Where Are You Going?

Natus in Via
Born on the Way 

Sept. 25, 2020

Where are you going?

“Non c’è niente in giro;
solo c’è bisogno l’amore di Gesù”
un povero di Roma

“There is nothing in going for a walk;
only the love of Jesus is necessary”
a poor Roman man

Yesterday was a good reminder – more of a happy jog of heart and mind – that it is not so much what we do, but how we do it. And, perhaps, there are many things that we do that are more than simply distractions. What is most devastating is that, in all that we are, we are not conscious of the need for love.

So, yesterday… I was making a passeggiata (a little stroll) through Assisi when I saw a gentleman that I had seen several times before; always in via. At every crossing, a deep man, a good man, a man with many problems. He saw me walking by, and he was sitting at the post (literally). I did pass by after a “Ciao”, but – my Jesus the poor One – within I had to turn back. I fought it, yet I returned.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the LORD has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. Lamentations 1:12

This poor man, face bronzed by sun and engraved in suffering, says to me, ““There is nothing in going for a walk; only the love of Jesus is necessary.” He then proceeded to show me the Way to Love – to Holy Mass at the Chiesa Nuova, built over the place where Francis grew up.

I often take walks in Assisi. They are needful and healthful. And, perhaps oddly, I often wonder if I should. Is this ok for a Franciscan Friar? Surely it sounds odd, but I see so few Friars walking around.

As Saint Paul says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor 10:31). I will need to return to this meditation on Love and its heights and depths. For now… to remember and gaze upon the Love Who is Jesus. Only this is necessary.

Fr. Paschal Mary, MFVA