Dear John,
Well, who could have predicted on January 2, 2020, how this year would play out? Not I!
A few things that I have learned since mid-March:
You users of our products are incredibly generous! You have continued making donations, renewing your subscriptions, reading our daily Internet features, buying our print and audio books, and sending in your prayer petitions. We are incredibly grateful and humbled by your generosity!
We the staff are more resilient than we could have imagined. We keep having our 9:30 a.m. prayer on workdays via Zoom; since March all our staff meetings have been by Zoom; and we continue to plan for new products and features.
However, overall for our culture, not all our discoveries during this pandemic have been pleasant ones, laying bare many common illusions. We now realize, for example, that racism is much more deeply entrenched than many of us were ready to admit in mid-March. Historical individuals who are heroes to some people are remembered painfully by other groups.
In these strange and trying times, I am very thankful for the Franciscan messages that we send our subscribers and the messages that they send us back.
In public and private responses to those who contact our “Ask a Franciscan” column, I try to reaffirm that God is very much with us, even when tragedies and injustices seem to be piling up. God helps us come to terms with what is happening and provides the strength to respond positively as individuals and as members of larger groups.
Jesus Christ is not only “the reason for the season” as many people comment around Christmastime. Jesus is the reason for everything that exists! That’s a very Franciscan idea championed by Blessed John Duns Scotus, a 13th-century Franciscan theologian who taught that the Incarnation would have happened even if Adam and Eve had not sinned. Jesus is not “Plan B” to fix a fallen world; although he certainly redeemed it. Can’t we safely say that Jesus is “Plan A” to reveal an eternally generous God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
The Franciscan family in general and Franciscan Media in particular show that zeal for God and humility about our efforts can—and must—work together. We are sometimes, but not always, on the side of the angels.
In various ways Franciscan Media helps us to learn from the “everyday saints” around us and their counterparts in earlier times and in other cultures. Pope Francis warns us against thinking that holy women and men are rare people, almost genetic anomalies. Every month, St. Anthony Messenger and our other media bring you the stories of people who unselfishly follow the self-emptying of Jesus (Philippians 2:6–11).
We hope that these messages continue to inspire and, if they do, you would consider making a small donation to help our efforts into the future. If you make a donation of over $100 you will receive the gift of a box of Trappistine Quality Candy fudge as a thank-you from Franciscan Media! (Only shipping within the United States, we apologize for any inconvenience.)
God bless and stay safe,
Fr. Pat McCloskey
