I spent the last several days here at St. Francis University in Loretto, PA with nearly forty Secular Franciscan sisters and brothers. We learned a great deal about multiculturalism and diversity. It was a great conference in a wonderful setting. What does it mean to do penance in today’s world? What are worthy fruits of penance? Is penance merely a word or a pious act? I believe that penance is a call to conversion. It’s not turning a blind eye to injustice. Worthy fruits of penance are helping immigrant families, helping the poor and marginalized, reaching out to the LGBTQ community and making them welcome. Being Franciscan in the twenty-first century means caring for all creation both animate and inanimate. It’s making sure that all are welcome in this place. It’s more than saying peace and wishing for peace, it’s about living peace.
Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Dominus Tecum
During Lent I began a process of trying to remove toxicity from my life. Lent is always a time of new beginnings and since I don’t like giving up Chocolate and other goodies, I thought how can I get more positivity in my life. Since the election last year I had become pre-occupied with politics and the changes happening in our country and though I tried to be loving and accepting it wasn’t happening by merely trying to think nice thoughts. There is a wisdom tradition that states that if you pray for the person or persons with whom you are at odds that you will come to love and accept them and you will be free of the resentment that you have. So I began to pray the rosary each day during Lent and one day I realized that I didn’t feel resentful anymore and though my own policy preferences for the country were different than some of my friends I had lost the toxicity. What began as an experiment has become a daily prayer time in the car or walking down the street. Until now I’ve not been a rosary prayer but I have found in it’s rhythm and intention a quiet peace that has overtaken my life and I’m grateful for that. I’ve also rediscovered the creativity that I had lost. I’m not sure how long I’m committed to this practice but I’m here to say that it worked for me and maybe it can work for others too. Peace be with you.
Coming home
It’s been a great two days of retreat at Mt. Irenaeus. I needed to get some time alone with nature. I live a good life and have a lot of contentment, but there is something special about coming here to a place that is so peaceful. There are less distractions here. A walk in the woods and only the sound of a gentle breeze, leaves underfoot and an occasional cracking tree branch. I’ve spent two days and soon two nights here. Time in the chapel and walking upon well worn paths are very settling. I tried something new today using Facebook Live to share a contemplative walk on the land. I was able to share the quiet with some friends and I hope it will cause them to spend some time mindfully walking on their own. It has been a several years since I’ve spent this much time here. There are many good memories and it’s always a homecoming. I’m grateful to have been able to take some time apart and be able to bring the fruit of this to my daily life. Peace.
All are welcome in this place
Today is the Feast of All Saints and it was a beautiful feast at that. The sun shone brightly and the temperature was a modest fifty degrees Fahrenheit which is a gift even in the first week of November in Western New York State. My wife said she wanted to accompany me to Mass at Mt. Irenaeus today. Diane doesn’t always go so it was a gift to have her in the car on our way to the Mountain as we call it. 
We rode along stopping briefly in the village of Cuba, New York and then on through Friendship and Nile and up the road to our destination. We stopped at the House of Peace to drop off the goodies Diane had prepared and then up the trail to Holy Peace Chapel we strode. As we walked we met others who were joining us for today’s liturgy. Those who come to the Mass each week are part of the Mount Irenaeus community and what a diverse community it is with college students from nearby Houghton College along with students from St. Bonaventure University. Then there are the resident friar community and people like Diane and I who journeyed here today. Today all of us gathered in the chapel were saints and that is what Fr. Dan Riley, OFM invited us to be in his homily. Diane and I have been coming here for over fifteen years now. We know most of the regulars and many of the students. Mount Irenaeus is less like church and more like community and that is what I dare say most of us come regardless or our age. Lyrics that we often begin our celebration with continue to resonate and describe this place.
Let us build a house where love is found
In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground,
Where peace and justice meet.Here the love of God, through Jesus,
Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us:All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place. – Marty Haugen – All Are Welcome
Thoughts on the Thirtieth
In a couple of hours I’ll be driving to Mt. Irenaeus. It’s become a second home for me in the past fifteen years. Today they are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. I’ve only been involved there for fifteen of those years. Nonetheless, there will be many familiar faces from all over the area and from all over the United States and maybe some other countries too. The Mountain as most of us refer to it is one of those unique places where the spirit of God transcends everything. It’s peaceful and though there is a chapel it’s not “church” in the traditional sense of the word. It’s really community and everyone involved there is a member of the community. Though its roots are Roman Catholic and Franciscan and their mission statement proclaims that they are “Joining with Jesus Christ in Making All Things New,” they welcome everyone regardless of faith or not.
All who participate in the mission of the Mountain join with Jesus Christ in “making all things new” by creating and nourishing a community that transcends a particular place, opening to all peoples, ages and cultures.
Today I’ll be actively involved in that transcendence as we celebrate thirty years of life and ministry at the Mountain.
