Friday I received my EWTN calendar. This beautiful calendar is filled with reminders of the feast days of the saints and holy days that we Catholics celebrate. On October 4th we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.

If St. Francis were alive today, he would definitely be an ecologist  but his views of the nature were more spiritual than scientific. He viewed everything in creation as a gift from God.

St. Francis was born to a well-to-do family; his father was a cloth merchant who provided the means for Francis to live a carefree life.  As a young man Francis’ heart’s desire was to become a great chivalrous knight, but God had other plans. On his way to battle to join the papal troops he stopped and lodged in the village of  Spoleto. It was there that Francis heard the voice of Christ. The voice questioned him: “Who is more important, the servant or the Master (Christ)?” Francis answered, “the Master.” this encounter changed his life forever. The voice of God instructed him to go back to Assisi. He abandoned his life as a knight, his friends and his family. The major turning point in his life was when he visited the abandoned church of San Damiano in Assisi. As he knelt before the image of Christ crucified, Christ’s lips moved and spoke: “Francis, repair My house which, as you see, is completely in ruins.” Francis did not see the big picture at first. He thought that God wanted him to repair the abandoned church of San Damiano. God wanted him to repair the Catholic Church!

Praying and Fasting

Pam, a good friend of  ours, recently sold her townhouse. Pam was in a quandary about making a decision about whether to move forward to purchase a new home. When these difficult situations surface in my life, I aways pray and go into the Word of God. I usually open the Bible and something pops out at me. To get confirmation, I repeat the same thing going to different parts of the Bible. I told her to pray and go into the Word. I was not surprised when God spoke to her from His Word. The reading  that she received from the Lord was Jeremiah 29:5. God knows the desires of our hearts. He knew Pam wanted a home with a backyard because she wanted to plant a garden. Our friend, filled with joy, signed the papers for her new home the following day.

 “Then one morning about the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, whilst he was passing on the mountainside, Francis saw a Seraph with six fiery wings coming down from the highest point in the heavens. The vision descended swiftly and came to rest in the air near him. Then he saw the image of a Man crucified in the midst of the wings, with His Hands and Feet stretched out and nailed to a cross. Two of the wings were raised above His Head and two were stretched out in flight, whilst the remaining two shielded His Body.”

After this vision St. Francis received the full stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. This ecstasy brought St. Francis deeper into his spiritual calling.  A seraph is a heavenly, human-like creature with wings. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the seraphim holds the highest order in the celestial hierarchy. They are before the throne of God, forever praising Him. The only Bible reference to the seraphim is in Isaiah 6:1-7.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!
    All the earth is filled with his glory!”

⁴ At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

⁷ He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

 

Be Transformed

To be filled with this much holiness is beyond my imagination. St. Francis was transformed into the character of Jesus. His passion and love for the human Christ led him to discover giftings that radically changed his life. He loved with the Passion of Christ. He would never take on the role as a radical environmentalist, but spent his time saving souls. He was the saint who introduced us to the first Nativity by bringing animals to watch over the Christ Child. While his village was being ravaged by wolves eating their chickens and goats, St. Francis spoke to the wolves and cut a deal with them. “The villagers will feed you if you leave their farm animals alone.” This is one of the reasons St. Francis is the patron saint of animals.

I always get confirmation from the Holy Spirit when choosing a story for this Blog. My friend Fr. Leonard Mary (EWTN) shared a story about St. Francis in his homily this Sunday. St. Francis was doing his gardening when a passerby asked him, “What would you do if Christ returned today?” St. Francis’ reply was simply, “I would continue to do my gardening.” He had a profound appreciation for nature, and this was one of the many ways he communicated with God. St. Francis was filled with the Passion of Christ, and he was given the special gift of love – the same type of love that Jesus has for us.

Assisi

I love Assisi! You can’t go to Italy without visiting this medieval village. To walk in the holy steps of St. Francis is an experience of a lifetime! It’s been a long time since visiting Assisi, but I plan to be there soon!

My Prayer:

Dear Lord, I pray that You would give us the charisms of St. Francis. May we learn to love as he did. Teach us to appreciate and protect our earth. May we respect all living and breathing beings as St. Francis did. Lord, my prayers remain steadfast; I pray for the healing of Carla, Allie, Ana, Kathy and Mario. Amen!

I believe the main problem with our society is the lack of virtue. There is so much anger, disrespect and lawlessness that people can’t seem to comprehend and choose to do what is right. I was not surprised with the news our Pilates instructor shared with us. She said that while she was sitting in her car finishing a telephone conversation, she witnessed several masked young girls running out of  TJ Maxx. The girls arms were loaded with handbags. She watched as they got into the getaway car and fled the scene. Will they get caught? Will they be punished for the crime? Probably not! Our society has become complacent to these heinous acts. We all need a refresher course on the seven virtues.

Prudence — The ability to find the good in every situation and to choose the right means of achieving it.

Can we find it in our hearts to find the good in every situation? I struggle with this a little because I’m not at the level of faith that I should be. I watch the news with disappointment because journalism has become a business that destroys the characters of others. Even the conservative news is out for the almighty dollar. Is it necessary to put others down to get your point across? There is one thing I hold on to, and that is the Word of God.

Justice — The constant and firm desire to give what is due to God and neighbor.*

We all want justice; we want those girls to be caught and punished for their crime. There is nothing more displeasing to God than sin. These young girls were trained to do evil. Their arrogant disregard for the law and rights of others will give them the audacity to do this again. When you don’t get caught, you believe that you have gotten away with it. God created these girls and He knows their hearts. These foolish and brazen acts will only get worse. There were several girls, maybe seven. They will get caught in their own tangled web because they are immature and will brag about their crime to others.

Fortitude — The demonstration of strength in difficulties and temptations; the ability to overcome fear and other obstacles in one’s moral life.*

We know what to do when we hear someone boasting about their crime. Some brave soul will have the fortitude to come forward and say something to the authorities. When we know that it is morally wrong we need to expose the truth. Fear is always what keeps us from telling the truth. We fear for the person or persons, we fear backlash or retaliation. Once the truth is spoken, we are set free. The beautiful thing about truth is that it never changes. Lies, on the other hand, take many turns.

Temperance — Balance in the use of created goods, using pleasure in moderation, and seeking that which is good.*

We should all seek what is good. Self-control is arduous for all of us who have been holding back our words when we are offended. We live in a country where the lines of division have clearly been drawn. If you cross over to the other side, you are fair game. So the best advice is to keep your thoughts to yourself or speak to a friend who shares your beliefs. This problem in our country is not going away any time soon. I pray everyday for our country to reach a consensus of faith and to get us out of this dilemma.

Faith — The virtue by which one believes in God and believes that all He has said and revealed is true.*

Though faith is not tangible, we still press on to find God’s beauty in all of this immoral chaos. God restores us with His love, and by placing our trust in Him we can seek shelter from all that is thrown our way. We know to prepare for storms because of the forecast. Our spiritual storms hit us  hard but we get up again. We know Who’s keeping us going. We know because our faith is a witness to all of our victories. It’s in the midst of the storm that we cannot see Him, but we trust that God is with us. When we remain faithful, we can endure any storm. Remember God only gives us what we can handle.

Charity — Love for God above all else for His own sake and love for one’s neighbor as oneself for the love of God.*

We cannot exist without love. Love comes from our Maker, He created us to love. Every person on earth has the desire to be loved. Love keeps us whole and without it we are lost. Many of the homeless people whom I have encountered did not feel loved. I always reminded them that God is their loving Father and that He has a plan for their lives. We serve a wonderful God who instills in all of us His Holy Spirit. I welcome Him in my heart because when I am downcast, He lifts me up. I feel His Holy Presence each moment of my life.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for all these beautiful virtues. I pray that we all draw closer to You in understanding Your great love for us. Lord, I pray for all those who are involved in the smash and grab, along with all other crimes. Lord, convict them of their sin and may justice be served.

I continue to pray for Carla, Anna, Allie, Mario and Kathy. Heal them, Lord. Amen.

*gotquestions.org

Early last Monday morning I received a text from our son Mikos. It stated that Aaron wanted to stop by and visit with us. The sun was not quite out yet, but I knew that I needed to tidy up the house. In June I furloughed our housekeeper for the summer, so Mike and I have been doing all the cleaning ourselves. Monday is my major chore day. The wood floors are the biggest job, so I started with them. I told Mike, “I can’t make it to Mass today because I need to clean!” As I was dusting the furniture, I felt an urging from the Lord, telling me to go to Mass. I yelled out to Mike, “The Lord told me to go to Mass after all. Can you go and pick up some Mexican bread?” Mike looked puzzled, then responded, “Who’s going to mop the rest of the house?” “I’ll do it when I get out of Mass.”  Mike ended up mopping the kitchen, entry way and family room. We’re a great team! Besides this gave me time to meet with the editor to edit this Blog. It never fails–when you put God first everything else falls into place.

Aaron

Our family has known Aaron since he was in the seventh grade. Our home was within walking distance from both the high school and the junior high, so this is where the kids hung out. I was always home by the time our kids got out of school. We owned a tortilla factory that  also produced tortilla chips. I can’t tell you how many plates of Nachos I served, this was the staple for these boys.

Aaron was that special kid whose charismatic personality was filled with compassion. Because  he was the mediator for all the boys, he always took the right side and defended his friends with kind, well tempered words. I remember once I was driving the boys somewhere when someone said something unkind about another of their friends. Aaron immediately explained that people change and that the group should give the boy another chance. This is who he was and still is.

The Sleepovers

There were plenty of sleepovers,  but I remember this one in particular. I went downstairs to check on the boys, who were sophomores in high school. I turned on the light and all Mikos’ friends were all there, but Mikos was missing. In a loud voice I asked , “Where is Mikos?” While the other boys pretended to be sleeping, Aaron got up and made some lame excuse for his friend. Needless to say, Mikos was grounded for a while. To this day I still do not know where Mikos was! Through the thick and thin of friendships, Mikos and Aaron have remained friends. Aaron served as a groomsman in Mikos’ wedding and Mikos and Jenny attended Aaron and Laura’s wedding.

Mikos and a group of his high school friends get together every year to visit Aaron and  to attend one of his games. Aaron always welcomes their visits.

When Aaron was playing ball for the Cincinnati Reds, he and Laura came to our home for a visit. I remember telling Aaron, “You know God has a bigger plan for your life, way bigger than playing baseball.” I was surprised that those words came out of my mouth, but I knew that it was from God. I prayed that they wouldn’t think I was crazy and left it at that.

The Visit

It was so good to see Aaron again. When I reminded him about the time I spoke those prophetic words he said that he did indeed remember what I had said. Of course Mikos ruined the moment by referring to me as a Nostradamus. My family always has a way of bursting my bubble.

Aaron’s countenance changes when he speaks of his wife and four kids. He is one proud papa! He and Laura are doing a beautiful job in raising their children. He had something special to say about each of his kids.

The Humble Man of God

I asked Aaron if he prays before the games. He replied that he always does. Aaron has a big role in life as the manager of the New York Yankees.  New Yorkers are not the kindest fans, but God placed him as the manager of this team because He knew that Aaron could fill the big shoes of all the other world famous-managers. Aaron will be remembered as a compassionate genius.

God-fearing Parents

Aaron was brought up by two God-fearing parents. While her husband was away playing professional baseball, Sue was the glue who kept the family together. This family is strong because they are grounded in God. Aaron and his two brothers are a product of a praying family.

Years ago I was invited to a party that Sue was hosting. Her special guest was Stormie Omartian. At that time Stormie had authored a book entitled  The Power Of A Praying Wife, This book is a powerful tool for any marriage. I had totally forgotten that I met Stormie Ormartian. I still give out her books as gifts to friends. One thing that I remember purchasing from Stormie that evening were salt and pepper shakers with the word Love on them; these were empty containers because they were meant to season your food with love. My kids loved when I’d get them out and sprinkle love on their food.

The Game

Mikos got us tickets to see Aaron at work. It was not surprising to see how he handles himself in his work environment. Aaron is in control, so his players respect him. At times he would look out at the stands. I don’t know if he saw us, but I was waving my hand wildly and yelling, “Hi Aaron!” We were close enough for Aaron to see us. He smiled and waved back. I was sure it was meant for us, but so did all the hundreds of other people surrounding us.

Anyone who personally knows Aaron will write a similar story because this is who he is to everyone in his life.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I continue to pray for all those whom You have placed on my heart for prayer. I lift up Carla, Kathy, Alie, Mario, and Anna. Lord, they all need the healing touch of Your hand. I pray that You would grant Your son Aaron favor in all his endeavors. Amen.

Go Yankees!!