By Brea Cannon
Connecting Faith and Life
When I was 24 years old, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to work at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, Tennessee. One of the many blessings that came with that move and job was the friendships I made while living in a Catholic community with seven other women — in total I lived with over 10 women while in the community. The house is known as the Goretti House — named after St. Maria Goretti, a patron saint for young girls. My experience there was filled with community meals, daily community prayer, lots of late-night talks, Mass, adoration and confession in our home, and friendships that will last a lifetime.
As you might imagine, eight 20-something women living together had its moments of stress and chaos but the joy, selflessness and love outweighed the rough moments time after time. Those women, who I ultimately see as sisters, are some of my best and dearest friends.
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Sirach. Written between 200 and 175 B.C., the author wrote many maxims as he was a lover of the law, the priesthood, the temple and divine worship. The book contains a variety of subjects such as the individual, family, community and friendship. The author’s motive was to help others maintain religious faith and integrity through the study of the holy books and traditions.
In chapter 6, the author wrote about “True Friendship.” I have always been fond of this text and recently in a prayer of thanksgiving, I opened to this text following a visit with some of my Goretti friends.
“Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter;
whoever finds one finds a treasure.
Faithful friends are beyond price,
no amount can balance their worth.
Faithful friends are life-saving medicine;
those who fear God will find them.
Those who fear the Lord enjoy stable friendship,
for as they are, so will their neighbors be” (Sirach 6:14-17).
As I look back on those years together in the Goretti House, I truly believe the only reason eight women were able to lovingly live together is because each woman loved God and desired to serve him above any other desire. Small acts of service, the collaboration and sharing of material goods, fraternal correction, a listening ear, an open heart and the desire for holiness are some aspects of the friendships that began in the Goretti House that are still fostered today.
Since our time in the house, together we have been through periods of joy and new life and also times of sorrow and loss. It is in my relationships with these faithful friends that I have come to understand the verse, “A good friend will fight with you against the foe, and against your enemies he will hold up your shield” (Sirach 37:5).
Friendships can look different at various stages of life but at any stage, it is necessary to stand firm in faith with the armor of Christ because often the foes we face are the lies and promises of this fallen world.
The greatest example of friendship is from Jesus. Jesus loved with a love from the Father in Heaven — Jesus showed us friendships that were rooted in love with the hope of eternal life in heaven. He fostered friendships with his apostles — he knew them; he knew their human weaknesses; yet he ran to meet them in their humanity and loved each apostle individually so as to lead him to the Father. Jesus spoke to his friends with love but was also stern at times to help them understand when they were, “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:24).
True friendships are modeled after Jesus — they are selfless, give generously, love without condition and are heaven-minded. They are a beautiful gift from God on the pilgrimage to eternal life. Hold your faithful friendships close and foster more relationships that are centered around holiness and the fruits that come from love.
“Then with all this, pray to God to make your steps firm in the true path” (Sirach 37:15). True friendships are a treasure and will help each of us walk on the path to truth. Hold your dear ones close and walk the path together.