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Posted By Teresa Redder, on November 3rd, 2024 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
November 2024
Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of the day,
every day and continually,
let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve,
praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks
to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God, Trinity and Unity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Creator of all, Savior of all who believe and hope in Him, and love Him, Who,
without beginning and end, is unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable,
incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, praiseworthy, glorious, exalted,
sublime, most high, gentle, lovable, delightful,
and totally desirable above all else for ever.
Amen.
(Prayer of Saint Francis taken from the Earlier Rule, chapter 23)
The daily excerpts from The Assisi Compilation
1 – FRANCIS DOES NOT WANT COMMANDS UNDER OBEDIENCE TO BE GIVEN LIGHTLY
1 – His opinion was that only rarely should something be commanded under obedience, for the weapon of last resort should not be the first one used. As he said, “The hand should not reach quickly for the sword.”
– The things that count most in life are the things that cannot be counted.
2 – He who does not hurry to obey what is commanded under obedience neither fears God nor respects man. Nothing could be truer. For what is command in a rash leader, but a sword in the hands of a madman? And what could be more hopeless than a religious who despises obedience?
– The intellect of the wise is like glass. It admits the light of heaven and reflects it.
2 – HE FORETELLS THE FUTURE OF THE ORDER
3 – Saint Francis also said: “A time will come when the religion loved by God will have such a bad reputation because of bad examples that it will be embarrassing to go out in public. Whoever comes to enter the Order at that time will be led only by the working of the Holy Spirit; flesh and blood will put no blot on them; they will be truly blessed by the Lord.
– I am more afraid of my good deeds that please me, than of my bad deeds that repel me.
4 – Although they will not do works of merit, for the love that makes saints work fervently will have grown cold, still they will undergo temptations; and whoever passes the tests of that time will be better than those who came before.
– Is anything too hard for the Lord?
5 – But woe to them who congratulate themselves over the appearance of a religious way of living, those numbed by idleness, those who do not firmly resist the temptations which are permitted to test the chosen! Only those who are tested will receive the crown of life, those who in the meantime are disturbed by the malice of the wicked.”
– To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil then you are overdoing it.
3 – THE LORD SHOWS HIM WHEN HE IS BEING A TRUE SERVANT OF GOD
6 – “Brothers,” he would also say, “I prayed to the Lord that he might deign to show me when I am his servant and when I am not, for I want to be nothing except his servant. And now the gracious Lord himself in his mercy is giving me this answer: ‘Know that you are in truth my servant when you think, speak, and do things that are holy.’ And so I have called you brothers because I want to be shamed in front of you if ever I am not doing any of those three”. – No one is more confusing than the one who gives good advice while setting a bad example.
4 – A BROTHER TELLS HIM THAT HIS BODY WILL BE HONORED AFTER HIS DEATH
7 – One day when blessed Francis lay sick in the palace of the bishop of Assisi, one of the brothers, a spiritual and holy man, smiling and playfully, said to him: “You will sell all your sackcloth to the Lord for a good price! Many canopies and silk coverings will hang over this body of yours now clothed in sackcloth.” At the time Saint Francis, on account of his illness, wore a fur cap covered with sackcloth as well as a tunic of sackcloth. With great fervor of spirit and joy blessed Francis—not himself, but the Holy Spirit through him—answered: “You’re right because that’s how it will be.”
– If you bear the cross gladly, it will bear you.
5 – HE BLESSES ASSISI AS HE IS BEING CARRIED TO SAINT MARY OF THE PORTIUNCULA
8 – While he was staying in that palace, blessed Francis, realizing that he was getting sicker by the day, had himself carried on a litter to the church of Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, since he could not ride horseback because of his severe illness. When those who were carrying him passed by the hospital along the road, he asked them to place the litter on the ground. Since he could hardly see because of the serious and prolonged eye-disease, he had the litter turned so that he would face the city of Assisi.
– If I have no love, no matter what fabulous things I may be able to do, I am nothing.
9 – Raising himself up slightly on the litter, he blessed the city of Assisi. “Lord,” he said, “just as I believe that at an earlier time this city was the abode of wicked and evil men, with a bad reputation throughout all this region; so now I realize that, because of Your abundant mercy and in Your own time, You have shown an abundance of mercies to it. – It is impossible for the Church to remain on its feet if it doesn’t get on its knees.
10 – Now it has become the abode of those who acknowledge You, give glory to Your name, offer the fragrance of good life, doctrine, and good reputation to the whole Christian people. I ask you, therefore, Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies, not to consider our ingratitude.
– The more the world is at its worst, the more we need the Church at its best.
11 – May it always be mindful of the abundant mercies which You have shown to it, that it always be an abode for those who acknowledge You, and glorify Your name blessed and glorious throughout the ages. Amen.” After saying these things, he was carried to Saint Mary of the Portiuncula.
– The family was before the Church or rather the first form of the Church was the family.
6 – AT THE NEWS OF HIS COMING DEATH HE HAS THE BROTHERS SING THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN, WITH A WITH A NEW VERSE FOR SISTER DEATH
12 – From the time of his conversion till the day of his death, blessed Francis, whether healthy or sick, was always concerned to know and follow the will of the Lord.
– We see things not as they are but as we are.
7 – PRAISE BE YOU, MY LORD, THROUGH OUR SISTER BODILY DEATH
13 – One day a brother said to blessed Francis: “Father, your life and manner of living were and are a light and a mirror not only for your brothers but also for the entire Church of God, and your death will be the same. Although for the brothers and many others your death will mean great grief and sorrow, for you it will rather be a great consolation and infinite joy.
– We are not completely born until we are dead.
14 – You will pass from great toil to the greatest rest, from many sorrows and temptations to infinite happiness, from your great poverty, which you always loved and carried from the beginning of your conversion till the day of your death, to the greatest, true, and infinite riches, from death in time to life in eternity. There you will forever behold face to face the Lord your God whom you have contemplated in this world with so much desire and love.”
– In the end it will not matter with what we fought. It will matter on what side we fought.
15 – After saying these things he said to him openly: “Father, you should know the truth: unless the Lord sends his own remedy from heaven to your body, your sickness is incurable and, as the doctors already said, you do not have long to live.
– Children, especially, set their watches by our clock.
16 – I told you this to comfort your spirit, that you may always rejoice in the Lord, inside and out; especially so that your brothers and others who come to visit you may find you rejoicing in the Lord, since they know and believe that you will die soon. Thus, as they see this and, after your death, others hear about it, your death, like your life and manner of living, may be held in remembrance by all.”
– Never let anything so fill you with sorrow that you forget the joy of the Risen Christ.
17 – Although racked with sickness, blessed Francis praised God with great fervor of spirit and joy of body and soul, and told him: “If I am to die soon, call Brother Angelo and Brother Leo that they may sing to me about Sister Death.”
– Prayer is talking something over with God, rather than trying to talk God out of something.
18 – Those brothers came to him and, with many tears, sang the Canticle of Brother Sun and the other creatures of the Lord, which the Saint himself had composed in his illness for the praise of the Lord and the consolation of his own soul and that of others.
– The more we depend on God, the more dependable God becomes.
19 – Before the last stanza he added one about Sister Death: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin. Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.”
– When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord.
8 – LADY JACOBA, INSPIRED IN PRAYER, COMES FROM ROME TO PROVIDE FOR HIS BURIAL
20 – One day blessed Francis called his companions to himself: “You know how faithful and devoted Lady Jacoba dei Settesoli was and is to me and to our religion. Therefore, I believe she would consider it a great favor and consolation if you notified her about my condition.
– We must constantly guard against forming our belief to our behavior rather than our behavior to our belief.
21 – Above all, tell her to send you some cloth for a tunic of religious cloth the color of ashes, like the cloth made by Cistercian monks in the region beyond the Alps. Have her also send some of that confection which she often made for me when I was in the City. This confection, made of almonds, sugar or honey, and other things, the Romans call mostacciolo.
That spiritual woman was a holy widow, devoted to God. She belonged to one of the more noble and wealthy families of the entire City.
– An empty meaningless faith may be worse than none.
22 – Through the merits and words of blessed Francis she had obtained such grace from God that she seemed like another Magdalene, always full of tears and devotion for love of God. After the letter was written, as dictated by the holy father, while one brother was looking for another one to deliver the letter, there was a knock at the door. When one of the brothers opened the gate, he saw Lady Jacoba who had hurried from the City to visit blessed Francis. With great joy the brother immediately went to tell blessed Francis that Lady Jacoba had come to visit him with her son and many other people.
– People find their way to heaven more by a path of footprints than by a pack of road maps.
23 – “What shall we do, Father,” he said, “shall we allow her to enter and come in here?” He said this because blessed Francis a long time ago had ordered that in that place no women should enter that cloister out of respect and devotion for that place. Blessed Francis answered him: “This command need not be observed in the case of this lady whose faith and devotion made her come here from so far away.”And in this way, she came in to see blessed Francis, crying many tears in his presence. It was amazing: she brought with her shroud-cloth, that is, gray-colored cloth, for a tunic, and all the other things that were written in the letter. This made the brothers greatly marvel at the holiness of blessed Francis.
– A mistake doesn’t make an error until I refuse to correct it.
