Reminders of God's Will in Assisi

7/31/2014 Assisi , God's Will , Grace , Happiness , Homily , Italian , Joy , Saints , St. Ignatius 1 Comments

So this morning I got up around 6 (which seems to be the schedule that I am settling on for my time here in Assisi) and after a quick shower headed down the hill (5 minute walk) to San Stephano, a tiny little chapel where we have been having Mass as a group (in English) for the past week and a half.  Fr. Kevin, a priest who happens to be studying Italian with us, is kind enough to make the walk in from where he is staying outside Assisi a couple hours earlier each day to offer Mass for us.  Well, this morning, I read the readings before Mass and was kind of wondering how (or if) he would pull together St. Ignatius of Loyola - the founder of the Jesuits - with Jeremaiah - who speaks on God as a potter, forming us like clay - and Jesus - who tells us today in St. Matthew's Gospel that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net full of fish, both good and bad. 

Thankfully, Father is a wonderful homilist - not long winded, but adept at pulling many seemingly disconnected things together and keeping it interesting at the same time.  Well, I wasn't dissapointed.  He began by speaking on the painting by Rafael of the Gospel passage, of this catch of fish at the end of the world, of all the nations being drawn to Christ.  This painting, as it turns out was comissioned by Leo X, who, through his extensive patronage of the arts back in the 1500s, bankrupted the Church to such an extent that they were hardpressed to find candles for his funeral Mass!  Moving into the first reading, Father reminded us that we must completely abondon ourselves to GOD's will, not our own.  Like St. Ignatius, we must convert, we must open ourselves to God's plan, a decision that takes things out of our hands and puts them into Christ's.  Obvious right?  Well, this means living like St. Ignatius - falling in love with Christ in the midst of his pain, deciding to turn his life completely around, not trying to plan his own vocation but instead letting God take command and just going where God took him (first to the Holy Land, then Paris, then Rome).  We must, as it says in the Gospel, let God "haul us ashore, put what is good in buckets, and throw away what is bad" [Paraphrasing Matthew 13].  God must do the molding, not ourselves!  As the life of St. Ignatius shows us, God uses mysterius means to bring us to Himself - for Ignatius, it was a cannonball that ended his promising career in the military and landed him in a hospital where he could only read about the lives  of Christ and the saints.

We must ask ourselves what clues (or maybe less subtle reminders) that God has put in our lives every day of the places where we are failing to open ourselves to Him, where we aren't committing ourselves to His plan and are instead trying to follow our own.  Pope Leo 10th was following his own plan when he bankrupted the church - did we end up with some great art? - certainly, but was that God's plan? - probably not (though, of course, God brings good out of it).  I am reading "Intoduction to the Devout Life" by St. Francis De Sales, and, as it often seems to happen, what I was reading today seemed to mesh really well with everything that was happening this morning.  He is speaking on devotion, how it is the perfection of love in our hearts (surely God's will for all of us) and he noted that those who lack devotion - those of the world - do "not see the interior and cordial devotion which renders all these actions [fasting, prayer, patience, generosity, stifliing the passions, and all the other virtues] agreeable, seet and easy."

Basically, Our Lord wants to mold us like Himself, He wants to recreate us in His own image, and the only way that can happen is if we are totally open to His will, totally available to His work, totally willing to submit ourselves to whatever He has planned for us.  All the saints are great examples of people learning this abandonment.  I am reading "To Whom Shall We Go?" by Cardinal Dolan on St. Peter and I am in the chapter about Jesus' threefold request of Peter whether he loves Him.  Our Lord asks us the same thing today (and every day): "do you love me more than these?" - more than worldy pleasures, more than friends and family, more than your own will for yourself?  It's a hard task to say "yes Lord, You know that I love You."  It's hard in our culture to not deny Christ in some way each day!  BUT, the saints offer us great examples of what great things happen when we follow Christ.  They show us that it is a sweeter, more wonderful, more peaceful, and more joyful life when we abandon ourselves to Christ's will (He knows better than us what will make us happy).  Let us strive then this day to see God's will in everything that happens, and better try to discern what He wants us to do - of course, based around opening ourselves to His love.

With that, off to 6 hours of Italian studies - I guess I need to figure out where that fits into God's plan for me!  Sorry for the complete dearth of posts lately, I've been busy!  (I'll work on it though!)  Everything was awesome in Rome, everything has been more peaceful, but has entailed more work here in Assisi, and in pretty much everything I've found myself growing closer to Our Lord, especially through His saints, and all the other guys in my class, who are a fantastic group of guys!  Bon Giorno!