Archives by: Gary Hoag

“It is a wonderful thing to come to a place where we have nothing to trust in but God. It forces us to put our trust in the only place of ultimate hope–Christ.
When it is all stripped away, when all our resources are exhausted as eventually they are, there is one answer we have had all along, “the righteous will live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4.

Several times in my life I have had the gift of coming to a place where all I had to trust in was God. In retrospect, those were the precious times of simple faith where I learned more about my Heavenly Father than all the theology I have studied, sermons I have preached or books I have read. It was a true gift.”

Tim Addington, Senior VP Reach Global, Evangelical Free Church of America, Blog post on 24 January 2011:

http://leadingfromthesandbox.blogspot.com/2011/01/unexpected-gift.html

“Greed hardens the heart against compassion for the miseries of others.”

obduratio contra misericordiam

Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) One of the four doctors of the Western Church, Pope who came from Monastic background, in Moral 31.45.

“If sometimes our poor people have had to die of starvation, it is not because God didn’t care for them, but because you and I didn’t give, were not instruments of love in the hands of God, to give them that bread, to give them that clothing; because we did not recognize him, when once more Christ came in distressing disguise–in the hungry man, in the lonely man, in the homeless child, and seeking for shelter.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1919-1997) in Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996) 24.

X. On the admonition and correction of brothers.

“Brothers who are ministers and servants of other brothers must visit and admonish their brothers, and they should correct them humbly and lovingly, prescribing nothing against their soul or our rule. Brothers who are subject to authority must remember that they have surrendered their own wills for the sake of God. Thus I strictly order them to obey their ministers in all those things which they have promised the Lord to observe and which are not contrary to the soul and to our rule. And wherever there are brothers who know they cannot observe the rule spiritually, those brothers should and may recur to their ministers. The ministers should receive them lovingly and generously and treat them so intimately that the brothers can speak and act as lords do with their servants. For that is the way it ought to be. The ministers should be servants of all the brothers.

I admonish and exhort the brothers in the Lord Jesus Christ to beware of all pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, worldly care and concern, criticism and complaint. And I admonish the illiterate not to worry about studying but to realize instead that above all they should wish to have the spirit of the Lord working within them, and that they should pray to him constantly with a pure heart, be humble, be patient in persecution and infirmity, and love those who persecute, blame or accuse us, for the Lord says, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute and accuse you” (Matt. 5:44). “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:10). “He who has persevered until the end, however, will be saved” (Matt. 10:22).”

IX. On preachers.

“I admonish and exhort the brothers that in their preaching their words be studied and chaste, useful and edifying to the people, telling them about vices and virtues, punishment and glory; and they ought to be brief, because the Lord kept his words brief when he was on earth.”

VII. On the penances to be imposed on sinning brothers.
“If any of the brothers should sin mortally at the instigation of the enemy, they should recur to their provincial ministers without delay if the sin is one of those for which such recourse is required.

They should be careful not to become angry and upset over someone’s sin, for anger and perturbation in oneself or others impedes love.”

VI. That the brothers should appropriate nothing for themselves; and on how alms should be begged; and concerning sick brothers.

“The brothers should appropriate neither house, nor place, nor anything for themselves; and they should go confidently after alms, serving God in poverty and humility, as pilgrims and strangers in this world. Nor should they feel ashamed, for God made himself poor in this world for us. This is that peak of the highest poverty which has made you, my dearest brothers, heirs and kings of the kingdom of heaven, poor in things but rich in virtues. Let this be your portion. It leads into the land of the living and, adhering totally to it, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ wish never to have anything else in this world, beloved brothers.
And wherever brothers meet one another, let them act like members of a common family. And let them securely make their needs known to one another, for if a mother loves and cares for her carnal son, how much more should one love and care for his spiritual son? And if one of them should become ill, let the other brothers serve him as they themselves would like to be served.”

V. On their manner of working.

“Those brothers whom the Lord favors with the gift of working should do so faithfully and devotedly, so that idleness, the enemy of the soul, is excluded yet the spirit of holy prayer and devotion, which all other temporal things should serve, is not extinguished. As payment for their labor let them receive that which is necessary for themselves and their brothers, but not money. Let them receive it humbly as befits those who serve God and seek after the holiest poverty.”

IV. That the brothers should not accept money.

“I strictly forbid the brothers to receive money in any form either directly or through an intermediary. Nevertheless, the ministers and custodians can work through spiritual friends to care for the sick and clothe the brothers, according to place, season and climate, as necessity may seem to demand. This must be done, however, in such a way that they do not receive money.”

III. Concerning the divine office and fasting; and how the brothers ought to travel through the world.

“They must fast during Lent, but they are not required to do so at other times except on Fridays. In case of obvious necessity, however, they are excused from bodily fasting.
I counsel, admonish and beg my brothers that, when they travel about the world, they should not be quarrelsome, dispute with words, or criticize others, but rather should be gentle, peaceful and unassuming, courteous and humble, speaking respectfully to all as is fitting.

Whatever house they enter, they are first to say, “Peace to this house” (Lk. 10:5). According to the holy gospel they can eat whatever food is set before them.”