October 2, 2009

In Assisi, a feast of Franciscan spirituality

By Lynn Carney

My dear companion,
Peace! I have just returned from a very grace-filled pilgrimage to Italy with a group from the Diocese of Springfield. It was sponsored by Catholic Communications. As the jetlag slowly dissipates and I get back to the routines of my life, I am now afforded some opportunity to reflect and respond to the great graces our Lord gave to us on this trip.

We started our pilgrimage in the quaint town of Assisi. Situated on the side of a mountain, there is a maze of brick winding staircases connecting the cobblestone streets. Each stairwell is uniquely decorated with cascading flowers from pots mounted on the walls and window sills. Each turn of the head is a picture. This medieval town is clean, orderly and seems to reflect the peace and harmony of St. Francis.

The town was bustling with visitors. What is it about Franciscan spirituality that attracts so many people? For me it is the peace and joy I see in all its followers. I think it comes from a thankful acceptance of the gifts our Lord gives, coupled with our willingness to offer these gifts in service to one another. Our gifts and blessings are useless if not shared.

I witnessed this beautiful harmony in the home of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi where we were honored to stay for four nights. (The sisters also have a home here in Holyoke on Northampton Street.) The joy these sisters radiated in serving us was infectious. These sisters, in sharing their gifts made each of us feel special. It was their joy to serve us and our joy to be served. We felt at home.

The sisters cooked for us, served our food, made our beds, tidied our rooms, washed our towels, opened our doors, did their best to interpret our English and sign language, and, most importantly, prayed for us along with their counterparts in Holyoke.

These gifts are simple but as witnessed in these sisters’ home, there is a peace and joy that radiates and spreads to all who experience it. These individuals, working as one community united in service to our little pilgrimage group, made us all feel very special.

Later that day I had an opportunity to thank our Lord for the gifts he gave me through these sisters, by sharing it with all the people I encountered that day. Through this experience, I learned that in sharing the simple gifts we have in harmony with others, we can bring peace, joy and harmony into our world.

God is good! May you experience a little of the Franciscan spirituality as we celebrate the feast of St. Francis on Oct. 4.

• Carney is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order in the Springfield Diocese. She may be
contacted at mydearcompanion@diospringfield.org.

September 4, 2009

Gardening provides a lesson in ‘weeding’ our lives

By Lynn Carney

My dear companion,
Peace! Can you imagine what a fully-weeded, properly nourished, mature garden would look like in full bloom? I want to be like that garden. I want to be brought to the fullness I was created to be.

I want to see that fullness for you too. We are all a part of the Creator’s garden.

With this beautiful weather I took the opportunity to start gardening, which quickly became a lesson in weeds and in the process of weeding.

I discovered there are a large variety of weeds that do affect a garden’s ability to bloom and removing these weeds is an ongoing process.

The first type of weed I discovered was the ground-surface weed that covered the soil like a spider web. They were the first to go.

The next type of weed I encountered was the weed that had flowers on it. To an untrained eye, they appeared to be the blossoms I should nurture, but as I continued, I realized these flowering weeds were weeds and were choking out the real fruits in my little garden.

The last type of weed I discovered was the very deep-rooted weed. Some had a large amount of greenery, others were barely visible. I tried grabbing a handful of greens at one time and pulling with all my weight. It wasn’t a good idea. I snapped the roots and landed in the dirt.

In my heart, I know these snapped roots will continue to sap the nourishment from my plants and later grow back to be dealt with again. I quickly learned gardening takes time, patience and perseverance. Each deep-rooted weed needs a gentle and loving hand to loosen the soil, expose the root, and finally gently remove the root. All is done in the Lord’s time.

Through this little exercise in gardening, I was challenged to identify the various weeds in my life that were choking my growth in our Lord. I saw God as the Master Gardener: gentle, loving and nourishing, but always challenging me to weed. I also saw a multitude of weeds.

So what are the weeds in my life? In my life I see the surface weeds as the many daily distractions. I am not vested in these distractions but they keep me from spending more time with our Lord and discovering what our Lord has planned for me. These surface weeds are all the junk mail I open day to day, the interesting gossip, the Internet tidbits, excessive TV, etc.

The flowering weeds I see in my life are more difficult to discover. They are often, “too many” good things, good endeavors which keep me away from the important things in life. In and of themselves they are fine, but “too many” good commitments crowd out my ability to hear and discern the movement of the Holy Spirit.

The flowering weeds are the status symbols of our world on earth that we all get trapped into purchasing. Advertisers market “success” in “this” world, which bears no merit in the next. In and of themselves they are fine, but emphasis on them again crowds out my ability to hear the Holy Spirit.

The deep-rooted weeds in my life are from past hurts that still stifle my freedom to fully be the “me” I was created to be. Most of these deep-rooted areas challenge me to forgive. Some of these areas I am aware of, some I have hidden from myself for years, and some I am discovering as the Master Gardener nourishes and guides me to full bloom.

Did you ever see a blooming person? They radiate the fruits of the Holy Spirit: peace, joy, acceptance, compassion, a gentle nature. They are nonjudgmental, not in a hurry, not distracted, a good listener. May we all recognize how blessed we are in the garden of our Creator.

