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Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 6th, 2025 Reflection by Sister Mercedes Rojo, OSF (Spiritual Assistant of St. Francis Fraternity, Milmont Park, PA)
My dear Friends,
Happy Feast of St. Francis!!!
As I wrote this reflection, the trees are shedding their leaves in a magnificent song of joyful surrender. This is what St. Francis practiced so well all his life!! So yesterday, I prayed for all of you that, like him, we may learn to let go of what no longer serves us trusting our loving God to fill those spaces with the gifts of freedom, peace, and full trust in God’s Abundant Grace!
Blessings,
Mercedes
October 4, 2025 – The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
My Dear Friends,
Last month I reflected on the daily surprises that life brings us daily. As I write to you, we have already arrived at the fall equinox, this magical time when the world around us naturally shifts into equilibrium. Day and night stand in perfect harmony, reminding us of the Beauty and Gift of BALANCE.
What a wonderful opportunity to take time for reflection and renewal — a chance to examine whether or not there is balance in our life, to reflect on what no longer serves us … letting it go, and making SPACE for GOD’S GIFT OF GRACE – the HARVEST of the many gifts received!
Just as night and day move into balance, and trees move into surrender mode releasing their leaves, we too can embrace this time as an opportunity to simplify, realign, and balance. To give thanks for the many graces that have brought us to this point, and then, in deep trust, to let go and ALLOW GOD’S GRACE to do the work that is still needed in us.
What keeps me in balance and aligned with God’s wisdom and grace?
What helps me live each day more open, attuned to God’s voice, and at peace?
What helps me see what no longer serves me and let go?
Letting go is hard!!! Yes, it is, but let us remember that Autumn is also HARVEST time! When wheat and grapes ARE RIPE ENOUGH TO FEED US!!
Autumn: so many fruits top harvest, so many surprises to explore within and around us. Think of the gifts received throughout spring’s growth and summer rest. How can we cultivate them and allow to grow in strength within us? What daily practices can help us do this?
This month we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a man so in touch with God’s presence in all creation. His life his personal transformation connects us to the lessons of the autumn season, emphasizing the importance of personal surrender and balance which leads to the beauty of transformation, and the call to embrace God’s presence in our HERE and NOW.
Francis valued and faithfully practiced letting go of the parts of himself that did not serve him any longer, and in the process, finding FREEDOM, PEACE AND FULL TRUST in GOD’S GRACE.
So what does Francis and Autumn teach us? As you look around, the leaves are letting the green go, but the beauty is not gone, only becomes stronger and deeper… transformed into multiples shades of fiery red and gold!!
Having taught photosynthesis to my students long ago, I asked myself, how do the trees live without their leaves? How do they find the food they need?
And the trees answered me: “We now FEED FROM WHAT WAS STORED INSIDE of us… what lives now INSIDE!!
Remember the words of Jesus… Every disciple to the Kingdom is like the householders, bringing forth OUT OF THEIR TREASURE things both new and old, Mt 13,
At the end of his life, Francis gathered his friends and told them: “I HAVE DONE WHAT IS WAS MINE TO DO. NOW, GO AND DO WHAT IS YOURS.”
SO, WHAT IS OURS TO DO? What is God asking of ME, NOW?
For myself, I want to look at the trees as I imagine Francis did when he lived in the beautiful Rieti Valley… … I want to watch how they surrender – not in sadness- but in a multicolor song of freedom and joy! And I want to be open to God’s grace to have that same freedom and joy!
I want to learn from them how to let go of what no longer serves me and in freedom and Joy follow God’s call to me NOW?
I want to learn how do I bring forth what’s inside me, unlocking the energy of the treasures I’ve been given? And then, to go and do what is mine to do!
One of the great messages of Autumn for me is that life is a continuous cycle of birth, growth, harvest, and letting go, and in the process learn from God’s amazing creation the natural flow and rhythm of birth, death and rebirth.
So let us take time to appreciate the abundance of what has been given by God’s GRACE, as well as the wisdom life has given us…
YES, THE FRUITS OF OUR HARVEST! AND — Give THANKS! ALLOW OUR LOVING AND GRACIOUS GOD to continue His work in us!!
Peace and All Good, Mercedes
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 6th, 2025 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 website: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
October 2025
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord grant us all the precious gift of his peace!
The life we know of St. Francis of Assisi tells us of his aspirations, divine inspirations and immediacy with which he sought to respond to the Father’s Will. Though blind and dying, the last two years of his life were not lived in vain. Overcoming himself and the many challenges concerning the Order that his brothers placed before him kept St. Francis humble and open to divine inspiration. The words of God’s presence, and at times intervention, rang in his ears and heart.
– Francis, Go rebuild my Church, for as you can see it is falling into ruin. (Crucified of San Damiano)
– Relinquish all your wealth. Take up your Cross. Follow me. (Three openings of the Gospels for guidance)
– Francis, whose Order is this, yours or Mine? (Discouragement with brothers and God’s response)
– The Rule to be followed without gloss, without gloss, without gloss. (Words heard regarding Rule), and more.
Once the Order began to grow, Francis saw that the initial thrust was being modified. He had relinquished his office as General Minister. However, he still would always be, “The Brother”. Even those who may have considered him “too stuck in his ways” or “not updated with the times” or “needing to update the brotherhood to be like other orders”, Francis would stand firm in his resolve. He was able to let go in humility, but the desire for the original charism as he received it from “the Lord” was always alive in his soul. Divine inspiration consoled and even encouraged him to “let go and let God” resolve the “Franciscan Question”. History has proven the wisdom in this final acceptance of Francis…to a point!
The Approved Rule of the Franciscan Family is the same for all in the First Order who profess it. Nevertheless, the Church has seen fit to approve three subtle distinctions of life expressions that modify but do not destroy the mind and heart of our Seraphic Father. There is no need now to get into the history more deeply. Each group has its history, reasons and justifications.
The Friars Minor, called the Observants, the Friars Minor Conventual, and the Friars Minor Capuchin are the three approved independent branches of the First Order of Friars Minor founded by St. Francis of Assisi. (We must never forget the Third Order Regular who can trace its origins to St. Francis also. They are not considered here because the Rule they follow is distinct from the First Order Rule. Nevertheless, the mind of the Founder is always expected to be followed, whatever the Rule professed.) The first three mentioned have the same Rule to follow, and the same Testament they revere as the last words of the Poverello to his brothers.
This year of the Transitus of St. Francis, celebrates the Paschal Mystery of the one marked with the sign of the Crucified. We celebrate the Passion of his life filled with joys, challenges, successes, seeming failures, and total fulfillment in the Lord. To paraphrase the title of a small book on St. Francis: Francis found that the “Journey Is The Dream!” And the “dream” is Faith in the call to “Rebuild My Church”, Hope acting on that belief by moving forward on the journey regardless of “hurdles”, and encountering and joyfully recognizing the Love of God at every turn even when we are led through the dark night of the soul.
Central to the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis is the legacy of his final Testament. St. Francis’ Testament is a deeply personal document. Before his death in October 1226, St. Francis dictated his final word to the brothers, not as a new Rule, but as a reminder to all the brothers of the fundamental beliefs and challenges that had governed his life by affecting the choices and decisions he made. While the Rule establishes the framework of Franciscan life, the Testament offers us an insight to its soul. It is a reminder of the spirit that guided St. Francis through his radical embrace of the Gospel. The Testament is the last expression of St. Francis’ deep conviction that the Gospel Life he proposed for others was truly divinely inspired and thus requiring no alterations.
