Badal:
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis remains the Model of
Christian Witness in the world of Islam…The offer of St.
Francis before the Sultan at Damietta
Frs. Charles de Foucauld and Louis
Massignon traveled “mystically” the path of Badal as inspired by St. Francis…
Francis of Assisi
1.
It is enough to utter his name
and everyone knows who he is. St.
Francis was a man of God. And because he was a man of God, he always
lived what was essential. So he was a
simple, courteous and gentle to everyone, like God in his mercy.
2.
The Phenomenological
Manifestations of our epoch…
·
Emptiness. It is born of a feeling of
impotence. There is very little we can
do to change our life, our community and society. Finally there is really
nothing important…
·
Loneliness. It is an experience of lack of contact with nature and others in
terms of friendship and gentleness. There is the lack of courage to commit
oneself.
·
Fear. It is the fruit of
objective threats to life, to employment, to collective survival of humanity in
general.
·
Anxiety. It has its origin in imagined fear, ignorance as to what one ought
to do, in whom to trust, and what to expect.
When anxiety grips an entire society it means that the whole society
feels threatened and senses its approaching end.
·
Aggressiveness without
objectives. It
reveals a rupture with the norms of relationship without which a society cannot
be built or defended. What results is
anonymity and the loss of the meaning of the self, that is, the worth and
sacredness of human person.
From the above,
Two consequences ensue… first is Emptiness
and second is Loss. It is the loss
of language of everyday communication, the loss of meaningful relationship and
the lack of vital relationship with nature and habitat.
3.
St. Francis and the New
Ethos… It is a new way of life with
many and varied relationship to nature, to others, to religion and to God. In St. Francis, it was through Pathos –
Sympathy and Eros – fraternal communication and tenderness. Manifestations are:
·
His Innocence
·
His enthusiasm for nature
·
His gentleness to all beings
·
His capacity for compassion
with the poor and “confraternization”
with all elements and even death itself.
4.
To Be Saint … in the case of
Francis…
·
To be Saint, it is necessary to
be human.
·
To be human, it is necessary to
be sensitive and gentle.
“Man knows as
much as he does.” Francis’s gentleness was demonstrated, especially in his
human relationship. He broke the
rigidity of the feudal hierarchy and called all persons as brothers and
sisters. He himself was called “little brother” (fratello). He wanted
to unite great and small, to treat the wise and simple with brotherly
affection, to bind with tie of love those who were held at a distance. He treated everyone with outmost courtesy,
even Saracens, Infidels and thieves.
5.
Peace… One of the global values lived by Francis was
Peace.
·
The World is the “regio
dissimilitudinis” and behind these dissimilarities are camouflaged injustices
and violence.
·
Every time Francis began his
preaching, he invoked Peace… saying: “the Lord gives you peace.” It is Peace and all good. His group carries out a true mission of peace
– “Legatio Pacis”.
·
The peace that is proclaimed in
word ought always to be present in the heart.
Let no one be provoked by us to anger or scandal, but rather let all
through your gentleness, be led to Peace, Tranquility and agreement. “BE KINDER WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS.”
6.
The Role of Mediation… During the Crusades, Francis had a profound
impact on the Sultan. Francis gave a vote of confidence to the liberating
capacity of kindness, gentleness, patience and understanding. Peace in his own PERSON manifested in his
words, poetry and song.
DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...
Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the
“tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a
prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:
1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…
2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips.
3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that
interprets one’s life NOW…!
It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more
days to relish the beauty of this method…
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