FIFTH WEEK OF LENT: "TEACHERS"
Each Sunday during this Holy Season of Lent, we will offer a reflection based on the lives and writings of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. We hope and pray that you will find these reflections helpful as you walk with Christ Jesus on the long road toward his passion, death, and resurrection.
From the Prayer of Saint Francis
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
(From the Prayer of Saint Francis)
My Teacher: Vavó
In my life, there have been many teachers, from family to school and beyond. My most influential teacher was my grandmother, my vavó. My vavó lived with my family until her death in 1988 and she taught me her values through example, through her stories, and through her work ethic.
My vavó was a second mother to me. Since my own mother had to work, vavó became the house sitter and babysitter. She helped to raise me, comforted me in distress, and reared me in the Portuguese tradition. She only spoke her native language of Portuguese. In turn, I spoke only that language, too. She constantly communicated with her family in the Azores through letters, finding out about local births, deaths, and important events. In this way, she taught me about importance of family and how to keep in touch with loved ones.
Vavó also worked hard at home: washing laundry, cooking supper, making beds, and readying us for school in the morning. Her example of hard work inspired me to strive for the best in school and in life. She was an artist, not with canvas and oils, but with crocheting. Many of the bureaus in my family's home are covered with her artistry.
Vavó's most important quality was her dedication to serve others. She raised seven grandchildren in our home at the same time. She was always ready to sew hemlines for my aunts or crochet a gift for a relative. These simple models of service encouraged me to help others in my life. Further, vavó's kindness embodied the message of Jesus Christ to serve.
During her last years, vavó struggled with diabetes and suffered much. She was strong; then she was weak. She could no longer do all that she wanted to do, but she still tried to do chores. In her struggles, vavó taught determination, perseverance, and strong will. In her last triumph, on the night before she died, vavó walked down two flights of stairs to the basement of our house (an feat she had not accomplished for a year) and ate her last meal with her family. The next morning, we awoke to discover that she had died in her sleep.
I learn by watching. My vavó was the perfect person to watch. Her work ethic was to be envied, her religious beliefs to be imitated. She led by example. She was patient, especially when a grandchild broke a dish or spilled milk. She never quit. She never forced her beliefs on others but glowed with the holiness of prayer. My vavó was my teacher in all things.
Christ: Francis' Teacher
For Saint Francis, Jesus was his teacher. For Francis, the gospels were his textbooks. For Francis, making decisions in accordance with the teachings of Christ were his examinations. After his conversion and throughout his life, Francis desired to be more like Jesus Christ in every way: compassionate, poor, obedient, and itinerant.
In his rule and in his life, Francis practiced himself and asked of his followers an austerity of life and complete poverty. He did so because his teacher, Jesus, was also poor, humble, faithful and selfless in his service to God. Francis acted upon the gospel and lived the words of Jesus: "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26-27)."
Francis learned from Jesus in the classroom of faith to exhort his followers to imitate the disciples in every way: "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there (Luke 9:3-4)." So, Francis and his followers begged for food in every town or village where they preached. Francis himself begged for food, medicines, and clothing for the poor and the sick. Throughout his life and ministry, Francis depended entirely on Jesus for guidance and inspiration. Jesus was his teacher in all things.
Stigmata: Ultimate Life Lesson
Above all things, Francis desired to be like Jesus. This desire culminated in his receiving the "touch" of Jesus. In his "Life of Saint Francis", Bonaventure describes this miraculous moment:
"Two years before Francis, the faithful servant of Christ, gave his soul back to God, he was alone on the top of Mt. Alverna. There he had begun a fast of forty days in honor of the Archangel Michael and was immersed more deeply than usual in the delights of heavenly contemplation. His soul became aglow with the ardor of fervent longing for heaven as he experience within himself the operations of grace."
"When the vision vanished after a mysterious and intimate conversation it left Francis aglow with seraphic love in his soul. Externally, however, it left marks on his body like those of the Crucified as if the impression of a seal had been left on heated wag. The figures of the nails appeared immediately on his hands and feet. The heads of the nails were inside his hands but on top of his feet with their points extending through to the opposite side. His right side too showed a blood-red wound as if it had been pierced by a lance, and blood flowed frequently from it."
Finally, after years of selfless service, itinerant preaching, reconciling warring factions, and depending only on the goodness of God, Francis became like Jesus, his teacher, even in his pain and suffering. Christ Jesus was his teacher in all things.
Carry Our Cross
Just as Francis studied the life of Christ Jesus and faithfully lived the gospel, we are called to pick up our crosses each day and to be disciples. We are called to follow Christ Jesus, who is also our teacher in all things. We may not become saints, but we can practice poverty of spirit, compassion, and service. We can be faithful to our vocations, whatever they may be.
In this spirit of being faithful to our individual vocation, Francis encourages us: "Even if you were more handsome and richer than everyone else, and even if you worked miracles so that you put demons to flight: all these things are contrary to you; nothing belongs to you; you can boast in none of these things. But we can boast in our weaknesses and in carrying each day the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." In this way, Christ Jesus is our teacher in all things.
Saint Francis, pray for us!
Saint Clare, pray for us!
Holy men and women of Assisi, pray for us!
