Reflection 09 (9:12): Growth and Continued Conversion
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The journey of Saint Francis of Assisi invites us into a profound meditation on change, faith, and the search for meaning beyond worldly success. Gerard Thomas Straub’s film, The Loneliness and Longing of St. Francis of Assisi, captures this spiritual odyssey with a quiet intensity that resonates deeply. This series breaks the full length film into clips that are conducive to pausing, watching, and pondering.
Reflection Questions on Quotes from the Film:
"... What the volunteer coordinator said was, "And what if we really believe that about each person that came into the line? That this was our brother and sister, that this was the person that we were called to take care of? Wouldn't we be different? Wouldn't we look at things differently? And I think that that's what the call of the gospel is to,.. our brothers and sisters who just need us and we need them and we need them badly."
What are ways out brothers and sisters, who live in physically poverty, or some other type of poverty, need us? How do we need others? What did the friar mean when he said, "we need them badly?"
"In Psalm 114 [119:14], the Psalmist cries out, "I treasure your ways more than great riches." This certainly was true for St. Francis. He told his brothers that poverty is the special way of salvation. Francis chose the path of voluntary poverty because Christ chose to be poor,
How do you feel when you contemplate poverty? Do you feel called to a simpler, more other-centered life? What would our present day political situation look like if leaders put others first... other people, other political parties, other countries?
"In that gentle stillness, the mystics tell us, the voice of God becomes audible.
Have you ever had a moment, born in stillness, in which God's voice was unmistakable? What was the fruit of that experience?
