Lent Week 1: Practicing Christian Simplicity

By Sheila Read

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” ~ Luke 16:13

Nelson Rockefeller, heir to the family fortune, reportedly was once asked, “How much is enough?” Rockefeller paused, smiled, and said, “Just a little bit more.”

The desire for more is the trap of our culture and times. No matter how much we work, no matter how much money we make, it seems never to satisfy. We achieve what we think is our goal, and then set another goal, which when achieved feels equally empty. My husband counsels a couple who earns more than $300,000 per year but never seems to have enough money. For a few years in my 20s, I liked to wear trendy clothes. Instead of being satisfied with the new clothes, I always wanted more. I would decide I “needed” new shoes to go with the new outfit.

Jesus tells us, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21). If I treasure material possessions, I will be focused on them, not on God. I will love my possessions, not my neighbor.

During Lent, we are called to a conversion of heart. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we renew our practice of the great commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Practicing Christian simplicity is all about love.
Simplicity is a core Christian virtue because it is a way of living that is focused on God, on serving others, and recognizing the interconnectedness of all living beings.

St. Francis was known for his simple life and for his embrace of poverty and relying on God’s providence. “Francis rejected power, ownership and authority for himself,” say Ilia Delio, Keith Warner and Pamela Wood in Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality for the Earth. He wanted to be humble, to live in solidarity with creation just as Christ did through the Incarnation. “

Arthur Simon, founder of Bread for the World and author of How Much Is Enough? describes three reasons for simple living:

1. Simple living is better for us. If we reduce our needs to what is essential, we have less stress, less hurry, less distractions, and more time for what is truly important.

2. Simple living is kinder to God’s creation, the Earth which sustains us and all living creatures. For example, consuming fewer products saves resources, energy, and results in less pollution of air and water from manufacturing.

3. Simple living helps others live. Simplicity means not only buying less and being more thoughtful about what we do buy, but being generous in giving to people in need.

“Give to everyone who asks of you,” Jesus says (Luke 6:30). When we give to the poor money that we would have spent on nonessential purchases, we are transformed in Christ. We are ministering to the Christ in others and acting as living witnesses of our faith. We are building the kingdom of God on Earth.

The garden I will leave behind.

For many years, my husband and I have been talking about how to live more simply, in a way that reflects our desire to focus our lives on the gospel values of loving God and neighbor. We finally decided to sell our house. We hope to move to a smaller home and get out from under a mortgage. It was a difficult decision – we like our house very much, and I have spent years creating a peaceful garden filled with native plants. But the decision to simplify is freeing. It will be a relief not to have to make a certain amount of money per month to maintain a house that is bigger than the two of us need. Ultimately, the decision allowed me to accept the job offer to work for the Justice and Peace Office at St. Francis.

Taking Action

We made this big step to simplify after many years of taking smaller steps. The Lent 4.5 program developed by the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center offers some tips for personal action to cultivate simplicity as part of your Lenten practice.

To develop inner simplicity:

• “Abstain from over-scheduling your life.”
• Forgo TV and/or social networking sites at least one day during the week.
• “Read Psalm 104. Sit quietly in gratitude for the gift of life.
• “Consciously connect with God’s natural world at least once during the week.”

To cultivate outer simplicity:

• “Try forgoing some ‘must-have’ items. It’s a matter of training the mind to get along with less.
• “Consider impulsive buying habits. When you want something, wait a couple of days to make sure it is not an impulse buy.”

For more information on Christian simplicity, visit the Lent 4.5 Website. 

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Lent: An Invitation to Simplicity

In Sunday’s first reading (Isaiah 43:18-25), God tells the people that he is doing something new. He will make a way for them out of exile, despite their history of sin and turning away from God. “In the desert I make a way; in the wasteland, rivers.” God also tells us something essential about our relationship to him and all of creation. “The people I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.”

St. Francis, in his famous Canticle of Brother Sun, gives praise to God for all creation. As did Jesus, Francis lived simply, sustainably and close to the Earth. On his journeys, he took little with him, trusting God to provide through the abundance of Creation. Francis also experienced nature as a place for re-creation through prayer and the experience of God’s presence. Many of us have experienced God’s presence in nature through wonder at a magnificent sunset, the joyful splashing of a bird in a bath, or the miracle of a seed sprouting.

Next Sunday we begin the observance of Lent, a time of purification and reorientation toward the God who creates new life. It is a time for a conversion of heart. In many ways our consumer culture results in deserts, both spiritual and physical. There is growing awareness today that human dignity and God’s Creation are being severely damaged by a global economic system that prizes profits for a few over the good of the many. Through our prayer, self-denial and almsgiving this Lent, we can begin to find the new path that God makes in the desert.

Lent is a good time to reflect on our lifestyles. Are we living in a way that nourishes us spiritually? In what ways are we paralyzed and in need of an encounter with Christ, like the man in today’s Gospel (Mark 2:1-12)? How do our daily habits affect the health of the created world and the poor? What changes is God asking of us?

