Scripture
Matthew 5:1-6
The Beatitudes with Reflection
The Litany of Blessings are poetic to the ear yet quite straight forward and unsubtle regarding the qualities of those of us who wish to be counted among God's blessed.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted
In order to serve God and God's people, we must acquire a poverty of spirit and become sensitive to human suffering and injustice. We must kiss the leper and bow before the Creator and the image of the Most High in Creation. The Christian is an instrument of grace, not the source of grace. We also mourn the sins of others and feel deeply human suffering and divisions. We affirm and inspire the goodness and holiness of others and believe that the blood of the Lamb washes clean the hearts of all God's people.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
In our Rule, Francis stated that "the brothers who are ministers and servants of the others should visit and admonish their brothers humbly and charitably correct them. They must also pray to the Most High with a pure heart throughout the correction. On the other hand, the brothers who are subject to them should remember that they have given up their own will for God... The corrected brothers should be received with great kindness and love...
Thus, in addition to humility, meekness is the grace to bear insult patiently, to accept the correction and admonishment of another with the brotherly love it is offered and to esteem others more than oneself. As a person grows in meekness, he delights and believes in the goodness of life and shares this with others.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is yearning to be closer to God, to embrace Christ and to be filled with his praise. We long for more perfection, for continuous growth in holiness
Sources
General Constitutions
Article 42
To build up unity in the brotherhood even more the brothers should take the initiative in showing love for each other. They should gladly serve one another, promote all good things others are trying to do and rejoice with them when their efforts are successful.
Prayer
Act of Love
O my God, 1 love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
exudi nos domine
|
Prayer for an Aging Religious
|
|
|---|
Dearest Lord, teach me to grow gracefully.
Help me to see that my community does me no wrong
when gradually it takes from me my duties;
when it no longer seems to seek my views.
Rid me of my pride in all the "wisdom" I have learned.
Rid me of the illusion that I am indispensable.
Help me in this gradual detachment from earthly things
to grasp the meaning of your law of time.
Teach me, in this turn-over of work and workers,
to discern a striking expression of life's constant renewal
under the impulse of your providence.
And please, Lord, let me still be useful
contributing to the world my optimism,
adding my prayers to the joyful fervor and courage
of those who now take their turn at the helm.
|
Let my life-style now become one of humble and serene
contact with the world in change,
shedding no tears for the past;
making of my human sufferings
a gift of reparation to all my brothers.
Let my leaving the field of action be simple and natural-
like a glowing, cheerful sunset.
Lord, forgive me if only now in my tranquility
I begin to know how much you love me,
how much you've helped me.
And now, finally, may I have a clear, a deep understanding
of the joyful destiny you have prepared for me
guiding my every step from the first day of my life.
Lord, teach me to grow old...just so.
|
This prayer first appeared in the newsletter of the Venice-Milan Province in May 1973 as "Prayer of an Aging Jesuit." It has since been translated and widely reprinted.
|
James Kelly OFM, Editor
|