Greg Friedman, OFM – Franciscan Media

God’s Love Is Boundless

Greg Friedman, OFM — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 09:30:00 +0000

The two questions from the prayer of Francis overheard by Brother Leo are, I believe, one of the simplest ways to approach God. We open ourselves and allow God to answer that first question, Who are you, my God? Reflecting on the Scriptures or nature—as Francis often did—will prepare us to hear who God is in our lives. For Francis, the answer came dramatically in the vision of the crucified Christ in the form of the “seraph.”

For us, we can trust that—in all our “crosses”—our suffering, our weakness, and even in our sins, God will respond in love. Despite the suffering caused by the stigmata, Francis lived his final days with an answer to that second question, Who am I?

The answer God promises to give to you or me will be unique to each of us. But in faithfully imitating the way of St. Francis of Assisi, we can be assured that God will show us how we are loved, and what our response can be.

—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “The Stigmata of St. Francis: Embracing the Crucified Christ“
by Greg Friedman, OFM

Communion Call

Greg Friedman, OFM — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 09:30:00 +0000

Stand in the winter’s cold
Where the warmth of animals surrounds the mother’s
love,
And distant calls of shepherds,
Fresh from angels’ songs
Echo ancient stories of promise.
Unseen observer,
You are circled by centuries of saints,
Companion to martyrs on Rome’s bloody sands,
Wise teachers who shaped eloquent creeds,
Kings, queens, commoners, hermits, preachers,
Brave women who crossed seas,
Popes, too—shy now in the encircling darkness.
Beyond them in the shadows
Stand nomads with leathered faces full of fidelity,
The brooding prophets satisfied and smiling,
And the sinner-king, robed in ancestral pride.
They all come home tonight
And take one deep, ageless breath
As the great story’s relentless pace
Pauses
In the pinpoint moment
Of God born into our world.

—from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM

Advent with the Saints: Francis of Assisi

Greg Friedman, OFM — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 09:30:00 +0000

A fond childhood memory for me is setting up my grandmother’s huge nativity set, with dozens of figures, depicting various crafts and artisans. When I finished, I liked to put my face close to the figures and imagine being in the scene myself. Little did I know I was acting out an impulse of the saint who would also be my spiritual father later in life—St. Francis of Assisi. Every Franciscan’s heart is somehow linked to the nativity scene, in part because Francis recreated “a new Bethlehem” near the Italian hilltop village of Greccio in 1223, in a “living nativity.”

But a deeper connection for Franciscans is the truth of God-become-human. Francis understood the great act of love in the “attitude of Christ Jesus” who did not cling to divinity but emptied himself and took on our humanity (see Philippians 2:5–11). Francis strove to imitate this emptying in all he did.

He left his prosperous life in Assisi and descended to the marshes to serve the lepers. His words and deeds sought to embody the image of Christ, even to bearing the wounds of his Savior. On the eve of Christmas, one does not have to be a Franciscan in fact. In the spirit of the poor man of Assisi, we are all invited to step into the nativity scene ourselves!

—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM

Advent with the Saints: King David

Greg Friedman, OFM — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:30:00 +0000

I must confess in my years of studying the Bible, I have not been a big fan of King David. He seems to have a pampered relationship with God, doing whatever he wants without the consequences others suffer. David commits adultery and has the woman’s husband murdered. He disobeys God’s command not to take a census, and as a result the people—not the king—bear the brunt of the punishment. David’s later life is marked by dissolute living.

True, he suffers the loss of his beloved Absalom, son of the adulterous relationship with Bathsheba—and David grieves. But in much of the story David bounces back again and again. God keeps forgiving him. In recent years, however, my attitude has changed. I’ve begun to realize how my harsh verdict on David is the way I would treat him. I judge others and myself the same way. So often, I do not imitate God’s forgiveness, even though like David, I have been forgiven and offered other chances—many, many times.

The biblical stories of Advent present Jesus as the Son of David. Matthew’s story of Joseph’s dream in today’s Gospel helps reinforce that connection. Unlike his ancestor, Jesus is sinless. He embodies the forgiveness of God that was lavished on King David, and he brings that same forgiveness to us.

—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM

Advent with the Saints: Ruth

Greg Friedman, OFM — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 09:30:00 +0000

A Scripture scholar once commented that the genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel is one of the least-appreciated parts of the Bible. For many a preacher and congregation this list of names and “begats” elicits groans. This scholar, on the other hand, wanted to see it receive more attention. This family record of Jesus deserves our focus—if only for the assembly of interesting, and controversial, biblical characters. Essential to the list are five women whose stories are touched by unique circumstances.

One of these is Ruth, a pagan woman, who was widowed, along with her sister and her Hebrew mother-in-law, Naomi. When Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to go and seek new husbands among their own people, Ruth refuses. She chooses to accompany Naomi back to the land of Israel. There, she becomes part of the story of our salvation, as the woman who will be the grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus.

Ruth’s story is one of the most touching in all of Scripture. She is a model of fidelity and of enduring relationships that mark the story of God’s relationship with us. In a season when family ties often are a main focus, let’s remember Ruth and how she teaches us about our identity as human and divine families.

—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM

Advent with the Saints: Joseph

Greg Friedman, OFM — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 09:30:00 +0000

Joseph is the silent figure in the Christmas stories. We never hear him speak; his annunciation—in Matthew’s Gospel—narrates Joseph’s story without giving us any of his words. But his actions speak loudly! Matthew’s goal is to show us Joseph as part of the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Hebrew Scriptures. Matthew’s complex genealogy ends with Joseph, linking Jesus with King David.

Where Luke features Mary as the star of his infancy story, Matthew’s hero is Joseph, portrayed as a truly “just man,” the ideal observer of the Law. His decision to divorce Mary quietly is a compassionate approach to the Law, even before he knows her pregnancy is miraculous.

Like his Old Testament namesake, Joseph is a dreamer, and his dreams reveal God’s plans for the Messiah. When he learns the truth of Mary’s pregnancy in a dream, he acts to fulfill his role in God’s plan. When he learns in a dream of the danger to the child, he takes Jesus and Mary to Egypt—another reference to the story of salvation. In each instance, Joseph acts with wisdom and faithfulness to carry out God’s plan. May our actions speak loudly of our faithfulness to God!

—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM