Dear Sisters and Brothers
in St. Francis,
Peace to each of your hearts!
Imagine that you woke up one morning and, much to your surprise, read your obituary in
the Newspaper! Stunned as you would be, you continue reading because you think
it might be nice to see what was said about you when you were dead (according to the newspaper account) though you are very
much alive. As you read on, you become either more dismayed, or awestricken about
what has been written. This is a blessed moment, because it can be a turning
point in your life and it is for moments such as these, that we should be most thankful, for God gives each of us an opportunity
to rewrite the story of our lives each day.
We have so many role models to follow, none the least of which is St. Elizabeth of Hungry,
whose feast we celebrate on November 17th, who recognized Christ in the poor, the ill, and the marginalized of
her society. She was a woman of prayer and of action. She was attuned to the voice of the Spirit within her and surrendered her will to the will of God. From the Second Reading of the Office of Readings on her feast day, we learn from
Conrad of Marburg, St. Elizabeth’s spiritual director, that she was a champion of the poor and infirm and a woman of
deep prayer. “... I have rarely seen a woman more absorbed in contemplation. Religious men and women frequently saw her coming from private prayer with her face
glowing with a marvelous radiance and rays of light flashing form her eyes like the rays of the sun.”
Imagine what the world would have been like without her or without those everyday saints
who each day have gone before us and given us examples of what it is like to cooperate daily with the God who gives each of
us the opportunity to rewrite our personal stories and to love in complete surrender.
It will be good to see you on the 14th of this month as we gather at the Bernardine Franciscan Conference Center in Reading for our Annual Gathering. We’ll be blessed to have Fr. Kevin Queally, TOR join us for part of the day;
he will celebrate Mass for us at 10:15
a.m.
See you then ...
Peace, all good, and much love,
mattie♥
