The start of the school-year is approaching slowly! I spent considerable tome, touring the Houses and was gratified how well you are preparing for the new School-year. Several of you have asked me to draft in writing the tasks that I expect of the House Leaders and preceptors of the Saint Francis Foundation. I thought long and hard but was only able to put to paper the following general guidelines.
Our Father, Saint Francis, left as his most precious treasure the love and service of the poor for those accepting and carrying on his spirituality. Truly, we undertake and associate for the purpose that we should be the response of the Good Lord to those who ask in His Holy Name for help for their problems and anguish. Unfortunately, due to our own insignificance we can not be of service in the Name of God to all men. Therefore we listen rather to the requests and even silent pleas of children but naturally we seek to be the younger brother to every beggar and person in distress …
Yesterday I spoke to a mother of four a proud Székely woman whom her husband – blinded by alcohol – chased out of her home together with the children. The poor, nursing mother wracked by illness and with four very young children, where could she go in today's wide world? Her parents have died and unfortunately her mother-in-law is siding with her son and thus she had to flee from the small hut of one room and kitchen, in the village. But whereto? She grasped my hand filled with infinite sorrow as she pleaded: „Father, Help us, in the Name of God!”
Then, an hour later I spoke to a seventy-five year old great-grand-mother, whose grand-son went away and left the six month old child in the small hut. An open-faced Székely woman stood in front of me, who is already raising alone a young grandchild and wept: „Look, Father, for these young ones the floods soiled all their belongings in their cellar home, they have gone to seek work in Hungary and I have not heard anything from them. At night, when the baby is coughing, I can not hear her well and find it difficult to get up from my bed to tend her.” And, holding back tears, she continued: In the Name of God, tell me what to do since I do not want to reject the child but can bear it no longer …”
Towards evening a young woman sought me out asking for work. I spoke with her and it transpired that she had completed one year of university studies but has to break it off since she does not haver the where with all to continue her studies… „ I have nobody I can seek help from and while I can finance my own existence I am unable to find the fees needed for the new semester”. It is terrible to see that the realisation of this woman's dreams is only a question of a few hundred Euros.
These were just a few meetings in a single afternoon! And in addition they wanted to take me to a twenty year old woman, who gave birth to her second child recently and abandoned it in the hospital. They also called me to see another mother whose four beautiful children do not attend school regularly etc., These people are in trouble, fighting such problems and realistic worries, that may well grind to dust their bodies, souls and families. They do not want a wise judge, who will tell them where they made the mistakes, what sins they have committed. Most of them know, much better than we do, where they slipped up. They seek a doctor, who in their agony and anguish, will humbly, placidly, warm-heartedly and above all, in God's name, give advice freely and point to a way forward. Solutions must be found for them! They do not need the listing of fifty impasses that they may encounter but rather one single way that leads further and preserves the integrity and completeness of their families and which does not break down their self esteem and human pride they need to live on. These people unfortunately think of themselves what all the criticism tells them: you are a weak, abject, unhappy unfortunate maggot. If this judgement shines forth from your looks and words then they will feel like this about themselves all the more. The most extreme misfortune is when anyone looses belief in himself, regards himself as a sinful, abject maggot, who is incapable of getting up again, of moving forward and the taking up of his life. The person, who has lost his human dignity and standing, will not be able to battle successfully against difficulties about to crush their life or to formulate grand aims for moving forward.I read with sorrow that in Hargita County alone 250-300 persons end their life with their own hand annually. I any single decade the population of an average village does not regard itself as worthy of life and rather commits suicide… Terrible!
My dear fellow workers and all men and women of good will supporting our work! I do not know nor can not tell you who will knock on my door or yours and with what difficulties. What I do know is that we should live in such a manner that these wounded and weeping persons should dare to open up to us with trust and dare to formulate and speak out their concerns and worries. My request to you is that you do not judge anybody! You should listen to those knocking on your doors with the humility of the younger brother and, if there is even one option, you should at least wipe the tears from their eyes. Unfortunately, we can not solve the problems of everyone but my plea is that no child should leave us with an unresolved request. You should certainly signal those concerns of children and the young that you can not solve on the spot because it is my holy conviction that God listens to the prayers of the innocent. I am certain that if His Divine Majesty allows a child to fall out of the warm family nest then indeed He will send with love such men and women who see the purpose and flowering of their own life in taking upon themselves the worries of these children in trouble.
It is certain that we are unable to solve the sorrow and difficulty of the world since we are too small for that but like living microphones we should amplify the pleas of people to God and make them audible. We need to pass on the grievances and worries of people to the wider world. I am convinced that there are many, seeking a noble aim giving sense to their lives. It is our task to offer to well-to-do, astute and sensible persons the option to do good.
Believe me, they will all be grateful if you lead their feet onto the path of gentle goodness and motivate their hands to merciful brotherly love. Our duty, as servants of love, is, if we are unable, in the name of God, to complete the tasks asked of us to offer humbly the opportunity to our brothers because it is good to do good. We can do nothing better to our fellowmen than to gift them in meek humility with the option of doing good. Jesus asked of us that we be leaven and that is also my plea to you: Be you the leaven of love and goodness in this new semester also!
With lots of love
Brother Csaba.
Fr. Csaba Böjte OFM.
Csíkszereda 11th September 2010.
