CONSIDER THE HUMMINGBIRDS.....

Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew 6:25 ff in a section of the Sermon on the Mount called:  "Dependence upon God": 

                "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you

                will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?   Look at the birds in the sky;

                they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are not

                you more important than they?"

 

Here at our Franciscan Prayer Fraternity, all summer long we are graced with the presence of the tiniest of God's birds: the

hummingbirds.    They arrive, coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, in May and spend the summer with us.  Outside our dining room

windows are several hummingbird feeders at which all day long we, and our guests, have the pleasure of watching anywhere from 2 to 4 up to sometimes 6 to 10 hummingbirds buzzing and feeding, darting back and forth, reflecting exactly what Emily Dickinson speaks of in part of the poem:   Within my Garden, rides a Bird:

 

                Within my Garden, rides a Bird

                Upon a single Wheel --

                Whose spokes a dizzy Music make

                As 'twere a travelling Mill --

 

                He never stops, but slackens

                Above the Ripest Rose --

                Partakes without alighting

                And praises as he goes.

 

or perhaps captured well in the poem  The Hummingbird   by  Harry Kemp

 

                The sunlight speaks.   And its voice is a bird:

                It glitters, half-guessed, half-seen, half-heard

                Above the flower bed.   Over the lawn ....

                A flashing dip and it is gone.

                And all it lends to the eye is this  --

                A sunbeam giving the air a kiss.

 

A delight for us is this annual pilgrimage of the hummingbirds to spend the summer months here at P.O. Box 1042,  Ava, MO, availling themselves of the hospitality of our feeders, flashing, dipping, giving the air a thousand kisses with their tiny fluttering wings.   In one of the photos, you can catch a glimpse of Br. Joe, who dutifully prepares their daily meals.  They do greet us in the morning and stay with us throughout the day, especially at the feeding times of morning, noon, and night -- like us.   Recently the local paper carried some astonishing facts about these tiniest of God's creatures:

 

                --  average length is  3 inches

                --  average weight is an eighth of an ounce

                --  the ruby-throated hummingbird makes a 500-mile migration to and from the Gulf of Mexico

                --  hummingbirds do not hitch a ride on the backs of migrating geese - they make the non-stop flight all on their own

                --  the 500-mile journey can reduce the bird's weight by half

                --  wingbeats are 75 per second

                --  flight speed is up to 60 miles per hour

                --  the ruby-throated hummingbird is Missouri's smallest bird

                --  hummingbirds can live up to 9 years

 

We close these thoughts with a final scripture, part of the Creation story in Genesis 1:20 ff: 

 

           Then God said:  "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly

           beneath the dome of the sky."    And so it happened:   God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of

           swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds.  God saw how good it was,

           and God blessed them, saying,  "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply

           on earth." 

 

How grateful we are for the creation of the tiniest of birds, the hummingbird!  How grateful we are that they choose to make our home their own for the summer here in the Ozark Hills of Missouri!   Praise God for the gift they are to us and our guests!

          

 

 

 

 

AROUND THE PROVINCE article

This past April 29th,  our Franciscan brother, Pio Jackson, who is the JPIC Animator for the Sacred Heart Province, came to visit us, along with Michael Jennrich, former core member here.   Pio wrote the following words about his visit to us here in Ava at the Franciscan Prayer Fraternity:  (this is only part of article that he wrote)

JPIC SPIRITUALITY -- A HAIL TO AVA

 

Prior to my JPIC trip to Peru and Bolivia I had the privilege of accompanying the Provincial Vicar Michael Jennrich OFM to the interprovincial house of prayer in Ava, Missouri. As we approached the community, which sits on 60 acres of land leased from the Trappist monastery nearby, I was struck by the rustic wooden exterior. A few equally rustic structures were situated not far from the main house. On the small porch the resident fraternity of friars had gathered to give us a warm Franciscan greeting in hospitality.    

