Santa Chiara, Papa Benedetto & Fr. Euteneuer, 3 People, 1 Message

Yesterday I wrote a bit about about Santa Chiara (St. Clare). As I was thinking about her life, the incidents with the army of Frederick II kept crossing my mind. Then my mind lept to what Papa Benedetto said a few weeks ago at the prayer service for peace in Lebanon/Israel. Quickly my thoughts lept to what the article by Fr. Tom Euteneuer had to say about what was going on. I began seeing a common thread connecting all 3. A thread that is evidence of how the Holy Spirit works in the Catholic Church throughout the centuries.

Let's go back to what the Holy Father said was the solution. Remember, when the fighting started, he called for prayer. Then, he practiced what he preached, there was that prayer service. At it he laid out the solution to bring about peace. People need to proclaim the message of the Gospel. What is the message, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That he did so to enable us to be reconciled to God & to one another. That the only way there will be true peace is when Jesus is Lord of our lives. Each of us is called to raise up Jesus for the world to see.

Cut to Santa Chiara. What did she do in the midst of war & danger. She turned to Jesus. She called for prayer, she prayed & she raised up Jesus for the world to see. How did she raise up Jesus? In this particular incident by bringing out the Eucharist from the chapel & holding it up before the army. When she did so, Jesus stopped the army from attacking. She knew by faith, that what appeared to be a mere piece of bread was no longer bread, but was in reality Jesus under the appearance of bread. She knew that she was truly, physically raising up Jesus. She knew that God would protect her & her sisters. She was right. She knew that when she & her sisters prayed to that same Jesus, the Son of God, that he would protect Assisi from attack. Her faith filled prayer was answered.

Next, let us turn to what Fr. Euteneuer said. He stated that terrorism is satanic. & that merely human means will not overcome it. They may put it on temporay hold or partially remove it, but they cannot exorcise it, removing it completely. He said: "(T)he actual solution to it is to conquer Satan and his minions with the Church’s spiritual power." This power he talks about comes from the Holy Spirit working in & through the Church. This power is ours because of what Jesus did on the cross. As Father pointed out: "modern terrorism is just another manifestation of the evil that is in men’s hearts". To deal with it "it is our duty to evangelize the world".

Fr. Euteneuer said: "the Church should be sending saints and exorcists to hammer out the devils who are the spiritual instigators of all sin." Papa Benedetto issued that call when he said: "What we can do is to give witness of love, witness of faith and, above all, to raise a cry to God: We can pray!" Santa Chiara gave us an example to show us it could be done.

So, why is there this common thread. It is simple. All 3 are people of deep faith & prayer. & because they spent time in prayer when the time came they were able to act in the ways that were needed. Santa Chiara was so in tune with God because she was a woman of prayer & open to the Holy Spirit speaking to her, that when the 1st attack came, she was able to instantly do what was right. The same is true of both Papa Benedetto & Fr. Euteneuer. They spent the time in prayer communicating with Jesus & with the Father so that when the time comes to act the Holy Spirit can act through them. Prayer is not an excuse not to act. Sometimes people try to make it that. Some people will pray & pray & expect God to do something, but will not be willing to be the person God uses to do it. They expect God to do a miracle. Sometimes God will, as when he sent the storm to Assisi. But, in that case the miracle came about because the sisters did act, the responded to the call to pray. Much of the time prayer is the prelude to action. The person who prays needs to be ready to be the person to be used by God.

Very few of us will be called to go to the Middle East & evangelize. But some of us will. At that point in time we can learn a lesson from San Francisco & his friars. At that time there was a situation similar to ours. There was an attack on the west by a group of Muslims determined to wipe out the West & impose their form on Islam. Muslims controlled much of the Middle East Northern Africa & even parts of Europe. The Franciscians went to the lands controlled by the Muslims & proclaimed the Gospel. Many of them died for their faith in doing so. This blood shed by the martyrs was the seed God used to eventually bring about the removal of Muslim control from Europe.

So too today, some of us may be called to lay down our lives as martyrs for the faith. Many of us will be persecuted. We will be told to stop proclaiming te message of the Gospel. We will be told that it is that message that is causing the divisions & all the problems. They will try & silence us by any means possible. Are they right? Is what they say true? Again to quote the Pope: "(I)t is not true. Precisely at this time, a time of great abuse of the name of God, we have need of the God who overcomes on the cross, who does not conquer with violence, but with his love. "

So, let each of us pray. Let each of us seek God's Face, listen to His Voice. Let each of us turn from our sins, repent & seek the forgiveness Christ won for us on the cross. Let each of us ask the Holy Spirt to dwell within, to strengthen, to guide, to empower us, to lead us. The Holy Spirit will lead. As it happens each of us must be willing to say "Yes!", knowing that it is not our efforts that will bring about the change. We are merely the instruments that God will use to bring about miracles. As we let God use each of us to confront evil, whether it is abortion, terrorism, anti-semitism, whatever, it will be overcome. It may take some time, we may not live to see it happen, but it will happen. In the end, evil will always be overcome.

JESUS WILL OVERCOME IT!!!!