“Companions
nourish our heart, mind, soul and body. They are people that we can celebrate the
sharing of bread. Perhaps the most
touching stories in the Bible are about companionship: the Last Supper, the
wedding of Cana, the sharing of loaves and fishes, and Jesus breaking bread
with his disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Each incident of companionship with Jesus revealed more about his mercy,
love, wisdom, suffering and hope…
Throughout history, other faithful companions have followed Jesus and
the Apostles. These saints and mystics
have taken the journey from conversion, through suffering, to resurrection. Just as they were inspired by holy people who
went before them, so too can we take them as our companions as we walk on our
spiritual journey.” Praying with the
saints is just that asking holy people to walk with us and intercede on our
behalf. God calls us to be prophets,
priest and kings- to lead holy lives, and gives us a community to encourage,
inspire and help us. We simply cannot
become saints on our own. Every October
I pray with my beloved Saint Francis of Assisi- I do a novena and I study his
life. Years ago when I returned to the
Catholic Church, I was at a prayer meeting with Jovenes Para Cristo and the choir began singing “The Prayer of
Saint Francis (The Peace Prayer)” and I remember that I began sobbing loudly, I
felt this great healing taking place inside me and I heard the call of God – He
was calling me to be His instrument.
Every word in the hymn felt so personal, so directed at me. Later that night I learned that the prayer
had been inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi and as popular as that saint is I
had no idea who he was, but I felt a great connection to him. I had fallen in love with him through
song. I finally understood the role of
saints within the Catholic faith- they are our friends who walk with us to
heaven, who intercede and inspire us.
Throughout
the years, since my first encounter with God’s troubadour, I have built a great
relationship with him, we are very chummy.
I feel like he accompanies me everywhere I go- when I travel and I find him
in foreign countries my heart rejoices.
His order is responsible for the conversion of Mexico so as much as he
is involved in my present he also has deep roots in my past. I love the legends that surround his life, his
connection to God’s creation, the simple values that he lived by and his
commitment to God. He challenges and inspires
me. I love knowing that he began his
life wanting the things of the world like honor, prestige, and wealth. He was a spoiled man, the life of the party
who wasted his days in worldly pleasures- but has such a deep conversion that
nothing but God will quench his thirst. I
understand his past because I too lived for the next party, but I LOVE (more)
his conversion and the life that came after- that gives me hope. I love the Franciscan spirituality: radical
poverty, kinship with all people, oneness with nature, embrace the enemy,
appreciation for suffering, for peace making, for joy and companionship. Though I still have a great, great deal to
grow in my spirituality Saint Francis inspires me.
Yesterday,
was his feast day and parishes usually do the blessing of animals around his
feast day so on Saturday I got to take my love, my doggy to get blessed. There were around forty other critters at the
blessing, mostly dogs so my dog had a fabulous time meeting new friends. I really enjoyed the blessing this year
because the deacon came around dog by dog and called our animals by name and
blessed the dog and the owner! Before
the blessing he read the Genesis story of Adam naming all the animals so it was
just so special and complete. After the
blessing when we arrived home my dog passed out in a peaceful slumber (smile).
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