Pastor’s Reflection

“A Franciscan Place of Peace.  No firearms, No weapons”  

You may have seen the signs around the doors of the Basilica.  A handgun with a Franciscan cross over it says “Here, in this place, are different rules.”  Peace and peace-building are our Franciscan style of doing church.

We celebrated the ancient Franciscan feast of Portiuncula this past week.  It was the 800^th Anniversary of the Pardon of Assisi, the indulgence that Francis asked from the pope for the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi. It was extended to all Franciscan churches for the few days around August 2^nd each year. It remembers outlandish mercy, to the broken, sinner heretic, screw-up,

God’s indulgence is the message to the one who walks through our Holy Doors throughout the world during this Holy Year. Because we are the pope’s Minor Basilica, this grace is available all the time for those pilgrims who walk though the front doors of this beautiful old church in central Phoenix at anytime with confession and communion.

The Gospel of Luke was written toward the end of the first century.  Christians were still expecting the return of Christ soon. As time went on, though, they began to understand that the final end-time was not imminent. St. Luke’s stories point out that what is imminent is a personal “end-time” for each one of us. Blessed is that servant who is vigilant, prepared, ready for a kiss from that amazing, adoring Creator.

A few summers back I heard the story of a distant Nebraska relative.  Miles Maryott.  A violent man with an ugly temper. Known for love for strong drink and beautiful women.  In the early 1930’s he wandered into a little town of Cosad where he got enamored over a local town beauty who happened to be the wife of the sheriff.  In the ensuing gunfight, he shot and killed the sheriff and spent the rest of his life in the state prison at Lincoln.  But, the story was not over. As he sat brooding over his sins, he found he had a talent; painting landscapes! Many of his oil paintings ended up stored it the basement of a local Franciscan hospital where he died.  In those years, something healed inside Miles and he saw the rough and dull landscapes of the boring old Great Planes in a beautiful new vision.  His landscapes are now worth a fortune on E-BAY and he has several museums to his honor including one right there in Cosad, Nebraska.

Among our local “Franciscan landscapes” of beloved places, St Mary’s ranks near the top.  “A little portion” is what Francis called St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi.   Like the Eucharist where God is hiding under a small morsel of bread, our holy ground is a little portion of the incarnation of the crucified one.  Favor is discovered here.  Wisdom is sought and found … in the “dangdest“ places.   It creates a place of peace in the midst of some harsh and not so beautiful wilds …. “where weapons are no longer needed.”  The Archbishop of Rouen, France, Dominique Lebrun noted after the killing of Fr. Jacques Hamel last week, “The Catholic Church cannot take weapons other than those of prayer and brotherhood among men.”

“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,” we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel, “for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”  Jesus calls us to watch and be ready. We are not to get caught up in treasures of this life, in false securities, for here we have no lasting city.   Our personal end-time will come at an hour and a place of which we have no idea.  If we share what we have and do not cling to what is passing, we will be well prepared.

A gentle week,
Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM

Thanks to Celebration’s Dn. Ross Beaudoin for some of the above reflection.