This Lent, the Justice and Peace Office will offer weekly reflections and action tips on living simply and caring for Creation. In connection with the Lent 4.5 Christian Simplicity campaign developed by our Passionist brothers and sisters, we will focus on seven themes: Christian simplicity, food, consumption, water, energy, transportation, and gratitude and generosity. We invite you to follow this blog as part of your Lenten practice.  Or follow us on Facebook (friend Francis of Assisi) or Twitter @SFA_Raleigh.

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Advent Giving Tree Blesses Many this Christmas

The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi responded with great generosity to the Advent Giving Tree this year.  Over the course of Advent, parishioners take ornaments from the Giving Trees that express the need of a particular ministry.  These gifts are then returned to the parish, picked up by ministry leaders volunteers of over 15 Justice and Peace ministries, and distributed to those most in need in our community.  Through this annual Giving Tree, we are feeding the hungry, providing clothes to the needy, offer prayers of solidarity, and providing hospitality.  Ultimately, we are helping this Christmas season be a season of joy and gratitude for all.

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Coats and Turkeys Given Away

St. Francis has been busy collecting items for those in need in our wider community.  Through the ministry of St. Francis Feeds, we collected over two hundred winter coats in the month of November and distributed them in southeast Raleigh at the Safety Club.  Thank you to all who donated your used men’s, women’s and children’s coats.  We also recently conducted a small-scale turkey drive to meet the requests of a few ministries.  We collected 42 turkeys and $240.  We served a generous portion to Passage Home, an organization which guides people out of homelessness.  We also helped a family from our pre-school.  Finally, the food pantry of Our Lady of the Rosary, a local parish, parish received a generous helping, as well.  There were lots of happy folks gobbling up some turkey this holiday season.  For future growth, we are looking to find a corporate sponsor to partner a turkey collection with another ministry, such as a Fall season blood drive.  The possibility for a cornucopia of collaboration is rich here.

 

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Announcing new Coordinator of Justice and Peace – Frank Lesko

It is my pleasure to announce that Frank Lesko is our new Coordinator of Justice and Peace.  Many thanks to those who served on this search committee:  Cheryl Stevens, Pat McIlmoyle, Pat Kowite, Glenn Kort, Richard Derrenbacher, and Jackie Bonk.  As part of the Pastoral Ministries team, Frank will oversee and coordinate the many parish ministries of outreach, advocacy, and education in the area of social ministry, justice, peace, and care of creation.

Frank is a graduate of Hiram College and Ohio Dominican University and holds a Masters degree in Catholic Theology.  Frank comes to us with many years as a community organizer, lay minister, and leader within the Catholic Worker movement.   Most recently, Frank was a founding member and Director of the Columbus Catholic Worker house in Columbus, Ohio where he developed and oversaw numerous ministries that included a community garden, a free clothing store, an ESL program, and Fair Trade coffee distribution program.  Frank comes to us with a background in educational programming around Catholic Social Teaching and a history of building collaborative partnerships and community participation to meet the needs of those hungering for human dignity.  Through his work as Music Director at Sts. Augustine & Gabriel Church in Columbus, Ohio and his study and travels in Spain and Honduras, Frank also comes to us with gifts in music and Spanish. 

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an important pastoral document called Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish, wrote, “The pursuit of justice and peace is an essential part of what makes a parish Catholic.”  The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi, through the leadership of the Franciscan friars and the many volunteers and parish staff, has a rich legacy of reaching out to those who hunger and thirst for human dignity.  With Frank’s leadership, we look forward to our continued efforts in promoting and living justice and peace and the integrity of creation as a “community of salt and light.”

 

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Holiday Gifts to Death Row

This past fall, St. Francis of Assisi assumed the role of facilitating a holiday gift project for men and women on death row in North Carolina.  People on North Carolina’s death row are not allowed to receive homemade goodies that many of us enjoy at the holidays.  Instead, they may receive prepackaged food items through the NC Department of Corrections’ approved holiday program – if they have someone to purchase the gifts for them.  Most people on death row lack funds to purchase these packages, and many do not have family members or friends providing these gifts.  United Church of Chapel Hill began this holiday gift project years ago, and the Raleigh Catholic Worker House called the Nazareth House continued until this past year.  Our parish took this over this year, and through donations by various community benefactors and a contribution from the parish tithe to peace and justice, we were able to fund over 80 requests of prisoners.  We will continue to look for ways to grow our prison outreach ministry in the coming year.  If you are interested in reaching out to prisoners, men and women on death row, and/or victims of violent crime, please contact Frank Lesko in the Office of Justice and Peace, frank.lesko@stfrancisraleigh.org or ext 267.

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Catholic Shopping?

“Catholic Shopping?”
Trevor Thompson, Director of Pastoral Ministries
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

With the emergence of the Tea Party over the past several years, and more recently with Occupy Wall Street, grassroots movements are emerging that are addressing concerns about economic disparity, American democracy, and the role of government.  There is no denying that many are frustrated, and despite their varied means of protest and divergent set of demands, what they share in common is a dream of a fairer and more just society.  Through the Catholic Church’s rich reflection on scripture and history and her long-standing involvement in areas like ethics, economics, politics, and law, we have a social teaching that helps shape our understanding, participation, and commitment to how this fairer and more just society might emerge.  The application of the distilled wisdom of the Church (often referred to as the principles of Catholic Social Teaching) in complicated economic and political situations is a very delicate matter.  Although no principle can be applied in a “one-size-fits-all” fashion, it is important nonetheless that we consider how we live lives consistent with our deepest Christian convictions.