The Rule and Testament speak of St. Francis’ commitment to the inspiration begun at San Damiano that blossomed into a religious Order of evangelical men and women professed to live the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience, without anything of one’s own, and in chastity. Before his death in October 1226, Francis dictated the text of his will and Testament, or as he called it My Testament. He was speaking to all the friars through this document so that we may observe in a more Catholic manner the Rule we have promised to the Lord.
Francis expressly told his friars not to look at this document and say, This is another Rule, because this is only a remembrance, an admonition. The Testament reiterates emphasizing his expectation that his spiritual brothers live the Rule without “interpreting” his words. They are to listen to the words and follow what is written “without gloss”. (This could be said of any document we solemnly profess to live. Let us never forget a very simple truth: You are only as good as your word! At our Profession we “gave our word” to be faithful to all we professed.)
The Testament, directed to all the friars of the original Franciscan Brotherhood, now officially separated into three distinct branches of the First Order, can help us understand Francis’ will that we not deviate from the Rule. Francis is the image of one conformed to Jesus. The Testament tells us in Francis’ words how that came about for him. Thus, the Testament becomes a last desire of Francis to help his brothers understand and live the authentic expression of the Rule. I have done what was mine to do. You must discover what is yours.
As Secular Franciscans you may ask “What does this have to do with us”. Directly, nothing! But understanding the mind and heart of St. Francis, through his last will and testament, much!
Celebrating the Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis is the way we reflect on the Gospel Life all Franciscans live. As Franciscans living in a secular society, you are called to be a light and a leaven. You are called to shine with your lives that others may see the face of Christ and thus encourage others to love and live the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Testament is our Seraphic Father’s last desire for us to accept the “gift” of Gospel Life as brothers and sisters united in the name of Christ and St. Francis. Thus doing, we learn to disarm our hearts to embrace all people.
The Italian bishops a number of years ago gave St. Francis the title “the Saint with a disarmed heart”. Conformity to Christ must follow the spiritual warfare of disarmament of hearts. If we follow our Father’s example ultimately, we will follow Christ’s and thus be conformed to Him. We can be God’s way of changing the world. That will never happen though, until we change ourselves first. What we seek to find in others, we must be willing to show and practice in ourselves.
The Testament of St. Francis is a final exhortation, admonition, and remembrance for the brothers, and ultimately the sisters, who would read these words, to do likewise. Francis himself tells the friars that his Testament is not a new Rule for them. Nonetheless, the personal reflection he expresses is as valid for us today as it has been for all professed friars through the past eight centuries. The Testament recalls the initial simple vision of his life. He wrote it to counter the compromises he saw creeping into his rapidly growing order.
The document passionately reasserts his original radical commitment to the Gospel Life lived in poverty, manual labor, and devotion to the Church. The desire for St. Francis to counter any compromises not proposed by the Church should be an incentive for us all to be faithful. Compromises, dispensations, alterations, additions and subtractions are usually ways not to live the life more fully and intensely. Thus we rather let go of the challenges, diminish the intensity of life, and become at best mediocre. We allow ourselves this mediocrity and soon lose all enthusiasm and desire.
Remember the Church in Laodicea in the Book of Revelation: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Revelation 3: 15-17). Tough words! God knows us. God knows our capabilities and our abilities. He endowed us with all that we need to be saved and give God the glory. Refusing to use and enjoy what was for us and for each one of us alone, is an insult to the Eternal Donor. The great “gift” of following Jesus more intimately as a “Gospel People”, is an awesome “gift”. Refuse the gift; refuse the Donor! Then what?!
The Jubilee Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis, and what that means for all Franciscans, is a true journey of the heart. St. Francis was preparing for his moment of encounter with God. He desired to revive in the hearts of his brothers and sisters all that his life had been for him, from the response to the call of the Crucified of San Damiano to the Seal of Approval by Jesus on Mount Alverna. He expected and hoped his brothers and sisters would accept the charism of the Gospel Life they professed. The joyfulness of the life expressed by the brothers attracted others, and the uniqueness of its expectations challenged total commitment to the gift God offered them through St. Francis.
The Canticle of Praise and the Testament, both written so close to the arrival of Sister Death for Francis, reveal a soul imbued with divine inspiration. In the Canticle his soul sees everyone and all things in God. Nevertheless, it is the Testament that is the final urging of a heart and soul totally God’s in Jesus through the Spirit. His words urge and expect the brothers to accept the challenge of the Gospel Life they professed “without gloss”. Nothing was to mar or change, in any way, what was given to him as a divine gift – And the Lord gave me…
As Secular Franciscans, you live in a society conditioned more commonly and necessarily by the demands of the secular world. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12: 2). These are easy words to quote, but not always easy to put into practice. The politics of a nation or given place, the circumstances of life, and so on, often condition the only response we believe we are able to give. Often the response expected, and at times the one given, may seem “un-Franciscan”, “un-Christian”, “un-holy”, or downright sinful. What are you to do? We are to embrace our vulnerability and trust in the Lord at all times in every way.
In the Testament our Seraphic Father begins with a memory. Not of triumph or glory, but of revulsion, his initial disgust toward lepers. He admits that he found them unbearable. But then, something happened. He says, The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I showed mercy to them. That moment, that encounter, changed everything. What had seemed bitter became sweet. It’s not just a story of personal growth. It’s a spiritual turning point. Francis found Christ in the lepers. He found joy in what the world rejected. And that, in many ways, is the heart of his entire life.
From there, Francis speaks of his reverence for churches and the Eucharist. He adored Christ in all the churches throughout the world and blessed Him for His redeeming sacrifice. This wasn’t just liturgical piety, it was a visceral, living devotion. He saw the presence of Christ not only in the poor and the suffering, but also in the Sacrament and in the sacred spaces where the faithful gathered. And what’s remarkable is his attitude toward priests. Even those who persecuted him, he honored, not because of their personal holiness, but because of their role in administering the Eucharist. He says, I want to respect, love and honor them and all others as my lords. That’s a powerful statement. It’s not blind obedience it’s theological humility. Francis saw Christ in the priesthood, and so he bowed not to the man, but to the mystery.
He speaks of the Word of God with deep reverence. He wanted any scraps of Scripture found in unworthy places to be gathered and treated with honor. That’s not superstition it’s love. He understood that the Word is alive, that it speaks and thus deserves respect and obedience. And he extended that respect to theologians and ministers of the Word, recognizing that they nourish the soul. Again, it’s not about hierarchy, it’s about gratitude.
Then Francis turns to the founding of his brotherhood. He says, After the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what to do; but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the Holy Gospel. That line is crucial. He didn’t set out to create an Order. He didn’t have a plan. He simply wanted to live the Gospel, literally, radically, joyfully. And the brothers who joined him desired the same. They gave away everything, wore patched tunics, and lived in abandoned churches. They prayed, worked, and rejoiced. They were poor, but they were free.
Francis’s emphasis on poverty wasn’t romantic. It was deliberate. He saw poverty as a way to strip away ego, ambition, and distraction. It was a way to depend entirely on God. He worked with his own hands and encouraged his brothers to do the same. He didn’t want them to become idle or proud. He wanted them to remain grounded, humble, and in solidarity with the poor.
Throughout the Testament, there’s a recurring phrase: The Lord gave me. Whether it’s his conversion, his brothers, his understanding of the Gospel, it’s all grace. Francis doesn’t take credit. He sees himself as a vessel, a recipient of mercy. That humility isn’t a pious performance, it’s real. It’s the fruit of a life steeped in prayer, suffering, and love.
And yet, there’s urgency in his words. He knows he’s dying. He wants to leave behind not rules, but spirit. He warns his friars not to treat the Testament as another Rule, but as a remembrance and admonition. That’s important. The Rule governs the structure of the Order. The Testament reveals its soul. It’s a call to fidelity, simplicity, reverence, and joy.
