A New Direction

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The first reading from the Book of Genesis reminds me of a situation in the life of St. Francis of Assisi. In that first reading, Abram and his nephew Lot separate and go in two different directions because the land could not support the needs of their combined or extended family. There were just too many of them. Remember that Abram had no children, but he did possess great wealth. In this particular culture, wealth would have been counted in his herds of cattle and sheep, camels, as well as in the number of servants who helped him with the practical necessities of maintaining such wealth.

St. Francis began his life as a penitent alone. However, over time several other young men of Assisi joined him in his pursuit of what they called "Lady Poverty." Before too long there were twelve of them. At this point, St. Francis decided to go to Rome to ask the Holy Father how he should proceed. With a papal blessing, this band of itinerants or mendicants continued to preach the Gospel to the surrounding villages and cities. Gradually, the number of followers swelled to include hundreds. As their numbers grew, St. Francis realized that having so many beggars in one place would only tax the generosity of the people and earn the brothers their scorn. So Francis sent the brothers to continue their pursuit of poverty and humility in all of the countries of Europe. By the time of his death, there were groups of friars in every corner of the continent. The Province which founded our Sacred Heart Province here in the Midwest actually dates back to the days of St. Francis himself.

Sending the friars to other countries also enriched the eventual Franciscan Order with a multi-cultural membership. Today, Franciscans are in every country of the world. Interestingly, the Order is thriving in the poorer nations of our world while it is dwindling in the richer nations. Whereas the Venetian Province held distinction of being the largest province in the Order for many years, now the largest province is that which is based in Sao Paulo of Brazil.

The story of Abram and Lot reminds us that God's plan, God's will sometimes asks us to let go of our usual way of doing things, to get out of our comfort zone. The Province of the Sacred Heart rediscovered or recovered this notion last week at its Province Chapter. Once again, we were challenged to think of new ways to preach the Good News. CUSA has also had to look to new ways to spread the news of the good that can be found in redemptive suffering. This blog is one of those efforts. On a personal level, each of us must constantly ask ourselves if God's will is calling us to a new venture, a new attitude, a new way of doing things. Sometimes it is the only way that we will survive.