Skip to main content

Identified with the Suffering Christ

          During this Lenten season I have felt the Lord asking me to enter more deeply into our spirituality "They shall look upon Him Whome they have pierced."  While praying in front of the crucifix I realized that my vocation, caring for the poor and needy of every condition as a Sister, was an answer to a prayer I had made when I was in middle school.  I prayed that I would never be afraid to stand up for anyone.  It came as a result of a specific situation that I don't think I will ever forget.  There was a girl in my class that many students had started making fun of.  It began small, like most things do, but it grew into a daily isolation and taunting, which eventually led her to leave the school after that year.  I remembered when it started.  I didn't take part in it but I didn't do anything to stop the teasing either.  When I was asked by a teacher to be a friend to her, I did, although I was worried about what my friends would think.  They did confront me and asked why I was spending so much time with her.  It was so easy to play the blame game, "My teacher told me to."  I couldn't tell them that I really wanted to be her friend.  I didn't taunt her, but I didn't defend her.  Isn't that the beginning of the Stations of the Cross?  Pilate says, "I find no guilt in this man." But for fear of the crowd he has Christ scourged and crucified, washing his hands of it all or so he thinks.  Pilate has condemned Jesus.  The question is:  When have I condemned Jesus in my daily life?  Knowing Who Jesus is calls us to make a choice:  we are either with Him or against Him.  Looking upon the cross we know that we have pierced Him and by His grace we are saved.  If we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the merciful love of Christ Crucified we will choose Him.  We will choose to be identified with Him the suffering servant and with all those who suffer and are isolated.  I pray that each of us may be able to search for the suffering face of Christ in our lives and not be afraid to be identified with Him.

- an anonymous FSGM

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Journey with Mary: Sacrificial Love of Spiritual Motherhood

                Recently, I found a reflection I had written during my first retreat as a postulant. The last conference that had been given was on Spiritual Motherhood. As I approached the 4 th Station where Jesus meets His Sorrowful Mother, this is what struck my heart:                 What is the sacrificial love of a mother? It is the self-sacrifice made to love her children. Mary’s self-sacrifice to be there with Christ, her Son, in His passion was the selfless love that united her with Him. Her heart was pierced with 7 swords in the agony of watching her beloved Son endure a cross that He did not deserve, but which He embraced for the love of the Father and mankind. Could she not have said to Jesus, “You don’t have to do this, there are other ways. Do you know how much pain You are causing me and those who love you?” She knew He could have chosen any other way t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome to our Family, Postulants!!!

Today, on the Feast of the Birth of Mary, our new postulants entered the postulancy of our American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George! We thank God for the gift of these vocations. Pictured above - on their very first full day in the convent - are (from left) Ashley Vola, Samantha Goodson, Miranda Edgar, Jennifer Clark and Erin Leis. Welcome, Postulants! We Sisters are grateful that you have accepted Christ's invitation to belong totally to Him in our Franciscan community, and we support you wholeheartedly with our prayers and help! If you would like to send a word of welcome and encouragement to these new postulants, we will pass the greetings along to them. Just leave them as a "comment"!
9 comments
Read more

To Gaze upon Christ

This Lent the Lord has put on my heart the awareness of gazing upon Christ.  In our Franciscan congregation, our spirituality flows from John 19:37 “they will look on the one whom they have pierced.”  With this spirituality, we gaze upon the pierced side of Christ and receive from His pierced heart His love and mercy. Then we may go forth to give what we have received.  Throughout this Lent, this action of gazing has been foremost in both my spiritual reading and in prayer.  It also brought to mind a graced trip to Assisi in 2014, by which this “gazing” became so real to me.            While in Assisi, there are many things to see and let soak into one’s soul. The first place where I was moved to gaze was in the side chapel in the Basilica of St. Clare in Assisi, where the Crucifix from which Our Lord spoke to St. Francis is now housed.  What an awe-filled moment it was to kneel before this Crucifix and to gaze into the e...
Post a Comment
Read more