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charity | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker

charity | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker

On the Inside; On the Outside


 

St. Francis’ Favorite Words

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As you may know, St. Francis started a religious order after his conversion. He and his brothers, known as the Lesser Brothers, lived a life of poverty and the brothers had to go out into the streets to beg for their daily bread. Francis insisted that the Rule of the Lesser Brothers was to live the rigor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now the brothers began to complain about their suffering. Francis understood their pain, but he could not understand why they should utter that pain so loudly. That wasn’t the case with Brother Giles.

Brother Giles was all about cheerfulness. He always welcomed humiliation and misunderstanding and rejoiced in it. How totally selfless one must be to remain cheerful.

Brother Giles put that wisdom into words, and these are the words that Francis enjoyed and kept close to his heart:

  • Blessed are you who love and don’t expect to be loved in return.
  • Blessed are you who fear and don’t want to be feared.
  • Blessed are you who serve and don’t expect to be served in return.
  • Blessed are you who treat others well and don’t expect like treatment in return.

Then Brother Giles stated that if you possess these three qualities, you cannot be evil:

  1. If, for God’s sake, you bear in peace all tribulation that comes you way.
  2. If you humble yourself in everything you do and receive.
  3. If you love faithfully those things that cannot be seen with fleshly eyes.

It’s holy contrition, holy humility, holy charity, holy devotion, and holy joy that makes one holy and good.

That is the secret of living a Christian life, and that is how we will bring the Kingdom of God to our present world.

 

Based on the book, “Francis: The Journey and the Dream” by Murray Bodo

The Cocoon of Self-Absorption

Posted by | Emotions/Feelings | No Comments

One of the many wonders of nature is a cocoon. A caterpillar encloses itself in a type of tomb and then emerges transformed and flies through the air in the form of a beautiful butterfly. We view this as a type of death and resurrection.

An image for the Gospel today is that of a cocoon. Rather than a transformation into beauty, we witness a deformation into misery. The Gospel never says that this rich man committed any crime, but it seems that he is just so overly focused on himself that he cannot see beyond his clothes, his meals and his own doorstep. His wealth is something that he spends on himself and not something he shares with others. He is so tightly woven into his cocoon that he cannot seem to break out.

This disturbing parable tells us to not be absorbed with ourselves, to pay attention, and to wake up. We need to remember that our possessions are not owned by us, but loaned to us. They are entrusted to us; not only that we can meet our basic needs, but also so that we can help others. St. Augustine described sin as being caved in on oneself. Sin closes us in on ourselves and charity draws us out of ourselves and that is where we find joy.

We’re instructed to pay attention to Moses and the prophets; that is, to pay attention to God’s word given to us in the Scriptures and by Jesus.

And we need to wake up because most of us at times can be like the rich man. And the five brothers – they represent us too. We are not to expect some sort of personalized message, but should instinctively live out our faith by loving God and our neighbor. Actions have consequences, and so do our inactions. We can sin by what we do but we can also sin by what we fail to do.

This Lent, let us pray that we receive the grace to not be imprisoned in the cocoon of self-absorption. Rather, let us strive to live generous and joyful lives not selfishly but selflessly.

Love, Serve, Transform

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What would you like to own more than anything else in the entire world? Would it be a sports car, a yacht, a beautiful mansion? What are these things worth to you? Jesus is telling us that following him and seeking the kingdom is worth even more than the thing we want most. As we learn more about the kingdom, the desire to attain it grows in us. We want to be in a place of perfect love and perfect peace, where there is no war or disease, no hatred or violence, no discrimination because of the color of our skin or the origin of our family, where people are respected and treated with dignity, and where all of us can live as sisters and brothers in Christ. What we need is what Solomon asked for: an understanding heart, so that we don’t judge others, but we love and serve one another and do what is right. And that’s not always an easy thing to do! Read More

Entrepreneurs for Social Justice

Posted by | Virtues | No Comments

For those of you who attended my workshop at the National Catholic Collegiate Conference in Indianapolis, a very sincere thank you. (For those who are just reading this from my blog, keep reading. This is good information for you as well!) I really enjoyed being with you, and I am truly excited about the fact that you are ready to begin working as an Entrepreneur for Social Justice. We shared some great information with each other during the workshop, and I really appreciated your enthusiasm and participation.

As promised, I have attached some additional information to help you get more involved in charity and social justice. Click on the link below to download the document: Read More