Into Great Silence

Having already made a dramatic impression on the life of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, one has to ask whether it is all part of some strange Jesuit plot?

Not everyone is called to 'go out to the peripheries'. Some are called to be simply faithful husbands and wives, devoted to family, others to the contemplative life, others to the active life. I have been out to the peripheries and have now learned not to let the peripheries know where you live. I wouldn't wish that on a family!

To me, the time I have with Jesus is precious. It really is not that much time I spend with Him. I wish I could spend more time with Jesus than I do. I appreciate the opportunity to spend an hour with the Lord at Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

Thankfully, it is quiet there in the Church. That hour is more valuable than any active service I may do for those who I see in the 'real world'. Of course, it is the 'real world' that messed them up and where nobody showed them the love of Jesus.

Frankly, if you don't spend time with Jesus in quiet, in prayer, your service to those in whom you serve Jesus will be poor. Prayer and works go hand in hand. Works without prayer will be fruitless. Without peace and quiet, it is difficult to pray. Thankfully, the Holy Father went on:

'While reading the catechism is necessary, it’s not enough, he said. “It’s necessary to know Jesus in dialogue with him, talking with him, in prayer, on your knees. If you don’t pray, if you don’t talk with Jesus, you don’t know him.”'

St Francis: Enjoyed periods of peace and quiet

But we need peace and quiet to pray! Also, what about finding Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? What about finding Jesus in the Gospels (Dei Verbum, anybody?), or in the works of the Saints that you may find in a library? What about the Dominican's study and prayerful meditation, the fruit of which is preaching? What about finding Jesus in the Sacrament of Penance?

Please, Holy Father, Your Holiness, do not present us with a reductionist, one-dimensional vision of the Christian life and mission. There are a variety of gifts to the Church, of which the service of the poor is but one. St Francis of Assisi received the stigmata while in ecstatic prayer in a peaceful and quiet location in La Verna.

I know that people will say, 'Laurence, you're taking the Holy Father's words out of their context' or 'Laurence, you're misinterpreting what he is saying' but maybe if the Holy Father were to say less things 'off the cuff' old grumps like me would be less grumpy. We have a duty to love the Holy Father, but surely the Holy Father has a duty to teach us the fullness of the Faith, not one aspect in isolation, divorced from the rest. Jesus can be found and served in the poor in the real world. He can also be found in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church in every Diocese around the World until the End of Time. It is notable that at this time belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist is at an ebb. It is also noteworthy that while His Holiness has described the poor as the 'flesh' of Jesus, He has said not a great deal at all about the Lord's Flesh and Blood in the Most Holy Eucharist.

'You won't find Jesus there mate!'

Please, Holy Father, teach us to love Jesus in the poor and neglected, but also too in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, for He is our Life, our Heavenly Food, our Salvation. Did not St Peter say, 'Lord, increase our Faith'!?

Teach us, also, to pray, so that in a world so full of enticing illusions, we find our true Reality in Him.


I'm getting more than a bit narked off with writing not completely supportive posts about the Holy Father. I'm considering going 'into great silence' myself for a while. The fact that His Holiness said you won't find Jesus in a library when that's probably where Pope Emeritus Benedict is right now is a little 'insensitive'.  Grrrrr!!!