Reflection essay on St Francis of Assisi (Religion & Theology Essay)

REFLECTION ESSAY ON ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
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Reflection Essay
Introduction
St. Francis of Assisi was Italian monk, founder of the mendicant Franciscan order named after him. Numbered among the saints by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. St. Francis’s activities caused the onset of an unconventional stage in the evolution of monasticism in Western Europe. The missionary preacher of the Franciscan order was called to sow the ideas of repentance and peace among the people. Renouncing the world only internally (unlike the former hermit monks), the Franciscan had no moral right to withdraw himself from earthly problems. Coming from a very noble and prosperous family, St. Francis dedicated his life to preaching and good works (Wolf, 2005).
In 1209, having heard during the Mass a fragment of the parting words with which Christ accompanied his disciples to preach about the coming of the kingdom of heaven: “Take with you neither gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for the road, no two clothes, no shoes, no staff ", FA made the decision to transform his own poverty-stricken life into an apostolate. Prayer had to give way to sermon. He made a vow of complete seriousness: FA objected to his followers using dwellings or churches, begging or occasional hospitality as a source of food. Feeling a duty to lepers for their sake, not for his own that he was more than a saint among the saints; he was one of his own among sinners. "The Lord called us not so much for our salvation as for the salvation of many, (Wolf, 2005)"
St. Francis Christianity, because it preached: not renunciation of the world, but poverty, as an imitation of Christ; not condemnation of the rich, but love for them and help; not fighting priests, but obedience and respect; not hermitism, but apostolic missionary work; not self-torture, but acceptance of nature, nature; mystical joy, not gloomy severity; not book prayers, but hymns to God and the world. The essence and meaning of St. Francis were and were revealed in an act, an act.
Virtues espoused by St. Francis
Therefore, all the virtues of Franciscanism are performed, carried out by action (Wolf, 2005).
1 The Virtue of Compassion - Compassion with Christ. Everything good and worthy is given to a person by God, and only suffering is chosen freely. Martyrdom likens a person to the suffering Christ; only voluntary suffering can be called human merit proper.
2 Rejoicing in Christ - Franciscanism stands out from the spiritual atmosphere of its time with a sense of presence, stay of Christ in the world. Confidence in the involvement of God and the world eliminates the apocalyptic horror, the horror of being forsaken by God. F. preached the joy of repentance, stay in God, and the happiness of an inescapable feeling of gratitude to the Creator. The Franciscans were seen only merry, rejoicing and called "God's buffoons." St.Francis taught that a smile, and not crying, should support the spirit and faith in people. However, the Franciscan virtue of rejoicing is by no means identical with the optimistically sensual upsurge of the Renaissance, since sings supernatural joys, through which alone other, natural joys can exist.
3 Holy Poverty - This virtue has nothing to do with censure of the rich; there is no economic aspect here at all. Its natural meaning is freedom, no need to take care of property. And the supernatural meaning of poverty is humility. Poverty is an absolute form of trust in God and the world, standing in complete defenselessness, openness before God and the world. Moreover, poverty likens a person to a beggar Christ.
4 Holy Love - Traditionally understood in Christianity as love for one's neighbor and for God, the holy Love of St. Francis addressed to the entire created world. Man had the opportunity to atone for sinfulness through asceticism and repentance, but nature did not. F. was the first to perceive the words of Christ about the preaching of the Gospel to all creation - after all, only through man can nature be saved. F. saw in nature humility and poverty that he revered. And since man does not dare to praise God himself, only by admiring nature and loving her - His creation, one can praise the Creator.
This explains the unusual sermons of St. Francis birds, fish, his amazing conversations with fire and water. However, St. Francis does not identify God and nature, nature is spiritualized by God, subject to him, not independent. Taking the created world in its entirety, St.Francis takes on his own flesh, calls the body brother. This does not mean, however, a renunciation of austerity. But the body is necessary for serving God and this cannot be neglected (Wolf, 2005).
