Month: October 2021

Rebuild my Church

The Cross of San Damiano, Assisi

Rebuild My Church

This week, we are enjoying celebrating the life and mission of Saint Francis.
Those of us who have visited Assisi will know the holiness that the prayers of Francis, St Clare, and the band of their followers brought to the surrounding countryside and far beyond.

No doubt many know how his story began but I like telling it!

In 1181 a boy was born to a wealthy merchant family in Assisi.  He was baptized Giovanni but became more popularly known by the name Francesco.  It was always thought that he would eventually take over the family business as a prominent cloth merchant. Francis was, however, a spirited and rebellious youth.  His wayward ways put him at loggerheads with his father, a relationship made all the more difficult when he was imprisoned for brawling with a neighbourhood gang.

This imprisonment changed him, though not to the liking of his father. He began to be concerned for the poor and especially for lepers. He threw away his clothes and renounced his father’s wealth. At the age of 20, he heard a different Father speaking to him. ‘Go make disciples of all nations‘, was what he heard.

Francis rushed away from home and came to the derelict church of St. Damiano on the edge of Assisi. There he knelt in prayer and looked at the faded crucifix still hanging over the altar. Saint Damiano had seen much better days and was all but derelict. Francis insists that, as he knelt, the voice of Christ came to him at that moment. The words he heard were: ‘Francis, rebuild my church, which you see is falling down.’ Eager to be given a specific task, Francis set about physically repairing the church. Other young people joined him and soon St. Damiano’s became a church again.

But, as is so often the case, God’s vision is wider than our understanding. We do what we think God wants and find that there is more to it. What God really wanted Francis to do was  rebuild not just the church of St. Damiano, but THE Church. It was a time of spiritual decay and of disdain for God’s little ones in need — the poor, the lame, the leprous. Even the care of the Natural world was being neglected.
The story of St. Francis and his companions is well known and he is especially remembered on October 4th. His work among the poor; his care for creation; his love of the simple are legend. His devotion to Christ was total. These were the building blocks of a restoration of the Church. Francis through his simplicity of life and determination to serve God did exactly what God asked of him. He alongside his companions, rebuilt the Church spiritually and gave it new vision.

It wasn’t easy and certainly he did not go about fulfilling God’s vision through trite and glib statements. Rebuilding vision which holds one’s sight on God also includes bringing real hope. That is hard work and requires real dedication. There must be a genuine and delightful love of the vulnerable, the unloved and uncared for and the animal and natural kingdom. This involves compassion, care and an acceptance that everyone has an equal right to what God has provided for all to share.

That seems a long way from the World we know today, but the same was true for Francis. The pouring out of love on a loveless world demanded and goes on demanding, effort and total commitment to the Gospel of God in Jesus Christ. Nothing else will do

Francis and his mission did change the world he knew and has gone on changing it ever since.#
But that vision of the Gospel bringing real joy to the world needs to be constantly renewed.

Rebuild My Church! This call of God comes to Christians today. There is a wide vision to be embraced. God is calling us to reshape, refashion and renew His Church, particularly after the devastation of Covid.
We are being equipped, through prayer and conversation with God and each other, to be God’s dynamic people. We are being called to tell the story of His Love to all people whose lives we touch, including our friends, neighbours and family but also those we have yet to meet, whom God will put in our way. God is calling us to rebuild the vision of his love both in our own hearts and in the lives of those whom he calls us to serve. But, as with Francis, it starts with ourselves and it starts TODAY!

And that includes all in our world which  in their own way, respect and revere God. Those who knowing love can bring it to others.
In this, it is no different than for St. Francis.

He used the Church as the platform for the true work of God
The real task is to Rebuild the World and we do that by having a wide vision.

Those of us who are proud the be Christians must always realize that God loves and saves the world. And, amongst others, he uses us to do it.
In giving thanks for Saint Francis and St Clare and the countless Franciscan followers over the centuries, we are being invited to share in this mighty and blessed work.

[Mr.G.]

ST FRANCIS’ PRAYER before The CRUCIFIX at St.Damiano

Re-balancing with Egrets

Here is another photo reflection from my friend Joyce Smith.

She comments:
These little egrets certainly seem to move with the rhythm of nature and life.

Egrets are part of the Heron family. The RSPB describes them as having white plumes on crest, back and chest; black legs and bill, yellow feet.
They were first seen significantly in 1989 and first bred in Dorset in 1996.
They can be seen on a number of south coast sites where they breed.
Some are also winter visitors.

The photograph which Joyce sent is very compelling and I found it particularly important to spend time with it. As  I sat in silence, looking at it, words like Grace, Stillness, Beauty, Purity and Peace came to mind.

The background of lush, verdant grasses and plants, paints a background of nature embracing and framing the quiet poise of the two birds, patiently waiting to catch their next meal (always fish). Yet they are almost statuesque. The water laps around them and, behind , becomes an oasis-like pool in which they can wade.

Joyce invites us to sing and dance to the rhythm of life and there is a strong sense that the photo records a balance of nature to our own, often unbalanced and frenetic lives. The message seems to be that we were never meant to live the way we do. It’s an idealistic message, of course, for those whose reality of life is different.
Life isn’t that easy for us, especially at the moment, but let’s also remember that in the natural world of the egret things are tough too.

But in the photo there is a what I like to call a  ‘Pause moment’ .

We are invited to be still, to pause, to breathe, to re-balance our lives, if only for a few minutes.
We are gently challenged to become part of who and what we are in God’s eyes and maybe we might learn a little to sing and dance to the rhythm of life – real life as God longs it to be for us.

But this contemplation shouldn’t leave us dissatisfied. There is nothing ‘if only’ about this. A companionable moment with a friend is never futile or wasted. It is a time to be still and maybe wait.

Bird-watchers are, I believe, very patient people. Holding their breath as the egret or some other bird, circles and lands. There is a thrill of expectation about to be fulfilled.

As I sat in companionable silence, quietly watching the egrets I knew what I was waiting for.

My companionable God. He comes so easily in quiet. Which is why the egrets remind me that I must cherish this moment as a Godly re-balancing.

The symbolism of  the egret is said to be about being at peace with oneself and with the world. This is a state of balance and calmness.
When, even if only for a moment, we reach this level of spirituality and of peace with our Creator, then we can discover ourself as a more balanced and integrated person, full of life and of God.
This, of course, is a mirror.  This photo holds itself up for us to see the One for whom it is most true – He who invites us to sing and dance with the joy of life – Jesus.

[Mr.G & Joyce with a little help from Revd. Lynn]

*** RSPB = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds