Portiuncula Blessing 2001
John Michael Talbot

Brothers and Sisters,

I recently received word from our work crew that our Portiuncula Chapel at Little Portion Hermitage is in disrepair. The wood is rotting around the foundation, threatening the integrity of the whole structure. We are considering various ways to repair it. I must confess that I never really wanted the tool shed chapel to be anything but temporary. I always saw a rock chapel there in my mind's eye, one more like the original in Assisi. We have access to rock that is inexpensive (dirt cheap as they say!). The General Council is researching several ways of repairing it, ranging from rocking up the sides, to wood, to starting over with a completely rock structure. We will probably decide on the simplest, and less expensive long term solution.

Today it strikes me that we must look within as Brothers and Sisters of Charity as to where the Lord might wish to rebuild any rotting of the foundations of our lives in Christ, the Church, and community.

The Portiuncula was originally a hermitage, or semi eremitical, as were all of Francis' original places. They were contemplative prayer places of strict, but sweet, solitude and silence. They were places of simplicity and gospel poverty. Rigid, but wholesome, religious discipline was kept there as a model for the whole community. Yet flexibility of spirit prevailed. Furthermore, Francis did not want unnecessary secular news or concerns to invade the sanctity of this holy religious refuge. He wanted the Divine Office to only be sung there, and with the greatest reverence. A balanced life of eremitical solitude and contemplative community was arranged in a way that was life giving and filled with spiritual sweetness.

Yet, in its solitude the Portiuncula was not uncaring and isolated from the rest of the world. The community retained its Evangelical and Apostolic spirit. All new vocations to the community were first welcomed and formally received there. There all the community chapters, the Chapter of Mats, convened to discern the future of the community, and to rejoice in the good things God had done in their midst in the time since their last meeting. From there all ministries and missions were sent forth into the four corners of the world. The Portiuncula became the silent beating heart of Jesus and Mary within this new community in the Church. The semi eremitical life of the Portiuncula was anything but closed in on itself. It was fully Evangelical and Apostolic in imitation of the full balance of the life of Jesus Christ.

What about us? Have we really been faithful to the highest integrated call and expressions of our gospel life as followers of Jesus as Brothers and Sisters of Charity, or have we subtly and slowly begun to settle for second best? Do not be unclear about this: settling for second best now in little things will only result in losing our whole vocation at a later time if left unchecked!

I take this opportunity to call all of us back to the first love of our call, and to go forward in maturing in that call through the years. Aim high. Seek nothing less than to be a saint. This is true for all our expressions, celibate, single, or family monastic, or domestic. No one is exempt. No one is better than another. The saints of the Church come from all states of life. Rather than being proud, this manifests our humility in recognizing that our normal ways are not nearly enough, and our faith in God that He can indeed work miracles even in the likes of you and me. If God calls us, He also gives the grace to preserver.

So rebuild the house of God. With little Francis begin the rebuilding project of your life as a Brother or Sister of Charity. Restrengthen the rotting foundations of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Make solid the walls of the Fathers, especially the monastic and Franciscan saints and mystics. Fix the holes in the leaking roof of obedience to the Church. Then we will preserve the original call and fervor of this way of life throughout our own life, and perhaps even for generations to come.

May God abundantly bless us all in Christ, the Church, and our community of Charity, on this feast of the namesake of our Motherhouse, the Portiuncula, the Little Portion Hermitage.

John Michael Talbot