What is mine to do

By Sharon Willan
January/February 2009

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“I have done what was mine to do…may Christ teach you what you are to do.” These words spoken by Francis of Assisi before he died, offered a call and a challenge to his newly formed communities: the Franciscan Brotherhood, the Poor Ladies of San Damiano (Poor Clares today), and the Secular Franciscans. Francis had lived a full Gospel life in which he became Christ for others. His love of God, of neighbour, and of all creatures influenced everyone who came in contact with him. He encouraged those who would follow Christ to be gentle with all of God’s creation.

His first female follower, Clare of Assisi, founded the Poor Clares and spent 41 years in the San Damiano convent embracing a contemplative stance and a life of simplicity.

What are we called to do? How can the spirituality of 12th century saints such as Francis and Clare of Assisi provide a framework or guide to living today?

Francis reminds us that we are companions on a journey and as such we care for each other. In his Canticle of the Creatures written a few months before he died, Francis called all living and inanimate things “Brother” and “Sister,” thus showing us how intimate a relationship we have with all that the Holy One has created. Francis saw that the world was permeated with the goodness of God. Today, science is reinforcing this vision of intimacy.

We have lived through an amazing technological shift in the past 60 years. We have seen astronauts land on the moon. We have gazed in wonder at galaxies and planets captured by the Hubble telescope. We have been blessed with medical break-throughs undreamed of 50 years ago, and much more. The iconic picture of Earth from space provides us with a vision of an undivided, unified Earth. Francis’ intuitive Canticle of the Creatures captured this spirit of interconnection and unity all those years ago.

The journey of prayer

The journey of prayer is the discovery of God at the centre of our lives. We pray that we may recognize the image of God within us, that we may give birth to God, allowing the image in which we are created to become visible.

Clare of Assisi outlines the contemplative stance of prayer as a deepening of our relationship with our Creator. We must first look, she says. We must notice, be observant, pay attention. It is in the eyes of the risen Jesus that we see compassion-ate love. Jesus lived a life of passion for the good of humanity. He prayed, helped others, showed us how to be servants to each other, critiqued his own faith, and followed a political path that eventually led to his death. Clare reminds us to look at the whole of Jesus’ life and learn to live with the same passion that motivated him to love God and neighbour. Clare says that looking at Jesus in this way will lead us to a deeper “gazing” that will bring us into a closer relationship with God. This in turn will become deep contemplation.

Karl Rahner, when speaking of the planet, said that we must become mystics if humanity is to survive. In contemplation, we look at our world with the eyes of Jesus, gaze with compassion upon the poor and marginalized, contemplate God’s love, and then reach out with this compassionate love to all creation. The mystic is a relational person, deeply intimate with the Holy One and deeply committed to the planet. Contemplation and relationship are inextricably woven together.

“As Francis deepened his relation to God, the person became less of an object and more a brother and sister. The deeper he entered the mystery of Christ, the more he recognized Christ in the world around him” (Franciscan Prayer, Delio). Franciscan spirituality teaches us that the world is the cloister: we enter the world, remain in it and through the gifts God has given us, we change what needs to be changed.

Contemplation is the cloak that envelops our actions, enhancing our passion for all of life. Without contemplation we soon tire. It is only in taking time to “be” that we can “do” what is ours to do.

By spending time with God on a daily basis, the common good rather than individual benefit would become our way of life. We would truly give birth to God and make God visible as Jesus did. This is what Francis and Clare did with their lives some 800 years ago. It is what we are called to do today.

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