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May God Give You Peace!

Reflection for Lucy Slinger
First Profession
St. Rose Chapel, La Crosse
August 14, 2004

by Joanne Schatzlein, OSF

Prayer circle prior to vow service

Lucy has asked me to address my comments to “The Franciscan Way of Life”

One could go in many directions with such a theme, especially on a day such as this, being not only
· A day of public profession of vows, and the meaning of all that;
· But also the feast of the courageous Franciscan, Maximillian Kolbe, who gave his life entirely over for the sake of the Gospel in a concentration camp;
· Or one could look at the core elements found in the readings for this celebration. They weave together incredible Franciscan values and give inspiration for the Franciscan Way of Life;
· I choose to describe the Franciscan way of Life by sharing with you Lucy’s own path which brings us here today. That path, together with the readings of the day, I think give us pause for reflection!

Sister Lucy Slinger vow ceremony

FIRST MOMENT
I met Lucy while on pilgrimage over two years ago. One image I could use to describe my first impressions of Lucy would be like one of those small effervescent tablets that you put in water and it fizzes its way merrily along bouncing back and forth until it finally fizzes out! This was Lucy…
· full of questions and opinions about many things,
· intense in both her joy of discovery and in the darker question about making right choices;
· longing for a rich future with God through life in a Franciscan Community, but carrying the deep wounds and scars of a painful past.

To drink in this potion of mix of moods and thoughts and feelings and “aha” moments is a challenge one accepts, knowing ultimately inner calm results!

The fizzing stopped for Lucy when she found a cave, Rafino’s cave up on the Carceri. In that stillness God began to touch the deepest fibers of Lucy’s being, and certitude about her life direction took hold.

Oh, there were more effervescent moments, but now there was a point of reference to which Lucy could return, over and over again, knowing in the cave there was not just quiet, peace, solitude, but where the process of the First Reading from today took hold:
· where affliction and torment were transformed like gold into an offering and affirming God
· where in the stubble of ashes would appear a spark
· where the penetrating truth… in God’s hands… becomes a way to God in love and an experience of mercy and grace.

The first step in the Franciscan Way of Life is to dare to step into the cave… and face the transforming presence of God.

Sister Lucy Slinger following first profession of vows.

SECOND MOMENT
Today is the 11th anniversary of Lucy’s profession as a Secular Franciscan. In this step some kind of public commitment is made to live out one’s Baptismal promises in a more intimate way. And Lucy found a way to incorporate her passion for the environment and her gift as educator in a deeper way as a Secular Franciscan.

Her awareness of mystery of our cosmos is awesome to me! Through her eyes, The Canticle of the Creatures is not just a poem… it is the essence of Francis’ understanding of our Good and Gracious God… Incarnate in our midst… whose Spirit hovers over us all. A Trinitarian God.

This canticle is Francis’ own effervescent moment… his recognition of God’s presence unleashed in joy and praise!… not unlike Lucy in a cave, penetrating the mysteries I would never think of… as she said in an e-mail to me:
“I think of crawling into Rufino’s cave and trusting and knowing the millions of pounds of rock above me… and the incredible support of the millions of pounds of rock holding me up.”

The second step in this Franciscan way is to be so overcome by the Goodness of God manifested in our chapels and gardens, our city and our world, indeed in our entire cosmos… that we MUST make a PUBLIC COMMITMENT to proclaim this goodness through a way of life… for Lucy as a Secular Franciscan.

MOMENT THREE
But this very experience of God’s grandeur let her to an even deeper call. As she said,
“I am glad to have these promises (as an SFO) turned into vows! Community living is what I need to do if I am to really preach on behalf of the Goodness of Creation… Godness with an extra O in it.”

Dear Lucy… do you know what you have said?

Dear Sisters and Affiliates, do you hear what she is saying?

She is saying that, while the Sun and Moon, Stars and Water, Fire and Plants and Herbs all are vestiges through which God is revealed, it is only in loving relationship that we can come closest to understanding the WORD-MADE-FLESH, Incarnate, revealed in our midst. This Franciscan way of Life demands, “Fraternitas” with every created being…the most precious being our Sisters and Brothers who make up community with us.

This relationship in Love is what is described in the Second Reading:
· A love that acknowledges Jesus Christ as Savior, as God with us;
· A love poured into each of us that binds us to god;
· a love that casts out all fear;
· A love that is perfect when “in this world, we are like Jesus, the manifestation of God in everything… so let us love one another.”

Only vowed in this kind of loving relationship can Lucy see herself manifesting the Godness.. the Goodness…of all the rest of Creation. This is the third step of the Franciscan Way of Life according to Lucy.

MOMENT FOUR
Lastly, the fourth step flows from this.

Lucy said to me, “I just want to preach always and use words only when necessary.”

Lucy, there will be days when your Sisters and friends may hold you to this! Those of us who think out loud can sometimes drive others back into the cave!

But at the deeper level, what you are saying is: Look at the way I am living my life. I am day by day trying to live the Gospel in a way that becomes evident in my actions as well as in my words! And in many instances actions do speak louder than words. What you are saying is that, for some inexplicable reason, you have been chose, and you want to live the Gospel passage of today.

In this fourth step, you want to go forth and bear fruit, a fruit which lasts.

This is the heart of being Evangelical… of choosing to walk in the footprints of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Four steps in the Franciscan way of Life:
· Going into the cave to be transformed
· Making a public commitment as a Franciscan
· Choosing to deepen that commitment through vowed life in community
· Being Evangelical

This is the Franciscan way of Life as described by your Sister, Lucy.

I close with a poem that was written by another pilgrim of ours in 2002. It captures the sense of what I think this journey is about for Lucy:

The Cave Near Assisi
I never understood before
Why Francis chose a cave –
A cold, dark choice indeed!
But, figuring he knew what he was doing
I sat down, crossed my legs,
And closed my eyes.
“Come, my Love…”
Then the silence thundered
And the darkness began to burn –
More than just the bushes
Where on fire in that place!
Heave bent to kiss the earth.
And there we stood
Face to face, heart to heart,
Cross to cross, wound to wound;
Touching…joining…holding…
Love and life flowed back and forth
Like some strange, relentless tide
Moved by the heartbeat of God
Across the sea of eternity.
I into you and you into me,
We flowed into each other
And then together were poured out,
Watering the garden of creation.
I am yours and you are mind,
Forever yours…forever…

And now I know exactly why
Francis chose a cave!
Written by Vicki Borokowski
Solitude Pilgrimage – 2002
“Please feel free to share it with whomever else.”

And now you know why Lucy stands before you today to deepen her baptismal and Franciscan call through vows which link her, and all that she stands for, with you as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. May the grace of God be with all of you as you journey together into the future, AMEN, AMEN,.. so be it! so be it!

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