The Rule for the Secular Franciscans contains the following language:
“Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to the careful reading of the Gospel, going from Gospel to life, and life to Gospel.”
St. Francis, on occasion, was known to take the words of the Gospels quite literally. I have chosen to do the same with these words from the Rule.
The Chapters will be an ongoing series of reflections on the Gospels starting with the first Chapter of Matthew and going in sequence all the way through to the last Chapter of John. They will be posted once a week or so. Some reflections may cover an entire Chapter. Other Chapters will be broken down into smaller parts. Each reflection will end with a note about what the next reflection will cover.
The expectation is that by the time the end is reached, one will be significantly transformed by the Word.
If that is the case, then, if we were to start over again at the beginning, we should find new insights the second time through.
This clearly is a long term project, even a life time project.
That seems to me to be entirely appropriate, as we could never understand the depth of God in just this lifetime.
So, the first reflection will be on the full first Chapter of Matthew.
Dear Tim,
I am writing to offer the frequently used Franciscan phrase, “peace and all good things,” to you and to your Website endeavor. I believe peace and all good things will indeed flow from encouraging yourself and others to take prayer seriously. You are moved to connect prayer to all the ins and outs, ups and downs of everyday life, and to use it as a process of connection to the Lord, to the Gospel life, to all other people we encounter, and to the way the Lord is working in our own lives, as we are shaped on His potter’s wheel.
Your Franciscan spirit shines through as you undertake to make this process continuous, transformative, and efficacious. You’re reminding us to “pray always.” I think Francis shed material distractions partly so that he could pray always and could allow prayer to “convert” him and bring him closer to the Lord in every experience of God’s creation.
Your Franciscan spirit also shines through when you speak of being eager to listen to all who will contribute to your dialogues, including those from different backgrounds. I think one way in which Francis showed his love for God’s creation and all His creatures was by listening to them carefully, appreciating that each person and animal and plant and element of existence was beautifully unique, a masterpiece loved into existence by God. By listening, he was praying, saying “yes” to this totality of creation. By joining with all people and creatures in a celebration of God’s truth, beauty and wisdom, he was directing everything back to God as the ultimate, only source of unity, peace, and all good things. I will look forward to sharing, at least silently, in your journey with others through the Gospels as a great way of listening that leads to unity in diversity and celebrates diversity in unity.
Peace and all good, paz y bien, pace e bene, pax et bonum, etc.!
Bill Schmitt