Nature of Translational Business
During the intensification of the destructive processes of world globalization, the devaluation of human life, the natural sex of a person, the devaluation of fundamental values ​​and a destructive attack on the institution of the family, the social and practical importance of Christian psychology increases, which should be presented in a single holistic context of countering destructive tendencies. Undoubtedly, this process is ensured by the integration of psychological science with theological research, covering all historical forms of theological tradition as a rethinking of man and the world as a whole.
Modern humanitarian and social education should take into account these data and contribute to the formation of such a system of qualified psychological assistance, which will satisfy the needs of the overwhelming majority of the population in accordance with Christian values ​​that are relevant to it. Therefore, at this stage of the development of society, the issue of creating a professional union of Christian psychologists is gaining more and more weight, which will ensure the development, on the one hand, of scientifically grounded, and, on the other, ideologically integrated into the Christian paradigm, training programs for specialists in Christian counseling and psychotherapy.
Psychological assistance for both an individual and a group is closely related to the understanding of the anthropology of human nature, which acquires its fullness only in interaction with God. Undoubtedly, the priests retain the leading role of counseling in church communities, but often the range of problems faced by parishioners goes beyond their competence. The need for cooperation between priests and psychologists is becoming more and more obvious.
Such cooperation will make it possible to activate an additional reserve of psychological assistance to the individual in Christian communities and communities will contribute to the integration of psychological knowledge and methods into religious and church experience, as well as the productive use of the achievements of theological science in counseling practice. At the same time, the models of Christian counseling can include a number of interactions, both personal and group in nature, such as mentoring, psycho correction and psychotherapy, support groups, information support, discussion clubs, individual counseling, etc.
The development of strategies for the development of practical psychology, combining theological of St. Francis and psychological scientific paradigms i.e. Freud and Jung as derived from the teachings of the time, is one of the most pressing needs of the time. An important step towards meeting this need should be the holding of this round table.
In Lieu of the virtues and most fully expresses the essence of Franciscanism is the imitation of Christ. At the same time St. Francis he was "insured" against being accused of putting himself in the place of God by absolute humility, and his unshakable faith defended him from the mistakes of church-liberal heresies.
Market Economics and Profit
Speaking specifically about business, that is, about the production and sale of goods or the provision of services and, thanks to this, profit. Profit in this concept is an important factor: if some activity does not bring profit, it can be something very good and valuable, but this is not a business, and therefore not a business as a mission (Shaw & Barry, 2020). There are several reasons why profit is a fundamental factor i.e.
From a theological point of view, the idea of ​​profitability is based on the order of creation: God arranged the world in such a way that all living things multiply. Christ, in the parable of the talents, also speaks of the importance of increasing the endowed capital. From a practical point of view, long-term sustainable change is impossible without profit:
Profit is necessary, but from the point of view of St. Francis and Catholic Church, it is not an end in itself. If the activity is not profitable, then it is not a business. But not every business, even if it is done by Christians, is a mission. Mission is a revelation about God, His love for the world, His atoning sacrifice, through which we can find salvation. Business has the power of holistic transformation that occurs at four levels through teachings of Catholic Church,
Four Levels of Holistic Transformation
* Economic - if the business contributes to positive changes in the economy in the territory where it operates; thereby, the material needs of people living in this territory are being met;
* Social - if, thanks to the activities of this company, the quality of life of the local community increases; a small sign testifying to the Kingdom of God;
* Natural - business contributes to the improvement (or at least does not harm) the environment; testimony that all creation has been redeemed in Christ;
* Spiritual, which in this case means that people come to the knowledge of Christ and the Church is being built.
It is when all four dimensions are present in the company's activities that we can say that this business is a mission.
One should distinguish between businesses as a mission from business for a mission. Many Christian entrepreneurs today donate a portion of their income to church, missionary and social projects. With this approach, these same projects are service / mission, while business serves only to support them. But for in line with view of St. Francis, business itself can and should be a mission, a force that carries out transformation in the world and, thereby, reveals to people the reality of God's Kingdom.
Vocation of the Business Leader
It is found that the growing number of emerging markets have result in a significant growth of the global marketplace. It has also spawned several new opportunities and threats that did not exist before. Besides, it is mentioned that the populations that were irrelevant to the business communities and operations can now extract benefit from this pool through their participation (Pontifical Council for Justice an...