El 9 de agosto de 1979, nueve miembros de la Fraternidad de San Francisco en Hackensack, Nueva Jersey, dieron un paso significativo en su camino espiritual al profesar en la Orden Franciscana Seglar. Mi gran bendición es que yo fui una de ellos. Al reflexionar sobre estos 46 años extraordinarios, quiero compartir algunas cosas que he aprendido a lo largo del camino.
When we pray let us attend to God with trust, with confidence. Knowing that God is our Father. And if we must ask, ask for the Spirit that binds us all as one.
Francis used to say “At dawn, when the sun rises, everyone should praise God, who created it, because through it the eyes are lighted by day. And in the evening, when it becomes night, everyone should praise God for another creature, Brother Fire, because through it the eyes are lighted at night.” (Assisi Compilation #83)
You may be familiar with and donate to the H2O Project, the international project that helps promote Christian solidarity, advocacy and financial support for poor communities who have no access to clean drinking water.
As Franciscans, we learn to “pray without ceasing,” to maintain a continuous, conscious connection with God throughout the day.
“Go and do likewise.”
We live in Hawaii, so the stanza on Brother Wind is particularly meaningful for us here. We are blessed to have the trade winds, which Hawaii is well-known for and which we experience very often in profound and beautiful ways.
“May the Lord give you peace.” We are minstrels of the Lord, singing joy into joyless hearts. We listen to the voice of the Lord; we discern His life-giving Word; we go forth to be imitations of what is coming—the reign of God’s peace with abiding justice for all.
The Holy Spirit is always attentive within us; are we listening? Relationships are built on open hearts and trust. The Spirit empowers Jesus to be continually present in the world. God’s Spirit conceives Jesus, initiates his public ministry and sustains his Spiritual life.
In my life up to that point, I had not really internalized what appeared so obvious to St. Francis. When we gaze at the night sky and marvel at the self-evident hand of an amazing God, we are more than spectators. As we work in the name of Jesus, His co-eternal Son, to bring peace and justice and human dignity to this temporal world, we take our place in the great dance.