{"id":2577,"date":"2017-08-29T09:38:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T14:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2017-08-29T09:38:28","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T14:38:28","slug":"preaching-margins-peripheries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html","title":{"rendered":"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"DSC00923\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks the place where this life-changing event occurred.\u00a0 The story recounts how Francis heard a bell announcing the coming of a leper, and he intuitively turned in the opposite direction to get away.\u00a0 Lepers were outcasts, living beyond the margins of society, unable to enjoy any benefit from the community.\u00a0 This time however, Francis stopped and turned around.\u00a0 He approached the leper, embraced him, and kissed him.\u00a0 This was a significant moment in his life because for the first time he saw a leper as a fellow human being.<\/p>\n

\"DSC00913\"
Saint Francis and the leper, Assisi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reflecting on this event at the Convocation of Catholic leaders in Orlando last July, Cardinal Sean O\u2019Malley of Boston observed that Saint Francis did not cure the leper, but rather it was the leper who cured Francis.\u00a0 After this encounter, the leper remained a leper, but Francis was healed of his vanity and fear.\u00a0 The sick man set Francis on the path to conversion and sanctity.\u00a0 This encounter, which occurred in the periphery of society, transformed Francis forever because at that moment he encountered Christ.\u00a0 It was among those excluded from society, those living in the margin, that Francis found Christ.<\/p>\n

Speaking on evangelization, Cardinal O\u2019Malley pointed out that the Church\u2019s mission to care for the sick and suffering prepares the way for evangelization.\u00a0 The works of mercy are not an extra duty of a Christian, but rather are an essential part of the Christian mission.\u00a0 \u201cMercy is the medicine that cures the sadness in the heart of the one who practices mercy and the one who receives it,\u201d remarked O\u2019Malley.<\/p>\n

In Evangelii Gaudium<\/em> Pope Francis forcefully states that the Church must go out of herself, going forth from her comfort zone in order to reach all people, especially the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel (EG<\/em>, 20).\u00a0 It is by ministering in the peripheries that those in need receive the mercy they long for, and where the hearts of those ministering are converted and transformed. Making a reference to the Last Supper, Cardinal O\u2019Malley beautifully expressed that \u201cwe must stop fighting over the first place at the table, and start fighting for the towel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, challenged the delegates present at the Orlando Convocation stating, \u201cwhere there is suffering, Jesus is there; and where Jesus is, I must be also. \u00a0Jesus is already in the margins, will his disciples also be there? \u00a0If Christ is already there, can it truly be a periphery? \u00a0It is our own shortsightedness that keeps us away.\u201d\u00a0 The Gospel demands that we go wherever the need is greater.\u00a0 It is easy to hide behind clean and clear structures, yet the Gospel requires that our hands get dirty.\u00a0 Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Francis of Assisi, and soon-to-be Blessed Father Stanley Rother understood this urgent need to go out, so they became effective evangelizers from the periphery.<\/p>\n

On November 2013 Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a man covered in tumors.\u00a0 This was Francis embracing the leper, a Pope showing the way to the periphery through his actions and words. \u201cIt is important for the Church today to go forth and preach to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear.\u00a0 The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded\u201d (EG<\/em>, 23).<\/p>\n

\"DSC00930\"
Chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene near Assisi where Francis encountered the leper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All pictures are mine, all rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks the place where this life-changing event occurred.\u00a0 The story recounts how Francis heard a bell announcing the coming of a leper, and he intuitively turned in the opposite direction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":2606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"yoast_head":"\nPreaching at the Margins, the Peripheries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Labyrinthine Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/2017\/08\/DSC00923.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html\",\"name\":\"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\"},\"description\":\"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/\",\"name\":\"Labyrinthine Mind\",\"description\":\"Seeking God in the labyrinth\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\",\"name\":\"Father Pablo Migone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Father Pablo Migone\"},\"description\":\"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries","description":"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries","og_description":"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html","og_site_name":"Labyrinthine Mind","article_published_time":"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":576,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/2017\/08\/DSC00923.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Father Pablo Migone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Father Pablo Migone","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html","name":"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00","dateModified":"2017-08-29T14:38:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b"},"description":"There is a well-known story of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and a leper.\u00a0 A beautiful small chapel in the countryside near Assisi marks","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/08\/preaching-margins-peripheries.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Preaching at the Margins, the Peripheries"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/","name":"Labyrinthine Mind","description":"Seeking God in the labyrinth","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b","name":"Father Pablo Migone","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Father Pablo Migone"},"description":"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}