St. Clare of Assisi Fraternity, Great Barrington, MA

MINISTER'S MESSAGE for the month of December 2022

W

hile it is difficult for me to admit, I am not the most joyful of Secular Franciscans. I have discovered over the years that trying to analyze the reasons for this is not only a fruitless endeavor, it is not very Franciscan. Why is that? Harking back to our Augustinian roots, I think about the importance of relationships, starting with my relationship with myself, and in all honesty I have to begin by admitting the obvious: I often have trouble being joyful.

But I balk at putting precious energy into analyzing the obvious. That’s an exercise for Sherlock Holmes, and Franciscans are not Sherlock Holmes (“deductive” or top-down) thinkers. We are Franciscan (“inductive” or bottom-up) thinkers, which means that we look not so much for explanations for the obvious — we look to employ action:  Given the fact that I am not the most joyful of Franciscans, how am I called to respond to that, to change, to be converted?

First, I have to recognize that the insight which persuades me to action is grace-driven; I pray to receive that grace and, thankfully, “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6: 8).

  I am writing this on what has proven to be a very grace-filled Laudate Sunday. Laudate: Be Joyful! In Latin, this is an imperative, a must, a priority. And the reason for this imperative is nothing less than the miracle of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Francis never lacked the feeling of joy, and unspeakable joy, for the miracle of the Incarnation. It was this joy that brought the Christ child into his arms at Greccio. It is the imperative of Laudate! that is, for me, the wake-up call. Be joyful, because Christ, as God, humbled Himself to put the finishing touch to humanity by becoming human, fulfilling the plan that existed from time immemorial, long before creation, long before the first sin. This miracle of the Incarnation imparts a brilliant, indescribable dignity to humanity that serves to elevate me above every element of Creation. How is it not possible to be joyful?

Laudate! is a call to action. If I choose not to act, not to change, not to be converted, I give myself over to impatience and to disturbing hesitation — hesitation to surrender myself, to humble myself, to conform myself to Christ — Who has come! We wait in patient, joyful confidence for His second coming.

The Incarnation is not an idea to be pondered once a year; it is a reality that shapes our lives continually from without and from within. Let us pray for the grace to choose action, the grace to choose joy, for

                            "Blessed is he who takes no offense in me" (Luke 7:L 23).

Peace and All Good,

Fred Conforti, MD, OFS

Blessed Solanus Casey Regional Director of Formation