Stretching
(This article originally appeared in the Summer/Fall issue of the TAU-USA)
by Jane DeRose-Bamman, OFS
How willing am I to do God’s will? If I pray or say God’s will be done – do I mean it? Of course, that is what the Franciscan journey is all about – recognizing God is in control.
In many ways, trusting in God’s will is like stretching. If you’ve ever had a pulled muscle, you know the importance of stretching before exercising. Tight or taut muscles can be loosened up by slow steady stretches or easy repetitive motions to warm-up the muscles. It’s amazing how much additional length you can get by stretching those muscles – back, legs, arms. It’s worth it to take the time to stretch so one can avoid dealing with the pain.
This lesson can be applied to our prayer lives. We need to experience a form of stretching to prepare us for various struggles that may find their way into our lives. This is what I’ve come to think of as spiritual stretching.
You have an encounter that challenges you; for example:
- Someone cuts you off in traffic or at the grocery store.
- A fraternity brother or sister takes an opposite political position than you.
- A family member or coworker disrespects you.
- You, a family member or friend is very sick.
How do you respond? What does it take to respond gracefully and lovingly if any response is needed? Can we allow ourselves to be stretched a bit with each encounter?
As a recovering perfectionist, although I have been professed for more than 24 years, my spiritual stretching or limberness has varied throughout the years. Physically, I’ve never been able to bend over and touch my toes without bending my knees. Spiritually, I continue to work on allowing God to lead.
One area where I have experienced spiritual stretching is in response to nominations to serve on OFS fraternity councils. I have been a nominee many times. But I haven’t always had the “God’s will be done” attitude or “a ready and willing spirit[1]”. In fact, there were times when I said no, or made it known ahead of time, that I didn’t have time to serve. I didn’t even pray about it before I responded. I just knew that if my name were to be placed on the ballot I would be elected. (Some humility, eh?) My time was filled – working fulltime, building a relationship with my husband, who wasn’t a Franciscan, and participating in other interests (e.g., tennis, volunteer activities). So I took matters into my own hands – not accepting the nomination or accepting it while grumbling about all the other things I had to do. Well, God worked on my humility and trust – for in some of those elections I wasn’t elected![2] Wonderful examples of the reality that God IS in control of the elections too – no matter how good a candidate I thought I was. As I stretched – spiritually – I came to understand that God knew that I was not ready and was perhaps “not qualified” to serve.
Praying, and allowing God to work through prayer time can transform us from a babbling shallow stream to a calm deep body of water. These days, when I get ready to do something – I’m getting better at saying or thinking, “Okay God, it’s your lead.” I’m getting better at stretching to allow time for God to lead my responses instead of allowing my initial reactions to be the first thing out of my mouth.
If God hasn’t given up on me yet, then I certainly want to keep trying and will put the necessary time into the stretching. Maybe someday I’ll be able to touch my toes without bending my knees… spiritually speaking.
[1] OFS Rule Article 21
[2] My name had been on the ballot as a nominee for a National Executive Council position for elections held in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018. For five of those elections, I wasn’t elected. It began to feel like “Always a nominee and never an executive council member.” Surprisingly, I was elected in October 2018.
Christ Incarnate, The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity
(This article originally appeared in the Summer/Fall issue of the TAU-USA)
By Anne Mulqueen, OFS 
Let me introduce myself. My name is Anne Mulqueen, and I am spiritual assistant to the National Formation Commission. I have been professed for 35 years and have held many positions in the Order. My first elected position 34.5 years ago was as local formation director for Mary Our Queen fraternity in Baltimore, Md. Every position I have held since that election has been enriched by my formation background. I consider that initial election a graced moment. God led me to serve in ways I never imagined I could.
Our National Formation Chair, Diane Menditto, OFS, asked the members of the Commission to take turns writing formation articles for TAU-USA, so eventually you will hear from all of us. The topics we choose will give you some insight into each writer. Pray that we have something worthwhile to say. And as Pope Francis said, “The Spirit himself is ‘God’s gift’ par excellence …,” so I am trusting the Holy Spirit to inspire me to write something of value.
Christ Incarnate, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity is the topic I chose.
The Centrality of Christ in the Life of Secular Franciscans
I believe most members of the Secular Franciscan Order could recite, at least in part, the first paragraph of Article 4.
The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.
Clearly stated in Article 4 is the expectation that we consciously intend to make Christ the inspiration and center of our life with God and people. To accomplish this, we must have an intimate relationship with Christ, and we must know what He said and did. Through a careful reading of the gospel, we will be able to go “… from gospel to life and life to the gospel.”
As Scripture tells us, Christ reveals the nature of the Father when he tells his disciples, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also….” (John 14:7). This statement comes immediately after Jesus tells them that He is the way and the truth and the life. These words of Jesus show us the way to the Father and give us a blueprint to follow. These words reveal Jesus’ identity. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15). In essence, all we know of God, is revealed through Christ.
We know from our formation that after St. Francis’ conversion experiences, he focused his life and actions on the human person of Jesus. But the transformed saint was once, as a young adult, desiring glory through war. Gradually, through a vision on his way to a crusade, his experience with a leper, and a commission from the crucified Christ to rebuild God’s house, St. Francis was transformed into another Christ.
Primacy of Christ in the Life of a Secular Franciscan
What was the reason for the Incarnation? Let’s listen to the gospel of John.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5)
Now we know that the epistle to the Colossians calls Jesus the image of the invisible God. And the gospel of John tells us that without Him nothing was made; therefore, it follows naturally that God, who is absolutely free, wants to be known by his creation—us!
John Duns Scotus’ doctrine of the Primacy of Christ centers on Scotus’ premise that since God possesses divine freedom, God freely expressed divine love for all creation through the Incarnation. The Incarnate Christ reveals God’s divine nature as one of love and goodness.
Many of us are familiar with the Franciscan Question: “Would Christ have come if Adam did not sin?” This question is not meant to deny the nature of sin and the redemptive work of Christ. Instead, it speaks of God’s intention from all eternity to unite all that God created, animate and inanimate, into the life and love of the Trinity. From all eternity the Almighty desires to express God’s divine nature as overflowing love. Quoting Bill Short, OFM, “God doesn’t build a Taj Mahal to cover a pothole.” Our sin is a pothole in comparison to the gift of the Incarnation.
Jesus the Anointed One of God – Humanity’s Blueprint and Model
All of us are created according to the humanity of Christ. And although we are created in His image, we still need to grow into his likeness. This is the work of conversion.
One of my favorite Scriptures is from Colossians 1:27, “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This Scripture reminds me of the Prologue to our Rule, in which St. Francis promises me that if I make a place for Christ in my heart and persevere in doing the will of the Father, “the spirit of the Lord will rest upon [me]” and I will be a child “… of the heavenly Father…” and a “spouse, brother, and mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.” All this will be mine and it can be yours if Christ lives in us through “…a holy life [that] give light to others by example.”
Using a Franciscan lens, Christ, the center of the Blessed Trinity, is the one who reveals to us a loving and fruitful relationship between all of creation and the Trinity—God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
My prayer for you is that Christ, the hope of glory, will dwell in your heart now and forever more.
Questions for Reflection:
✤ Who is Christ for you personally, and how do you identify with Him?
✤ Do you hear a call to become “Another Christ?” How would that change your life?