The Carceri
I was glancing through some of my back copies of the Franciscan Herald when these words on a front cover caught my eye: “The Carceri — Experience of the Caves.” Before my May pilgrimage to Assisi, those words would not have caught my eye. But, since that pilgrimage ...!
The Carceri (meaning prisons) is one of the most beautiful to the eye and inspiring to the soul sanctuaries we had the privilege of visiting. It is high up on Mount Subasio where Francis and some of his brothers voluntarily imprisoned themselves in caves on the mountainside. They spent long hours in deep contemplation with God.
There is a mystery in the life of every Franciscan — a living in mystical fullness in the caves and in the Franciscan community. The caves and the community form a perfect sphere and the center is Christ.
The caves are our secret, silent place where we are alone with God, heart to heart with Him, and word to His Word. His Word to us in this secret place of ours is what tells us what to do, how to act, how to relate and how to serve in the community. It is from the caves in our own hearts that God directs us in our life in the world.
We are Franciscans because we have been chosen to follow and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and rebuild the Holy Roman Catholic Church in the spirit of our Holy Founder, St. Francis.
The center of our life in the world is Jesus who was born in the cave of our being in Holy Baptism, just as he was born in the cave in Bethlehem; and of Mary, His holy mother and in the Holy Spirit with the love of the Father. Astonishingly and marvelously, the “Babe of Bethlehem” is reborn in the caves of our human bodies, mingling His Flesh with our flesh and His Blood with our blood — our holy manna from heaven; He imbues our inmost being with His Divinity every time we receive Him in the Sacred Eucharist.
This is our consolation, our security, and our joy — this mystery of Jesus Christ, stooping to enter the caves of our heart. Our hearts would be empty and intolerable were it not for His dwelling within us.
This dwelling within us is with us all the time, it is our motivation to anything that is good. It is our bulwark of strength in times when we find it necessary to conquer both our weaker selves, and the unconquerable tribulations and heartaches of life.
It is our hope that our Franciscan Family will be a growing sign in the Church and in the world and that the eternal love God bears for us, who follow His humble servant, St. Francis, will enter into the caves of our heart and our community.”
I cannot conceive a life in this world without being a Franciscan. It is the Lord’s great gift and answer to our day. To which I add a fervent, Amen!