Monday, August 8, 2011

Forgiveness by St. Francis of Assisi


1

Brother Thomas of Celano recounts a curious episode which took place at Collestrada near Perugia:

St. Francis of Assisi has always been considered a great man of forgiveness. Why? Because he recognized the power of forgiveness and the impact it could have in healing and transforming men and women. He also lived out this truth. Here is a story from his life that demonstrates this in a dramatic way.

One day Francis met an acquaintance of his who looked troubled, and he asked him: “Brother, how are things with you?” The man immediately began to rant against his master, saying, “Thanks to my master — May God curse him! — I have had nothing but misfortune. He has taken away all that I possess.”

Francis was filled with pity for the man, and said, “Brother, pardon your master for the love of God, and free your own soul; it's possible that he will restore to you whatever he has taken away. Otherwise, you have lost your goods and will lose your soul as well.”

But the man said, “I can't fully forgive him unless he returns what he has taken from me.” Francis answered, “Look, I will give you this cloak; I beg you to forgive your master for the love of the Lord God.” The man's heart was melted by this kindness, and he forgave his master. Immediately, he was filled with joy.

St. Francis was truly a man of forgiveness, a peacemaker who became a channel of God's grace to others. We can become like St. Francis. When we pray for those who have offended us, it frees us to love as God loves. God's grace has power not only to change us, but those who have done us injury as well.

2

"Brother Francis, it would be very grateful for all of us if you talked a bit more about forgiveness."

"Friar Philip, may God, in His divine knowledge, inspire us at the moment and this congregation.

"It pleases us a lot to talk about forgiveness. Forgiveness opens the door of the true happiness, and it sets our hearts free from the oppression of our consciousness. Forgiveness is so holy that it makes us forget the injury, favoring us to re-make friends.

"Who already understood the need of forgiving, it is finally understanding there is a spiritual comfort; who forgives the neighbor for duty, it is a student at the school of self-charity; and who forgives the neighbor for love, it is already free from him/herself and it is connected with the Divine Love.

"Forgiveness is the peace itself! It is the help of the hopelessness because it transforms hatred into love.

"We are human-beings and we desire to get spiritual perfection, but sometimes we feel offended by unexpected attacks from brothers who ignore our work. The Gospel, however, teaches us to forgive in order to keep us away from hatred and revenge that can assault our hearts. We must join our hands and sing night and day the song of forgiveness. It will transform us from captive men into free ones.

"Forgive and you will be forgiven; forgive and your sublime dreams will come true; forgive and you will be strong in the battle against the evil; forgive and you will be blessed by the grace and mercy of God."

3


Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
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.
Amen
Copied and pasted by me. I found them as food for the spirit.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Be like a pencil

source: “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’


My reflection on this passage

I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

I like the Portuguese Novelist Paulo Coelho. He has written above 20 novels. Alchemist is the novel that I like most. He gives lot of philosophical notions through his novels. In his novel – like the flowing river – a grandma is talking to her grandson before he begins his school. The grandma says to the boy be like a pencil. And I would like to give you the same message to you today. before you begin this scholastic year.

What are the specialties of a pencil? Can you imagine?

1. Pencil is humble: how? It is ready to correct itself and it carries an eraser. What is written by pen can not be easily erased. 'The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’ An Indian guru says: a pot even if it is golden pot which has kept upside down cannot gather water. If your head is full with pride you cannot learn knowledge.

2. Pencil is symbol of sharpening : it has to be sharpened once a while. "Now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper". What we have to sharpen ? our concentration. In Mahabharata, the disciples under Dhronacharya are learning archery. He asks the first disciple what you see. He says I see a tree, leaves, branches and a bird. Get out of here. The next one says the same. And here comes, the great Arjuna. Guru asks the same question. He says I see the eye of a bird. Shoot, the guru said.. If you have lot of things in mind like, love, internet, games, drugs you cannot concentrate.

3. Pencil is a symbol of dedication: writing and writing the pencil disappear from the world. Acquiring knowledge is not for oneself: it is for the service of human family. 'It always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

4. Pencil is symbol of breaking out of one’s self: 'What really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’ Pencil has two parts: hard wooden part and graphite inside. The hard part has to be broken out to be a pencil. In the same way grandma says in the school he has to come out of himself. Your ego has to be broken out of yourself. Narcissism- I, my, mine….

5. 'You are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’ Pencil cannot write by itself, it needs a hand to write. We call that hand as God. Once somebody asked St. Boneventure where did you get this knowledge? He said pointing to a crucifix. This is the source my knowledge.

6. I would like to add one more thing that is hard work. Great men achieved wisdom by hard work.