• Carney is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order in the Springfield Diocese. She may be contacted at
mydearcompanion@diospringfield.org.

August 7, 2009

Passion Play leaves a lasting impression

By Lynn Carney

My dear companion,
Peace! I read with fond memories the advertisements in The Catholic Observer for the trip to see the Oberammergau Passion Play. It was in the year 2000 that I was blessed to pilgrimage to Europe to experience the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus through the spirit of this little town. It is amazing what can be done when we place our trust in our Lord.

The performance of the play evolved in this little town in Bavaria during the plague when the Black Death was wiping out entire towns. The villagers of Oberammergau recognized their helplessness, fell to their knees and begged our Lord to have mercy on them.

As the story unfolds, the villagers, unified by their desire to live, made a vow to our Lord that they would perform a play of his Passion, death and resurrection. After their vow, no one else died of the plague. The play has been performed every 10 years since 1634 with few exceptions.

The air was crisp in the open amphitheater which was covered by a crescent roof to protect the audience from the elements. I rented a blanket to put over my lap to keep warm. The only stage backdrop was the majestic snow-covered Alps. The outside air helped me feel more a part of the scenes in the play.

The re-creation of the times of Jesus is embraced by the entire town. The children and adults alike anxiously wait to see what parts they will play. The men of the town grow beards, costumes are prepared, musical instruments are warmed up, choirs begin to rehearse. The script is reworked to encompass the “living” experience of our Lord’s life.

Wood is carved for souvenirs.
The six-hour play is performed more than a hundred times, which requires extensive preparation for the 2,000 villagers who participate. The excitement of the town can actually be felt.

I won’t tell you the story of the Passion because you know it in your heart. I do want to share one insight that the play gave me. What surprised me most was seeing the crowds of Jesus’ time depicted by the townsfolk: mothers and their babies, children, fathers, young folk and old folk. What surprised me was the crowd’s reaction to the leaders in the time of Jesus.

As the leaders of the day stirred the crowd (you can picture a campaign speech) with “their ideas” of justice, some folks in the crowd passionately embraced the ideas, some kept quiet, some folks did not pay attention and some distanced themselves from the crowd and fell into the shadows.

The leaders prevailed. Jesus was crucified! How clearly I could see my character depicted in the crowds. How clearly I could see my reaction to our present day leaders’ ideas. Can you see your character?

It has been nine years since I participated in the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus through the eyes of the little town of Oberammergau. The play, the people, the music, the town, the setting in the crisp air of the Alps all made a lasting impression on me.

It also reinforced my belief that when our Lord gives me an opportunity to experience him in a new way, whether it be by going to something as extraordinary as the Passion Play or as ordinary as my parish’s second-grade presentation of the Passion, my spontaneous response of “yes” will be rewarded.

Be assured of my continued prayers for you. Please pray for me, my dear companion.
• Carney is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order in the Springfield Diocese. She may be contacted via e-mail at
mydearcompanion@diospringfield.org.

July 10, 2009

Let us give thanks for our priests

By Lynn Carney

Editor’s note: This is the first of a monthly column which will appear in The Catholic Observer throughout the upcoming year.
My dear companion,
Peace! I write you to share the blessings and common struggles of a fellow pilgrim. And I assure you of my prayerful support as a fellow pilgrim. Our Lord is so awesome! It is a joy to write to those who share with me the love of our Lord

Today I wanted to share with you an experience I recently had as I waited for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As you know, each church is a little different in layout. The church I was in has two confessionals located in the back with two long pews where people sit and slide along, as each person approaches their turn.

After Mass, I took my seat in one of the pews with one other individual. I was more anxious than usual. I observed the door for the priest was still wide open, still awaiting the priest’s arrival. So, as patiently as one can be while waiting to confess, I practiced the words and phrases from “the list” on the little yellow post-it-note stuck on my forefinger. As time passed, the last few persons in the church left and I came to realize that there was no priest to hear confessions this day and I would have to wait until I had another opportunity.

I share this with you because it was a good example of how important priests are in our church. The Year of the Priest was declared by Pope Benedict XVI and started June 19, the very day one year ago I buried my spiritual companion, Father Daniel Pietrzak. He was a model priest, one who loved our Lord with his whole heart, soul, strength and mind, one who cared for each person he met, giving of himself far beyond any expectation.

Father Pietrzak was a Conventional Franciscan friar who served his order and others to the very best of his ability. He was a man devoted to prayer, a man of integrity who taught me by example what it meansto be a Christian. I was blessed to have known him for 16 years and I write these letters in his memory. Through his example, I grew in the love of our Lord and I pray that through these letters, I may share this love with you.

So, let us begin our journey together in thanksgiving and appreciation for the priests we know and have known in our lives; the ones who have served us in so many many ways and can never be repaid. Let us support the priests who sacrifice day to day to serve us with our prayer and our appreciation.

Let us also appreciate the sacraments we experience with them, a
lesson I learned today, as without them we would not have these sacraments. Let us pray for the seminarians, the men discerning a vocation, that our Lord will guide them and give them courage to sacrifice their lives for the Lord and for us.

And lastly let us pray for one another as we begin our journey together, my dear companion, in the Year of the Priest.
May God shower his blessings on you.
• Carney is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order in the Springfield Diocese.