March 5, 2010

On the feast of a St. John Joseph of the Cross, a Franciscan of a community near Naples 1654-1734 : "And by this I wish to know if you love the Lord God and me, his servant and yours—if you have acted in this manner: that is, there should not be any brother in the world who has sinned, however much he may have possibly sinned, who, after he has looked into your eyes, would go away without having received your mercy, if he is looking for mercy. And if he were not to seek mercy, you should ask him if he wants mercy. And if he should sin thereafter a thousand times before your very eyes, love him more than me so that you may draw him back to the Lord. Always be merciful to [brothers] such as these" (St. Francis, Letter to a Minister).

In my reading today there is a lot of attention given to how it is we live in community. Well, this excerpt above from St. Francis lays it out pretty clearly. What is required is nothing short of SUPER human. We must rely heavily on God's grace in order to live in community. Lots and lots of love and forgiveness. In my small group, we are discussing nonviolent communication and how to deal with conflict. We're being given tools. One of my favorite ones is a gesture that we can try that sets the world aright. Put the right hand up as if saying "stop" and your left hand reaches out open, as if to receive. I've been practicing this posture (in my mind) when facing difficult situations with difficult people. IT WORKS! Jesus is depicted in this pose in works of art. In fact, the new diocese of Oakland's cathedral has a giant Christ just like this! You know the one. One hand is up with two fingers up and the other hand is lower and open. The first time I practiced the gesture, it reminded me of Tai Chi... gently holding a ball. and it reminded me of the yin and the yang. Try it and see what comes to mind!