Beggars for the Lord

by John Michael Talbot, Catholic singer/songwriter

I have said that I write from a monastic tradition. But I write also from the Franciscan heritage. St. Francis of Assisi lived some 800 years ago, and sought to follow Jesus and the Gospel literally. By having the humility to start with himself, God used him to reform the whole western Church. Today people of all faiths, especially those who are Christian, love him.

Francis was part of what we call the "mendicant" movement in Church history. It took place primarily in the 13th century in the west. This spiritual movement included what came to be known as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and many, many more. "Mendicant," simply means, "open handed," and refers primarily to the new religious communities raised up by the Spirit who "begged" in the name of the Lord. They begged with open hands. They approached God, and the entire world, as beggars, with open hearts, and open hands.

Up until that time the monks of Europe worked at their trade in their monastery, while renouncing personal property, they owned all things in common as a community after the example of Acts 2+4. These new mendicant monks, usually called, "friars," or " brothers," were simply trying to follow the literal example of Jesus Christ, who owned nothing, and lived off of the good will of the faithful during his ministry.

Francis never envisioned a community of freeloaders. The friars were to work at their trade, or minister through word, sacrament, or corporeal works of mercy to the poor. In exchange for their labor they could receive food and clothing for one day and night, but they could not accept money. Only when there was no work to be found could they turn strictly to the "table of the Lord' as beggars.

The notion of begging also had special significance in the socio-economic climate of the day. Europe was just discovering the exclusive use of money as a means of exchange. Up until then most of the world used the barter system, with only an ancillary use of money. In the time of Francis the world had gone crazy over the new use of money. Francis showed that the brothers could have peace and happiness even without the accumulation of the newest technology of greed. He renounced the use of money.

Religious begging is not unique to Jesus and the Apostles, or to Christianity. It was an established part of Hinduism and Buddhism, and can be found in most of the major religions of the world. Buddhist monks are actually called, "bhiksu," which means, "homelessness." They are also called mendicants. The male monks originally spent the monsoon season in a stationary monastery, and spent about nine months a year on the road in homeless begging while sharing the Dharma, or teaching. The Sannyasin of Hinduism did the same, only they did not usually teach, for they walked in silence. Jesus clearly fits into this tradition of the homeless renunciant, as did the first disciples and apostles. The monastic reforms and the pilgrims of the Christian East tried to imitate Christ in this lifestyle, and so also fit into this category.

What does this have to say to you and me? I often begin my retreats at Little Portion Retreat and Training Center by asking people to "open their hands" to God. I do the same at my concerts. In order to open our hands we have to let go of anything that we are still clinging to. It is often the little things that we clutch covertly, thinking that no one will see. But God sees. Only when we let go of absolutely everything can God do whatever He wills in our life. Until then we are trapped to the devices of our own making. We cannot get free.

Only when we let ourselves really become "beggars," and "mendicants," with Christ, St. Francis, and the holy traditions of the entire world, will we discover the greatest treasure ever to be known. It is the treasure of spiritual freedom, awakening, and rebirth. It happens when we let go of the old self, let the false person die, and allow ourselves to be born again. This is why Jesus says that we must be "born again," and become a "child," to enter the Kingdom of God. For Christians this happens once and for all in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, in a way beyond mere teachings and words.

Have you become a mendicant for the Lord? Open you heart and hands to God. Then God can fill us with a whole new life of spiritual abundance beyond anything that we ever dreamed possible before.

 

(Source: www.catholic.org)

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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do you, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

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