Next weekend, we offer our 3^rd annual gift market – Gift It Up!  With nearly ten vendors selling thousands of “Fair Trade” products, this is a beautiful opportunity to use our purchasing power in a way that supports our Catholic values.  At its heart, by building respectful, enduring relationships between consumers and laborers, Fair Trade is a grassroots movement to create a fairer and more just society.  Paul writes to Thessalonica today, “For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.”  I still hold doubts about the words and convictions of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements, but the following set of convictions that express the commitments at the heart of Fair Trade is something for which we all can give thanks to God. I hope to see a lot of Catholic shoppers, including you, at Gift It Up!

• Paying a fair wage in the local context;

• Offering employees opportunities for advancement;

• Providing equal employment opportunities for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged;

• Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices;

• Being open to public accountability;

• Building long-term trade relationships;

• Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context;

• Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible.

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Spirit of Assisi at St. Francis – Hightlights

Twenty five years ago, Pope John Paul II invited leaders of the world’s major religions to join him in Assisi so that a single song of peace might be offered  up to God. Seventy of those leaders accepted his invitation. They provided witness that the desire for peace is shared by all people of good will. On October 4, 2011 we renewed that prayer for peace with a special prayer service bringing together many  local religious leaders from a variety of faiths.

 

The message of peace is needed as much today as it was twenty five years ago.  In the spirit of St Francis, let us see all people as brothers and sisters, and commit ourselves to concrete actions that will allow us to work together to confront threats to peace in our world.

This event was organized by Fr. David McBriar. Religious leaders in attendance included:

 Fr Mark Reamer, O.F.M., Pastor St. Francis of Assisi Church 

Theresa Rosenberg,  Temple Beth Or

Jack Thatcher, Baha’I Unity Center

Rev. Farrunnissa Rosa, Spiritual Director of Rose Heart Sufi Community, Durham NC 

Rev WonGong So, Head Priest at the Won-Buddhism Temple

Abdullah Antepli, Campus Minister to The Muslim Community, Duke University

The Commitments to Peace where read by:

1. Rev. Nancy Petty,Pastor, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

2. Jihad Shawwa, Triangle Interfaith Alliance            

3. Most Reverend  Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh

4. Most Reverend Alfred Gwinn, Jr, Bishop of the North Carolina Council of the United Methodist Church 

5. Br. Fiaz Fareed, Chairman of the Islamic Association of Raleigh 

6. Kate Shiring, Parishioner, St. Francis of Assisi Church 

7. Rev. WonGong So, Head Priest, Won Buddhism Temple, Chapel Hill, NC 

8. Duane Beck, Pastor, Raleigh Mennonite Church

9. Rev.  David Guthrie, President, Southern Province Provincial Elders’ Conference,

Moravian Church of North America 

10. Theresa Rosenberg, Temple Beth Or

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Back to School in Style

Thanks to the generosity of so many parishioners and the Women’s Network, St. Francis was able to distribute over 100 backpacks full of school supplies to children in need.  These children are already in programs with the Inter Faith Food Shuttle, Passage Home, Ronald McDonald House, WIHN, and the Food Pantry at Our Lady of the Rosary in Louisburg. In fact, the Inter Faith Food Shuttle received 376 pounds of school supplies.  And thanks to the hard work of several members of the Women’s Network, we were able to organize mountains of supplies into the backpacks with extra supplies left over. 

One of the highlights of this year’s drive was the story of Evelyn Hemedinger. Her birthday was during the Backpack Drive, so she took one of the cards listing all the items needed for the backpacks, and gave it to her friends. She asked them to buy those items for a backpack they could donate rather than buy presents for her.  Awesome job, Evelyn and friends!

This is one of our annual Justice and Peace efforts. For more information about these ministries, please visit the Franciscan Coalition website.

Also, see Good News article in Durham newspaper Durham Herald Sun here.

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ST. FRANCIS FEEDS Grows Outreach in SE Raleigh

Exciting things are happening in downtown Raleigh as one of our outreach ministries St. Francis Feeds begins to partner with the Ship of Zion Church in an effort to feed the community both physically and spiritually. What a treat it was to watch Ship of Zion perform their gospel music on August 21^st at St. Francis Feeds’ most recent feeding; even Fr. Emmet was seen dancing to “The Holy Ghost Spirit” song.  St Francis Feeds prepares a spaghetti dinner on the third Sunday of each month and serves the meal at The Safety Club on Branch St. Our friends at the Inter Faith Food Shuttle provide the bread and desserts to make our feast complete.  For more information about St. Francis Feeds, please contact Donna Mariani at Donnam@nc.rr.com.

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