FS #105: The Means, Part 10 – Jan 15 – Homily – Fr Terrance

 

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Jan 15, 2025, on how suffering, embraced in union with Christ, purifies the soul and leads to spiritual renewal, revealing God's love and purpose.

Father Marciano Ciccarelli's reflections in The Cornerstones of Franciscan Spirituality highlight the role of suffering as a profound aspect of Franciscan spirituality. Suffering, alongside humility and poverty, is a path to unity with Christ. It transforms from meaningless pain to a means of spiritual purification and renewal. Father compares suffering to "birth pangs," as described in John 16:21, and baptism as participation in Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). This path begins with baptism and continues through life, requiring collaboration with Christ’s sufferings. Isaiah 53 portrays Jesus as the Suffering Servant, a role mirrored by believers.

Father illustrates suffering's transformative power using the metaphor of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly—paralleling the cross of Jesus (Colossians 3:3). This suffering, when united with Christ, purifies, prunes, and matures the soul, as highlighted in John 15:1-2. It separates us from earthly attachments, reminding us that heaven is our true home (Philippians 3:20). St. Bonaventure describes the cross as renewing all things (Revelation 21:5), including life’s tragedies.

The Franciscan spirit does not glorify stoicism; rather, it embraces suffering with humility and gratitude, even for past sins that caused Jesus’ suffering (Luke 23:34). Inspired by St. Francis’s lament, "Love is not loved," believers offer suffering for purification and the sanctification of others. This aligns with CCC 618, which speaks of sharing in Christ’s redemptive suffering.

Father calls for grace through Mary’s intercession, encouraging faithful acceptance of suffering in faith and hope (CCC 971).

This is a continuation of his series on Franciscan spirituality, and the subsection, "The Means," as in the means to obtain the goals of spirituality, which is union with God. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNN151zTIO4&list=PLejh_e0-LN4xgMllKrzSasL2Hljd5BHom

For Further Reading:
Biblical References:
Isaiah 53 - NAB - The Suffering Servant prophecy - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/53
Colossians 3: 3 - NAB - Life Hidden with Christ - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3?3
John 15: 1-8 - NAB - The True Vine - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15
Catechism References:
Catechism of the Catholic Church #618 - Participation in Christ's Sacrifice - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/618.htm
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1239 - The Power of Baptism - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1239.htm
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1505 - The Meaning of Suffering - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1505.htm
Additional Resources:
Catholic Answers - Understanding Suffering - https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/hurt-yet-hopeful-a-christian-response-to-suffering

The material for this series comes primarily from Ciccarelli, Marciano M., "I capisaldi della spiritualità francescana" in Italian, which translates as "The Cornerstones of Franciscan Spirituality." No English translations of this book exist at the time of this recording.

00:00 – Introduction to Franciscan Spirituality
00:11 – Incorporation into Christ through Suffering
00:44 – Humility, Poverty, and Identification with Jesus
01:05 – Suffering as a Crucible of Purification
02:33 – Symbolism of the Caterpillar and Cross
03:27 – Suffering as a Divine Messenger
04:17 – Earthly Detachment Through Suffering
06:32 – The Cross as Renewal and Sanctification

Ave Maria!

Mass: Wednesday 1st Week of Ordinary Time - Wkdy
Readings:  - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011525.cfm
1st: heb 2:14-18
Resp: psa 105:1-4, 6-9
Gsp: mar 1:29-39

More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=1361

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