WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
A LENTEN REFLECTION BY
Philip Bohan, O.F.M. Cap.
The words we use are important. They have
meaning, sometimes even beyond the obvious.
How often, and how easy it can be, to mix up
words, even misinterpret, them.
In my first assignment, freshly minted from
theological studies, I found myself at a downtown
chapel in Springfield, Massachusetts. St. Francis
Chapel was on Bridge and Main Streets, right in
downtown Springfield. Besides the usual duties of
Eucharist and confessions, a large part of what was
our service there; we were also invited to help form
the brand new Spanish-speaking apostolate of the
diocese.
It was a brand new endeavor for me—and really
fascinating. I was learning all about Puerto Rico in
the rather large Puerto Rican community at All
Souls Parish in the Brightwood section. I had no
experience in Spanish, except my high school
courses, and now I had to play serious catch-up.
I learned all the words about sports: béisbol, futbol,
baloncesto; but the word for “wrestling” fascinated
me—lucha libre. Where did I hear that before?
Then I remembered, I thought. A regular response
from folks when I greeted them: “Buenos dias,
¿cómo está hoy?” was their response: “En la lucha”.
When I received that response from young people
and even their parents, I was quite convinced they
were informing me of their love for wrestling! It
actually means “in the struggle”, “getting by”,
“doing the best I can”. I didn’t realize this.
So you can imagine the day I met two of the parish’s
older women [santas] and greeted them: “Buenas
tardes, ¿cómo están ustedes?” and they replied: “En
la lucha” and I blurted out: “¿A ustedes les gusta la
lucha libre también?” (“You like wrestling too?”)
Their response to my question was completely
incomprehension as you can easily imagine.
Our church year has come around to Lent once
again. Now there’s a word for you, Lent! And when
I went to some books and this missalette, both
prose and hymns are replete with a number of
words we associate with this holy season.
There’s conversion and reconciliation; we
have contemplation, and penances; there are
catechumens and candidates; there is the
imposition of ashes [cenizas]; there’s fast and
abstinence [ayuno y abstinencia].
As Capuchins, there are our Lenten efforts at
renewing and strengthening fraternity,
always eventually leading us to the top of the
mountain, the Eucharist, another priceless
word which hopefully will draw from us, our
best efforts.
Do we start from scratch during this season?
Or do we build on the innumerable blessings
already received that form this moment (or
rather 40 days) of grace?
I wanted to do something different. I was
prodded by this month’s Magnificat and Fr.
Richard Veras’ article, Conversion: Accepting
Christ in the Circumstances of Real Life. May
I quote one of his first sentences: “The Jesus
of art, hymn, poetry and spiritual reflection
can be beautiful and attractive, but powerless
to effect real conversion.” These are
straightforward words--no? He proceeds to
inform us of the idea we may have of the
Christ, and the “Jesus of the Gospels”. But
this is strong exegesis and I was scrambling
to hook onto something more Capuchin.
Then, it came to me! Why am I looking all
over creation when we have our own
powerful source-book, filled with flowing
sentences and wonderful Capuchin thoughts:
The Constitutions? Not having read them in a
while, to which I confess to being negligent
and awkward (words!!), I looked for Chapter
Seven- The Brothers’ Life of Penance. Just for
perspective, the chapters on accepting
brothers and their formation, as well as the
chapter on the government of the Order, are
each 19 pages long!
The 4½ pages dedicated to our life of penance
are inviting and not a bit disappointing. Eight
sections, with umpteen references as
sidebars, bring us to a wonderful perspective
of just how Francis envisioned his brothers
as “men of penance.”
This is part of our riches, part of our
inheritance, and part and parcel of the royal
gems of Franciscans. And it’s all ours! And
you won’t have any trouble with the words.
Philip Bohan is a Capuchin Franciscan friar of
the Province of St. Mary. Father Philip presently
ministers with the parochial community of Good
Shepherd, located in upper Manhattan, in New
York City.