseph believed the unbelievable and took the pregnant Mary into his home. He showed a wonderful courage taking his wife and child to Egypt in the night when powerful forces were searching for them to kill the child. Let us pray to St. Joseph for the vulnerable both near and far and ask for his wisdom to know when we should do more. Let him also teach us the unselfishness of humility when we are overlooked and unrecognized. St. Joseph pray for us in March and always.

www.godslovefdc.org

A Cup of Tea in Trieste

It was winter and cold in the railroad station and there was a significant stopover for the group of nuns going to Zagrab. One of them was using the time to do some people watching. She noticed an old lady in shabby clothing going through the waste bins. It seemed there was one particular thing the woman was looking for. Finally she found it ... a styrofoam cup with a used tea bag still inside. She went to the water fountain and filled the cup and drank the "recycled tea". The sister noticed that she resumed the search and found another cup which she refilled and drank. Later when one of the nuns offered to get something to eat for the group, the observer asked for two cups of tea. When she got the hot liquid with the fresh tea bag she went to offer it to the poor woman. Her smile seemed to light up the cavernous railroad station. Maybe she hadn't eaten that day, but now she had the wonderful luxury of a fresh and hot cup of tea.

There are gourmet teas and coffees served in valuable porcelain cups but maybe the one warm cup of the day in a styrofoam container was more delicious than all of them. Also, that day perhaps many checks were written for large organizations who help alleviate human suffering, but maybe the small act of a cup of tea which was the loving response to an immediate need was worth more than they. If we believe the Gospel, we know that it was Jesus himself who enjoyed the cup of tea in the railroad station in Trieste.