24 – “While I was praying,” Lady Jacoba told the brothers, “a voice within me said ‘Go, visit your father, blessed Francis, without delay, and hurry, because if you delay long you will not find him alive. Moreover, take such and such cloth for his tunic, as well as the ingredients for making that particular confection. Take with you also a great quantity of wax and incense.’”
– Every bigot was once a child free of prejudice.
25 – Blessed Francis did not have incense written in the letter, but the Lord Himself willed to inspire that lady as a reward and consolation for her soul. In this way we would more easily recognize the great holiness of that saint, that poor man, whom the heavenly Father wished to honor so greatly in the days he was dying.
– Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.
26 – He inspired the Kings to travel with gifts to honor the child, His beloved Son, in the days of His birth and His poverty.
So too He willed to inspire this noble lady in a faraway region to travel with gifts to honor and venerate the glorious and holy body of His servant the saint, who loved and followed the poverty of His beloved Son with so much fervor and love in life and in death. One day that lady made that confection the holy father wanted to eat.
– Going to Church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
27 – He ate only a little of it, however, since he was near death, and daily his body was becoming weaker on account of his illness. She also had many candles made which would burn around his holy body after his death. From the cloth she had brought for his tunic, the brothers made him the tunic in which he was buried. He himself ordered the brothers to sew pieces of sackcloth on the outside of it as a sign and example of most holy humility and poverty. It happened, as it pleased God, that during the same week that Lady Jacoba arrived, blessed Francis passed to the Lord.
– No Christian escapes a taste of wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.
9 – HE WANTS HIS BROTHERS TO SERVE LEPERS AS A SIGN OF HUMILITY AND POVERTY
28 – From the beginning of his conversion blessed Francis, with God’s help, like a wise man, established himself and his house, that is, the religion, upon a firm rock, the greatest humility and poverty of the Son of God, calling it the religion of “Lesser Brothers.”
– All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.
29 – On the greatest humility: thus at the beginning of the religion, after the brothers grew in number, he wanted the brothers to stay in hospitals of lepers to serve them. At that time whenever nobles and commoners came to the religion, they were told, among other things, that they had to serve the lepers and stay in their houses.
– Christianity is feet on the ground going God’s way.
30 – On the greatest poverty: as stated in the Rule, let the brothers remain as strangers and pilgrims in the houses in which they stay. Let them not seek to have anything under heaven, except holy poverty, by which, in this world, they are nourished by the Lord with bodily food and virtue, and, in the next, will attain a heavenly inheritance. He established himself on the greatest poverty and humility, because, although he was a great prelate in the church of God, he wanted and chose to be lowly not only in the church of God, but also among his brothers.
– Have courage and patience through the sorrows of life. Go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
Thank God ahead of time when praying
For the past we learned from,
For the present we live based on what we learned
For the future in God’s all-providing love and providence
Laudato Si’ my Lord God for being You!
Posted By Teresa Redder, on November 3rd, 2024 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
November 2024
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you his peace!
The Franciscan Family celebrated on September 17th the 8th centenary of the reception of the Sacred Stigmata of the Wounds of the Passion of Jesus by our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi. What happened to him then was an extraordinary moment not only in the life of St. Francis but also for the entire Church. This awesome event of such an intense experience of conformity to the person of Jesus Christ was the first such occurrence recorded in the history of the Church. It was also the first time such an unprecedented event was recognized as such by the secular authorities as well.
This sign of God’s approval for all St. Francis did in obedience to the God’s call, happened only two years before St. Francis died. Quite ill and infirm, what does our Seraphic Father do when he realizes what has happened to him? He asks to be brought to the Portiuncula, birthplace of the Order. While there, rather than focus on his obviously failing health, he begins to compose a hymn of wonder and praise for the gift of God’s Creation.
As the time passed and approaching death was not far away, he asked the friars to add a stanza to his already magnificent Canticle of Brother Sun. He desired to praise God for the last moment in time that accompanies every human being into the beginning of the timelessness of eternity. The poet in Francis personified Death as his “sister” (the word for “death” is the feminine noun ‘morte’ in the Italian language) who would come to gently accompany him on the last stage of his journey to God.
The brothers were saddened at the thought of his death. Francis, however, joyful that he had done what was mine to do (words of St. Francis to the friars), requested the brothers sing these words composed by him as the last stanza of the Canticle: Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Bodily Death, from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they whom She finds doing Your Will. No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, and serve Him with great humility. Even in his last days, not even death could change his boyish wonder, enthusiastic anticipation, and engaging personality. What has remained as one of the poetic literary examples of the Italian language in its beginning is still an object of study and reflection by many.
The reality of our mortality looms over many with a sense of foreboding, caution, and even fear and uncertainty of what to expect. Faith plays a powerful role at this time, but there is so often that “What if?” feeling from whom no one can escape. With faith as the strong and sure guide of a person’s life, mortality and the end of time introduce one to a new and everlasting beginning.
Everlasting beginning?! When the achievement of one’s life is eternity with God, time ceases and Life begins forever with an unending freshness and excitement. There is no time in eternity. There is only God and the image and likeness of God – God’s created human beings – that have achieved the purpose for their own creation. Now they exist in the splendor of timelessness, Who is God! Thus the existence is always fresh, always new, always exciting, always magnificently fulfilling. What more can be said? To speak of eternity it must be lived. Once there, it is no longer necessary to question or understand. We know!
The month of November offers the opportunity to reflect upon the praise of “Sister Death”. This is the month traditionally dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. These are “holy” souls. They are truly saved as they await the fullness of eternal life. Their salvation and Eternal Life are assured. The state in which we believe most souls must pass is a sign of God’s everlasting merciful love. As faulty as human beings are, God’s knows and loves us. If we deny him, He will deny us. But if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2: 13). Purgatory is the term we use to remind us that there is always hope for those who sincerely strive, regardless of the many “falls” in life, to be faithful to God’s love. Acknowledging one’s own responsibility before God is an act that leads to repentance, forgiveness, restoration to grace. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them… they are in peace. (cfr. Wisdom 3: 1-7).
Like Francis, the anticipated end of life challenges all of us to open our hearts and minds and reflect on our personal history, all we lived until that moment. When the eternal future becomes evident as it approaches us, our past life seems to become vividly present. The beginning and course of one’s life is seen now in the perspective of eternity. For St. Francis, the last stanza of the Canticle he composed and had the brothers sing was the sign of an eager anticipation. Praised be you my Lord God! Laudato Si’!
There was not fear or dread of the encounter with the Creator. The Poverello lived the mystery of faith in abandonment to the Father’s Will. The inner excitement of hope soon to be fulfilled enveloped him with gratitude and praise for all that had led him to this moment. What he had lived in faith, believing what he did not see so that he could see what he believed (cfr. John 20: 29) would soon be revealed. He knew that he would experience what no one could ever imagine. The magnificence and wonder that awaited him were the promise of future glory in the God for Whom he longed.
Nevertheless, St. Francis was concerned about others. As he lay praising the goodness and beauty of God, St. Francis realized not everyone experienced the inner peace and serenity he felt. He was inspired to add a warning and hope to his Canticle of praise. So, St. Francis praised Sister Death but also warned all God’s children who jeopardize their eternal joy when they distance themselves from God through sin and fail to seek reconciliation. Till the end, our Seraphic Father lived the response of Mother Clare and Sylvester to a question he had posed years before concerning how to live the call he had received from God: contemplation or ministry to others. The response was simple, direct and the same from each one, though neither Sylvester nor Clare was aware that Francis had asked the same question of the other. God responded through them telling St. Francis that what he received from God was not for him alone. He was to share the gifts of his charism with others. He was faithful till the end.
His end was truly the beginning. It was the “springboard” that launched St. Francis into his beautiful poetic hymn of praise. Awareness of the depths of God’s creating love, loving mercy and forgiveness, and God’s faithfulness to the Covenant with His People redeemed in the Blood of Jesus must have been overwhelming. Respond in gratitude and love to God’s work, and you cannot help but realize we are all called to collaborate with God to restore all things in Christ (Ephesians 1: 10). We are God’s “backup plan” in keeping everything in order, lovingly protecting and caring for what/who we are, the high-point, but creatures nonetheless, of God’s creative love.
How we accept the end, will usually determine how we welcome – or not – the “new beginning”. Remembrances of the early followers tell us of the last days, words and actions of St. Francis of Assisi and how he “celebrated” his swift approach to the “finish line” of life’s journey. The poetic insights the “Troubadour of Christ” sang in the Canticle of Brother Sun praised the magnificence of God’s Love expressed in myriads of tangible ways. How could St. Francis not sing, even in his physical sufferings, at the thought of leaving the mystery of faith to enter the immense reality of the eternal vision of God?
St. Francis begins the Canticle praising God through God’s works of Creation. Praising Sister Bodily Death from whom no one can escape, was the ultimate praise a child of God offers after recognizing the wonder of creation. Death is no longer the dreaded enemy that destroys everything. Death is the long-awaited sister/brother, an intimate member of the family, who gently and lovingly accompanies one home. The accompaniment through his life took St. Francis through his history in time, into the awesome mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, to the eventual fulfillment in mystical union with God forever.
