Thoughts which carry me, a broken pastor, to Jesus and the Cross

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28–31, NET)

One night as blessed Francis was reflecting on all the troubles he was enduring, he was moved by piety for himself. “Lord,” he said to himself, “make haste to help me in my illnesses, so that I may be able to bear them patiently.” And suddenly he was told in spirit: “Tell me, brother, what if, in exchange for your illnesses and troubles, someone were to give you a treasure? And it would be so great and precious that, even if the whole earth were changed to pure gold, all stones to precious stones, and all water to balsam, you would still judge and hold all these things as nothing, as if they were earth, stones and water, in comparison to the great and precious treasure which was given you. Wouldn’t you greatly rejoice?”
“Lord,” blessed Francis answered, “this treasure would indeed be great, worth seeking, very precious, greatly lovable, and desirable.”
“Then, brother,” he was told, “be glad and rejoice in your illnesses and troubles, because as of now, you are as secure as if you were already in my kingdom.”

The Christian faith has only one object, the mystery of Christ dead and risen. But this unique mystery subsists under different modes: it is prefigured in the Old Testament, it is accomplished historically in the earthly life of Christ, it is contained in mystery in the sacraments, it is lived mystically in souls, it is accomplished socially in the Church, it is consummated eschatologically in the heavenly kingdom.
This river of liturgy flows from the heavenly throne, pools up in the Church, and overflows its lip to flood our personal lives.

I have a friend in Sicily, a wise old priest who suffers greatly from physical distress, who has become more than an older brother in the faith, he is one of those heroes of the faith, and in the ministry. He cares for his people enough that he humbles himself to perform mass in a chair behind the altar, for the small group of faithful who need the Eucharist as much as he and I do.

I am a quarter century younger that this man, and he inspires me for he understands intuitively than even in his sufferings, Jesus is made clear to his people. And they learn to endure, they learn that faith is more than knowledge, but a complete dependency on the presence of God in our lives.

The liturgy he prays with his people is the kind that Fagerberg speaks of–something that pours not just from mouths, but from the Throne of God. It comes from deeper than Fr. Guiseppe, or from Pastor Dustin, for it is the Spirit that is allowed to work trhough the cracks of our shattered lives, making those words come alive, giving hope to others that are broken.

This is what real ministry is, helping those who are broken find their way home into the Kingdom of God.

And that is only found in the our death and resurrection with Christ Jesus!

That is what truly gets us through each day, this mystery that should flood over us through the worship service, that doesn’t demand our praise, but causes us rejoice in even the struggles and troubles, for we know His peace and love.- which not only is beyond all understanding, but provides us with our refuge.

Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (pp. 322–323). New City Press.

Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. xx). Emmaus Academic.