One of the most striking aspects of the Testament is Francis’s love for the Church. He doesn’t rebel against it. He doesn’t criticize it. He honors it. Even in its brokenness, he sees it as the Body of Christ. That’s not naive, it’s prophetic. He challenges us to love the Church not because it’s perfect, but because it’s holy.
So what does this Testament mean for us today? It’s not a historical artifact. It’s a living challenge. Francis’s embrace of the lepers calls us to solidarity with the marginalized. His reverence for the Eucharist invites us to deeper devotion. His love for Scripture urges us to honor the Word. His simplicity confronts our consumerism. His humility rebukes our pride. His joy in suffering reveals the paradox of Christian hope.
The Testament is a mirror. It shows us what it looks like when a soul is utterly surrendered to God. It’s raw, honest, and luminous. It doesn’t offer easy answers. It offers a life, a life poured out in love, shaped by the Gospel, and sealed by grace.
In the end, it’s a love letter: to God, to the Church, to his brothers, and to the world. It reminds us that holiness is not about perfection, but about surrender. It calls us to live not by rules alone, but by the Spirit who breathes through the Gospel. And it leaves us with a question, not what would Francis do, but what is the Lord asking of us now?
Let us listen, as Francis did, with open hearts and empty hands. Let us follow, not with fear, but with joy. And let us remember that the Gospel is not a burden, but a gift, a gift that transforms bitterness into sweetness, and death into life.
Celebrating the Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis of Assisi is the way we will reflect on the Gospel Life all Franciscans have professed to live. And the unique expression of our Seraphic Father’s last desire is for us to accept the “gift” of Gospel Life in Fraternity. (Regardless of which Franciscan “Rule” we profess, to Live Jesus really has no substitute. We either live Jesus or not. And, it was given to Francis what values were essential in living it.) When we listen to his words and conform ourselves to the spirit of St. Francis we can be assured of a path leading to our conformity to Christ.
Let us remember the last words of St. Francis in his Testament: And whoever observes these things, let him be blessed in heaven with the blessing of the Most High Father, and on earth with the blessing of His Beloved Son with the Most Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, and all the powers of heaven and with all the saints. And, as far as I am able, I, little brother Francis, your servant, confirm for you both within and without, this most holy blessing. Amen.
Peace and Blessings
Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 6th, 2025 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 website: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
October 2025
Assisi Compilation #72 – #74
72 – HE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF A CRITICAL BROTHER
1 – As they considered his holiness, the brothers were amazed and praised the Lord who had provided for his servant, especially because it was winter and such things were not available in that area.
– Unless there is within us what is above us, we shall soon yield to what is around us.
2 – Blessed Francis was travelling with a spiritual brother from Assisi who came from a great and powerful family. Because he was weak and ill, blessed Francis rode on a donkey. Feeling tired from walking, that brother began to think: “His parents were never at the same level as mine, and here he is riding, while I’m worn out, walking behind him, prodding the beast.”
– Preach to the poor with your hands before you preach to them with your lips.
3 – While he was thinking this, blessed Francis got off the donkey and said to him: “No, brother, it’s not right or proper for me to ride while you go on foot, for in the world you were nobler and more influential than I.” The brother, stunned and ashamed, fell down at his feet and, in tears, confessed his thought and then said his penance.
– The chief exercise of prayer is to speak to God and to hear God speak to you in the depths of your heart.
4 – He was greatly amazed at his holiness, for he immediately knew his thought. In fact, when the brothers petitioned the Lord Pope Gregory and the cardinals in Assisi to canonize blessed Francis, he testified to this before the Lord Pope and the cardinals.
– My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
73 – HE BLESSES A BROTHER AT GRECCIO, KNOWING HIS WISH AT A DISTANCE
5 – A brother, a spiritual man and a friend of God, was living in the lace of the brothers of Rieti. One day he got up and came with great devotion to the hermitage of the brothers of Greccio, where blessed Francis was then staying, out of a desire to see him and receive his blessing.
– Let me be a little kinder and blinder to the faults of those around you.
6 – Blessed Francis had already eaten and had returned to the cell where he prayed and rested. Because it was Lent he did not leave the cell except at mealtime and returned to the cell immediately afterward. The brother did not find him and grew very sad, attributing this to his sins, especially because he had to return that day to his own place.
– Pride has a way of concealing my faults from myself.
7 – The companions of blessed Francis consoled him, and he had not gone more than a stone’s throw away from the place when, by the will of the Lord, blessed Francis came out of his cell and called one of his companions, who was travelling with him as far as Fonte del Lago. He said to him: “Tell that brother to look back toward me.”
– Today’s opportunities erase yesterday’s failures.
8 – And when he turned his face to blessed Francis, he made the sign of the cross and blessed him. That brother, rejoicing both in body and spirit, praised the Lord who fulfilled his desire. His consolation was so much the greater because he saw that it was the will of God that the saint bless him without being asked by him or others.
– How much is there left in you after you have lost everything outside of you? This is the test.
9 – The companions of blessed Francis, and the other brothers of the place, were amazed, considering it a great miracle since no one had told blessed Francis about the arrival of that brother.
– When we learn to see the invisible, the we will learn to do the impossible.
10 – And neither the companions of blessed Francis, nor any other brother would have dared approach him unless he had called them. This was true not only there but everywhere blessed Francis stayed to pray, for he wanted to remain so removed, that no one would go to him without being called.
– O God, help us to be masters of ourselves that we may be servants of others.
74 – HE CORRECTS THE BROTHERS OF GRECCIO FOR AN ELEGANT TABLE-SETTING; THE VISIT OF CARDINAL HUGOLINO TO THE PORTIUNCULA; PRAISE FOR THE PEOPLE OF GRECCIO
11 – One day a minister of the brothers came to blessed Francis who was then staying in that same place, in order to celebrate the feast of Christmas with him.
– Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.
12 – It happened that the brothers of that place on Christmas day itself prepared the table elaborately because of that minister, covering it with lovely white tablecloths which they obtained for the occasion, and vessels of glass for drinking. Blessed Francis came down from the cell to eat, and when he saw the table set on a dais and finely prepared, he went secretly and took the hat of a poor man who had arrived there that very day, and the staff he carried in his hand. He called one of his companions in a whisper and went outside the door of the hermitage, unnoticed by the other brothers of the house.
– Treat a child as though he already is the person he’s capable of becoming.
13 – Meanwhile the brothers came to the table, especially because it was sometimes the custom of the holy father that, if he did not arrive immediately at mealtime, and the brothers wanted to eat, he wanted them to go to the table and eat. His companion closed the door, remaining next to it on the inside.
– Trust to the known God the unknown future.
14 – Blessed Francis knocked on the door and he immediately opened it for him. He entered with his hat on his back and with staff in hand, like a pilgrim. When he came to the door of the house where the brothers were eating, he called out to the brothers like a poor man: “For the love of the Lord God, give alms to this poor, sick pilgrim.”
– Prayer is an expression of who we are. We are a living incompleteness that calls for fulfillment.
15 – That minister and the other brothers recognized him at once. The minister told him: “Brother, we are also poor, and because we are so many, we need these alms we are eating. But, for the love of that Lord you invoked, come into the house, and we will give you some of the alms which the Lord has given us.”
– The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there.
16 – When he came in and stood in front of the brothers’ table, the minister gave him the bowl from which he was eating and some bread. Taking it, he sat down on the floor beside the fire, facing the brothers who sat at the elevated table. Sighing he said to the brothers: “When I saw the table finely and elaborately prepared, I considered that this was not a table of poor religious, who go door-to-door each day.
