A cold but a happy day
A reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
A happy day for me is a day that begins with Holy Mass at our Parish Church. I make this distinction because I don’t have a car anymore and I listen to the Live production of Holy Mass on EWTN. That makes me happy too, but not to the extent that a live Mass in person, does. In other words, a Mass where I receive Him in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That tops any experience, every time. It makes me very happy.
This particular day was a Sunday, and after Mass, my friend Adela who picked me up, and her friend, Michael, both members of St. Helen’s Church Choir, and I visited the “Angelic Cafe” in the Parish Center, where we have good company and great conversation. People who know me will find out that I am a man of few words. I listen a lot. I guess it’s because my hearing isn’t so sharp anymore but also because I don’t always find people who have something interesting to say. I am not quiet because I am shy, not anymore. Twenty years ago, I was a monk for four and a half years, and I was less talkative in the ensuing time than before that experience. Those years are never far from my thoughts. It was a happy time for me, for the most part, because I found out my strengths and weaknesses. I found out I liked silence and prayer, to help come closer to Our Lord. Living with two strange men isn’t always easy. The founder was a sick man, in constant periods of pain. It wasn’t until years later, I found out that he had passed away at a very young age all alone. The other guy was healthy and I’m still in contact with him periodically. They had built a new Monastery in Gulf-coast of Florida, but no one had ever occupied the building which took endless years to go through the county code-approval process. What a shame. That said, I did become very close to the Lord and I thank Him daily.
Back to my happy day… Listening to people recount their experiences. A lady and her husband, living in an area of “the island” where real estate values are high, so one might assume they lived the good life Florida is famous for. They came from New Jersey where they had property also. Still they were modest people, and they worshiped at my parish because of its spirituality. The lady looked at my Tau cross and wondered if I was Franciscan. Yes, I am, for the last 31 years and counting. praise the Lord! It’s always great when people recognize the Tau, or if they don’t know what it is, they ask. Then there was another couple but they didn’t say very much. A well-spent half hour with good conversation, fellowship and food.
At home, I prayed the Rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer. The Liturgy is optional for Secular Franciscans, but I love those daily prayers, which are mandatory for priests, religious (men or women) and others who made Vows. I have been praying these beautiful prayers since 1983. I recall when I bought my first book (the single-volume “Christian Prayer). I had been sort of restless in prayer, unorganized, unfocused. That’s when I was still living in the New York area. It was a Saturday, and I believe it was in Valley Stream that I spotted a religious article store. I don’t know why I walked in, but I did, and bought the Christian Prayer book, and left. It sat on my table for a while and then I got the urge to use it. Thank you Holy Spirit! I’ve never stopped using it; now I use the large-print 4-volume edition which I came to love in the monastery. Some people fear it because it’s expensive and complicated (not to me); I had a benefactor, another Secular Franciscan who gave it to me as a gift; I pray for her every day. I love these prayers because I sense the unity and love when thousands of priests (the Holy Father, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons), religious of all Orders, nuns and other sisters, and many of the faithful, are all praying Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, every minute of the day. Sometimes (often during Lent) I pray the Office of Readings, too. Another source of great joy. Using the Franciscan Supplement, I follow those feasts as well. Hint: In the Office of Readings the Second Readings are often beautiful, written by the saint of the day.
The rest of the day, afternoon, I watched TV. My old LCD TV (almost 15 years old) gave up last year, and since I was spending too much money, I bought an Amazon FireTV with some awards money. Best deal I ever made, great LED TV, fully-adjustable, a very light smart-TV working on Wi-Fi, cost ZERO per month to operate. And, I get almost everything I had before. I love Veterinary shows and there are a bunch of them in the UK which I’m able to get. I don’t watch “R” rated stuff, and very little News. I do miss one of my favorite shows, “The Incredible Dr. Pol”, a veterinary show from Michigan, but it’s on a channel I would have to pay for, and I have to keep costs down. A happy afternoon. A happy Sunday.
God bless you and always be happy!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
January 22, 2024