A Founders Day Reflection . . .from the past . . .

 Founders Day - Reflection presented  September 3, 2007 . . .

Fr. Francis Haas

It is said that at one time Rabbi Lot went to see Rabbi Joseph and said, “Rabbi, as much as I am able, I practice a small rule of life, all the little fasts, some prayer and meditation, and remain quiet, and as much as possible, I keep my thoughts clean. What else should I do? Then the old Rabbi Joseph stood up and stretched out his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like the torches of flame. And he said, “Why not be turned into fire?” (From the Desert Fathers and Mothers).

Today, we have gathered on this special occasion to remember and to celebrate our founders who turned into fire! We gather, too, to recognize the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Capuchins in North America and the establishment of their first Capuchin Monastery at Mount Calvary. We express our deep gratitude for their wisdom, guidance, blessings and friendships that have been ours as a congregation, and for the many ways that we have partnered and given witness of the mission of Jesus working in, through and with all our members, associates and benefactors!

In January 2008, as a congregation, we prepare for our own celebration of 150 years as Women of Spirit, who through a variety of ministries, living community and continuing to live with passion and purpose, we claim that “we envision ourselves as joyful witnesses of the Risen Christ. Called by God in the power of the Spirit, we continue Jesus’ mission, revealing God’s love according to the purpose and spirit of our founders.” (CSA Constitutions #1)

And so let us reflect briefly on these founders, their genuine qualities as pioneer prophets and dreamers, and ponder what turned them into fire! Although these reflections are not comprehensive in anyway, I do thank Margaret Lormier for her recent publication of the history of the Sisters of St. Agnes entitled,“Ordinary Sisters,” and Campion Baer of the Capuchins for the history of the Province of St. Joseph in his publication, “Lady Poverty Revisited.”

Caspar Rehrl: A priest of Austria who was on fire with pastoral and missionary zeal to establish schools for the German immigrants here in the Wisconsin Territory; he was a man of prayer and was “inspired to find his own sisterhood to help in the missionary apostolate in the new world”; he was scholarly and was recognized as an outstanding preacher and teacher; he lived a life of physical hardship and endured the rigors of the Wisconsin wilderness on his many journeys to teach, hear confessions and celebrate eucharist with the German peoples from the Eastern shores of Lake Winnebago, to the western shore of Lake Michigan and from Milwaukee to Green Bay.

Fr. Caspar Rehrl

Often in the mild seasons, walking barefoot to save his shoes, he carried his sacred vessels in his knapsack and lived a life of poverty of spirit and fact. A man without fear, straightforward, cheerful, contented and gifted with holy stubbornness!

Margaret Lorimer’s writing in “Ordinary Sisters,” reflecting upon his death on September 3, 1881, expresses the following tribute to him — “He gave the Sisters of St. Agnes a spirit of daring, a sense of dedication, a willingness to undertake hard and unpopular jobs, and an indifference to worldly success. He inspired in the sisters a respect for church, the clergy, a commitment to education and a love of liturgical music that would mark their formation for the next centuries. The qualities of a rough-hewn, honest, hard-working pioneer were his, coupled with a willingness to give all without counting the cost.”

Mother Agnes: Born Marie Hazotte, the youngest of a French immigrant family. By the time she was five years old, she already experienced the anguish of death with the loss of three of her siblings. She is often spoken fondly of as a woman of “courageous initiatives.” She was well educated, especially in music, had a zest for life, enjoyed challenges, lived as a woman of integrity and also was gifted with a holy stubbornness; she was a faithful friend and in touch with her limitations of mind, body and spirit. She was totally dedicated to the sisters’ well-being and was willing to endure the stress of the tension between herself and Caspar Rehrl when she insisted that the sisters be prepared for ministry.