– We cannot do great things, only small things with great love.
17 – For more than other religious, we should follow the example of poverty and humility in all things, because we have been called to this and have professed this before God and people. So, now it seems to me I’m seated like a brother.”
– As the purse is emptied the heart is filled.
18 – The brothers were ashamed at this, considering that blessed Francis was speaking the truth. Some of them began to weep loudly, considering how he was seated on the ground, wishing to correct them in such a holy and simple way. He told the brothers that they have a humble and decent table so as to edify secular people. And if the brothers invite a poor person, he should sit with them, and not have the poor man sit on the ground and have the brothers sit on high.
– Treat people as though they were what they ought to be, and you will help them become what they are capable of being.
19 – When the Lord Pope Gregory was the bishop of Ostia, he came to the place of the brothers at Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, with many knights, monks, and other clerics. He entered the house of the brothers to see their dormitory and, when he saw that the brothers lay on the ground, with nothing underneath except a little straw, no pillows, and some poor coverings, torn and thread bare, he began to weep profusely before them all. “Look where the brothers sleep,” he said.
– Holy persons serve this world by reflecting in it the light of another.
20 – “But we, wretched creatures, enjoy such a surplus. What will become of us?” Both he and the others were greatly edified. He did not see a table there because the brothers ate on the ground. From the very beginning, that place, once it was built, was visited by the brothers of the entire religion more than any other place, for everyone who entered religion was invested there. No matter whether they were few or many, the brothers always used to eat on the ground.
– Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.
21 – As long as the holy father lived, after his example and will, the brothers who lived there used to sit on the ground to eat. For blessed Francis found the hermitage of the brothers at Greccio to be becoming and poor and the inhabitants, although poor and simple, were more pleasing to him than those of the rest of the region.
– The liar’s punishment is not that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.
22 – For this reason, he rested and stayed there, especially because there was a poor cell, very isolated, in which the holy father would stay.
– What not let Jesus take over my life? He can do more with it than I can.
23 – Many of these people, with the grace of God, entered religion because of his example and preaching and that of his brothers. Many women preserved their virginity and, remaining in their own homes, dressed in the clothing of religion.
– Without love and compassion for others, our own apparent love for Christ is fiction.
24 – And although each remained in her own home, each of them lived the common life decently, afflicting her body with fasting and prayer. Thus, it seemed to the people and to the brothers that their manner of living was not among seculars and their relatives, but among holy and religious people who had served the Lord a long time, despite their youthful age and simplicity.
– The thing to try when all else fails is again.
25 – That is why, with joy, blessed Francis often said to the brothers about the men and women of this town: “Even in a large city not as many people have been converted to penance as in Greccio, which is only a small town.”
– The one who does stay in his littleness loses his greatness.
26 – For frequently, when the brothers of that place used to praise the Lord in the evening, as the brothers at that time were accustomed to do in many places, the people of that town, both the great and the small, would come outside. Standing on the road in front of the town, they would respond to the brothers in a loud voice: “Praised be the Lord God!”
– What is it about human nature that makes it easier to break a commandment than a habit?
27 – Even children, who could not yet speak, when they saw the brothers, would praise the Lord as best they could. In those times they endured an awful scourge which they had suffered for many years. Huge wolves would eat people, and every year hailstorms would destroy their fields and vineyards.
– Pray, and then start answering your prayer.
28 – One day when blessed Francis was preaching, he said to them: “To the praise and honor of God, I tell you that, if each one of you turns away from sin, and turns to God with whole heart, firm resolve, and will to persevere, I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that, in His mercy, He will soon deliver you from the scourge of the wolves and of the hail from which, for so long a time, you have been suffering. He will make you grow and increase in both spiritual and temporal things. I also tell you if you return to your vomit, this scourge and pestilence will return, and more and worse disasters will afflict you.”
– The only person worth envying is the person that doesn’t envy.
29 – Through divine providence and the merits of the holy father, it happened that, from that hour and time, this scourge ceased. Moreover, it was a great miracle when hail came down and destroyed their neighbors’ fields, but did not touch their fields that were next to them.
– No one needs to be loved than the one who doesn’t deserve it.
30 – And for sixteen to twenty years, they began to increase and abound in spiritual and temporal things. Afterwards, however, they began to grow fat and proud, to hate each other, to strike one another with swords even to the point of death, to kill animals secretly, stealing and pillaging at night, and to commit many other evils. When the Lord saw that their works were evil and that they did not observe what was told them by His servant, blessed Francis, His anger flared up and He withdrew the hand of His mercy from them.
– The person with humility never has to be shown his place; he is always in it.
31 – The scourge of wolves and hail returned, as the holy father had said, and many other even worse calamities befell them. The town was entirely burned and, after losing everything they had, they escaped only with their lives. Then the brothers and others who had heard what blessed Francis said, how he predicted prosperity and adversity for them, were amazed at his holiness, seeing all his words fulfilled to the letter.
– It wasn’t the nails that held Jesus on the cross but his love for us.
Peace and Blessings
Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 22nd, 2025 Divine Mercy Fraternity held its Chapter of Elections on September 21st at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Absecon, NJ. Fr. Robert Fritz, a retired priest of the Diocese of Camden, was the ecclesial witness. Let us pray for the newly elected Fraternity Council as they serve their fraternity for the next three years and give thanks to those who previously served the fraternity:
| Council Position |
Fraternity Member |
|
| Minister |
Kathy Agosto, OFS |
Reelected |
| Vice Minister |
Vicky Campbell, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Secretary |
Colleen McCarry, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Treasurer |
Angel Cortes, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Formation Director |
Jack Pfeifer, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Councilor-at-large |
Mayra Castillo, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Councilor-at-large |
Reina Diaz, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Councilor-at-large |
Horace Robinson, OFS |
Newly elected |
Left to right: Teresa Redder, OFS (Regional Minister); Colleen McCarry, OFS (Secretary); Vicky Campbell, OFS (Vice Minister); Kathy Agosto, OFS (Minister): Angel Cortes, OFS (Treasurer); Fr. Robert J. Frtiz (Ecclesial Witness); Reina Diaz, OFS, Mayra Castillo, OFS, and Horace Robinson, OFS (Councilors-at-large); and Jack Pfeifer, OFS (Formation Director)
Posted By Terri Leone, on September 21st, 2025 Song of Reconciliation is a letter from the 4 Franciscan Ministers General to the whole Franciscan Family for instruction & reflection on the Canticle of Creatures.
 “The Canticle of Creatures is a song of praise & Reconciliation.” “It summarizes Francis’ view of God and the world; creatures and human beings; himself and the Most High God.” In the “Conclusion” of this letter the Ministers General provide us with numerous “Admonitions” or “Challenges”; refer to the following list.
Admonitions or Challenges
- Joyfully celebrate this 8th centenary of the Canticle
- Make the Poverello’s clear and prophetic gaze your own
- Recognize God’s imprint in every creature
- Live the call to universal fraternity by embracing all of creation – animate and inanimate
- Rediscover the beauty of being pilgrims & strangers
- Become custodians, not masters, of creation
- Become brothers and sisters of every living thing
- Become artisans of Peace and Forgiveness
- Live vulnerability as openness to others
- Integrate death into the great mystery of life
- Welcome every reality – from the brightest to the darkest within an experience of praise and restitution
- Live and promote: no lives are meaningless; no creatures are voiceless; no situations are outside of Divine Compassion
- Everything is embraced by our Father’s tenderness; everything/everyone is an occasion for praise
- See beyond appearances; grasp the dignity and beauty of all
- Become like Francis:
- Become Singers of Reconciliation and Hope
- Become Re-kindlers of Child-like Wonder
- Become Givers of Thanksgiving
- Become Caregivers of our Common Home
Please read the whole Song of Reconciliation. Go back and meditate/ponder each part individually. Let the message be totally absorbed into your being – who you become as you continue your spiritual journey – your pilgrimage to eternal happiness with the Trinity.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 9th, 2025 JOYFUL GOSPEL LIVING
“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You…”
Typically, the Gospel acclamation is a verse from Scripture, proclaimed in song by the cantor. This weekend, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Although the feast’s Gospel acclamation is not a verse from Scripture, it is very familiar to Catholics in our Stations of the Cross.
