March 15: Day by Day with Father Bill
MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT
-from the Franciscan Spirit Blog
One of the iconic moments in Saint Francis’ life was when he stood before the bishop and people of Assisi, stripped not only of the clothing that belonged to his father, but of his very identity as his father’s son.
Thereupon the Servant of God rose joyfully … and holding out the money, he said, “My Lord Bishop, not only will I gladly give back the money which is my father’s, but also my clothes.” Going into the Bishop’s room, he stripped himself of his garments and placing the money on them, he stood naked before the eyes of the Bishop, his father, and all present and said, “Hitherto I have called Peter Bernardone my father; but because I am resolved to serve God I return to him the money on account of which he was so perturbed, and also the clothes I wore which are his; and from now on I will say ‘Our Father who art in heaven,’ and not Father Peter Bernardone.’
At some point, most of us have to stand up for ourselves apart from our parents, our siblings, our friends. While we share many things in common, we also have our own ideas and ways of doing things. We may not have as drastic a break as Francis and Pietro, but we still become our own persons as we mature. It prepares us to one day stand before God and account for our lives as we have lived them, not blaming anyone for our failures.
Father Bill +