The Capuchin friars, known as “friars of the people”, often take on the “ministry” of Simon of Cyrene. Helping others understand and bear the cross make the words of St. Paul come alive: No one lives alone and no one dies alone (Romans 14: 7-9). The encounter with God forever is hidden in God’s Will. The reality of its approach however, is a constant “friend” that has to be recognized and accepted for its immense spiritual value. Even saints must be encouraged and accompanied at this most solemn moment in life. We are surrounded by God’s love and myriads of God’s holy ones, together with our own Guardian Angel, to lead us in the serenity of our hearts to the great encounter with I AM.
St. Teresa of Avila once jokingly said to God when the cart in which she was traveling overturned and she fell in a creek: If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few. Said in love and honesty, the words of this great saint, called “The Seraphic Mother”, remind us that select souls are called to a witness that most might not be able to accept. Called to be companions on the journey with many, we help others not to “pray the problem away”, unless it is God’s will. We attempt to help others to see the finger of God (Luke 11: 20; Matthew 11: 28) and assist them to surrender in abandonment to the Holy Will that leads them into a serenity that lifts the soul up even as the body seems to be put down.
God is on our side. God is actually offering us all we need to keep our spiritual balance without losing sight of the goal. Assured of the end/beginning, the journey and all its beauty and difficulties begins to make sense. St. Paul reminds us so simply: If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32). God is for us. God waits patiently and quietly for us. He is there for us as we struggle through life’s storms. Surrendering to God does not mean giving up. Spiritual surrender is giving over, not giving up. It is our life-line to the One who is already the victor, and with whom we are called to share the victory.
We have walked through the valley of darkness (Psalm 23) many times. We may have fallen so deep that we feared never being able to rise up again. We sought God through prayer, and felt that God “put us on hold”. We may have read God’s Word to find where we were and where we were heading, and felt confused. We may have spent time with the Blessed Sacrament hoping for an inner voice to direct us, and entered a silence we feared to let continue. We may have prayed to Our Heavenly Mother or some Saint for a “miracle”, and still we felt overwhelmed, perhaps even abandoned. At times such as these, remember the words of St. Paul to the Colossians: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. (Colossians 3:15-16)
The key to that phrase is in the word “let”. If we freely “let” Christ take over, we can give Him our burdens and cares. Christ, who is our peace, will take up the situation for us. Surrendering to Christ produces oneness with Him and enables us to recognize that He is for us, not against us. There was a religious sister who, whenever she was in a difficult situation or would encounter another roadblock or even setback on her way, disappointment in her life, failure in an endeavor she had worked so long on, negative results to numerous health problems, and the like, her response, with a smile, was always “Jesus, take over!” And He did! She never expressed a sadness for herself from what we might consider negatives. Hers was a spirit of trust and gratitude. If only we could be that way!
When we let go and let God, our burdens are His and our cares are in His hands. He makes known what we need to know and guides us in the direction we need to go. God knows what is best and right for us, better than we know ourselves. He knows what it will take to accomplish His good and perfect will in our lives. Let go! Let God do what is best and right. The outcome will be beyond your best imagining.
The choice to surrender is an intentional one. It’s the deliberate act of releasing our lives, hearts, and circumstances to God and asking Him to take over all control. Often what we do however is to use the words of surrendering as a bargaining chip when seeking for God’s help. We suggest an outcome and then offer up a temporary version of agreement to God’s purpose. How often have we thought, “God, get me out of this situation and I will do (fill in the blank)”. But this isn’t surrender, and it certainly isn’t a way to experience the freedom of entering into God’s strength and love. It’s a halfhearted negotiation. Real surrender is allowing God to be God on his terms, not ours.
The most powerful picture of surrender is found in Jesus, hanging on the cross. Jesus hangs between heaven and earth, fixed by nails to the wood and crowned with thorns. His eyes are open as he says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46). Jesus did not give up when he died on the cross. He gave himself over to the will of the Father. Living in surrender is a continual process. Learning to give our cares and concerns over to God is not a one-time decision that settles things once and for all. Every single day, we have to consciously decide to give the outcomes, choices, and people in our lives over to God. These daily “Sister Death” encounters are liberating and elevating in God.
May we never forget that the “yes” of Mary, the highest honor of our race, (cfr. Judith 13) was an acceptance of the impossible. Jesus is the declaration of who God is and what God wants us to know about Him and His great love for us. He is the God of surprises. The Eucharist is His Divine Presence that waits for us so He can strengthen our relationship with Him at Mass, at Adoration, and also at our daily tasks when we remember the Lord who consumes us as we consume Him.
Sister Death of the Canticle reminds us that we must live a constant life of reflection, repentance, renewal. The best way to experience peace and serenity in the various storms of life is to surrender our expectations. Take a second look at them. Willingly lay them down before the Lord. Make it a deliberate act of surrender. The end truly helps us see the beauty and value of all that has gone before us. Be restored and reformed by the grace of the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and Eucharist. Then we will understand how the end brings us to the beginning that helps us see the past in truth and all its true beauty, and the future in the fullness of God and God’s Provident Love. With God always expect a ride you will never forget, one that will give you more than you could ever have hoped for or imagined.
We end our reflection together, with the reminder not to forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory during November, the month especially dedicated to them. May we remember them every day of our lives. A sobering thought can help: they were where we are; we will be where they are – God’s mercy and will permitting. They live in the certainty of glory because they were willing to let go and let God take over. Their end was truly their hope-filled anticipation of the true beginning in God’s Eternal Love.
May God bless you; may Our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and our Holy Mother St. Clare of Assisi watch over each one of us, their Spiritual Children, and our loved ones, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Happy Thanksgiving
Thank God for being God and for creating you.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 9th, 2024 St. Katharine 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 2024
During the centenary of the Canticle of the Creatures it could be a brief meditative opportunity for us to recite the Canticle some time each day as an act of Thanksgiving and Praise for the Gift of Life.
Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon of St. Francis of Assisi
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, all honor and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.
Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,
Mother Earth
who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You
and bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.
(excerpts taken from the Three Companions and the sayings from various sources)
HOW HE DID NOT WANT TO EXTINGUISH A FIRE, OR ALLOW IT TO BE EXTINGUISHED, THAT WAS BURNING HIS BREECHES
1 – Among all the lesser and inanimate creatures, he loved fire with singular affection because of its beauty and usefulness. That is why he never wanted to impede its function. – Time never takes time off.
2 – Once when he was sitting close to a fire, without being aware of it, his linen pants or breeches next to the knee caught fire. – Time is the deposit each one has in the bank of God and no one knows the balance.
3 – Although he felt the heat of the fire, he did not want to extinguish it. His companion, however, seeing that the fire was burning his pants, ran to him, wanting to put out the fire. – It is magnificent to grow old, if one keeps young.
4 – Blessed Francis prohibited him saying: “No, dearest brother, do not hurt Brother Fire.” And thus, in no way did he want him to extinguish it. – We live in deeds not years.
5 – So the brother quickly ran to the brother who was his guardian, and brought him to blessed Francis. At once, contrary to the will of blessed Francis, he began to extinguish the fire.
– We live in thoughts not breaths.
6 – Because of this, however urgent the need, he never wanted to extinguish a fire, a lamp, or a candle, moved as he was with such piety for it.
– God wants the heart.
7 – He also did not want a brother to throw fire or smoldering wood from one place to another, as is usually done, but wanted him simply to place it on the ground, out of reverence for Him who created it.
– A person of integrity, sincerity, and good nature can never be concealed.
HOW HE DID NOT WANT TO USE A PELT BECAUSE HE DID NOT ALLOW IT TO BE BURNED BY FIRE
8 – While he was keeping a lent on Mount La Verna, his companion built a fire at mealtime one day in the cell where he ate.
– My worth to God in public is what I am in private.
9 – Once the fire was lit, he went for blessed Francis to another cell where he usually prayed, carrying with him a missal in order to read to him the Gospel of the day.
– Nothing is of any worth is it causes one to break one’s word or lose their self-respect.
10 – Whenever he was unable to hear Mass, he always wanted to hear the Gospel that was read on that day, before he would eat.
– The measure of one’s true character is what they would do if they were never found out.
11 – When blessed Francis came to eat in the cell where the fire was lit, the flames had already reached the roof of the cell and were burning it.
– The freedom to communicate for a Christian requires integrity and love.
12 – His companion tried his best to extinguish the fire but could not do it by himself. But blessed Francis did not want to help him: he took the hide that he used to cover himself at night, and went into the forest with it.
– Power is never good unless the person who has it is good.
13 – The brothers of the place, who stayed some distance from this cell, seeing that the cell was burning, immediately came and extinguished the fire.
– A good name is better than wealth.
14 – Afterwards, blessed Francis returned to eat. After the meal, he said to his companion: “From now on, I don’t want this hide over me since, because of my avarice, I did not want Brother Fire to consume it.”
– Patience can attain all things.
THE EXCEPTIONAL LOVE HE HAD FOR WATER, STONES, WOOD AND FLOWERS
15 – Next to fire he had a singular love for water through which holy penance and tribulation is symbolized and by which the filth of the soul is washed clean and because of which the first cleansing of the soul takes place through the waters of Baptism.
– By perseverance the snail reached the ark.
16 – Because of this, when he washed his hands, he chose a place where the water that fell to the ground would not be trampled underfoot.
– Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.