This little prayer is an enduring legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, whose three loves of Christ were the Crib in Bethlehem; the Cross; and Communion. As penitents, St. Francis taught his followers to say this prayer whenever they entered any church:
“We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ,
here and in all the churches of the world,
and we bless You,
because by Your holy Cross,
You have redeemed the world.”
For many people, the Hallow application for portable electronic devices has become a powerful daily prayer tool, with so many ways to connect with God in podcasts, Scripture reflections, study guides, trivia games, meditative music, and many other spiritual delights. This year, Hallow offered the 40-day St. Michael’s Lent, a period of prayer and fasting that began on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and will conclude on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel on September 29th. It was during a retreat like this on Mount La Verna in Tuscany in 1224 that St. Francis received the stigmata on this weekend’s feast day.
Because of his great love of prayer in solitude, St. Francis patterned his life by the example of the self-emptying (kenosis) Christ on the Cross. Besides his active evangelical ministry, he deliberately withdrew throughout the year to pray and fast with Christ.
During our Franciscan study pilgrimage in 2019, my husband Jeff and I visited Lago (Lake) Trasimeno, the largest lake in Italy, where St. Francis spent the Lent of 1211 in solitude on Isola Maggiore, praying and fasting from Ash Wednesday until Holy Thursday. The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (7) records that the man who rowed him to the island and back was amazed that St. Francis took with him only two loaves of bread; he returned with one and a half loaves!
In our Pilgrim’s Companion to Franciscan Places, there was a challenging spiritual reflection:
“Lago Trasimeno reminds us of one of the main tenets of Francis’ spirituality: the call to a life of penance. Penance for Francis meant total conversion to God. His experience on the island concretizes this focus for us. Here we can also challenge ourselves to the mystery of fasting:
- What fills us up?
- What fills our hearts?
- What kind of fasting is necessary in our lives so that God becomes greater and idols become less?
- How is our spiritual life bound up with the liturgical year?”
On September 1st, the Church commenced the celebration of the ecumenical Season of Creation (SOC), which will conclude on the feast of St. Francis (October 4th). The theme for this year is “Peace with Creation.” It coincides with the Franciscan family’s observance of the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures, a hymn of praise written in the Umbrian dialect by St. Francis just before his death. What are we doing to give praise to our Creator? How does our lifestyle bring about a more just society that respects all of God’s Creation?
In his message for the 10th World Day of Prayer for Creation (September 1st), Pope Leo XIV wrote:
“Now is the time to follow words with deeds. ‘Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience’ (Laudato Si’, 217). By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope. It may well take years for this plant to bear its first fruits, years that, for their part, involve an entire ecosystem made up of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love, especially if that love mirrors the Lord’s own self-sacrificing Love.”
Next Sunday (9/21), the United Nations observes the International Day of Peace: Act Now for a Peaceful World. How appropriate that this celebration occurs during the SOC! As Christians celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, the SOC Celebration Guide 2025 noted:
“In our troubled, unequal, and divided world, we are strengthened by the confession of faith and by the ecumenical communion established in Nicaea to follow Isaiah’s call and stand firm in our witness for God’s promise of peace for all Creation. Therefore, in the face of conflicts and strife, let us proclaim God’s promise: ‘The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.’ (Isaiah 32:17)”
Christ invited all of us to take up our crosses and follow Him. That invitation does not have an assurance that it will be easy. Rather, Jesus told His followers in the Beatitudes that they would be blessed when they were persecuted or insulted by wicked people.
The Gospel reminds us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” This treasured Scripture quote inspires gratitude for a love revealed on the Cross by our Savior. Our adoration for Christ then has certitude as we knowingly and deliberately follow Him:
“…because by Your Cross, You have redeemed the world.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 9th, 2025 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 email: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
September, 2025
Brothers and Sisters in St. Francis,
May the Lord grant us all the gift of His peace.
We are quickly approaching the end of the jubilee year of the Canticle of the Creatures. The fifth Franciscan jubilee completes the journey of St. Francis from Discovery to Fulfillment and Glory. We will celebrate the Paschal Mystery of our Seraphic Father. In St. Francis it is the celebration of life’s fulfillment to be nothing else than conformed to Christ in His Passion and Death, crucified in, with, for Love, so to be conformed with Christ in His Resurrection and Glory
St. Francis sang his Love in the Canticle of Brother Sun not as he saw God in all creatures but as he saw all creation in God. His song was a simply expressed but mystically experienced of his proximate return to the source of all being, God! The fulfillment of a life lived in Christ for God totally giving himself for others. The sentiments expressed came from the depth of his heart so enamored of God that he saw God in every aspects of Creation. He had encountered the God of Creation and saw all things, time itself, in the Creator calling him home.
He composed this beautiful hymn of praise, Laudato Si!, as he lay awaiting Sister Bodily Death from whom no one can escape. This testament to the saint’s spiritual clarity and his unwavering commitment to humility, peace, and divine love can be felt so profoundly in the last part of the Canticle. The last stanzas that address forgiveness, Sister Death, and praise, are filled with a depth of faith and feeling. These words, the Canticle itself, speak volumes.
Francis’s invocation of forgiveness is not a casual mention but a deliberate and sacred act of spiritual elevation. In the stanza, “Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation,” Francis links the act of forgiveness directly to divine love. Forgiveness is not framed as a moral obligation or a social necessity but as a sacred participation in God’s own nature. Those who forgive are not merely virtuous—they are blessed. They are the ones who “endure in peace,” and it is by this endurance that they “shall be crowned.” To forgive is to align oneself with the eternal will of God, to participate in the God’s life of grace.
Francis’s emphasis on bearing infirmity and tribulation alongside forgiveness suggests that true pardon is not born of ease but of suffering. It is in the crucible of pain that the soul is refined, and it is through this refinement that one becomes capable of divine love. This stanza is a spiritual mirror of Francis’s own life, marked by illness, rejection, and hardship, yet filled with joy and peace. Forgiveness, in this context, is not weakness but strength. It is the crown of the soul that has chosen love over vengeance, peace over resentment.
The stanza on Sister Death is perhaps the most startling and countercultural element of the canticle. “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no one living can escape.” Here, Francis does not fear death, nor does he curse it. He embraces it as a sister, a companion on the journey of life. Francis is not romanticizing mortality, but affirming that death has its place in the divine order. Death is not the enemy; it is the threshold. Francis’s calls death “Sister”. In a world that often views death with terror and denial, Francis offers intimacy and reverence.
He warns, however, that “woe to those who die in mortal sin,” and suggests that death is not neutral. It unveils the soul’s true state and ushers it into the presence of God. But for those “whom death will find in Your most holy will,” there is no harm. The “second death,” a reference to eternal separation from God, shall not touch them. It reflects Francis’s deep trust in divine mercy and his acceptance of life’s final passage. His own death occurred shortly after the canticle’s composition. It was marked by peace and joy, and embodied the words he had written.
