There was a rare snowfall in Rome. A Sister from South Brazil was enchanted at the sight. Looking at the trees in the garden carrying their white load she exclaimed, “Now I know why we always put cotton on our Christmas tree!” It is a sign of the internationality of the Congregation founded by Franziska Lechner that a sister from one part of the world could experience a revelation from a place far from her own birthplace. We have heard many times that we must “think global”. Franzi the little girl from a village in Bavaria would have loved that expression because that is the story of her life. She saw opportunities for good in the widespread major empire of her day and sent her sisters to express, in concrete form, the love of God. She wrote of the stop she and her sisters made in an inn in Bosnia. They sat on the cushions around the small table and drank the strong coffee offered in cups that were “sanitized” by the proprietor with his saliva and apron. They realized that love of God demanded acceptance of the practice without negative reaction. If we want to live as true followers of Jesus who revealed the love of God to us, especially in the poor manger at Bethlehem, we must be open to differences and always see the stranger as a child of God and our own brother or sister. The media today can so easily brain wash us to generalizations. We must let the Holy Spirit enter our minds and hearts with light and love. Everywhere there are good people and they need to find us also to be “good people”. This may be on a bus, in a supermarket, a doctor’s office or in a distant land. Wherever our legitimate life’s work takes us we are meant to be ambassadors of God’s love. The evil forces in the world today want to separate us with hatred and suspicion. Jesus calls us to even love our enemies….. how does that contrast with making enemies of people we don’t even know yet? Paraphrasing Franziska Lechner, let us “do good, give joy, make happy… and so … lead to heaven”.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Mustar Seed, another parable
Wearily the old man slogged along the seemingly endless road toward the sunset. He knew it was the end of his long life and he dreaded his meeting with the one who had given him that great gift.When he stood before the Lord in the heavenly throne room and felt Jesus' hands hold his own he burst into tears. "Lord" he said, "You have been so good to me my whole life long and have given me countless friends, a wonderful family and many material and spiritual gifts... I am afraid I have nothing to show for my life."
Jesus smiled and asked the man to look behind him. There, to his surprise was a beautiful field filled with yellow flowers dancing in the sun. Jesus said, " Since you were walking with me, your faith was scattering all along your way like little mustard seeds clinging to your clothing. You didn't notice but many people have been enriched by the beautiful flowers sprung from those tiny seeds that are now delighting eyes and hearts and enriching the soil in which they have taken root. Come with me to your eternal reward!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Franziska Notes 2010 October 2010
Franziska Notes
No.7/10 October 2010
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 .
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 .
Monday, September 6, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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