A role model with values
A role model with values is Francis of Assisi. He was born in the year 1182 and died in the year 1226. He lets us know: Homesickness always means distance and closeness, separation and connectedness, pain and attraction at the same time. He told us that words are a way to build bridges from person to person.
Follow Keyword-like words characterize good human communication:
- spontaneous, yet not hurtful
- enthusiastic, yet not fanatical
- consistent, yet not argumentative
- passionate, yet not impatient
- original, yet not naive
- free, yet not reckless
- serious, yet not boring
- cheerful, yet not superficial
- provocative, yet not tactless
- captivating, not intrusive
- calling for repentance, yet not condemning
1. Francis of Assisi guides us to reflect and perceive
The Gospel:
- you live it faithfully, yet not tense, joyless, or fearful
- it is a treasure to you and not a burden
- a captivating read is not an obligation
- it is joyful and not a warning message
- it is the delight of the heart and the wisdom of life
- it is sweet as honey and precious as a pearl.
- you live it faithfully and yet it is always new
- it is imaginative, but understandable
- it is radical and yet loving
To Listen:
We hear the chirping of birds, the splashing of water, the roaring of the wind, and the crashing of the sea... The crackling of the fire sounds more familiar to your unspoiled ear than the politicking of politicians, the debating of philosophers, the analyzing of psychologists, and the hair-splitting of theologians.
To See:
We see the sunrise, the person opposite, the landscape...
To smell
We smell good and bad odors (a warm evening in the sun, laundry coming out of the washing machine).
To Taste
We taste the food and a good drink.
Sense of touch
Through our sense of touch, we perceive pain, pressure, temperature, the hug of our partner, the caress of a mother.
2. Foundations
The supporting foundation of spiritual life is prayer, worship, silence, meditation, study. Only from inner silence does new life flow.
Jesus explains the solid foundation:
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. Luke 6:46-48 (ESV)
3. Closing Remarks
There are role models with empty words that are not followed by actions. Let us recognize the good and do the good. There are role models with values that are worth emulating and aspiring to. Our time urgently needs role models with values.
Author: Edith Wächter
AI-Images 1,2,4,5,6: https://www.bing.com/images/create/
Image 3: https://unsplash.com/de
