Written by Barb Spies, OFS, Director of Mission Services and Pastoral Care

My favorite memories of elementary school always go back to storytime. I loved sitting on the floor in the circle of kids listening to the teacher read a book. I thrived during the times that we were allowed to have free reading time. I adored spending time in the school library and the public library. I always have a book with me to read. While it may not be as common for all people to be such a fanatic about books, humanity does love a good story. 

Jesus told stories to help his disciples understand what the Kingdom of God is like. His stories guide us in good treatment of all people, right behavior, love of neighbor, and how to live. His stories are well known and retold regularly. They appear in our culture as  familiar entities: A hospital named Good Samaritan, a reference to a fatted calf for celebration, an aspiration to be a shining city on a hill.

I listened to a talk recently by Dan Horan, a professor at St. Mary’s College in Indiana. He spoke about how we become the stories we tell. Franciscans tell familiar stories from the life of St. Francis and St. Clare to help us to understand the spirituality of this Order in the Catholic Church. He spoke about how we are almost never convinced by pure facts. But storytelling gives sinew and substance to the facts. Through the rich tapestry of stoires,we learn morality, messages, and values. We become grounded. When we want to know how we are to live and what God is like, we can look to the stories of Jesus. It is different from a list of rules and data points. Our brains a wired for stories.

St. Francis worked to conform his own story to the story of Jesus. He followed the call Jesus put out to his disciples to give up possessions and seek the Kingdom of God, sharing it with all people. If we too want to conform our stories to those of Jesus, we need to know those stories well. These parables help us to develop our moral imagination, our empathy, and our compassion. As we internalize the stories we learn and tell, we can then  work to align our life stories to the greatest story ever told.   

Blessed Angela: “Tell me, O Lord, what I should do. On what road will I meet you and see you? I will go there and will do everything You will demand of me.”