{"id":4778,"date":"2015-01-09T06:38:47","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T12:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=4778"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:49:04","slug":"as-the-insects-like-the-swans-living-the-vow-of-obedience-with-a-free-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2015\/01\/09\/as-the-insects-like-the-swans-living-the-vow-of-obedience-with-a-free-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"As the insects, like the swans: Living the vow of obedience with a free spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am in the woods on Mount Subasio above Assisi, Italy, at a sacred place of prayer called La Carceri. It\u2019s July 20, 2014. I am on a pilgrimage, thrilled to be praying in this holy place where St. Francis and the early friars spent much time in contemplation.<\/p>\n

I too am in contemplation on this holy ground. I am pondering what I just heard preached during the Mass, where our Franciscan pilgrimage group gathered around a stone altar underneath some tall trees.<\/p>\n

\"Rays
Rays of Light through Tall Trees, La Carceri, Italy. Photo by Julia Walsh FSPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was reminded that the path to holiness is a journey of struggle. Even though we\u2019re living a religious life, we\u2019re just as human as everyone else. And, when we\u2019re real with ourselves, we can admit that much of our life is spent wrestling with the reality of our own frailty, our own sinfulness. St. Francis spent more than 200 days in hermitage each year, even while admitting that…<\/p>\n

[This is the beginning of my latest column for the online newspaper,\u00a0Global Sisters Report.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Continue reading\u00a0here.<\/a>]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am in the woods on Mount Subasio above Assisi, Italy, at a sacred place of prayer called La Carceri. It\u2019s July 20, 2014. I am on a pilgrimage, thrilled to be praying in this holy place where St. Francis and the early friars spent much time in contemplation. I too am in contemplation on...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":4799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2178641],"tags":[490,20786359,698755381,525076,221895935,112332,3869,698755383,1861871,853,137119,72809,241748],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-4778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-animals","tag-catholic-sisters","tag-contemplation","tag-franciscan","tag-global-sisters-report","tag-holiness","tag-memories","tag-pilgrimage","tag-poetry-2","tag-prayer","tag-religious-life","tag-spiritual-life","tag-struggle","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/img_1336-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

As the insects, like the swans: Living the vow of obedience with a free spirit<\/a><\/blockquote>