By calling the elements “Brother” and “Sister,” Francis dismantles the hierarchy that places humanity above creation. He is centuries ahead of his time. His canticle calls for reverence, humility, and gratitude. In this communion, forgiveness is the glue, death is the gateway, and praise is the song. The canticle is not merely a poem, it is a spiritual map. It guides the soul from the illusion of separation to the truth of unity. It teaches that to live is to praise, to suffer is to forgive, and to die is to be embraced.
The historical context of the canticle adds further depth to its message. Francis wrote it while suffering from a debilitating eye disease, living in a darkened cell, surrounded by physical pain and existential uncertainty. Yet his words are luminous. They do not reflect despair but transcendence. Francis does not deny his suffering; he transforms it. He does not flee from death; he welcomes it. He does not withhold forgiveness; he offers it freely. The canticle is the fruit of a soul that has been purified by fire and has emerged radiant. It is the testament of a man who has seen God not in visions but in the faces of lepers, in the warmth of the sun, in the silence of the moon, and in the final breath of life.
In emphasizing forgiveness, Sister Death, and praise, the canticle brings together the human experience with divine grace. It sanctifies all aspects of life. It invites us to be persons of humility, gratitude, and joy. It challenges the ego and comforts the soul. It is a song of liberation, not from suffering, but through it. It is a hymn of hope, not in avoidance of death, but in its embrace. It is a prayer of love, not in isolation, but in communion.
The “Canticle of the Creatures” speaks across centuries, cultures, and conditions. It is as relevant today as it was in the thirteenth century. In a world marked by division, violence, and ecological crisis, Francis’s vision offers a path of peace, reconciliation, and reverence. It reminds us that forgiveness is divine, that death is sacred, and that praise is our highest calling. It invites us to see the world not as a resource to be exploited but as a family to be cherished. It calls us to live not in fear but in love, not in isolation but in communion, not in silence but in song.
Francis’s canticle is not a relic; it is a revelation. It reveals the heart of a man who saw God in all things and responded with joy. It reveals a theology that is not abstract but embodied, not distant but near. It reveals a spirituality that is not passive but active, not resigned but radiant. It is a canticle not only of creatures but of creation, not only of nature but of grace, not only of life but of love. And in its final lines, it calls us to “praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.” This is the essence of Francis’s vision. This is the invitation of the canticle. This is the song that never ends.
Francis did not cloak his wisdom in theology nor his devotion in flowery language. He spoke in the plain language of the fields and the villages, naming each element as brother or sister and each human act of mercy as supreme worship. In so doing, he modeled a spirituality that is both accessible and profound, rooted in the everyday yet lifting the soul beyond itself. The stanzas on forgiveness, Sister Death, and praise form the canticle’s heart, but they pulse only because the bloodstream of radical poverty, joyful community, and incarnational love courses through them. Each paragraph of his poem invites the reader into a sacramental imagination, to see the sun as a song of God’s light, the water as a vessel of cleansing grace, the wind as a whisper of the Spirit’s breath. And among these chords of nature, forgiveness restores harmony, death becomes transformation, and praise rings out as the soul’s perpetual offering.
To live Francis’s canticle is to recognize that every gust of wind, every sunset, every human encounter bears within it the echo of the Creator’s voice. It is to find in forgiveness not a concession but a crowning virtue, in death not an end but a sacred passage, in praise not an obligation but the soul’s natural song. The Canticle of the Creatures stands as a testimony that the path to God is not necessarily in solitude and theological theorems, but can be found in solidarity with birds and beasts, in the acceptance of our mortality, and in the humble offering of every breath as a blessing. Even now, the melody of the Canticle invites us each to forgive as we are forgiven, to embrace death as a sister who brings us home. We are encouraged to praise with such humility that our gratitude will resound through all creation.
Praise be You, my Lord, for all my sisters and brothers. You have called us to the Gospel Life living in society. Your Spirit empowers us to be Pilgrims of Hope in an often confused world.
God bless all of you. Our Holy Mother and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you. Our Holy parents of Assisi intercede for us all and our loved ones, as we strive to Live Jesus in the spirit of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 9th, 2025 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 email: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
September 2025
I bend my knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
so that, through the prayers and merits of the
holy and glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother,
and of our most blessed father Francis and of all the saints,
the Lord Himself, Who has given a good beginning,
may give increase and may also give final perseverance.
Amen.
(The Testament of St. Clare of Assisi)
Daily excerpts from Assisi Compilation #67 – # 71 – Daily quote from various sources
67 – HIS VISITORS TRAMPLE A PRIEST’S VINEYARD IN RIETI AND IT IS MIRACULOUSLY RESTORED
1 – Because of the disease of his eyes, blessed Francis at that time was staying in the church of San Fabiano near the same city, where there was a poor secular priest. At that time the Lord Pope Honorius and other cardinals were in the same city. Many of the cardinals and other great clerics, because of the reverence and devotion they had for the holy father, used to visit him almost every day.
– There’s a hole in every human heart that only God can fill.
2 – That church had a small vineyard next to the house where blessed Francis was staying. There was one door to the house through which nearly all those who visited him passed into the vineyard, especially because the grapes were ripe at that time, and the place was pleasant for resting.
– Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness and love.
3 – And it came about that for that reason almost the entire vineyard was ruined. For some picked the grapes and ate them there, while others picked them and carried them off, and still others trampled them underfoot. The priest began to be offended and upset. “I lost my vintage for this year!” he said. “Even though it’s small, I got enough wine from it to take care of my needs!”
– Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.
4 – When blessed Francis heard of this, he had him called and said to him: “Do not be disturbed or offended any longer. We can’t do anything about it. But trust in the Lord, because for me, His little servant, He can restore your loss. But, tell me, how many measures of wine did you get when your vineyard was at its best?” – We are like God when we forgive.
5 – “Thirteen measures, father,” the priest responded. “Don’t be sad over this anymore,” blessed Francis told him, “and don’t say anything offensive to anyone because of it, or argue with anyone about it. Trust the Lord and my words, and if you get less than twenty measures of wine, I will make it up to you.”
– It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.
6 – The priest calmed down and kept quiet. And it happened by divine dispensation that he obtained twenty measures and no less, just as blessed Francis had told him.
– How wonderful it would be if we spent as much energy living our religion as we do arguing about it.
7 – Those who heard about it, as well as the priest himself, were amazed. They considered it a great miracle due to the merits of blessed Francis, especially because not only was it devastated, but even if it had been full of grapes and no one had taken any, it still seemed impossible to the priest and the others to get twenty measures of wine from it.
– No gift is ours till we have thanked the giver.
8 – We who were with him bear witness that whenever he used to say: “This is the way it is . . . or this is the way it will be …”, it always happened as he said. We have seen many of these fulfilled not only while he was alive but also after his death.
– People may doubt what you say but they will believe what you do.
68 – AT FONTECOLOMBO THE DOCTOR HAS DINNER WITH THE BROTHERS AND THE LORD PROVIDES THE FOOD
9 – At that same time, blessed Francis stayed in the hermitage of the brothers at Fonte Colombo near Rieti because of the disease of his eyes. One day the eye doctor of that city a visited him and stayed with him for some hours, as he often used to do.
– Carry the cross patiently, and in the end it will carry you.
10 – When he was ready to leave, blessed Francis said to one of his companions: “Go and give the doctor a good meal.” “Father,” his companion answered, “we’re ashamed to say that, because we’re so poor now we’d be ashamed to invite him and give him anything to eat.”
– Kindness is loving people more than they deserve.
11 – Blessed Francis told his companions: “O you of little faith! Don’t make me tell you again!” The doctor said to blessed Francis and his companions: “Brother, it is because the brothers are so poor that I am happy to eat with them.”