 

I was preparing myself in my mind to pass these days much as rural farmers did in the days of long ago. As we entered the house I was pleasantly surprised to be ushered into what seemed almost another dimension, with a soft, artistic interior that was not luxurious but invitingly simple and comforting as well as clean and ordered.

 

The dining area held a mid-size table with windows that faced out into the gardens and acreage beyond. It was a table that encouraged meal as sacrament with modern cupboards and kitchen area surrounding it supplied with sensible attractive utensils and other items that promoted a family spirit and a willingness to be together.

 

The small chapel  (picture above) was elegantly arranged with spaces for the individual friar and his liturgical books and strategic and esthetic placing of altar and ambo with the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In prayer one could contemplate Mother Earth by glancing outside of the spotless windows and muse on the integrity and care of creation as God's gift. The friar liturgy was well arranged and prepared. And proudly, I think the friars sing rather well. Michael and I were graciously asked to celebrate Mass for them while we were there.

 

Our home for the few days was comfortable, simple, modern, rather spacious guest rooms off to the side which also opened on to the yard with windows that also opened onto a panoramic view. Across the way one could see the facility that was used for making soap, one of their means of self-support. Joe Manning OFM gave me a small tour and related to me with enthusiasm the process of making soap. It seems like there is a reasonable demand for it with its various fragrances and herbal properties. I was grateful for the two bars I got as a gift.

 

After my few days with these men of prayer, the demands of province work for Michael Jennrich OFM and some pressing involvements as JPIC animator called us to journey home. I was already carrying within me the spiritual support and presence of that community. They all assured me that they would carry JPIC and me within their prayers. They have helped me to see ever more clearly that justice, peace and integrity of creation goes hand-in-hand with the ministry of prayer.

 

 

Prayer Quotes from your Prayer Fraternity

This month's quote on prayer comes from St. Therese of Lisieux:

 

"The power of prayer is indeed wonderful.  It is like a queen, who, having free access always to the king, can obtain whatever she asks.  To secure a hearing there is no need to recite set prayers composed for the occasion -- were this the case, I should indeed deserve to be pitied!

 

Apart from the Office (the daily prayer of the Church) which is a daily joy, I do not have the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers.  They are so numerous that it would only make my head ache.  Unable either to say them all or to choose between them, I do as a child would who cannot read -- I just say what I want to say to God, quite simply, and he never fails to understand.

 

For me, prayer is an uplifting of the heart, a glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love in times of sorrow as well as joy.  It is something noble, something supernatural, which expands the soul and unites it to God.

 

When my state of spiritual aridity is such that not a single good thought will come, I repeat very slowly the Our Father and the Hail Mary, which are enough to console me, and provide food for my soul."

STORIES FROM THE MONASTIC TRADITION

Here at our Franciscan Prayer Fraternity in Ava, MO, we share a campus with both Trappist monks (Assumption Abbey -- a foundation begun by the Trappist community from New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa)  and a community of hermit sisters.   Both communities are about 2 miles distance from our Prayer Fraternity.   The Abbey and its liturgies (Office of the Hours & Eucharist) are readily available to our guests.  We cannot help but breathe in some of richness of the monastic traditions in our Church, so each month in our blog we want to share with you a story, or some wisdom, that comes from the monastic tradition.   So much of the wisdom comes in the form of 'story'.  This story comes from the book you see here: TALES OF A MAGIC MONASTERY by Theophane the Monk.   This wonderful little book is published by Crossroad Publishing Co, (New York,1995), is found on page 19, and is  entitled:  "The Best Place to Pray".

 

THE BEST PLACE TO PRAY 

I asked an old monk,  "How do I get over the habit of judging people?"

 

He answered:  "When I was your age, I was wondering where would be the best place to go to pray.  Well, I asked Jesus that question.  His answer was:  "Why don't you go into the heart of my Father?"   So I did.  I went into the heart of the Father, and all these years that's where I've prayed.  Now I see everyone as my own child.   How can I judge anyone?"

