Tag: Christ

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Lovely Lady Poverty

Lovely Lady Poverty

The true religion of Francis’s heart means gospel poverty, the poverty of the poor Christ, and the concrete image of that true religion is Lady Poverty, whom he takes as his bride. Lady Poverty is the Bride of Christ, the only one to ascend the cross with Christ on Calvary. And Francis’s marriage to Lady Poverty assures him the great treasure, which is the kingdom of heaven, but at the cost of the cross, which Francis embraces as eagerly as he embraced his spouse. In this rendering, Francis becomes the epic hero of the gospel who has the courage to find and hold on to the hidden treasure, Holy Poverty, which in a grand paradox means having nothing, which will bring him everything, and at times feeling abandoned by God, only to discover that God is closest when God feels farthest away.

This mystery of gospel poverty is the great desire of Francis’s heart and soul because it is the mystery of Christ, who is being born within Francis as Francis dies to himself to become like Christ.

—from the book God’s Love Song: The Vision of Francis and Clare
by Murray Bodo, OFM, and Susan Saint Sing

Franciscan Media: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 205 – Christ the Physician

Sickness and suffering bring us face-to-face with our fragility and limitations. While they might cause some to lose hope and become bitter, we can also endure them in such a way as to grow in maturity and trust in God. Jesus not only heals the sick in the Gospels but also plunges into suffering’s depths. In this redemptive work, we know Jesus as the physician of soul and body. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1499-1505.

Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/v71IcAYTCaM

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 62 – The Christ

Why is Jesus named “The Christ”? Today we discover the meaning behind this powerful title. We also learn about the three-fold ministry of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Fr. Mike explains the true meaning of the kingship of Jesus and how as followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to participate in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 436-440.

Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/YbPkMqw-B7U

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Minute Meditation – To Hear the Word and Act

As she prayed, Clare gradually took on the visage of the very image of the crucified Christ she contemplated; but this happened, not just because she prayed, but because Clare always acted upon the word she was given in prayer. Hers was devotion, a word in the Middle Ages that meant the virtue of hearing the Word of God and then acting upon that Word with alacrity. I hear, and I do what I hear in God’s Word. How many must have been the words given to Clare through a lifetime of prayer! Words that Clare would endeavor to put into practice as she went through her ordinary day, even given her own suffering that was attendant upon an illness that kept her bedridden, off and on for years, an illness that grew worse as she grew older. She and the suffering Crucified Christ became mirrors of each other, a man and a woman who became the poverty of God, both in themselves and in their relating. For the perfect poverty of Christ is the emptying yet filling love and relating of the Blessed Trinity.

— from the book Mystics: Twelve Who Reveal God’s Loveby Murry Bodo, OFM

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Reflect Christ in Your Life

Clare’s emphasis on the person of Jesus Christ is an emphasis on the human person as well, what we are and what we are called to be. Christ crucified is the mirror in which we are to see our reflection, our strengths and weaknesses, our failures and our capacity to love. She wants us to reflect Christ in our lives, to help build up the Body of Christ through transformation in love, and to participate in the church. She is a mystic who calls us to go forward into God by letting Christ take on our flesh so that we may reflect the face of Christ to the world. She tells us not to be dissuaded in the path to God, to be resolute in our convictions and trust the guidance of the Spirit in our lives. Her thought is centered on the essence of human identity: Be yourself and allow God to dwell within you. Christ will then be alive and the world will be created anew.

— from the book Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love by Ilia Delio, OSF

//Franciscan Media//