– Life can be understood backward, but it must be understood forward.
12 – The doctor was very rich and, although blessed Francis and his companions had often invited him, he had refused to eat there. The brothers went and set the table. With embarrassment, they placed the little bread and wine they had as well as the few greens they had prepared for themselves.
– Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.
13 – When they had sat down at the table and eaten a bit, there was a knock on the door of the hermitage. One of the brothers rose, went and opened the door. And there was a woman with a large basket filled with beautiful bread, fish, crab cakes, honey, and freshly-picked grapes, which had been sent to brother Francis by a lady of a town about seven miles away from the hermitage.
– In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
14 – After they saw this and considered the holiness of blessed Francis, the brothers and the doctor were greatly amazed. “My brothers,” the doctor told them, “neither you nor we sufficiently recognize the holiness of this saint.”
– There I no saint without a past and no sinner without a future.
69 – HE TELLS A LADY OF LIMISIANO THAT HER HUSBAND WILL BE CONVERTED
15 – One time blessed Francis was going to “Le Celle” of Cortona and was following the road that passes at the foot of a fortified town called Limisiano, near the place of the brothers at Pregio. A noble woman of the town happened to come with great haste to speak to blessed Francis.
– The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.
16 – When one of his companions saw this woman, extremely tired, hurrying after them, he ran to tell blessed Francis. “Father, for the love of God, let us wait for the lady who is following us, since she is quite exhausted from her desire to speak with us.” Blessed Francis, as a man full of charity and piety, waited for her. When he saw her exhausted and coming to him with great fervor and devotion, he said to her: “What is it, please, my lady?”
– To give witness of your faith is like perfume. If it’s really good, you won’t have to advertise it.
17 – The lady answered: “Father, please, bless me.” Blessed Francis asked her: “Are you bound to a man or single?”
“Father,” she said, “for a long time the Lord has given me the will to serve him. I had and still have a strong desire to have my soul. But I have a husband so cruel that he is an antagonist to me and to himself in the service of Christ. Because of this, my soul is tormented to death with great sorrow and anguish.”
– Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.
18 – Blessed Francis was moved by piety for her, considering the burning spirit she had, and especially because she was a young girl and was delicate according to the flesh. He blessed her and said to her, “Go, and you will find your husband at home. Tell him for me that for the love of the Lord who endured the passion of the cross to save us, I beg both you and him to save your souls in your own home.”
– Jesus impacted the lives of his followers more powerfully after his death than before it.
19 – When she returned and entered the house, she found her husband at home, just as blessed Francis had told her. Her husband said to her: “Where are you coming from?” “I’m coming from seeing blessed Francis who blessed me,” she answered, “and his words have consoled and gladdened my soul in the Lord. Moreover, he told me to tell you on his behalf and to beg you that we should both save our souls in our own home.”
– People don’t really pay much attention to what we say about our religion, because they’d rather see what we do about it.
20 – After she said this, the grace of God immediately came down on him, through the merits of blessed Francis. Suddenly changed anew by the Lord, he answered her with great kindness and meekness: “My lady, from now on, as it will please you, let us serve Christ and save our souls, as blessed Francis said.”
– Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself.
21 – His wife told him: “My lord, it seems to me that it would be good for us to live in chastity, because it is very pleasing to the Lord and is a virtue with great reward.”
– A leader is someone who knows, goes, and shows the way.
22 – “Lady,” her husband answered, “what pleases you, pleases me. For in this, as in other good deeds, I want to unite my will to yours.” And from then on, for many years, they lived in chastity, giving many alms to the brothers and to other poor people.
– True spiritual vision is the ability to seed the invisible.
23 – Not only seculars, but also religious marveled at their holiness, especially since this man, who once was very worldly, so quickly became spiritual.
– Criticism is like dynamite. It has its place, but it should be handled only by experts.
24 – Persevering till the end in all these things and other deeds, both of them died within a few days of each other. Because of the fragrance of their good life, there was great mourning over these two who had given all the time of their lives to praising and blessing the Lord who had given them graces, sincerity, and harmony during life in His service. Even in death they were not separated, because one died right after the other. Their memory, like that of the saints, is recalled to this day by those who knew them.
– If you cannot find happiness along the way, don’t assume you will find it at the end of the road.
70 – HE REFUSES ENTRANCE TO THE ORDER TO A YOUNG NOBLEMAN FROM LUCCA
25 – At a time when no one was received into the life of the brothers without the permission of blessed Francis, the son of a nobleman of this world from Lucca, together with others who wished to enter the religion, came to see blessed Francis. At the time he was sick and was staying at the palace of the bishop of Assisi. When the brothers presented them to blessed Francis, the son of the nobleman bowed before blessed Francis and began to cry aloud, begging to be received.
– Who has health has hope; who has hope has everything.
26 – Looking at him, Blessed Francis said: “O wretched and fleshly man! Why are you lying to the Holy Spirit and to me? You are crying in the flesh and not in the spirit!” After he said these things, his relatives suddenly arrived outside the palace on horseback, wanting to seize him and take him back home.
– They stand best who kneel most.
27 – When he heard the clatter of horses, he looked out a window of the palace, and saw his relatives. He immediately got up, and went outside to them. He returned to the world with them, just as blessed Francis had known through the Holy Spirit. The brothers, and others who were there, marveled, magnified, and praised God in his saint.
– Who loses wealth loses much, but who loses the spirit loses everything.
71 – HE WANTS TO EAT SOME FISH AND IT IS PROVIDED IN A WONDERFUL WAY
28 – Once when he was very sick and staying in the same palace, the brothers begged and encouraged him to eat. But he answered them: “My brothers, I don’t have the wish to eat; but if I had a bit of that fish called squalo, perhaps I would eat some.”
– When we do what we can, God will do what we can’t.
29 – Once he said this, someone came carrying a basket in which there were three large and well-prepared squali and crabcakes. The holy father gladly ate these. These were sent to him by Brother Gerardo, the minister at Rieti. As they considered his holiness, the brothers were amazed and praised the Lord who had provided for his servant, especially because it was winter and such things were not available in that area.
– Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.
72 – HE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF A CRITICAL BROTHER
30 – Once blessed Francis was travelling with a spiritual brother from Assisi who came from a great and powerful family. Because he was weak and ill, blessed Francis rode on a donkey. Feeling tired from walking, that brother began to think to himself: “His parents were never at the same level as mine, and here he is riding, while I’m worn out, walking behind him, prodding the beast.” While he was thinking this, blessed Francis got off the donkey and said to him: “No, brother, it’s not right or proper for me to ride while you go on foot, for in the world you were nobler and more influential than I.” The brother, stunned and ashamed, fell down at his feet and, in tears, confessed his thought and then said his penance. He was greatly amazed at his holiness, for he immediately knew his thought. In fact, when the brothers petitioned the Lord Pope Gregory and the cardinals in Assisi to canonize blessed Francis, he testified to this before the Lord Pope and the cardinals.
– Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 17th, 2025 “I have come to set the earth on fire…”
Ten days ago, I went on a reconnecting journey with my dear friend and fellow music minister Mary Verme to St. Francis Inn in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Departing early so that we could attend the daily 8:30 AM Mass, we parked our car on a side street. Immediately, we noticed how many homeless people were now sleeping on the sidewalks close to the Inn, where they felt safer and welcomed.
After entering the chapel, we gave silent greetings to familiar staff members and then watched about a dozen high school girls coming in for worship. Many of them wore T-shirts that said “Visi” on them. This was their last day of volunteering at the Inn.
