11/3/07

Blessed Franz: husband, father, man of peace


I have posted twice on Franz Jagerstatter, here and here. Today I came across the photo above. This is 94 year old Franziska Jagerstatter, widow of Franz, handing over a relic of the urn of her husbands ashes to the Diocesan Bishop of Linz, Dr. Ludwig Schwarz.

Jagerstter's
daughters were with their mother at the beatification liturgy. If you check the previous posts you'll learn about the urn containing the cremated remains of Blessed Franz.

I'm moved by the photo but even more so by that thought that the wife and daughters of this courageous man of faith and conviction were present as the Church declared their husband and father blessed and but one step away from being declared a saint.

4 comments:

  1. Franz sounds like he loved his family, God, and his fellow man with all his heart and soul. He had the courage and conviction to stand up for what he knew to be right and true in heart. What puzzles me, as you read about the atrocities that occurred with the Nazi's, why weren't there more people like Franz? How could so many people be blind or stand back from the evil that went on? Hopefully, in today's world, there would be many saints like Franz, who would rather lose their life rather than take part in such evil.

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  2. Franz should be a reminder that we are called to put our beliefs into action, to be more than "Sunday Catholics."

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  3. Grace said "....How could so many people be blind or stand back from the evil that went on?" We could use these very words for other horrific things, e.g., the sexual abuse of children. Will we be the people to turn a blind eye or will we try to do something to stop this evil?

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  4. I hope Daisy, living through this time of increased awareness of the sexual abuse of children, virtually by anyone, will open all of our eyes and push us to widen are efforts to protect all children.

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