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

Today is another of the great feasts of our Church,  as we have moved over these past several weeks from the Ascension,  to Pentecost,  to Trinity Sunday, and now to the SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST -- Corpus Christi!   Each of these four feasts of our Church invite us to pause annually and reflect upon how we are allowing these faith mysteries to touch our lives.   We celebrate each of these special days here at the Franciscan Prayer Fraternity in Ava, MO.   We take time to reflect upon what they saying to us -- in a new way -- this year.  Often, we share these special liturgical moments with guests who come here for quiet, for prayer, for retreat time.   

 

Today's feast of Corpus Christi invites us to look ever anew at this faith mystery of bread that becomes body and wine that becomes blood that has been with us from the time of Jesus.  As we hear in the Sequence for the Feast today:   

               What he did at supper seated,

               Christ ordained to be repeated,

                      His memorial ne'er to cease:

               And his rule for guidance taking,

               Bread and wine we hallow, making

                      Thus our sacrifice of peace.

               This the truth each Christian learns,

               Bread into his flesh he turns,

                       To his precous blood the wine:

               Sight has fail'd, nor thought conceives,

               But a dauntless faith believes,

                       Resting on a pow'r divine.

 

St. Paul in his Letter to the Corinthians today tells us:  "I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread ...."    What do we do with what we received from the Lord Jesus in each Eucharist?   How do we pass on what our faith reveals to us?   With what courage do we speak about Jesus, and the wonderful gift of the Eucharist, to others?   If we aren't handing it on,  who is?

 

In the Gospel of Luke today,  Jesus tells his followers:  "Give them some food yourselves."    Today,  we are the followers of Jesus charged with feeding the multitudes.  How can you do that today?   Who are the hungry,  who are the needy,  who are the sick and the lonely, who are the ones in need of the nourishment that you can give?   Often they are as close as your own home or your neighborhood or church or community.    Hear Jesus tell you:  "Give them some food yourself,"  and then bring 'Eucharist' to them. 

 

Let us close today with a poem that speaks of taking what happens for us at Eucharist around the faith mystery of bread that is broken and wine that is poured and finding ourselves charged to feed others.  Unfortunately, we don't remember who wrote this -- it appeared in a national magazine about 10 years ago.

 

         IMITAMINI QUOD TRACTATIS

 

         The day you were called

        to break bread for a living

was the day you were called to be broken.

 

             The days you spend

        bending over bread are spent

     bent around a mystery of fraction.

 

          If you are indeed broken,

           you need to gather up

     each other's fragments gently,

and remember how, again through you,

    God feeds so many with so little.

         

 

 

 

Br. Maria Lazarus, OCSO Solemn Profession

MEMORIAL DAY - May 31, 2010 

    -- Feast of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth

 

For the Trappist monks, our neighbors and those we rent this property from, Memorial Day 2010, also the Feast of the Visitation, was a great day.   One of their brothers,  Br. Maria Lazarus (pictured here), made his permanent commitment to the community of Trappists at Assumption Abbey here in the Ozarks of Missouri.  The monks came here in September of 1950 as a foundation from the New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa.  Over the course of these past 60 years they have slowly become a part of the fabric of this southwestern Missouri region of the Ozarks -- Douglas County, rural Ava, MO.   Over the course of these 60 years, the Trappist here have supported themselves first by farming, then by making concrete blocks, and presently with a very good and popular fruit cake.  

 

Br. Maria Lazarus, who made his solemn profession to this community on Monday of this Memorial Day weekend, is presently the baker.   As a Franciscan community, we congratulate Br. Lazarus on his solemn vows.   If you want to learn more about the Trappist community here, check out the website for Assumption Abbey, Ava, Mo.   On that same website, you can also check out, and if you would want to do so, purchase one or more of their fruit cakes.