During the homily, Fr. Michael Duffy, OFM, expressed gratitude to the teens for their week of service at the Inn, noting the many daily challenges that they had experienced in the various ministries of this vibrant community. We learned that these students came from Georgetown Visitation Preparatory Academy in Washington, DC, founded in 1799 by three “pious ladies” from Philadelphia. In 1815, this school received permission from the Vatican to affiliate with and become the first US Visitation community (an order founded by St. Jane Frances de Chantal in 1610 in France). Through the vision of their high school experience, these students were learning how to set the earth on fire for Christ.
One of my favorite Gospel quotes is found in this weekend’s reading, as Jesus says to His disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” What a great visual that gives to us of God’s love that Jesus desires to be revealed in our world today and every day! However, Jesus warns the disciples that if we follow Him without reservation, then we can expect division among us. This is because worldly values are always in such diametric conflict with God’s desires. When called by God to bring messages to the people, every prophet learned the dangerous challenges and even persecutions that accompanied those missions. The prophet Jeremiah understood this all too well.
After the morning Mass, Mary and I sat with Katie Sullivan, the Executive Director of Franciscan Volunteer Ministry (FVM), who coordinates the visits of high school and college students on mission to the Inn, as well as overseeing the intentional community of FVM volunteers who spend 1-2 years in volunteer ministry in Philadelphia or Durham, NC (Note: Mary served as a FVM in Philadelphia).
Katie is an alumna of Georgetown Visitation, so there is a special bond with these students during their annual visits. On mission trips like these, the students’ daily encounters with those who are on the margins of society due to poverty, homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and many other societal hardships can be both inspiring and also overwhelming. How can the faithful help Jesus to realize the fire that He so desires in our world? As community, we need daily reminders that every encounter is an opportunity to bring God’s love to others. Christ calls us into communal action.
After our visit, I did some internet research about Georgetown Visitation, so committed to the Salesian spirituality of Saints Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal. These high school students share a very simple imperative that they must learn by doing: Live Jesus. In blog testimonies on their website, students shared the difficulties in learning to trust God and to practice the “Little Virtues” that shape the Salesian witness to Christ:
- Kindness
- Gentleness
- Thoughtful Concern for Others
- Humility
- Simplicity
- Hospitality
- Gratitude
- Patience
- Generosity
- Honesty
- Cheerful Optimism
Looking at these highly desirable virtues to make Christ’s Kingdom visible here and now, we might wonder why there would be division in the world or within families when someone intentionally chooses to live in God’s love—to live Jesus. It makes no sense whatsoever that there are people who make choices that are the opposite of those little virtues. Perhaps daily prayer to the Holy Spirit would help to remind us of their necessity. Daily decisions sometimes create a moral dilemma for us:
- Whose example will we follow?
- Are we prepared for opposition when we choose to follow Christ?
- Will we trust in God for courage and fortitude?
- How can we welcome the difficulties that we will encounter as pilgrims of hope?
- Will we recognize Christ at the door?
 
The “Visi” community is bound by an inspiring prayer:
Direction of Intention (St. Francis de Sales)
Oh my God, I give You this day. I offer You now all of the good which I shall do. I promise to accept for love of You all of the difficulty which I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner most pleasing to You.
Church history clearly tells us that there have been generations of people who listened to the Word of God and committed their lives to tending to the fire of God. If we get discouraged, St. Paul reminds us that their lives paved the way for us to serve Christ today, even amid divisions:
“We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” (Heb 12:1)
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
St. Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 2nd, 2025 August 3, 2025
JOYFUL GOSPEL LIVING
“One’s life does not consist of possessions.”
From a variety of news sources that we choose to get our updates, there is always a vast amount of information that is shared: world and national events; health and science updates; sports statistics; weather forecasts and warnings; arts and entertainment happenings; and business trends that affect investors and employees. The world’s population lives as a consumer society that drives the global economy. Much of that demand is reflected in our possessions: clothing, cars, homes, hobbies, jewelry, collectibles, and lots of stuff that we have accumulated in our lifetime. In the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a wise understanding that it is vanity to imagine that any of these possessions has any importance after death. So, do they even matter in life?
In this weekend’s Gospel, a man approaches Jesus to get an opinion on a family inheritance. Jesus speaks to the crowd around Him when He replies: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Jesus then tells the parable about a rich man who had such a bounteous harvest that he needed to build larger barns to store it. Little did he realize that God was watching him critically. We can only imagine what the crowd heard in that parable: “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” What did Jesus mean when He spoke about storing up treasures that are ‘rich in what matters to God’?
Why are people so fascinated by the lifestyles of the rich and famous? There have been many news stories this year of the lavish lifestyles of rich people that are beyond our imagination. When someone has worked with Catholic charities in ministry to the poor, they see firsthand the struggles that people encounter in daily living to obtain the basic necessities of life: food, clothing and shelter. As a contrast, though, it is well known that there is a Pyramid of Global Wealth that is updated periodically and shows the sobering statistics of wealth distribution:
| >$100 Million |
1.1% |
| $100K-$1M |
12% |
| $10K-$100K |
34.4% |
| <$10K |
52.5% |
This is also where we learn that 1% of the world’s population controls 40% of its wealth; the top 10% controls 80% of wealth worldwide. More than half of the world lives in poor circumstances. How do their lives compare in their meager possessions and their struggles to survive? How does that matter to God?
In our Catholic tradition, we have centuries of stories from the lives of the saints to teach us about what matters to God. From the very beginning of the Church, the believers valued a common life and looked out for one another. The earliest stories are in the Acts of the Apostles. They were such vibrant testaments to lives of love that inspired many people to join the Church to bring about God’s Kingdom.
One of the Church’s main charitable agencies to assist the poor is Caritas International. For the Jubilee Year 2025, Caritas invited Catholics of good will to enter into the spirit of jubilee by looking at the issue of world debt with a special campaign:
“The Turn Debt into Hope campaign carries forward Pope Francis’s call for us to mark the Jubilee year in the Catholic Church by addressing the debts of countries ‘that are in no condition to repay the amount they owe.’ Inspired by the Holy Father’s message of solidarity, this global call advocates for debt justice and transformative financial reforms to bring renewed hope to communities burdened by unsustainable debt. Today, more than 50 countries are facing a debt crisis, with many governments forced to spend more on debt repayments to private creditors than on schools, hospitals or protecting their communities from the worsening impacts of the climate emergency. In the face of aid cuts and rising tariffs, which are deepening poverty and inequality in countries already burdened by unsustainable debt, the need for debt relief has never been more critical.”
In the epistle to the Colossians, Saint Paul cautions the community to remain close to the risen Christ by always seeking what is above. He wants them to put to death the earthly things that separate us from God. He refers to greed as idolatry. During this Jubilee Year of Hope, we have many opportunities to reexamine our lives and see where our desires align with those of God for us. If we are ambitious, is it for goodness and justice? Are we generous toward others as God has been generous to us? Where do we find the daily opportunities to ponder what matters to God? As Secular Franciscans, we find wise counsel in our Rule:
Reflection (OFS Rule #11)
Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life[1], even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the Gospel, they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children. Thus, in the spirit of “the Beatitudes,” and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power[2].
[1] First Letter of St. Francis, 5
[2] Rom. 8,17; Vatican II, Const. on the Church, 7
In the Scripture readings, God is always speaking to us so that we might listen and do what is ours to do. For effective listening, the words need to penetrate our hearts so that we can be the love in the world that God desires so much:
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
The new statue by Timothy P. Schmalz titled “Be Welcoming” is displayed in St. Peter’s Square (Tuesday, April 15, 2025).
Credit: Victoria Isabel Cardiel/EWTN News
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