Charles Finnegan, OFM
Fr. Charles, a Franciscan priest, graced CPF with his presence at a day of recollection and reflected on the Gospel of Luke and the idea of “reconciliation.” St. Paul said, “Faith comes through hearing.” But the messenger is of crucial importance. Fr. Charles was spirit-filled. A few folks offer some brief reflections on the day. Luke is the Gospel of joy and mercy. Only Luke carries the stories of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the disciples on the way to Emmaus, the good thief, the Annunciation, and the Visitation. All announce the overwhelming goodness and compassion of God, whereas the saddest words in Scripture are Luke’s comment on the Pharisees, “who defeated God’s plan for them.” Fr. Charles was in Brazil when the military junta in the 1970s banned the public recitation of the Magnificat as “subversive! Mary is too revolutionary. You have put down the mighty from their seat; John McNamee
CPF Retreat Day with Father Charles Finnegan, OFM, was a great grace, even the half of it that I was able to attend. Thomas Merton once called this autumn season the time of new beginnings, yet I find that with school opening and all the events which resume with the Fall, I frequently come to the season more weary than renewed. Just the sight of the older Franciscan here in his brown robe, living among the poor after his years in Brazil, his perhaps more prestigious years as Provincial of Holy Name Province, was reminder to me in a season that we must run and not grow weary. I was in awe of his familiarity with the Scriptures on that day, his talks on the Gospel of Luke. One could sense that the familiarity came from what the monastics call Lectio Divina—reading Scriptures with the eye of the heart. Naturally enough, many of us wanted to finish his talks with our political distress, the present political campaigns, and the real possibility that the outcome could be different from anything in the way of peace. Father Finnegan’s gentle response was so wonderful: “The Gospel is not an ideology,” which is to say that we must run and not grow weary in peacemaking, whatever the outcome of the politics. Lee Hoinacki
A good friend, a priest, said he was thankful he was never exposed to form-criticism and other critical Biblical apparatus begun by German Protestants in the nineteenth century. He felt, therefore, he could more easily read the Bible with childlike attention and respect. From Saturday’s commentaries, Father Charles Finnegan, O.F.M., is also innocent of the so-called scholarship that Catholics eventually took up. Therefore, he was better prepared to read and interpret the Bible with eyes of faith. I imagine the Church Fathers also read the Bible with the eyes of faith. Father Finnegan, solidly in this tradition, was able to speak about the Gospel of Luke in a way that both instructed and inspired. I found myself going back to reread and ponder passages in Luke. I was even more impressed, however, with the afternoon session, since I have been struggling with John Milbank’s latest effort, Being Reconciled. Milbank is quintessentially learned and wants to speak of a “radically Christocentric theology,” a theology of “God-manhood and deification.” Finnegan appeared to strike through a lot of conceptual verbiage to hit the essential aspects of reconciliation in language accessible to all. Jim McGovern
The Spirit Moving Us
The buckets of water from the remnants of one of the hurricanes kept our annual retreat/prayer day down to an intimate little gathering. Father Charlie Finnegan, from down at St. Francis Inn in the bowels of Lower Kensington, didn’t seem to mind. He talked a lot about Luke’s gospel, about the implicit message that to be a Christian is necessarily to be a “disciple.” He also talked about how frequently Luke talked about the “Spirit” moving the action, and “being upon them.” Charlie wanted us to get the point Luke was making that Help is available in our endeavors. I spend a lot of time down Kenso way—at a recovery room we call “the Last Stop,” directly across the street from Fr. Charlie’s St. Francis Inn. The street folk down there come to the Inn each day to get a meal. Charlie is there for them if they’re interested also in some spiritual nourishment. We Last Stop guys try to help the junkies, or whomever, to get some time clean and sober. The relapse rate, unfortunately for the guys who come slouching through those doors, is very high . . . the lure of the heroin needle, crack pipe, pills or plain old alcohol bottles is just too much to overcome. But as fate would have it, last Pentecost Sunday—THE feast day of that Holy Spirit making it’s presence felt, Charlie confirmed and/or baptized 4 or 5 of my Last Stop compatriots. And glory be to God, three of Charlie’s crew, who went through the religious training and who received the initiation sacrament and/or the “bring it ON Spirit” one, have not gotten loaded since. One’s back at home in Delaware with his dad but still comes up to see his old pals at the meetings. Another, from Croatia, who’s visited Medjugorge a half dozen times but did not find God enough to stop using heroin until he made his way under the Frankford El, is now taking newer guys through the steps. The third shares at meetings now—the cold, distant,”‘no one invited in” look is gone from his face. Chronic relapsers all—now clean and helping others. Twelve years ago, the Spirit moved me into those rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. But it wasn’t until a little over 4 years ago—at around the same time I was discovering the wonder of St. Malachy’s—that I finally imbibed for the final time. Thank God for men like Charlie Finnegan and Father McNamee who guide us to experience the joy, sobriety, and happiness that living “in the Spirit” brings us.
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