The Disciples of Fr. Frans
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Authors
Alexander, Andy, S.J.
Waldron, Maureen McCann
Issue Date
2000-01-01
Volume
Issue
Type
Text
Language
en_US
Keywords
Lent
Alternative Title
Abstract
Text from the first four paragraphs of "The Disciples of Fr. Frans"|I am writing these lines on the "Third Day," the third day after the death of my companion, Fr. Frans van der Lugt, S.J. the Dutch Jesuit who was assassinated on the 7th of April, 2014, in Syria. Sitting here in Omaha, ten thousand kilometers from his tomb, at the garden of the Jesuit residence in the Old city of Homs, it is not easy to express anything of what I feel... I was overcome by his death, jumping from one page to the other on the internet trying to experience what other people were saying about his death and even more about his life.
|We are like the first Christians who were paralyzed by the death of Jesus. Mournful and feeling bleak, we are trying to find a meaning for this dramatic assassination. For me, It seems like the first time that I am facing the death of someone I love, and it took me three days, to realize that Frans is still alive. But how? |Maybe the ONLY difference between the people who knew Frans closely and lived with him, and the first Christian who had knew Jesus, is the social media and NOT the person whom we are missing... Somehow, we see Jesus through Frans, the Jesuit who shared his Lord- not only his passion, but the resurrection in the hearts of the people who loved him. |If we go over the story of the passion of our Lord, we see the obvious similarity: They both laid down their lives for their friends (John 15:13), stayed faithful to the message they had been living for, and showed love in both words and deeds. But it is very dangerous to stay there grieving and crying like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our believe is in Jesus who is risen from the death...
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University, Online Ministries
License
These brief excerpts are taken from our Lenten resources, to support a community's Lenten Journey. Feel Free to "cut and paste" any of these texts for Parish Bulletinss or Worship Aids. Simpy add this reference: "Taken from the Praying Lent pages of Creighton University's Online Ministries web site: www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html. Used with Permission."