Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Lectionary: 299

I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.

I begin each day at the Veterans Affairs hospital, before my “tour of duty” begins, with a half-hour of prayer in the chapel. During this time I read the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer. I would not want to approach the Veterans or staff without this re-consecration of myself and my time.

I enjoy a great deal of respect among the Veterans and staff but I cannot assume it’s because they like me so much. Most hardly know me. They see the Roman collar and they know whom I represent. Despite all the rumors of a secularized world, people appreciate a “man of the cloth” and are glad of his presence.

During his Last Supper prayer, the Lord would not “ask that you take them out of the world.” That would defeat the whole purpose of our being here. Rather, he prayed first, that the Evil One be kept far from us; and then for our consecration in truth.

Most of the people who greet me in the hospital cannot imagine how blessed my life is. I live in a Franciscan community that engages in prayer three times a day. I watch little television, only the early evening news. For recreation I play three rounds of cribbage with 96-year-old Father Maurus. (Both of us hope the other will win.) Once in a while I go outdoors to take pictures of flowers, bugs and trees. I have also spent a lot of time in the past four years with this homily-blog. I visit my family in Louisville for major holidays and birthdays. 

Although I grumble about the antics of this or that friar, one of my companions, I know where the problem lies. It’s not with him. I did not enter the Franciscan community to show them how to be Franciscans; I need them to show me. I also wanted to fall under the blessing of Jesus’ Last Supper prayer – for protection from the Evil One.

There’s a lot to be said for a simple way of life. The Franciscan life is quiet, uncluttered, unpretentious and focused. It’s consecrated in truth. It probably makes a difference in the broader landscape of our culture and nation; but, to suit me, it does not have to. I don’t suppose the world will be a better place for my having been here.

If these united states retain our union for another century, the Christian Churches will play no small part in that success. Our consecration in truth and our keen awareness of both the Evil One and God’s mercy will make all the difference. That blessing began in Jesus; it remains with us because of our daily prayer.