Dear Brothers in Christ, Peace be with you this October. Last week my copy of Columbia arrived with a feature on St. Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary we mark this month. Francis died on October 3, 1226, lying on the bare ground at the little chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, and the Church kept his feast yesterday. He was born around 1181, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, and he grew up with every comfort and a taste for glory. After a stint as a soldier, a year in prison, and a long illness, he began to hear the Lord. Praying before the crucifix at San Damiano, he heard the words "rebuild my church." When his father demanded his inheritance back, Francis stripped off his clothes in front of the bishop and gave them to him. He was now free to call God his Father alone.
That scene struck me, because it is the answer to a question left hanging in Scripture. In Mark 10, a rich man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Mark tells us that Jesus, looking at him, loved him. Then He asked him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sad. No one had ever pointed out to me that Francis is the one who said yes. Christ's look of love was not a rebuke. He has a plan for each of us, and He knows exactly what our hearts are holding onto. Peter, the patron of our parish, had already answered in the same Gospel: "We have left everything and followed you." A fisherman from Galilee dropped his nets, carried the keys, and in the end gave his life in Rome, crucified, tradition tells us, upside down. Like Francis, he held nothing back.
Underneath all of this is what St. Paul asks the Corinthians: "What do you have that you did not receive?" (1 Cor 4:7). Paul knew the question from experience. Saul of Tarsus had hunted down Christians, until Christ met him on the road to Damascus and he spent three days blind and humbled. He spent the rest of his life preaching that everything is grace. I was reminded of this recently in a video where Fr. Mike Schmitz closed with Venerable Fulton Sheen quoting that very verse. Our skills, our talents, our very lives are gifts from the Creator.
This is also what struck me in our men's group, where we have begun a series on Genesis. Many of the men got caught up in the how of creation, the mechanics and the specifics. I understand the instinct, but the gift is the point, not the wrapping paper or where the Giver bought it. And Genesis goes on to show us how we fumbled that gift. I see the effects of the Fall every day, in friends, acquaintances, and even fellow parishioners who struggle with our fallen human nature. I say this not as judgment but as observation, and I include myself.
It is also why our culture's attack on life grieves me so deeply. Brian Holdsworth, the Canadian Catholic YouTuber, has been shining a light on euthanasia in Canada, and a recent case in Ontario is a sobering example. Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old great-grandmother known to her family as "GG," had told staff that MAID conflicted with her Christian faith. According to her family, her granddaughter, who had been her caregiver for twelve years and held her power of attorney, was away on a 10-day trip when staff met with GG about MAID. The family says the doctor described it in loose terms, never using the words death or dying, to a woman who was hard of hearing and whose first language was German. When her granddaughter later asked whether she knew she would die on Friday, GG reportedly cried out in distress. She was euthanized in July, and the family has filed a complaint with Ontario's Chief Medical Coroner. These are the family's allegations, and the facts are still being examined. But whatever the investigation finds, a woman who did not understand that this meant death is an affront to the gift of life. Life is precious.
Let us pray for the gift of life with the Prayer for Reverence for Life from the Archdiocese of Vancouver:
Almighty God, giver of all that is good, we thank You for the precious gift of human life: For life in the womb, coming from your creative power, For the life of children, making us glad with their freshness and promise, For the life of young people, hoping for a better world, For the life of people who are disabled, teaching us that every life has value, For the life of the elderly, witnessing to the ageless values of patience and wisdom. Like Blessed Mary, may we always say "YES" to Your gift. May we defend it and promote it from conception to its natural end. And bring us at last, O Father, to the fullness of eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
That is why great Christian writers endure. I am halfway through C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, a gift from my wife, which follows one man through wartime England as demons scheme to take his soul. Malcolm Guite's recent conversation on the Arthurian legends reminded me how many of the stories that formed generations of Christians are fading, and that it is our job to pass them on. My wife is Lutheran, and she was the one who insisted on a statue of St. Francis in our backyard. It may be that Francis is the saint who will draw her closest to the Church. I am also reminded of my deacon's advice to meet people where they are. I recently had a wonderful conversation about Mark's Gospel with a new friend, raised Catholic, who feels she has outgrown the faith, and I was surprised by how well she knew the Gospel writers. I am praying for her.
A brief family update: my wife and children have been found to have a health issue related to one I shared before. It will mean changes to our diet and lifestyle, along with supplements, but we are hopeful and see it as a blessing.
Mary's "yes" brings me to Our Lady herself. October is the Month of the Rosary, and I am doubling down on my devotion to praying it daily. Mary is the perfect receiver of gifts. Her answer to the angel, "Let it be done unto me according to your word," is the exact opposite of the rich man's sad walk away. Francis, who loved her so much that he died at her chapel, understood this. The Rosary teaches us to receive. Last week, despite flooding and rain, a small group of Knights of Columbus gathered to pray a Rosary for vocations, and I know the Lord heard it. On October 13th we remember Our Lady's last appearance at Fatima, where she urged the world to pray the Rosary for peace. Since our country has recently been consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, I ask you to join me in praying for peace and an end to the culture of death.
I have published a website to store these letters, so please feel free to share them with fellow seminarians. I am praying for you all, and I ask that you continue to pray for the Church.
May God bless you. St. Francis, St. Peter, St. Paul, pray for us.
In Christ,
Robert Trimble, MD
Vocations Committee — St. Peter Prince of the Apostles