Update/reflection from Fr. Gratton (2 April, 2020):

N.B. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered today for All of our Parishioners and for the Repose of the Soul of Virginia Herbst+ (by John & Elizabeth Mahaffy)

Important Update:
1) The Brigade Chaplain (one of my many bosses in the VT Army National Guard) called me, today, to give me some more information about possibly being called up for State Active Duty. There is now a plan for chaplains to help provide religious support to all of the medical workers and Soldiers working around the state right now. As of now, only the State Chaplain (one of my other bosses) has been put on Active Orders. He begins his State Active Duty on Monday, 6 April, 2020. If things get worse around the state, and if the State Chaplain needs more help with serving people around the state, then I am the next chaplain in line to be called up. Thus, I have not been officially put on Orders, but I am the next chaplain to be called up if the needs arise. Again, I will keep you posted, and if I do get called up then Fr. Rensch will slide into my rectory in Bethel to help serve you electronically and with emergency Sacraments if needed.

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Reflection on the memorial of St. Francis of Paola. You can more about his life, here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-francis-of-paola/

Today we are going to focus on a lesser known Saint, St. Francis of Paola. His feast day is today, and he can teach us much about how to live these days of quarantine well.

He was a young man of twenty who, when inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi, decided to give his life completely to God by living as a hermit in the caves outside of the town where he grew up. His life of holiness and complete gift to God inspired young men to follow in his footsteps. At the age of 37, with enough brothers in tow, he founded the religious order of the Minim Friars. They took the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and one extra vow of doing a perpetual Lenten fast from certain foods. They lived as hermits, but in community. They lived solitary lives, cooped up from the rest of the world, but alongside the family that they loved most. Sound familiar?

St. Francis of Paola and his brothers were no strangers to lacking the freedom to simply go wherever they wanted. They offered up their freedoms, sacrifices, and prayers as gifts to God, that He might use them to spread grace all over the world. They lived solitary lives, and yet had to confront the daily struggles of loving those who lived in close quarters with them. They knew what it was like to lose freedoms, while still having to be patient and loving to those around them.

Here is an excerpt from one of St. Francis of Paola’s letters to his brothers:

“I earnestly admonish you, therefore, my brothers, to look after your spiritual well-being with judicious concern. Death is certain; life is short and vanishes like smoke.
Fix your minds, then, on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with love for us, he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sake he endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain. He himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then, are to be patient in adversity.
Put aside your hatred and animosity. Take pains to refrain from sharp words. If they escape your lips, do not be ashamed to let your lips produce the remedy, since they have caused the wounds. Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury. The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight. It is like a worm in the mind: it confuses our speech and tears to shreds our petitions to God. It is foreign to charity: it remains planted in the soul like a nail. It is wickedness that never sleeps, sin that never fails. It is indeed a daily death.”

He is a spiritual father who is speaking to his sons about the difficulties of living a life that is closed off from the world, but at the same time in tight quarters with others. He knows the dangers and pitfalls of the heart in such circumstances. Indeed, he speaks about the “wounds” that others can cause in us—the wounds that those who should really love us the most can inflict on our hearts. He speaks about it as a man who has experienced such wounds (and has, no doubt, inflicted some on others). He knows the dangers of having such wounds when one does not have the luxury or freedom to simply move on with the fast-paced nature of life in order to “avoid” or “forget” about them. No, when one is confined to one spot, and is forced to simply be silent before the Lord, it is easy to dwell on the injuries that others have caused in us.

He explains that when we have been hurt by someone in the past or present, we can easily fall into the trap of dwelling on that wound. He calls this “recollection of an injury” wrong, and says it “adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul…” St. Francis of Paola knew the dangers of the heart that can occur when one is secluded from the world and living with those that they love. We can be too easily offended. We can be quick to judge or be judged. We can feel the bitter sting of a sharp tongue. We can allow injuries to go deep into our hearts. And we can brood about these injuries and the ones who gave them to us, allowing the wound to fester and reek with poison as time goes on.

St. Francis of Paola knew the only remedy to such wounds of the heart is forgiveness and union with the passion of Jesus Christ. He knew the only way to allow the wound to heal was not to dwell on the pain or the injustice of it all, but to focus on Christ and His words from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

As we are asked to be quarantined for the foreseeable future, it is easy to let our fickle hearts slide into despair and darkness. And one of the easiest ways for this to happen is allowing old and new wounds to fester out of control. We can dwell on wounds of the past, of people in our lives who should have loved us better—people who chose to destroy our hearts by sacrificing our love on their altar of ego and vice. We can also dwell too much on the little annoyances and sharp words of the people living with us at this time. We can become too easily offended or quick to jump to conclusions about every word or action that our loved ones offer.

Today, as we all navigate these new waters of quarantine, may we find solace in the fact that there have been monks and nuns throughout the history of the Church who have lived this type of life before. They lived lives where they had no freedoms to move about freely, and they lived lives in close quarters with the ones they truly loved (and at the same time found truly annoying or hurtful). St. Francis of Paola was one of those people who lived such lives, and he became a Saint while doing it.

May we me reminded this day that it is possible to live life well without full freedom, and that such a life can actually help us grow in holiness and patience. But may we also remember that such a life has natural pitfalls, and one of them is to dwell on wounds that others have inflicted upon us. Do not dwell on the wounds of the heart, and the pain that others have caused you, my dear sons and daughters. If someone has caused a deep wound in your heart, then run to our Lord whose heart, too, was pierced. Run to the one who knew the sting of rejection by those who should have loved Him most. Unite your pain and your wounds to the wounds of Christ, and if that is too difficult to do, then simply crawl into His very wounds as a place of refuge. Do not let the bitter wounds of the past or present steal away your peace. Realize that you are in good company. You are in the company of countless religious fathers, brothers, and sisters throughout history who have lived cloistered lives; you are in the company of St. Francis of Paola who offers his prayers for you from the thrones of heaven; and you are in the company of Jesus Christ, Himself, who was wounded for our sake, and yet chose to love despite the pain.

Lay your wounds at the feet of Christ, this day. Give your pain to Him. Let Him console your heart with the healing balm of forgiveness. Let Him lead your heart to the still waters of peace. And let Him love your heart in the way it was meant to be loved all along.

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I love you all so very much. I carry you with me to the altar every day, and I pray that God strengthens our hearts during these times.

In Christ’s Abundant Peace,

Fr. Gratton

St. Francis of Paola, pray for us!