"The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Spirit;
He will reign in you if your heart is at peace.
So, be at peace, Mademoiselle,
and you will honour in a sovereign way
the God of peace and love."
(Saint Vincent de Paul)
Everyone who follows Christ receives true peace,
the peace that Christ alone can give,
a peace which the world cannot give.
Many people, when they think of Saint Francis,
think of peace;
very few people however go deeper.
What is the peace which Francis received, experienced and lived,
and which he passes on to us?
It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross.
It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples:
“Peace be with you!”
The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who “take up” their “yoke” namely, Christ’s commandment:
"Love one another as I have loved you!"
This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride,
but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.
We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you:
Teach us to be “instruments of peace”,
of that peace which has its source in God,
the peace which Jesus has brought us.
"Love one another as I have loved you!"
This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride,
but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.
We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you:
Teach us to be “instruments of peace”,
of that peace which has its source in God,
the peace which Jesus has brought us.
Pope Francis
Feast of Saint Francis, Assisi
October 4, 2013
Given me Christian extremism rather than Islamic extremism any time!
ReplyDeleteWhere is the kindness and charity in Islam Judaism or Hinduism extended to everyone? None of these religions extend these concepts to everyone equally and inclusively.
ReplyDeleteChristianity is the only religion which is all inclusive. It does not discriminate.
'I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
ReplyDeleteAnd I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on.
I danced on the sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.
I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.
They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
Excellent hymn a loyal communicant!
ReplyDeleteWhat mysterious joy in these words.
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."
(Mk 1.15)
"If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Mt 12.28)
"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!or `There!´ for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
(Lk 17.20-21)
This is startling good news, almost unbelievably good news. Jesus' amazing life demonstrated that something incredible was happening, that the Kingdom of God was real and present. And he invites all of us into it, if we follow him.
The life of the kingdom, the life that was revealed in Jesus, can be ours - now.
Christ, the Incarnation of God, the music of Creation, at the heart of our reality, calls us.
A time to Dance indeed!