Pastor's Circle - Albert Haase

Father Albert Haase, a Franciscan priest, came into the Pastor's Circle to talk about the Prayer of St. Francis. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview. You can learn more about  Father Haase and his ministry here.

Where did the Prayer of St. Francis come from, and what does it mean?

It is known as the "peace prayer" of St. Francis of Assisi.  It's a very famous prayer that has been used in many significant settings - funerals of important religious and political leaders, inaugurations, etc.  However, it was not even written by St. Francis himself. It had been around for quite awhile before he lived.  It was actually popularized as a product of St. Francis' pen by a protestant minister.

There are two parts to the prayer, but the key thing stands out immediately to me is the idea that we belong to someone else.  Our life belongs Jesus Christ.  

Secondly, there is a clear presentation of a biblical understanding of peace or shalom.  As people who live in the reality of Easter Sunday we need to realize and live out that shalom today.

We here at the Matt Friedeman Show think of ourselves as people that are "in the fight". In this prayer I get the idea that if we are on a mission we must be proactive.

I think you're right.  We must take love, joy, peace to the places that need it the most.  Proactive is a great way to put it.

So there is a necessary awakening...

Yes, the "Peace Prayer" also challenges our ego.  Perhaps the ego is the biggest enemy of the Christian life.  In this prayer we are going to bump up against the real issues of the heart.  Experience tells us that those people who live lives of service are the happiest people in the world.  

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

"Be in all things a God-seeker and at all times a God-finder."

Fr. Albert Haase came on the show today to talk about how to regain lost time spiritually and enjoy the fullness of God in the here and now.


A lot of people look back over their life, and realize that they just lost time spiritually. What now?

That is a great question, Matt, because I'm so often asked by people who have just been converted.

The inevitable question that comes up is how can I make up for lost time?

That question has been around for years. Think about what Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can I be born again?"

(Eckhart said) Be in all things a God-seeker and at all times a God-finder.

In so many ways we are surrounded by God.

Is it all that important to just pray throughout the day in general?

It comes down to the whole idea of grace and nature. I have to have the awareness and the openness. Once we put out the antenna, we come to discover that our God is a God of disguise and surprise.

Remember the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25? When Jesus comes he will separate the sheep and the goats. The people said, "When did we see you hungry?"

He comes to us as a God of surprise and as a God of disguise.

How important is it to have times that are set apart for prayer?

I think sometimes people try to take a little path, and they say, "I catch God while I run."

Those are fine...but I think the point you make is good, Matt.

I wrote a book....called Coming Home to Your True Self. In that book I mentioned that my periods of prayer should make me prayerful.

Those moments. Those deliberate, intentional moments should make me more prayerful throughout the day.

I think the same sort of reasoning, if we only pray generally throughout the day leads to the thought that we don't need to go to church.

By the very nature of Christianity it is a family affair.

I get a little annoyed with people who say, "I'm spiritual, but not religious."

Let's assume that someone has already had their quiet time today. Give us some tips about how people can put their antenna up.

Throughout the day I'm constantly on the look. I'm always being attentive to the people who come into my life. I'm being attentive to how I feel in my body.

And most of all at the end of the day, I look over my day, and I ask myself, "Where was God today?"

It really requires this intention that God is a God of disguise and a God of surprise and even when we don't make an appointment, he shows up.

"Gratitude is really a get-rich-quick scheme"

Father Albert Hasse, a Franciscan priest, came into the Pastor's Circle to talk about developing a lifestyle of gratitude or, as he called it, the attitude of gratitude.. Learn more about Fr. Haase here.

Why is gratitude such an important part of your life?

I think really as Paul reminds us in the letter to the Galatians, it's for freedom that Christ has set us free.

So many people I have met in my ministry are in a prison of worry.

One of the things I have discovered in my own life about gratitude...is that gratitude is really a get-rich-quick scheme.

As we look at the things God has blessed us with, we become more aware of how much we have.

Everything is a gift from God. And I think as we grow in that attitude of gratitude, we come to realize that I don't have to buy a lottery ticket to be wealthy, I'm already as wealthy as I can possibly be.

The people who are richest are the people who live lives of gratitude.

People who have an appreciative spirit live life on a whole different frequency.

They know that God in the end will always take care of us.

I really try to push hard the importance of an attitude of gratitude.

My faith in God has deepened the more and more I become a grateful person.

Interesting, isn't it, what gratitude can do for your attitude?

Isn't ironic that sometimes the freest people are those who have been incarcerated.

We sometimes are the very people who become imprisoned by other things.

Sometimes when we're in prison...it really challenges us to take a hard look at our lives.

I've traveled to developing nations, and the people seem to be happier than in America. Explain that one.

I think so often, in America this idea of the American idea to get more and more...it's very easy to think that I am responsible for everything in my life. I am responsible for my money.

It was all my work. And that really is the lie of the American dream. The lie of the American dream tracks us back to the ego.

If someone's out there saying I do need to be more grateful, what are some practical tips you're gonna give them?

Every morning when you wake up, every evening when you go to bed, take a look at what you're thankful for.

You begin to get more and more particular.

Those are all ways that God speaks to use to remind us that we are lovable and He cares for us.

Gratitude is something that doesn't come naturally...especially us Americans.

