The Three R's
Part 18
Reverence-Respect-Responsibility
Most people would agree that a well-rounded
education must be built upon the foundation of the Three R's" -
colloquially expressed as reading, writing and arithmetic. In the
school of virtue, there are likewise "Three R's" which make a vital
contribution to the spiritual well-roundedness which is sanctity:
REVERENCE,
RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY. Like the
classic Three R's" of academic life, the Three R's* of the spirit
are never out-of-fashion. In fact, the rapid development of a
technological, secularized society has highlighted the unchanging
need for REVERENCE,
RESPECT and
RESPONSIBILITY
in every area of human endeavor.
REVERENCE enables us to step back and take a deeper look at
all that surrounds us and discover the transcendent dimension of
creation. (The word RESPECT comes from the Latin respicere -
to took back) We can only revere what we respect. Hence, every call
to REVERENCE, presupposes a
RESPECTFUL looking beneath
the surface and into the depths of things.
RESPECT enables us
to "read" God's handwriting in creation, in other people, and in
ourselves.
It
equips us to make room for the mystery of God
Saint Pope
John Paul II
and thus bring into thought, word and action a
deep-seated REVERENCE for the divine action and the divine
presence. Care for creation and consideration for other people all
flow from this RESPECT and
REVERENCE dynamic.
The chivalrous courtesy which was so characteristic of St. Francis
of Assisi was rooted in RESPECT. He was a man who was
constantly responding to the call of God to took again, to look
deeper, to view people, things and circumstances with the reverently
respectful eyes of faith and charity. Francis respected creation
precisely because he revered its Creator. St. Bonaventure wrote that
roused by all things to the love of God [Francis] rejoiced in all
the works of the Lord's hands. In beautiful things he saw Beauty
itself and through His vestiges imprinted on creation he followed
his Beloved
everywhere, making from all things a ladder by which he could climb
up and embrace Him who is utterly desirable.
But Francis'
REVERENCE and
RESPECT did not end there.
In them was contained an urgent summons to
RESPONSIBILITY, to
care for, defend, protect and promote the divine good hidden in
every person and imprinted on all of creation. The Little Poor Man
enfleshed St. Paul's injunction: While we live, we are
RESPONSIBLE to the Lord, and when we die, we die as His
servants.
Once the Church had confirmed his Gospel
form of life, Francis of Assisi dedicated his energies to fulfilling
his mission as the father and founder of a religious Order. Do not
speak to me of other ways was his terse reply to those who tried to
dissuade him from his God-given charism. Like the enterprising
servant in the Gospel, St. Francis worked tirelessly and responsibly
to return his talent multiplied.
The greatest scholars never graduate from their
"Three R's." nor do the masters of the spiritual life - the saints -
advance beyond theirs. REVERENCE, RESPECT and
RESPONSIBILITY are basic virtues which keep us looking ever
deeper into the mystery of God at work in our lives and in the world
around us. They help us to "read" the signs of the times, to "write"
the love of God into the story of our lives and to multiply His
talents of grace and nature for the benefit of all.