Men’s Overnight at Mt. Irenaeus
Tonight I am a guest at Mt. Irenaeus along with about fifteen St. Bonaventure University men, four friars and a couple other men my age. Men’s overnights at the Mountain are times for sharing, forming and bonding with other men. I’ve been on several of these overnight retreats in the past ten years. Each time I’ve found peace, friendship and insight. I volunteered to drive three young men from campus to The Mountain. As we began our journey it began to snow quite hard and I worried about getting us there safely. My prayers were answered as we soon left the snow squall and had a leisurely drive. Tonight my life is richer because I accepted the invitation to be part of this gathering. I’m grateful to be a part of university life. Activities like this keep me young. I’m grateful too for the opportunity to spend a quiet night at one of my favorite places. Whenever I come to Mt. Irenaeus I feel as though I’m back home. Thanks be to God!
Compassion is the fuel for a new economy
Chade-Meng Tan’s talk gave renewed hope to an idea I had for a model economic development and empowerment for youth that promotes the greater good. Last summer I participated in a course at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute. It was called, “Retrieving a Franciscan Philosophy for Social Engagement.” As part of the course I was required to come up with a timely application of the principles which we were studying. The following is taken from a paper I wrote this summer.
“Life reduced to its simplest equation is about relationships. Implicit in these relationships is contract. Most of the time the contracts are implied and at other times in the are complex legal agreements governing business transactions. We live at a time and in a culture that is desperately looking for a response to life that is grounded in principles that respect both the buyer and the seller. Principles that invite not only common property but value for what we can call the common good? Some might argue that such ideas are too idealistic and that nowhere is there any evidence that anyone has successfully applied such an approach.”
Chade-Meng Tan’s talk provides evidence that such principles are used very successfully at Google. Glad to have found this talk and thank you to TED for publishing it.
[ted id=1113]
We have been called
Earlier today I came across a quote from St. Francis of Assisi. I really liked it and it’s something that’s related to one of my earlier posts, “An Orientation to Social Welfare.”
“We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”
What am I doing to heal wounds? Do I look to be helpful to those who have lost their way? What can I do to unite what has fallen apart? Helping others and being cheerful actually lowers stress both for the initiator and the receiver. Another of St. Francis’ prayers states that it is better to give than to receive. Caring for others invariably winds up being care for ourselves. Economy is strongly connected to community. And community is invariably about care for the other.
An Orientation to Social Welfare
Life reduced to its simplest equation is about relationships. Implicit in these relationships is contract. Most of the time the contracts are implied and at other times in they are complex legal agreements governing business transactions. Implicit in these transactions is an element of fear. Rarely discussed and even more rarely placated it is there nonetheless. We live at a time and in a culture that is desperately looking for a response to life that is grounded in principles that respect both the buyer and the seller. Principles that invite not only common property but value for what we can call the common good? Some might argue that such ideas are too idealistic and that nowhere is there any evidence that anyone has successfully applied such an approach.
There exists within the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition the principles of ethical business and community building. Eight hundred years ago Francis of Assisi offered the world a paradigmatic alternative to unbridled avarice. And his prescription included removing money and greed which are central to the elimination of discord from relationships. Add to that he and his followers lived this paradigm in a manner that fostered fraternity. Although nearly eight hundred years separate St. Francis from today’s world. The principles embodied in the Franciscan Rule of Life and its intellectual tradition offer a way out of the madness. Like the early Franciscans we live in a time of devalued currency, unprincipled trading practices, emerging markets and global forces that have turned our world upside down.
Pope Benedict XVI provides direction in “Caritas in Veritate” for such a model from Catholic Social Teaching.
In recent decades a broad intermediate area has emerged between the two types of enterprise. It is made up of traditional companies which nonetheless subscribe to social aid agreements in support of underdeveloped countries, charitable foundations associated with individual companies, groups of companies oriented towards social welfare, and the diversified world of the so-called “civil economy” and the “economy of communion”. (Caritas in Veritate, p. 46)
These groups of companies oriented toward social welfare are precisely the kinds of businesses which can provide a vision of a way forward for all. The following quote from B Corporation’s website provides an alternative to more traditional business models.
“People like you have the power to spread awareness, create good, and ignite worldwide change. We want you to join our global neighborhood. A movement is simply a community in action. Go ahead and throw a pebble in the pond, create a ripple, start a conversation — you never know where it may lead.” — BCorporation
Can business exist for the common good and still meet a bottom line? This post was taken in part from a paper I wrote this summer as a student at the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University.
A Franciscan in Blue Jeans
Just yesterday, my friend Br. Kevin showed me a flyer detailing an event occurring soon on the campus of St. Bonaventure University. Fr. Daniel Horan, OFM will be speaking at 4:30 pm on November 7, 2013 at the University Chapel, Doyle Hall. His topic is “A Franciscan in Blue Jeans: How Thomas Merton Became and Remained a True Franciscan.” I look forward to attending the lecture because I’m a Thomas Merton fan and I’m sure that Fr. Dan’s talk will be good. Merton once applied to be a Franciscan Friar but was withdrew for personal reasons that are spelled out in his biography “Seven Storey Mountain.” Merton came to St. Bonaventure to teach English and along the way became a Secular Franciscan prior to entering the Trappist Order in December of 1941.