Skip to main content

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants


Last Saturday, we had a special guest at St. Francis Convent: Justin Cardinal Rigali, cardinal emeritus of Philadelphia, and a long-time friend of our community.  Cardinal Rigali was invited to speak to the Sisters about his memories of the Second Vatican Council and memories of the work he did for Pope Paul VI as his English-language interpreter, as well as collaborations with other popes.  This was a perfect theme during this Year of Faith!

His Eminence shared many stories that showed the character of Pope Paul VI.  Among other virtues, one that stood out was his utter fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ and his humility in exercising the authority of the office entrusted to him.  During his talk, I was struck by the thought that we stand on the shoulders of giants.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we stand on a firm apostolic foundation, the one established by Christ! 

Almost in confirmation of this idea, the next morning Cardinal Rigali reminded us of the importance of the apostolicity of the Church (i.e., the Magisterium) in safeguarding and transmitting the sacred deposit of faith handed onto us by Christ.  The apostles, and many of their successors after them, spent their lives in service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the point of shedding their blood.  Without their sacrifice and witness, you or I would not know Jesus!  What should our response be to the gift of faith given to us by God’s grace through the ministry of the Church?  Gratitude is a good beginning. 

William F. Buckley, commenting on ingratitude, wrote that to live without any sense of gratitude is “spiritually atrophying. “ The converse, then, must also be true: fostering memory of gratitude has the capacity to strengthen our relationship with God.  During this Year of Faith, take time to reflect on the many people who have helped to initiate or deepen your faith, both those whom you knew personally and the many more that you do not know.  You will find that you too, are standing on the shoulders of giants.

- Sister M. Mediatrix, 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