Agnes was a woman of “what if,” and “why not,” and “I will consider this with my council.” She was extremely aware and sensitive to the many needs of the German peoples of the Wisconsin territory and the struggling poor beyond the boundaries and borders of Barton and Fond du Lac. She was a visionary, a dreamer, a savvy business woman, a person of passion and purpose; a woman of deep faith in Divine Providence, a woman of humility and loyalty; she was a woman who refused to dwell on past hurts – for she had her share of “walking in the land of liminality” while she often challenged Rehrl when envisioning the future of the struggling little community; she took a quantum leap of faith in moving the congregation to Fond du Lac; she experienced the sorrowful mysteries involved with the sisters in Texarkana and endured the investigation into her character initiated by her own sisters and the bishop early in her administration; she was wise for her early years of forming the Society of Agnes Sisters into a congregation; and at the age of 22, she took her place in history as a founder of the Sisters of St. Agnes alongside Caspar Rehrl. She was truly a woman who became fire through her dedication to the congregation, its mission, the church and the people of God.

Francis Haas: Born Gregory Haas in Switzerland, the youngest of eight children. Educated at the University of Freiburg where he met up with John Frey, who one day would be named Bonaventure. Both men were secular priests who dreamed of establishing the Capuchin Order in the United States. They wrote of their plans to a fellow Swiss, Bishop Henni, of Milwaukee and thus began their journey of transformation to become Capuchins and establish the Order in Mount Calvary, WI; and the rest is history, as they say.

Upon being invited by Rehrl to conduct the July retreat in 1870, Francis, at the request of Casper Rehrl and the sisters revised the 1862 Latin rules and translated them. And so we Agnes Sisters are grateful to this day that this early Rule was revised for we may still be living with the following mandate: “They may have sheep so that the Agnesians may be able watch the lambs.”

Upon writing the revision of the Rule, and saving the community from being disbanded, Francis was appointed spiritual guardian of the sisters and thus became a co-founder with Caspar and Agnes. A week later the community moved to Fond du Lac. He was reverenced and known to be perceptive, an excellent confessor, kind and totally supportive to Mother Agnes and the sisters.

However, in Campion’s writings, he offers an additional perspective of this man who turned into fire. . . “When Francis began the religious community, his desire to introduce the order in all its purity and perfection had an influence on his conduct. He was harsh and at times even severe as a matter of principle and sense of duty. As a general definitor, Francis came in contact with other provinces and saw how they observed religious life. He came to realize that governing with strict authority and law was not always the most fruitful way of maintaining religious observance. . . . His wide contact with people made him milder. While Bonaventure was an architect of buildings, Francis had the quality of hewing and shaping human hearts and minds.”

In our Gospel today, Jesus, from the get-go, is on fire! For he has moved through his experience in the desert with fasting and praying; a time of solitude and introspection to reflect on what it means to be God’s Beloved! Now fortified by his profound experience, Jesus begins his ministry with enthusiasm. However, coming to his hometown synagogue, where he opens the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and reads his mission statement, he speaks about social justice and bringing good news to the poor, justice and liberation to prisoners and the oppressed, and says, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

At first his audience was mesmerized and his words were electrifying. The Messiah was here! Liberation was at hand! However, Jesus saw that they understood him very well, yet they could not accept his message. This rejection is a foreshadowing of the whole future ministry of Jesus as developed in Luke. Thus, the challenge for us today is not to reject Jesus, but how to accept him as Beloved, as Truth, as Fire; and he challenges us to live with compassion and non-violence; to be voice and heart, call and sign of the God whose reign is justice and love.

So what is the Good news for us today? Being “on fire” with the Spirit, with passion and purpose, as Tony Gittens remarks, may mean that sometimes one will actually go looking for trouble, or for troubled people as Jesus did. To be “on fire” is to pray to become aware of how to disturb the status quo, and respond to the cries of the needy and the structures of sin. To be “on fire” is to be convinced, much like Agnes, Caspar and Francis, that they can make a difference; that they can help change the world – or that they will be found guilty if they fail to do so. And finally, to be “on fire” is to live exciting and worthwhile lives.

So let us be open to the graces of these readings and the energy of the celebration of these founders who were turned into fire! For it is written: “In the thousands of moments that string together to make up our lives, there are some where time seems to change its shape and a certain light falls across our ordinary path. We stop searching for purpose, we become it!” (Dawna Markova) Then we, too, will be turned into fire!  (sjh)

Mother Agnes Hazotte