Hearing the Gospel on the Feast of St. Matthias, 1208
"One day at the very beginning of his conversion, St. Francis was attending Mass at the Portiuncula, and he heard the priest proclaim the words of Christ whereby he sends out his disciples to preach and admonishes them as to their life on the road: 'Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff' (Mt 10:9-10)" --St. Bonaventure, Major Life, 3:1
We could see this as a parable for us today, but instead of gold or silver or copper and a suitcase full of clothes, what we are to leave behind on our journey to follow Christ is all our self-defense mechanisms and paraphernalia we drag along to insure our protection. These things have nothing to do with Love and become not only burdensome but divisive. The only way to Love is with empty arms and open hearts.
"One day at the very beginning of his conversion, St. Francis was attending Mass at the Portiuncula, and he heard the priest proclaim the words of Christ whereby he sends out his disciples to preach and admonishes them as to their life on the road: 'Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff' (Mt 10:9-10)" --St. Bonaventure, Major Life, 3:1We could see this as a parable for us today, but instead of gold or silver or copper and a suitcase full of clothes, what we are to leave behind on our journey to follow Christ is all our self-defense mechanisms and paraphernalia we drag along to insure our protection. These things have nothing to do with Love and become not only burdensome but divisive. The only way to Love is with empty arms and open hearts.
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