You Are One Of A Kind

A Reflection by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD

Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy

www.missionstsergius.org

Recently as I was preaching a sermon on a recent Sunday one of the members of the Faith Community said to me, “You Are One of a kind” to which I replied “Is that a good thing or a bad thing”, they replied; “Very Good”.

Later I began to ponder on this exchange during the middle of my sermon expounding on God’s infinite love for ALL His children.

The more I pondered it the more I came to realize that indeed it is a wonderful thing that God has created each of us different.

We have unique genes which separates us from each other and from all the other members of our family. Our children are different from us in some unique way and not exactly a clone of us.

That is the wonder of God’s creation. No two things are exactly alike and for that reason we need to acknowledge and rejoice in that difference.

Just imagine how dull and uninteresting this world would be if every person looked and acted exactly like the other, if every flower was the same and every day was just like the day before.

God, in His wisdom knew how bored we mere humans can get when our lives become dull and uninteresting.

He also knew that without the diversity we would not develop and grow as we have but would forever stay the same as the day Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden for their disobedience and desire to become as powerful and knowledgeable as God.

If every person was a genius in the same field there would not have been the scientific advancements we humans have achieved. Our world would have remained primitive and even more frightening than it is now.

God gave every person special gifts, as we are reminded by St. Paul in Romans 12:4-11 and again in First Corinthians 12 “For, as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office, thus we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one members one with the other. But having different gifts, according to the grace which has been given to us, whether it be] prophecy according to the proportion of faith,; or teaching; or he that exhorts, in exhortation; he that gives, in simplicity; he that leads, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be unfeigned; abhorring evil; cleaving to good: as to brotherly love, kindly affection towards one another: as to honor, each taking the lead in paying it to the other: as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:4-11)

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.”(1 Corinthians 12:4-12)

God who is perfection created people different for reasons He knows and for His purpose and we imperfect beings have no right to question God but instead should be grateful that God did create us with diversity and difference. We need to glorify god for the differences He has created and not try to exclude anyone because they do not conform to our idea of what people should be. We need to be thankful and appreciative and use God’s gifts to us to lift up those who are disheartened and always remember the words found in Matthew 7:10-12; “If you, then, though you are Imperfect, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”(Matthew 7:10-12) AMEN

Submitted this day, October 4^th in the year of our Lord 2008 on the feast of our seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi as a testament of how and why we who follow Christ must live our lives each and every day for the greater glory of God and our faithfulness and love for all God created by the Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus; www.missionstsergius.org

A Reflection for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Our Seraphic Father

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD

Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus

www.missionstsergius.org

Tomorrow, Saturday October 4^th is the feast honoring St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226) the Seraphic Father of the Franciscans of Divine Mercy. The following is a brief reflection about the life of St. Francis and why our order tries to live up to the principals St. Francis had when he founded the order.

St. Francis was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant in Assisi. One day while Francis was praying before an ancient crucifix in the forsaken wayside chapel of St. Damian's below the town, he heard a voice coming from the crucifix saying: "Go, Francis, and repair my house which as you see is falling into ruin." When his father objected to having his goods sold without his consent to pay for the restoration of the chapel Francis heard the voice speaking from the cross which Francis believed to mean that he should rebuild the chapel, his father begged the bishop to commanded Francis to repay the money he had used to the father. Francis did nut not only the money but stripped himself of all his clothing which his father had paid for and tossed them at the feet of the father. He also renounced his father. The Bishop quickly placed his cope on Francis to cover his nakedness.

He even later gave the few garments the people of the town clothed him with to a begger for the coarse woolen brown tunic of "beast color", the kind of clothing then worn by the poorest of the Umbrian peasants, and tied it round him with a knotted rope, Francis went forth at once exhorting the people of the country-side to penance, brotherly love, and peace. Ten years later 5,000 men were wearing it the simple clothing; a hundred years later Dante was buried in it because “it was more glorious than cloth of gold”. This simple peasant garment is worn to this day by all Franciscans as a reminder of our commitment to live our lives for others rather than ourselves as Francis did, especially when performing official duties as a brother or priest. We also wear the image of the Cross St. Francis heard talking to him, often called the San Damiano Crucifix, as a reminder that it is our mission to rebuild and strengthen the Universal church by preaching God’s infinite love for ALL His children since that was what Francis came to understand was the message he received. Francis often spoke out against the excesses practiced by the hierarchy and their failure to live the teachings of Christ.

Francis began a life of perfect evangelical poverty, living by begging and even then only accepting the worst food that people had to give. Franciscans, even today, rely on donations to fulfill their missions work and often perform secular labor to supply their daily needs.

Francis preached to all the love of God and the love of the created world; because,he celebrated everything he received, or saw, or heard, as a gift from God who created everything for good and a purpose known only to God.

A rich man sold everything and joined him in living next to a leper colony; a canon from a neighboring church gave up his position and joined them also. They looked into the Gospel and saw the story of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell everything; they saw Jesus telling his disciples to take nothing with them on their journey; they saw Jesus saying that his followers must also carry his cross. And on that basis they founded an order. Francis went to Rome himself and persuaded the Pope to sanction it, though it must have seemed at once impractical and subversive, to set thousands of holy men wandering penniless round the towns and villages of Europe.
There is too much to say about Francis to fit here. To learn more you might go to the
Catholic Encyclopaedia. Francis died in 1226, having started a revolution. As I said in the beginning of this reflection, the Franciscans of Divine Mercy strive to continue the traditions of St. Francis by spreading God’s message of love to every person especially the poor, alienated and those who society rejects just as Francis did.