Only When Necessary Use Words. . .St. Francis of Assisi

A member of the church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday.We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

This article came from a Facebook Post by Fr. Joe Codori.  He gave me permission to print it.

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I read this and thought, “this is just the message I needed to hear today.”  I have been in such a tremendous funk lately.  I just didn’t want to leave my house, I stayed home from Mass the last two Sundays. . .why is that???  I don’t know, but I’m asking God for help in discerning what is happening.

Sometimes I just don’t want to be around people. . .I’m really an introvert at heart, but I had to learn to be an extrovert when raising my children.  It’s a difficult thing to do and I know that I am not the only person who has ever had to do this.  I just like being in a quiet, alone place for spaces of time.

I have good friends that I love with all my heart and even those loved friends I need to be away from for a piece of time.  Perhaps it is the same with the God of my heart who I love even more. . .

I’m workin’ on it. . .I’ll be back to myself or “from” myself in time.

By the way. . .this homily above is just what St. Francis of Assisi talked about. . .he said, “Preach the Gospel and when necessary, use words!”  I just love that!!!

May you be blessed and be a blessing!

Sandy Ozanich (c) January 8, 2014

In Other Words

In other words ~

God speaks in other words ~

The words of Scripture ~

The words of our works.

God speaks through you ~

God speaks through me.

God speaks in other words. . ..

God speaks through other religions ~

Every person ~

Every search for truth ~

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** A book called White Buffalo which I read many years ago, said the Indians said that we are not to make fun of Christian Scriptures or other spiritualities  for God speaks in other words.

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My words:

I believe that God doesn’t just hang out in church waiting for us to show up ~ God hangs out in the “Comfort Inn”, at the Greyhound Bus Station, at the shelters, the prisons, any place where people are, God hangs out.

He hung out in a bar or two in Homestead, Pa. with the St. Francis of Assisi statue that my dad put on the bar next to the cash register.  My father told me he had a hard time finding a statue of St. Francis of Assisi.  So one day I saw a good size statue in the front window of the St. Vincent de Paul store in our area.  I asked my mother-in-law if she could go up and buy it  for me.  It was all black and stood about a foot tall.

My mother-in-law was in her 70’s at the time I think.  Anyway, she called me and told me that she got the statue but that she had a hard time carrying it home in a shopping bag because the statue was made of cement.  We both laughed about it.

The next day the St. Francis statue, myself and our 2 toddlers and one infant went to Homestead to see my dad.  So imagine me carrying a statue in one arm, an infant in a little infant seat in the other and 2 other little kids each holding on to the pockets in my coat.  We marched right into that local bar and put the statue down on the bar.  It was the middle of the day.  My dad was so thrilled about the statue that he placed it right beside the cash register.

As it turned out some people questioned why he would put St. Francis on the bar, feeling it was inappropriate.  My dad then went on to say that it is very appropriate because where else should he be but in a bar.  Not another word was spoken. . .

Sandy Ozanich (c) May 2013