Conversion as a way of Life: Mercy, metanoia and penance – Episode 36

Join guest host Carolyn Townes in an interview with Father Kevin Queally as he explores the world through stories and reflections on living open to change, and choosing to grow in being people of mercy, justice and peace.

From Father Kevin’s interview:

“The point of the story is that she changed her mind. She thought one thing, and now she thinks another. Metanoia also has the implication of going in one direction and turning around and going in another, especially towards the Lord. Then I said to the person in the pew, when's the last time you or I changed our minds? … Isn’t that where we're supposed to be doing, listening, learning, reading scriptures, hearing the church's teaching and changing our lives in continual conversion? “

“As we as we die with the Lord, we shall rise with the Lord. And all of us have a cross to bear and all of us have some kind of penance in our lives, not a penance imposed.  I remember a friar good friend of mine who came from a very poor background and he said, you know, I don't need to go looking for penances. He would say, I have a lot of penances in my everyday life. And that in a way is very true for all of us.”

“For me, it also spills over into the traditional outreach of the Third Order people. … They're running soup kitchens or helping out at soup kitchens. Or they're collecting food for the hungry or they're working to protect life or they're, there are a lot who do prison ministry. The work of mercy is, you know, visiting those in prison. I was in prison, and you came to visit me. And how inspiring it is that ... they're so in touch with the charism that they do these things without being prompted or saying, this is what you must do, because this is in our tradition. They just do it without even anyone telling them that this is in our tradition, and you must do this. We feel drawn to it automatically, with me anyway.”

“Franciscans International developed in the 1980s. And I was active on the justice and peace scene in the eighties working for the Franciscan friars Conference, now defunct. I was in Washington, DC, and the idea that we would have a presence at the United Nations as a nongovernmental organization cropped up from several places around the world. … We applied to the UN, they welcomed us with open arms. … To be recognized officially as a nongovernmental organization, you had to choose three areas of the UN charter which your group would promote. And so, three areas we chose from the UN charter that Franciscans would promote were peacemaking, care for creation and concern for the poor. … We approach those three areas …  with the focus of human rights.”

“I know some folks think this justice and peace stuff is all left-wing drivel, but we have to listen to the gospel. We have to listen to Matthew 25, I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was in prison and you came to visit me, and those kinds of things. And as well the Beatitudes, blessed are the peacemakers and so forth. We have to listen to those things and internalize them as we can. And sometimes they call you and me and all of us to an internal conversion. … That's the bottom line with St. Francis, and that's why he wanted to be a penitent, to live the gospel more faithfully, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.”

For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: [e-mail].

 

References:

Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular, Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: https://franciscanstor.org/ , the community to which Father Kevin belongs.

 

Vatican II: a five-minute video about the Council by Franciscan friar Casey Cole:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyVq1hnxAqg. To hear other podcast guests references as well as to see show note links (click on ‘Read More’), type ‘Vatican’ into the search bar of this website, and several options will come up to explore.

 

Third Order Secular Franciscans: you can listen to our guest host, Carolyn Townes, reflections on being a Secular Franciscan, including links to further information at https://engagingfranciscanwisdom.org/walking-the-path-of-grief-and-loss-to-joy-as-a-lay-franciscan-episode-27.

 

Father Raniero Cantella Mesa: see http://www.cantalamessa.org/?lang=en . He is a Capuchin Franciscan priest and papal homilist addresses doing penance as being converted, practicing metanoia (Greek) and penitencia (Latin)

 

What is a Spiritual Assistant for Secular Franciscan Fraternities: see https://queenofpeaceregion.org/spiritual-assistance-1  and https://www.sfo.franciscans.org.au/sfo27/2spasst.htm

 

Franciscans International: see https://franciscansinternational.org/home/

NGO (non-governmental organizations): at the United Nations, see https://www.un.org/press/en/non-governmental-organizations

 

Amnesty International: work with human rights around the world; see https://www.amnesty.org/en/

 

Catholic Relief Services: putting faith into action to help those who are most poor to create lasting change; see https://www.crs.org/

 

Saint Francis met with Sultan al-Kamik: The Life of Saint Francis XX:57, by Thomas of Celano. FA:ED, vol. 1, p. 231. at: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/the-life-of-saint-francis-by-thomas-of-celano/672-fa-ed-1-page-231#ges:searchword%3Dsultan%26searchphrase%3Dall%26page%3D1. See also Episode 9 show notes.

 

Matthew 25:31-46: see https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25