The practical ways is every morning and every evening before retiring take a look and see how God has touched you.

I guarantee, you begin to live on another frequency.

I encourage my students to praise God and thank Him. What's the difference between these two.

The difference is it's often thanksgiving that leads to adoration.

Thanksgiving looks at me...adoration is focused on God.

As Moses before the burning bush, I take my shoes off and worship.

Sometimes I think we can't adore God without that attitude of gratitude.

Out of all creation God takes notice of me!

What are some things in America that we take for granted?

We should be grateful for the freedom we experience.

Our freedom here in America is just a faint expression of the freedom we can find in Christ.

You don't experience how grateful we should be for our freedom....until you visit a communist nation.

For us Americans to begin just with the fact that we're free.

Freedom in America is just a slim glimmer of what we experience in Christ

Pastor's Circle - Albert Haase

Father Albert Hasse, a Franciscan priest, came into the Pastor's Circle to explain why Pentecost is, unfortunately, often overlooked by the church. Learn more about Fr. Haase here.

In those days when they go to Jerusalem and wait, was that an emptying process?

Well, you could certainly interpret it that way.

In so many ways Pentecost is the birthday of the church.

You hit the nail right on the head...I think you are dead right. That is, we do not give Pentecost the kind of importance it should have.

Not only do we not give Pentecost its importance, but we also forget that we share in that gift of the Holy Spirit.

Why don't we pay enough attention to Pentecost?

I think part of the reason might be that we love to bask in the glow of Christmas, because it reminds us of God's love for us.

We love to bask in the glow of Easter, because it marks the defeat of the devil.

But Pentecost requires something from us.

I think part of the reason why we have not paid attention to Pentecost, and given it its important, is because deep down we realize that it comes with a challenge.

We need to reclaim the fact that Pentecost is the birthday of the church and now as a results we have a work to do.

Is servant leadership an appropriate thought for us?

Oh, absolutely, because in so many ways that's what it's all about.

It's interesting that this whole idea of servant leadership actually got started in the Christian millieu and then moved out into corporate America.

I think that people are now beginning to realize that (washing feet) requires strength.

In the Gospel of John when he gets down to wash the feet of his disciples, he really shows himself as a servant leader.

How important is it to continually open up leadership pathways for younger people?

If we 're going to survive as the community of Jesus, we don't have much of a choice.

As long as we stay in touch with the spirit, the spirit will enlighten us.

What makes that hard for us old geezers?

Oh, come on, you know as well as I do, Matt. We don't want to let go of our pulpit.

The best churches I've seen are the ones where pastors who don't own their pulpits.

In Acts the Spirit raised leaders up, the Spirit is trying to do the same doggone thing today.

Pastor's Circle - Father Albert Haase on "The Image of God"

In your counseling and your dealings with people, is there something you've noticed that prevents people from understanding God?

In my teachings, just recently I had the rare opportunity to speak at the Moody Bible Institute.  One of the things I was telling Moody was that a lot of people have unhealthy images of God. When we have that, it's going to affect everything about how we relate to God.

When we are continually fearful and frightened, we really haven't encountered the Abba Father that Jesus has proclaimed to us.

A lot of us lose precious time in spiritual formation because we're spending too much time cowering in the corner rather than immersing ourselves in God's love.

Is it possible to go the other way?

That's also a great little trick of the Devil. Paul reminds us that the Devil can disguise himself as an angel of light.

That's where the whole thing of the ego comes in. E-G-O, ease God out.

When God is there with the teachings I have received from the Christian tradition, that's how we're called to live being authentic followers of Christ.

When you're talking about people who have no interest in the light, there's nothing you can do about them.

I'm talking about people who are committed to the Christian life.

I always remind people that you have to monitor yourself, because the devil and the ego are very slippery things.

How is it possible to get a healthy image of God

Immerse yourself in scripture. Scripture is a critical companion for all of us, because it's in scripture that we see this whole wonderful image of who God is. We read Scripture not just to feel good, but to be challenged. The power of scripture is that it challenges your conscience and shapes your heart.

As we come to know this Father, then all of the sudden our lives begin to take a whole different course

How we think about God is critical in terms of how we live.

You are a former missionary to China. What is the image of God to the Christian in China?

For someone in China to become a Christian, they're going against their culture.

But one of things that the Chinese are ahold of is that we are born as a group. When they read in Scripture that we are brothers and sisters, they get it! One of the great gifts that they bring is that our God is a Father, not just to us, but to an entire family.

Pastor's Circle - Father Albert Haase on "Mission"

Father Haase's new book is This Sacred Moment: Becoming Holy Right Where You Are. He is a Franciscan priest, author and radio talk show host.

On good works and mission

We tend to forget that we were sent on a mission. That each one of us has a special mission that only we can perform in life.

A Christian without a sense of mission is a stunted Christian

How to find your mission

It's only in prayer and spending time every day reflecting on my life.

Where is God calling me in the normal, nitty gritty of my life?

You don't have to go to the other side of the world to go on a mission. But in reality the harder place is often in your home.

Using our gifts for us

We spend too much time looking in the mirror. What the gospel challenges us to do is look out the window.

How can we be more holy today

See somebody sad, give them a smile. See someone begging on the street, stop and talk with them, give them some change.

Simply look around you...'cause that's how the Kingdom is built.