17 – Whenever he had to walk over rocks, he would walk with great fear and reverence out of love for Him who is called “the rock.” Whenever he recited the verse of the psalm, “You have set me high upon the rock,” he would say, out of great reverence and devotion: “You have set me high at the foot of the rock.”
– Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
18 – He also told the brother who cut and prepared the wood for the fire never to cut down the whole tree, but to cut the tree in such a way that one part always remained intact out of love for Him Who willed to accomplish our salvation on the wood of the cross.
– The Word of God became man that you also may learn from a man how a man can become a God.
19 – In the same way he used to tell the brother who took care of the garden not to cultivate all the ground in the garden for vegetables, but to leave a piece of ground that would produce wild plants.
– Real unselfishness consists in sharing the interests of others.
20 – Thus, in their season, they would produce “Brother Flowers” out of love of Him Who is called “the flower of the field” and “the lily of the valley.”
– They that deny themselves for Christ shall enjoy themselves in Christ.
21 – Moreover, he used to tell the brother gardener that he should always make a beautiful flower bed in some part of the garden, planting and cultivating every variety of fragrant plants and those producing beautiful flowers.
– The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of oneself to others.
22 – Thus, in their time they would invite all who saw those herbs and those flowers to the praise of God.
– You give little when you give of your possessions.
23 – For every creature says and exclaims: “God made me for you, O mortal!” We who were with him saw him rejoice so much, inwardly and outwardly, in all creatures, that touching and looking at them, his spirit seemed no longer on earth but in heaven.
– You truly give when you give of yourself.
24 – And because of the many consolations he had and continued to have in creatures, shortly before his death, he composed the Praises of the Lord in His creatures to move the hearts of his listeners to the praise of God, and so that in His creatures the Lord might be praised by everyone.
– The first creature of God was the light of sense, the last was the light of reason.
HOW HE PRAISED THE SUN AND FIRE OVER OTHER CREATURES
25 – More than all creatures lacking reason, he most affectionately loved the sun and fire.
– When you walk towards the light, the shadow of your burden falls behind you.
26 – For he used to say: “At dawn, when the sun rises, everyone should praise God, who created it for our use, because through it our eyes are lighted by day.
– People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.
27 – And in the evening, when it becomes night, everyone should praise God for another creature, Brother Fire through whom the eyes are lighted at night.
– If we behaved like true Christians, there would be no pagans.
28 – For we are all almost blind, and the Lord lights up our eyes through these two brothers of ours. And, therefore, we should always give special praise to the glorious Creator for these and for His other creatures which we use every day.”
– God did not make us perfect but pilgrims searching after perfection.
29 – He always did this until the day of his death. Indeed, when his illness grew more serious, he himself began to sing the Praises of the Lord that he had composed about creatures, and afterwards had his companions sing it, so that in reflecting on the praise of the Lord, he could forget the sharpness of his pains and illnesses.
– To possess all, desire to possess nothing.
30 – And because he considered and said that the sun is more beautiful than other creatures, and could more easily be compared to God, especially since, in Scripture, the Lord Himself is called the sun of justice;
– Read the Bible to know what people ought to do and the newspaper to know what they are doing.
31 – he therefore called those Praises he composed for creatures when the Lord had assured him of His kingdom the “Canticle of Brother Sun.”
– Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we think up to hide them.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 9th, 2024 St. Katharine 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 2024
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you His peace!
On September 17th of this year the entire Franciscan Order celebrated the 800th anniversary of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi receiving the Stigmata of the Passion of Jesus visibly present on his body. This painful gift, unexpected answer in this form, to a prayer St. Francis prayed for many years, marked him with the visible and painful wounds of the Passion of Jesus. The reception of the Stigmata is not only the third of the first three centenaries, but also, and more so, the “pivotal” experience of his journey into God. What follows in our celebrations for two more years are the Canticle of the Creatures (1225) and the Transitus (Death) of St. Francis (1226).
There seems to be a progression among these celebrations. From Confirmation of the Rule of the Gospel Life of the Franciscan (1223), to the visible representation of the Birth of Jesus at Greccio. The spiritual journey begins at the confirmation of a Life to be lived (Gospel Life), based on the Condescension of Compassion (term used by St. Leo the Great concerning the Incarnation of the Divine Word) of God. The Condescension presents visibly the Good News Incarnate (the Divine Word) born at Bethlehem, Whose presence in time St. Francis re-enacted in tangible form at Greccio. This journey others shared with St. Francis leads to his Spiritual and Physical Conformity to Jesus in the reception of the Stigmata. St. Francis reached the visible heights of conformity to Jesus at La Verna in 1224. As we are told by the Franciscan Sources: What was impressed on his heart at San Damiano was imprinted on his body at La Verna. At La Verna St. Francis received, as it were, the “Seal of Approval” of God for his response to the call at San Damiano and faithfulness to his response.
Physically exhausted and seriously ill, bearing the beauty and the burden of the Stigmata of Jesus, St. Francis “explodes” into a hymn of Joy and Praise in the Canticle of the Creatures (1225). Unable to “do”, St. Francis can truly “be” the Troubadour of the Great King. Filled with the joy of fulfillment, the Poverello sings the Praises of Creation in and of a God Who becomes one with us that we might share the fullness of God’s life for eternity. The Canticle Year (2025) celebrates the Franciscan awareness of the Goodness of God and our call to make the whole world aware of the ever–present Goodness of the God of Creation. All the earth and what is in and around and beyond it, called into existence by God, praise and glorify God each according to their own nature.
Inanimate creatures, living things, and human beings form a part of this Hymn of Praise. All have by nature of their being the ability to manifest a joy for being present by the Creator’s Will. Human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, are uniquely mentioned for their ability to be like God in offering the mercy of forgiveness in imitation of God’s merciful love, and the ability to live life fully in view of the fullness of life that we seek in God’s grace. The Canticle of the Creatures celebrates Francis’ immersion into the dignity of life and being. All share in praising the Creator in time until the promise of the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1) is fulfilled.
The Canticle of the Creatures celebrates:
-the wonder and beauty of every created being that gives glory to God by just being who/what it is,
-the interaction of all creation that complements the uniqueness of the other,
-the magnificent attributes each shares in its own way with the God Who created everything, directly or indirectly,
-Mary, Mother of Creation, Who allowed God to enter human history as a human being, thus allowing Mary to become Mother God’s children,
-children of God in harmony with creation disarming their hearts to one another, especially to those who seek or need pardon,
-the soul who recognizes the awesomeness of God and the responsibility to live in grace avoiding what leads away from God, our Creator,
-the soul’s immersion into the beauty and wonder of God through the human experience and who accepts the invitation of “Sister Death” to enter the fullness of life in the New Heaven and New Earth promised the faithful children of God.
Words of praise are rather simple. Living sincerely what our “Praises” convey and celebrate can often be a struggle. We desire but often struggle to be what God wills for our good. We trip or fall along the way. We should be at peace. The joy and even serenity is in the hope-filled struggle for the goal.
The Symphony of Life began with the Father’s Let there be (Genesis 1:3). The Symphony of Redemption at one point sounded a note that soured the great symphony, the Fall of Adam and Eve, Original Sin. They distorted the sound of God’s Masterpiece of Creation. Then, millennia later, through Mary’s “yes”, that sour note became the first note of a new symphony. The Letter to the Hebrews states: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5: 21). Jesus is the note of the Fall that becomes the first harmonious note of the Symphony of Redemption that sets the tone and direction for all that follows. Jesus is the beginning without end, the Alpha and Omega, of the glorious praise of re-creation in grace through His Death and Resurrection. Is there any wonder that St. Francis of Assisi, even as he prepared for Sister Death, could sing in anticipation of the glory that awaited him? Remember his saying: So great is the good I expect that all pain is to me a delight.
From the lens of God’s grace, our Seraphic Father sang the glories of a world in harmony with God. He was conformed now to the Christ he loved and sought to emulate. He went even further by imitating Jesus in a manner he would never have presumed to achieve. Intimacy with God brings the soul to express a holiness that goes beyond the mere external. He desired that his brothers and sisters and all who sought his counsel:
-seek peace in understanding rather than tranquility through aggression, war, destruction, death,
-justice in mercy rather than retribution in violent reprisal,
-availability to all rather than judgmental distancing from those who do not share the same ideas and values as we,
-serenity in life even through the turbulence of occurrences where God’s providence reigns through faith,
-joy of being and great anticipation for the moment of the eternal encounter.
Two years before his death, already very sick and suffering especially from his eyes, (St. Francis ) was living in a cell made of mats near San Damiano. … During his stay … blessed Francis could not bear the light of the sun during the day or the light of the fire at night. He constantly remained in darkness in his cell … One night, as he was thinking of all the tribulations he was enduring, he felt sorry for himself and prayed interiorly: ‘ Lord help me in my infirmities so that I may have the strength to bear them patiently”… (A voice spoke to him and said): …be glad and joyful in the midst of your infirmities and tribulations; as of now, live in peace as if you were already sharing my kingdom”… The next morning on rising, he said to his companions: … I should be full of joy in my infirmities and tribulations, seek my consolations in the Lord, and give thanks to God the Father, to His Only Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit … Therefore, for His glory, for my consolation, and the edification of my neighbor, I wish to compose a new “Praises of the Lord,” for His creatures … He called these “Praises of the Lord” which opened with the words: “Most high all-powerful, and good Lord, the “Canticle of the Sun”… He often intoned this canticle and had his companions take it up; in that way he forgot the intensity of his sufferings and pains by considering the glory of the Lord. He did this until the day of his death. (Legend of Perugia, 42-43)
The Poverello of Assisi was one of the wealthiest persons to ever live. His wealth went far beyond the treasures that human beings consider desirable. The power he wielded over thousands of his day and millions over the centuries make him also one of the most influential and effective individuals to ever live.
-He was simple, surely not what the authoritative and commanding seek.
-He was poorly dressed, surely not what attracts the people of this world.
-He was not much to look at, surely not a figure that imposed himself by physical stature.
-He had a basic education for his times, surely not an ‘intellectual giant’ to dialogue with the ‘learned’ and prominent of his day.
-He had no bands of armed guards and militant forces, surely not what the dominant forces sought out.
What he had was a ‘treasure’ that far surpasses all others: He was a man in love with God, and God’s presence in all creation. He was passionately in love with life. His spirit was contagious. Many originally considered him out of his mind, most believed him to be eccentric, but all eventually recognized the uniqueness of a soul in love with God, life, and all people. Our Seraphic Father, St. Francis of Assisi, is a constant reminder and image of a life in love with Life.
In the beginning … God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good. (Genesis 1: 1-30) The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) Life is the first gift of God’s Eternal Love. Goodness, of its very nature, cannot be contained. Goodness overflows its own limits and reaches out in all directions. Eternal Goodness offers the greatest gift of Himself: the gift of being. During a lifetime conditioned and limited by time, we who share the ‘breath of God’, His Holy Spirit, enter a journey that leads us from living in the mystery on earth to living its fulfillment in eternity. In Christ Jesus we recognize Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). What seemingly begins as a merely natural process is now transformed into a ‘Journey of Faith’ that places us in a relationship with our Creator and eternal Life-giving Father, Who continues to ‘breathe’ His Holy Spirit into our hearts, because of the Redemptive Life-Death-Resurrection of His Incarnate Son, Jesus, Who made the Father ‘real’ for us by showing us the merciful and loving Face of God.
Men and women are on a journey of discovery which is humanly unstoppable – a search for the truth and a search for a person to whom they might entrust themselves. Christian faith comes to meet them, offering the concrete possibility of reaching the goal which they seek. (Pope John Paul II – Relationship Between Faith and Reason, Encyclical of September 14, 1998). Life is that period of time we have been allotted to know, love, and serve our God both in Himself and in each other. We follow Jesus Who invites us to walk this journey of faith as ‘pilgrims and strangers’.
St. Francis of Assisi’s ‘Canticle of the Creatures’ is his prayer of praise to God Who can be seen in all creation, and at every moment of life’s journey. Many ‘cradle Catholics’ often take their Christianity too much for granted. There is a tendency to forget that external religious practices, to be authentic, must be an expression of the greater gift of Faith infused at Baptism and to which they are called to be convinced and committed.
Faith is not a list of dogmas to believe, but a Person to accept and follow. Faith, strengthened through Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church, accompanies and encourages life in the midst of a world that hears the words of Jesus but often closes its heart to the message that must be personally accepted and lived to be effective and fruitful. Although we are all called to be saved, there is no such thing as ‘global salvation’. Jesus died for all humanity and His redemption is once-for-all; it is ‘global’ in that sense. However, it is the personal responsibility of each individual to cooperate with the graces he/she receives from the Redemptive Sacrificial Blood of Jesus poured out for us all, if that person hopes to be ‘saved’ and share in Eternal Life.
St. Francis’ desire to live the Gospel ‘without gloss’ is his way of reminding us that Jesus’ words must be taken to heart and lived. Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. (James 2: 17-18) Our journey of faith begins in the accounts of the Old Testament Scriptures with the call of Abraham, when he responded in faith to God’s urging to leave Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham may not have completely understood his unique relationship with God and the role he was called to fulfill, nonetheless he had all the necessary elements for faith. He promptly responded ‘yes’ to God’s call, a divine call that more often than not turned Abraham’s own plans upside down. Faith reaches its fulfillment in the New Testament in the Son of God Who manifested Himself and proclaimed the kingdom of God. This proclamation of God’s will and invitation to believe requires the same response as that of Abraham, our ‘Father in Faith’.
Faith becomes victory over the isolation we create in our lives when we close ourselves to the ‘Other’. Faith helps us to gratefully accept life as a marvelous experience. Filled with challenges that may try us to the limit of our strength, life is supported, nourished, and ennobled by a faith that trusts in an ever-loving and all-providing God. From the very beginning of our existence, God calls each one of us from the nothingness of ‘not being’ to an existence that bursts into time and is ultimately transformed into the immortal gift of unending Life for all. Isn’t the Canticle of Creatures an act of joy-filled faith in an unseen presence pervading everything, everyone, everywhere? Faith flourishing in the joy of the unseen seen in the depths of the heart energizes life’s journey and opens the spiritually blinded eyes to the brightness of an eternal goodness that envelopes all willing to see.
One of the greatest Gospel witnesses we can offer the family of St. Francis of Assisi flows from living in the Presence of God. Convinced of this, tranquility and peace overtake us because God is in control. Together we focus on the Lord Who calls us to share Life in our Eternal Homeland after having sought to Restore all things in Christ (Ephesians 1: 10). Life’s journey for all Christians, even more for Franciscans, should be a “Canticle of Praise” to the Lord for every facet of life. Each step we take is a step forward surrendering ourselves unconditionally to the ever-loving providence of God, Who never leaves His children unaided.
Faith and life walk hand-in-hand. It is our Faith that strengthens our spirit and nourishes our life. Jesus reminds us: It is the spirit that gives life … The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63) When we allow the Spirit of Faith to fill our minds and hearts, when we accept the words of Jesus in truth, when we live today where God and we encounter one another, we live in hope, free from fear, trusting in divine providence that clears all intimidating imaginings from our minds and hearts. Peace, joy, and serenity become a reality. And, they become ‘contagious’ for those whom we encounter.
Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi live every moment of life fully! The spirit of prayer that enveloped our Seraphic Father who ‘became prayer’ encourages us to pass through whatever crucible of life we encounter. Thus we become one with the Suffering Servant Who became One with us. Let us be grateful to God for the life He has called us to live, and make our prayer You are my God…I trust in You…be my refuge…I fear nothing…(for I seek to be in You as You are within me).
May God bless you; my Our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and our holy Mother St. Clare, look upon each one of us, and our loved ones, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 4th, 2024 Joyful Gospel Living
“All have one origin.”
While driving home last week, I passed the historic John Woolman house on Branch Street in Mount Holly, NJ (Burlington County), where a large sign on their picket fence announced that the first Sunday of October was World Quaker Day. Knowing the history of the Quakers in our town and the annual celebration of this event, I checked the internet to see what the 2024 theme was. For their global celebration, the Society of Friends had chosen “Living the Spirit of Ubuntu.” The Zulu word “Ubuntu” declares “I am one because we are one.”
In their weaving document (tapestry) for the celebration, the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) wrote, “Ubuntu is about unity in our diversity. Our diversity is what makes us rich and vibrant: we are all equal and beloved in Christ Jesus.” This keen focus on community was a compelling call to work for justice, finding peace through listening to the stories of others and healing for past injustices.
In his letter to the Hebrews on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Paul describes the humility of Jesus in taking our human nature, with His willingness to suffer, so that we might learn the way of salvation: “He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, He is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers’ [and ‘sisters’].” On this first Sunday of October, we Catholics can also appreciate the meaning of “Ubuntu” with our Quaker friends, because we all share one origin in God, who made us in the Divine image and loves us unconditionally. This openness to others is the very work of the Holy Spirit in making us one.
Ordinarily, the Church would joyfully celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. Sadly, though, this is the second year that this feast day is marred by the ongoing violence in the Holy Land where the Blessed Mother was born and gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ. The violence began with an unsuspecting terror attack on Jewish villages that led to death, destruction, and kidnapping of hostages. The war then continued to escalate, as well as in other parts of the world where people long to live “ubuntu.”
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a Franciscan friar who has ministered in the Holy Land for many years. In his September 26th letter to the faithful of his diocese, the Patriarch made this appeal for unified prayer, knowing that faithful Christians in Gaza and the West Bank have suffered greatly during the difficult months of war and deprivation:
“We too have a duty to commit ourselves to peace, first by preserving our hearts from all feelings of hatred, and instead cherishing the desire for good for everyone. By committing ourselves, each in our own community contexts and in the forms we can, we should support those in need, help those who are personally invested to alleviate the suffering caused by this war, and promote every action of peace, reconciliation, and encounter. Yet we also need to pray, to bring our pain and our desire for peace to God. We need to convert, to do penance, and to implore forgiveness. Therefore, I invite you to a day of prayer, fasting, and penance on October 7th, a date that has become symbolic of the drama that we are experiencing.”
In our daily prayers, we should strive to practice the “Little Way” of St. Théresè of Lisieux, who taught us to be childlike in our relationship with God. Through humility, we open ourselves to trust more fully in God and to allow His grace to penetrate our innermost being. As the Patriarch said so well, we do need to be converted from our self-centered focus and to imagine what God has planned for those who love Him. Just imagine the power of this prayer when people of good will throughout the world put their hearts, minds, and spirits behind the words…
Prayer for peace
Lord our God, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all mankind,
Who in the cross of Your Son and through the gift of His own life,
at great cost You wished to destroy the wall of enmity and hostility
that separates peoples and makes us enemies:
Send into our hearts the gift of the Holy Spirit,
that He may purify us from every feeling of violence, hatred and revenge,
enlighten us to understand the irrepressible dignity of every human person,
and inflame us to the point of consumption for a peaceful and reconciled world
in truth and justice, in love and freedom.
Almighty and eternal God,
in Your hands are the hopes of all and the rights of every people:
Assist with Your wisdom those who govern us, so that, with Your help,
they will become sensitive to the sufferings of the poor
and of those who suffer the consequences of violence and war;
may they promote the common good
and lasting peace in our region and throughout the earth.
Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope,
obtain the gift of peace for the Holy Land
that gave birth to you and for the whole world. Amen.
During this October month of the Holy Rosary, let us take time to pray for all those throughout the world who are suffering because of unjust wars, indifference, fear-filled evacuations for their safety, gross human indignities, and senseless loss of loved ones:
“May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives!”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
October 6, 2024
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 9th, 2024 Blessings of peace and all good!
On June 9, 2024, Jennifer Drees, OFS (Regional Formation Director) presided at the Chapter of Elections for Blessed Sacrament Fraternity in Whiting, NJ. The ecclesial witness was Br. Noel Danielewicz, OFM Conv, the delegate for Fr. Francis Sariego, OFM Cap.
With great joy, we announce the next Executive Council for this fraternity for the next three years:
Minister |
Rose Viragh, OFS |
Returning |
Vice-Minister |
Tiffany Menendez, OFS |
Returning |
Secretary |
Mira Welnowska, OFS |
Returning |
Treasurer |
Margaret Garvin, OFS |
Returning |
Formation Director |
Maureen Fantauzzo, OFS |
Returning |
Councilor-at-Large |
Theresa Langan, OFS |
Newly Elected |
Councilor-at-Large |
Frank Wagner, OFS |
Newly Elected |
Left to right: Br. Noel Danielewicz, OFM Conv (Ecclesial Witness); Tiffany Menendez, OFS (Vice-Minister); Margaret Garvin, OFS (Treasurer); Rose Viragh, OFS (Minister); Theresa Langan, OFS (Councilor-at-Large); Mira Welnowska, OFS (Secretary); Frank Wagner, OFS (Councilor-at-Large); Maureen Fantauzzo, OFS (Formation Director); and Jennifer Drees, OFS (SKD Regional Formation Director and Election Presider)
May God bless these willing and dedicated servant leaders with the Holy Spirit’s gifts to serve their fraternity and the Secular Franciscan Order with great courage and perseverance! We thank the five members of this fraternity who have returned to Council to serve their brothers and sisters, and we welcome the two new councilors-at-large into their new responsibilities of animating and guiding their fraternity with devotion to the holy Gospel!
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 7th, 2024 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
June 2024
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you His peace!
While Francis was still staying in (the palace of the Bishop), the most holy father was already assured of his imminent death, both by the Holy Spirit and the prognosis of the doctors. He felt himself growing steadily worse and his physical strength was waning. He had himself carried on a litter to Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, so that there the life of his body would come to an end where he had begun to experience the light and life of his soul. When those who were carrying him arrived at the hospital halfway between Assisi and Saint Mary, he asked those carrying the litter to place it on the ground. Since he could hardly see because of the serious and prolonged eye disease, he had the litter turned so that he would face the city of Assisi. Raising himself up slightly on the litter, he blessed the city.
“Lord, just as, at an earlier time, this ancient city was, I believe, the place and abode of wicked and evil men, now I realize that, because of Your abundant mercy and in Your own time, You have singularly shown an abundance of Your mercies to it. Solely on account of your goodness, you have chosen it for Yourself so that it may become the place and abode of those who, in truth, acknowledge You, give glory to Your name, exude the fragrance of a holy life, of the truest doctrine, of a good reputation, and of evangelical perfection to the whole Christian people. I ask you, therefore, Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies, not to consider our ingratitude. Be mindful of Your most abundant piety which You have shown to it, that it always be an abode for those who truly acknowledge You, and glorify Your name blessed and most glorious forever and ever. Amen.” (Mirror of Perfection, #124)
Francis prays these heartfelt words as he faces his birthplace knowing that he will never see it again on earth. Francis’ humanity was always, and still is, a striking sign of his holiness. You are who you are before God and nothing more (words of St. Francis). We could add, “and nothing less than a child of God redeemed in the Blood of Jesus”. He acknowledges that the ancient city was the place of wicked and evil (M.P.#124) but that now You has shown an abundance of Your mercies to it (M.P.#124).
The beauty of our Franciscan charism (spirit) is very accessible and unattainable. It is so much a part of being human that it is called “incarnational”. We could say “earthy” or “human”. Unfortunately, both words would be understood incorrectly and would diminish the more profound and positive meaning. The word “incarnational” is rooted in the reality of the body God created at the beginning of time and that God saw as very good (Genesis 1) and saw fit to become in the fullness of time (cfr. Galatians 4:4). God creates all things to share in His eternal goodness and limitless being. Though infinitely less than God, we participate, body and soul, in His Spirit of Life that breathed all things into existence (cf. Genesis, 1:1). Thus, it follows that we are created inherently good, though prone to decisions that lead into what lacks goodness and thus leads into sin.
At that time, a certain priest of the city of Assisi, Sylvester by name, a man of honorable life, received of the Lord a vision not to be passed over in silence. In his finite judgment, he had looked askance at the manner of life of Francis and his Brethren, he was visited,—lest he should be imperiled by his rash verdict,—by the regard of the heavenly grace. For in a dream he beheld the whole city of Assisi beset by a great dragon, whose huge bulk seemed to threaten all the countryside with destruction. Then he saw a Cross of gold proceeding out of the mouth of Francis, the top whereof touched heaven, and its arms outstretched at the side seemed to reach unto the ends of the world, and at its glittering aspect that foul and loathly dragon was utterly put to flight. When this had been shown three times to him, he deemed it a divine portent, and related it in order unto the man of God and his Brethren; and no long time thereafter he left the world, and clave so constantly unto the footsteps of Christ as that his life in the Order rendered true the vision that he had received while yet in the world. (Legenda Major, chapter 3, par. 5, St .Bonaventure)
Evil is a reality that affects all creation. History and our lives are surrounded by the effects of evil every day, when more when less. Challenges can be good or bad. Why and how we respond or react usually determines the personal responsibility for the good or evil we choose. Though created in God’s goodness yet we are prone to sinful decisions as inheritors of Original Sin, Grace is compromised and often we distance ourselves spiritually from God by our sins. The struggle between good and evil is an ongoing reality. Original Sin brings about the disharmony of spirit and the sinful decisions we make that cry out for God’s forgiveness. The spiritual warfare being waged has been waged from the beginning of time. The reality of the battle is similar to the image brother Sylvester had during the life of our Seraphic Father. The image of the cross and the response made to its proclamation from the mouth of the Poverello, determine in the vision, what happens to the people of the city of Assisi.
Sylvester was misled by his own bias. He already made his own conclusions about Francis without knowing the person of St. Francis well. Sylvester was a good man but who allowed his biases to control his judgement. This time the bias aimed at Francis. A basic thought of Sylvester could have been: “Why would a well-to-do young man, who had the world at his fingertips, live so foolishly?” Or there was also the dramatic moment most Assisians remembered when Francis stripped off all his clothes and laid them at the feet of his father declaring: Before I called you ‘father,’ but now I only have one Father who is in heaven. These were other moments as well that left indelible memories on the hearts and minds of the people.
In saying he would no longer call Pietro Bernadone his “father” on earth, Francis entered into solidarity with all the children of the One who call God Our Father Who are in heaven (Matthew 6: 9-13; Luke 11: 2-4). His example and words became an invitation to some. Many, like Sylvester, thought he was an arrogant adolescent “grandstanding”. Through the vision, Sylvester began to see more clearly the simplicity, poverty, deep relationship with Christ Crucified of Francis. The conformity of Francis to Christ was reaching the moment when it is consummated (John 19: 3). Sylvester too, like many others, was soon won-over to Francis.
In Sylvester’s vision the dragon is huge, terrifying, and encircles the city of Assisi. The dragon of the dream/vision is satan. Evil is always huge, even when one makes it seem small and insignificant “in order to rationalize it away”. Evil does not discriminate. Evil seeks anyone and everyone it can seduce and possess. This root of eternal darkness is intent on seducing others: For the people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light (Luke 16: 8). The people who struggle every day to be good often do not even recognize the “little things” that slowly creep in and overwhelm the unsuspecting. In the vision the dragon is surrounding Assisi, ready to devour it. Remember the words of St. Peter to the Churches: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5: 8).
Although the dragon encircles the city, ready to devour Assisi, it seems impeded from being able to do so. Evil cannot overwhelm and overcome us unless we surrender and forget that: you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. (1 John 4:4). The image of Assisi’s foremost citizen, Francis, stands his ground. From his mouth emanates a golden Cross. The vertical beam comes from his mouth and reaches to the heavens – greater the one within the depths rising to the heavens. The horizontal beam of the cross envelopes the city. The dragon is incapable of hurting the city or its inhabitants in any way. It eventually leaves Assisi and its people in peace. Nevertheless the threat is always there when we let our guard down.
The Word of God directs its strength and power from the heart of Francis in faith, through the mouth of the Poverello in an active proclamation of faith in the grace of the Crucified. Thus, the people strengthened and instructed by God’s Word in the simplicity of Francis’ and his brothers’ manner of evangelizing overcome the lurking evil. What emanates from Francis’ mouth is the Word that comes from the depths of his heart. Francis has received, believed and is convinced of the saving power of the Word Incarnate and the Word spoken. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. (Matthew 7: 7). The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14: 26). Don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. (Matthew 10: 19)
The golden virtue of prayer and intimacy with God reaches from earth to heaven. The golden beam of charity and fraternal love stretches its golden beams encircling all God’s children. The simplicity of the Word Francis preached with his humility and personal way of life, and the encouraging and empowering embrace the brothers lived as “universal brothers” to everyone, encouraged the people and lessened the insidiousness of satan and his power over them. The Cross of Christ and His words are the strength of our faith, conviction and relationship with God through Jesus in the Spirit. Openness to any and all people in whom we see Christ hidden and whom they see hidden in us, will always be a strength and sure sign of victory over “the dragon that encircles the city” of our heart. We can never loosen our guard. The opponent is always stronger than we when we stand alone. The Lord must always be our Center. We cannot afford to distance ourselves from the Lord ever.
When this vision was related to him, the man of God was not puffed up with the glorying of men, but recognizing the goodness of God in the favors shown him, he was more keenly incited to repel the craft of the ancient enemy, and to preach the glory of the Cross of Christ. And, while in a certain lonely place Francis was bitterly reflecting on the remembrance of past years. The joy of the Holy Spirit came upon him, and he was assured of the full remission of all his offences. Then, carried out of himself, and wholly wrapped into a marvelous light, the horizons of his mind were enlarged, and he clearly beheld the future story of himself and of his sons. Returning after this to the Brethren, he said Be consoled my dearest, and rejoice in the Lord, and be not sad for that ye be few in number, nor let my simplicity nor your own make you fear, for the Lord has verily shown me that God will cause us to wax into a great host, and will enlarge us in manifold wise with the grace of His blessing. (Legenda Major, chpt.3, St. Bonaventure)
Indeed, we are also part of this vision of Sylvester. Here we are, called to play our part in the Theater of Redemption. And there’s always the “disruptor” or “heckler” – that ominous figure of the evil one – somewhere trying to foul us up and ruin the story. We can’t simply stand by and let things happen. With God’s grace we can control the outcome. The incident Sylvester saw in vision of St. Francis reminds us of the power of the Word and the strength of a willingness to open ourselves to others. Bear in mind that the profound connection between prayer and our times does not consist in a sterile condemnation of evil or regretting nostalgically a past that no longer exists. Whether by vow or promise, recognizing our common origin as children of God strengthens our perspective of life. Today more than ever, our charism is to pray and become a living Gospel by “living Christ”. We find power in Jesus the Word and His words. The Eucharist is His Word sacramentally enfleshed in us. Thus it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2: 20) who confronts, confounds and conquers the enemy. The meeting point between hearing the Word and saving the world is our mission; it is the mission of the Church. We are the living stones who are the Church. We are the living Mystical Body of Christ. He continues to keep the evil one in His sites, and to face him empowering us with the strength of truth, mercy and love. We can say where is your sting? where is your victory? But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15: 55-57)
May this month dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus keep us rooted in His Tremendous Love. May the Cross truly be our boast in the Lord and a sign of our victory over the “dragon who waits”. Through His Word that directs us and His Eucharist Who strengthens us daily, may we be conformed ever more deeply to Christ.
May God bless us all; Our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect us; and our beloved Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi watch over us with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 7th, 2024 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
June 2024
O loving one
bear in mind your poor children for whom, without you, their one and only consolation,
there is little comfort… they still .. tearfully cry out to you:
O father,
place before Jesus Christ, son of the Most High Father, His sacred stigmata;
and show Him the signs of the cross on your hands, feet, and side,
that He may mercifully bare His own wounds to the Father,
and because of this the Father will ever show us in our anguish His tenderness.
Amen.
Prayer to St. Francis from the End of the Second Book of the Life of St. Francis by Bl.Thomas of Celano
Random quotes from various sources
OF THE FIFTH AND LAST CONSIDERATION OF THE MOST HOLY STIGMATA
(taken from the Little Flowers of St. Francis)
1 – The fifth and last consideration regards certain visions and revelations and miracles God made known after the death of St. Francis, in confirmation of his most holy Stigmata, and for a declaration of the day and the hour when Christ gave them unto him. Concerning this, in the year of our Lord 1282 on the . . . day of the month of October, Friar Philip, Minister of Tuscany, at the commandment of Friar John Buonagrazia, Minister-General, in the name of holy obedience, asked Friar Matthew of Castiglione Aretino, a man of great devotion and sanctity, to tell what he knew concerning the day and the hour when the most holy Stigmata were imprinted by Christ on the body of St. Francis; because he heard that he had had a revelation about this matter. – Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.
2 – Whereupon Friar Matthew, compelled by holy obedience, answered him saying: “While I was in the community of Alvernia, last year in the month of May, I went one day to prayer in my cell, which is on the spot where it is believed that that seraphic vision took place. In my prayer I asked God most devoutly that He would reveal to some person the day and the hour and the place that the most holy Stigmata were imprinted upon the body of St. Francis; and, when I had continued in prayer the first watch, St. Francis appeared to me with very great radiance, and said unto me: ‘Son, for what are you praying to God?’ – There is nothing small in the service of God.
3 – And I said unto him: ‘Father, I pray for such and such a thing’. And he said unto me: ‘I am your Father Francis. Do you know me well?’ ‘Father,’ I said, ‘yes.’ Then he showed me the most holy Stigmata in his hands and feet and side, and said: ‘The time has come when God wills that that, which for a time the friars have not been curious to know, shall be made known for His glory. – Accomplish the great task by a series of small acts.
4 – Know that He Who appeared unto me was not an angel, but was Jesus Christ, in the form of a Seraph, who, with his own hands, imprinted on my body these wounds, even as He received them in His body on the Cross. – Hope is the first thing to take some sort of action.
5 – And this is how it happened: On the day before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, an angel came to me, and, in God’s name, told me to be ready and patient and to receive what God might will to send me. And I answered that I was ready to receive and to endure everything that in God’s good pleasure He desired to send me. Thereafter, on the following morning, the morning of [the festival of the] Holy Cross, which that year fell on a Friday; at daybreak I came forth from my cell, in very great fervor of spirit, and went to pray in this place where thou now are and where I often prayed, and, as I prayed, through the air, there came down from heaven, with great swiftness, a young man crucified, in the form of a Seraph with six wings; at which marvelous sight I humbly kneeled down and began to contemplate devoutly the boundless love of Jesus Christ crucified, and the boundless pain of His passion. – Hope ever urges us on and tells us tomorrow will be better.
6 – The sight of Him engendered in me such pity that I verily seemed to feel His passion in my own body; and, at His presence, all this mountain shone as the sun; and, so descending, He approached me. And, standing before me, He said certain secret words to me, which I have not yet revealed to anyone; but the time approaches when they shall be revealed. Then, after a while, Christ departed, and returned to heaven, and I found myself thus marked with these wounds. – Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.
7 – Go then,’ said St. Francis, ‘and tell these things to your minister doubting nothing; for this is the operation not of man but of God.’ And, when he had said these words, St. Francis blessed me and went back to heaven with a great multitude of youths, exceeding bright.” All these things Friar Matthew said he had seen and heard, not sleeping but awake. And he swore that he had truthfully told these things to the said minister in his cell at Florence, when he inquired of him concerning the same for obedience’ sake. – To be a sinner is our distress but to know it is our hope.
HOW A HOLY FRIAR, READING THE LEGEND OF ST. FRANCIS IN THE CHAPTER OF THE MOST HOLY STIGMATA, PRAYED SO MUCH TO GOD CONCERNING THE SECRET WORDS, WHICH THE SERAPH SPOKE TO ST. FRANCIS. WHEN HE APPEARED TO HIM, THAT ST. FRANCIS REVEALED THEM UNTO THE SAID FRIAR
8 – At another time, a devout and holy friar, while reading the legend of St. Francis in the chapter of the most holy Stigmata, began with great trouble of spirit to consider what those so secret words could have been, which St. Francis said that he would not reveal to any one while he lived, which the Seraph had spoken to him when He appeared to him. And this friar said within himself: “St. Francis willed not to speak those words to any one during his lifetime; but now, after his bodily death, perchance he would tell them, if he were prayed devoutly so to do”.- Every child comes into the world with a message that God does not yet despair of man.
9 – And from then on, the devout friar began to pray God and St. Francis that they would vouchsafe to reveal those words. This friar continued eight years praying thus. In the eighth year he merited to be heard. One day, after eating, thanks having been given in the church, he was in prayer in a certain part of the church, and was praying to God and St. Francis concerning this matter, more devoutly than he usual wont, and with many tears; when he was called by another friar, who commanded him in the name of the Guardian to accompany him to the town for the good of the Place. Not doubting that obedience is more meritorious than prayer, as soon as he had heard the commandment of his superior, he humbly left off praying and went with the friar that called him. – Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, but nothing can be done without hope.
10 – And, as God willed it, he, by this act of ready obedience, merited what he had not merited by his long praying. No sooner than they had gone from the gate of the Place, they met two strange friars, who appeared to have come from a far country; and one of them seemed a young man and the other old and lean; and, by reason of the bad weather, they were all muddy and wet. Wherefore that obedient friar had great compassion for them, and said unto the companion, with whom he was going: “Mt dear brother, if the business we are going on may wait a little, since these strange friars have great need to be charitably received, I ask you to permit me first to go and wash their feet, and especially those of this aged friar, who has the greater need, and you will be able to wash those of this younger one, after we will go about the business of the convent”. – All human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope.
11 – Then this friar consenting to the charitable desire of his companion, went back and received those strange friars very charitably, and took them into the kitchen to the fire to warm and dry themselves. At the fire eight other friars of the Place were warming themselves. And, after they had been a little while at the fire, they took (the two friars) aside to wash their feet, as they had agreed to do. – Love means to love that which is unlovable.
12 – And while that obedient and devout friar was washing the feet of the older friar, and removing the mud the feet, for they were very muddy, he looked and saw that his feet were marked with the most holy Stigmata and for joy and wonder he embraced them closely, and began to cry aloud: “Either thou art Christ, or thou art St. Francis”. – Forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable.
13 – At that cry and at those words, the friars at the fire, arose and approached with great fear and reverence to see those glorious stigmata. And then, at their prayer, this ancient friar permitted them clearly to see and touch and kiss them. And, while they marveled yet more for joy, he said to them: “Doubt not and fear not, dearest friars and sons; I am your father Friar Francis, who, according to the will of God, founded three Orders. And seeing that, for eight years, I have been entreated by this friar, who is washing my feet, and to-day more fervently than ever before, that I would reveal unto him those secret words which the Seraph spoke to me when He gave me the stigmata, the words I resolved never to reveal in my lifetime, to-day, by the commandment of God, by reason of his perseverance and the ready obedience with which he left the sweetness of contemplation, I am sent by God to reveal to him, before you all, that which he asks.” – Faith means believing the unbelievable.
14 – And then, turning to that friar, St. Francis spaid: “Know, dearest friar, that, when I was upon the mountain of Alvernia, wholly absorbed in the remembrance of the passion of Christ in that seraphic apparition, I was by Christ thus marked on my body with the Stigmata, and then Christ said to me: ‘Do you know what I have done to you? I have given you the tokens of My passion, so that thou may be My standard-bearer. – If it were not for hope the heart would break.
15 – And even as I, on the day of My death, descended into Limbo, and, in virtue of these My Stigmata, drew out from there all the souls I found there, and took them to Paradise; so to you do I grant even from this hour, to the end that thou may be conformed to Me in death as thou hast been in life, that, after thou shall have passed from this life, every year on the day of your death, thou shall go to Purgatory, and, in virtue of your Stigmata which I have given youe, shall draw out from there all the souls of your three Orders, minors, sisters and continents, and, beyond this, those others whom thou shall find there, who were devoted to you, and shall lead them to Paradise.’ – Thought and feeling do not matter. We shall be judged only by our will.
16 – And these words I never spoke while I lived in the world.” And, when he had said these words, St. Francis and his companion suddenly vanished away. Many friars afterwards heard this from those eight friars who were present at this vision and at these words of St. Francis. – Don’t wait for the Last Judgment. It takes place every day.
HOW ST. FRANCIS, AFTER HIS DEATH, APPEARED TO FRIAR JOHN OF ALVERNIA, WHILE HE WAS PRAYING
17 – Once, on the mountain of Alvernia, St. Francis appeared to Friar John of Alvernia, a man of great sanctity, while he was praying, and stayed and spole with him for a very long time; and, at the last, desiring to depart, he said: “Ask of me what you wish”. Said Friar John: “Father, I pray you tell me what I have long desired to know: What were you doing, where were you, when the Seraph appeared to you”. – Human beings judge one another by their external actions. God judges them by their moral choice.
18 – St. Francis answered: “I was praying in that place where the chapel of Count Simon da Battifolle now is, and I was requesting two graces of my Lord Jesus Christ. The first was that He would grant me to feel, in this life, in my soul and in my body, as far as might be possible, all that pain which He Himself felt at the time of His most bitter passion. The second grace which I asked of Him was likewise that I might feel in my heart that intense love He was enkindled to bear so great passion for us sinners. – Every moment of resistance to temptation is a victory.
19 – And then God put it in my heart that He would grant I feel both one and the other, as much as was possible for a mere creature, and this was abundantly fulfilled in me at the imprinting of the Stigmata.” – No one is truly alive in the art of living till they have been well tempted.
20 – Then Friar John asked him whether those secret words which the Seraph had spoken to him had been even such as were rehearsed by that holy friar aforesaid, who declared that he had heard them from St. Francis in the presence of eight friars. St. Francis replied that the truth was even as that friar had said. – You cannot run away from a weakness. You must sometime fight it or perish.
21 – Thereupon, Friar John, encouraged by the liberality of the granter, took heart to ask yet more, and said: “O father, I beseech thee most earnestly that thou grant me to behold and to kiss your most holy and glorious Stigmata; not because I doubt in any way, but only for my consolation; for this have I always yearned”.- God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength.
22 – And, St. Francis freely showing them and offering them to him, Friar John clearly saw and touched and kissed them. And, at the last, he asked him: “Father, how great consolation had your soul, beholding Christ the Blessed coming to you to give you the marks of His most holy Passion? Now would to God that I might feel a little of that sweetness!” – Happiness in this life consists in the mastery of our passions.
23 – Then St. Francis made answer: “See these nails?” Said Friar John: “Father, yes”. “Touch again,” said St. Francis, “this nail which is in my hand.” Then Friar John, with great reverence and fear, touched that nail, and immediately, as he touched it, so great a perfume issued from it, as though it were a thin spiral of smoke, like of incense, and, entering through the nose of Friar John, filled his soul and body with so much sweetness, that he was rapt in God in ecstasy, and became insensible; and he remained rapt from that hour, which was the hour of Terce, even until Vespers. – A possibility is a hint from God.
24 – And of this vision and familiar conversation with St. Francis Friar John never spoke to any man, save only to his confessor, until he was about to die; but, being near his death, he revealed it to many friars. – God’s will is not an itinerary but an attitude.
OF A HOLY FRIAR WHO SAW A WONDERFUL VISION
OF ONE OF HIS COMPANIONS WHO WAS DEAD
25 – In the Province of Rome, a very devout and holy friar saw this marvelous vision. A certain friar, a very dear companion of his, having died one night, was buried, in the morning, before the entrance of the chapter-house; and, on the same day, after dinner, that friar went to a corner of the chapter-house to pray God and St. Francis devoutly for the soul of that dead friar his companion. And, as he persevered in prayer with supplications and tears, at noon, when all the others were gone away to sleep, he heard a great noise as of one being dragged through the cloister; whereat immediately with great fear he turned his eyes toward the grave of his companion, and saw St. Francis standing there at the entrance of the chapter-house, and behind him a great multitude of friars round about the said grave. – Prayer is no other but the revelation of the will or mind of God.
26 – He looked beyond, and saw in the midst of the cloister a very great flaming fire, and in the flames was the soul of his companion who was dead. He looked round the cloister and he saw Jesus Christ walking round the cloister with a great company of angels and of saints. And, while he gazed upon these things and marveled much, he saw that, when Christ passed before the chapter-house, St. Francis kneeled down with all those friars and spoke thus: “I beseech You, my dearest Father and Lord, that, through the inestimable charity which You showed Yourself to the human race in Your Incarnation, – What is most often asked of God is not His Will or Way but His approval of our way.
27 – Thou wilt have mercy on the soul of this my friar, who is burning in that flame”; and Christ answered him never a word but passed on. And, when He returned, the second time, and passed before the chapter-house, St. Francis again kneeled down with his friars, as the first time, and begged Him: “I pray You, merciful Father and Lord, through the boundless charity which You showed the human race when You died upon the wood of the cross, that Thou will have mercy on the soul of this my friar”. – Do not live in the past nor be anxious about the future, but quietly live the present in the hands of God.
28 – And Christ passed on as before and did not answer him. And going round the cloister He returned the third time and passed before the chapter-house, and then St. Francis, kneeling down as before, showed Him his hands and his feet and his side and said: “I beseech You, merciful Father and Lord, by that great pain and great consolation which I endured when You set these Stigmata in my flesh, that You have pity on the soul of this my friar who is in that fire of purgatory”. – If you want to disobey God, look for a place where He cannot see you.
29 – O wonderful thing! No sooner was Christ prayed that third time by St. Francis in the name of his Stigmata, than He forthwith stayed His steps and, looking upon the stigmata, gave ear to his prayer and said: “To you, Francis, I grant the soul of your friar”. And in this, of a surety, He willed to honor and confirm the glorious Stigmata of St. