Missionary Francisan Sisters

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Prayers and Reflections

Encountering God
in the Relationships of our Daily Lives

Opening Prayer:

Loving and compassionate God
you lavish me daily with your love
and I am grateful.
I ask you now to open my mind and heart
to the message of love
given through Jesus,
through our brother Francis
and our sister Clare.
I pray this in the power of your Spirit
and through Jesus your Son.
Amen.

Reflection:

In Matthew’s Gospel, Chapters 9 and 19, we read about Jesus’ interaction with a number of people: a paralysed man (9:1-8), tax collectors and sinners (9:9-12), a woman suffering from haemorrhages (9:20-26), two blind men (9:27-31). We recall how Jesus observed the wonders of nature, the value of a single sparrow, the beauty of lilies in the field. We know that he took time apart to pray, rest and renew himself for the journey.

Pause: Read one of these stories from Matthew’s Gospel. Note how Jesus relates to the person who is central to the story.

Continue reading:

Francis taught us that there is no greater way for us to come to know and experience God than through our relationships with one another and with creation. As Francis felt this in his soul, it spilled out into his encounters with others. His use of the terms brother and sister were revelations of a deep sense of his interconnectedness. From its earliest days the Franciscan brotherhood was clearly a community of gentleness and loving relationships. In his writing Francis used the word “brother” 242 times – almost always accompanied by an adjective of affection: “my beloved brothers”. His care and tenderness were so intense that he was loved like “a most beloved mother” and that is how he acted. When a young brother was groaning with the pain of hunger during one of the long fasts and could not sleep during the night, Francis not only brought him food in the middle of the night but sat and ate with him so that he would not feel ashamed.

Francis’ friendship with Clare deepened and nourished the vision of the beloved community with all its prophetic dimensions, of which they were both a part. They turned to each other with the road became unbearably difficult and found in their love the possibility of taking another step. When Francis was really ill he came to Clare, lived in a hut in the garden and bathed his eyes and wounds which were causing him great pain and prepared food for him.

Pause: Reflect on the care and tenderness of of these interactions.

Continue reading:

The attitude of Francis of Assisi towards earth’s creatures has been universally acknowledged as unique in its mutuality, compassion, emotion, sensitivity and courtesy because it was basically a loving attitude of a brother towards his sisters and brothers. He spoke to them of God – they spoke to him of God; he taught them about simplicity – they taught him about simplicity; he freed them – they freed him. His love for God spilled over into his relationship with creatures not only because he saw them as gifts but also because he perceived their intrinsic worth and sacredness. He related to nature with altruism and humility and recognised and respected the way we are interdependent with creation:

Brother Sun: radiant in splendour, bringing the day,
bearing a likeness of the Most High
Sister Water: very useful, humble and chaste
Brother Fire: beautiful, playful, robust and strong
Mother Earth: Sustaining and governing us and bringing forth flowers and fruit

Pause: Consider Francis’ response to creation – and your own.

Pray:

Leader: Creator of all, call us to love of the ordinary and to recognition of the extravagant variety and beauty that surrounds us;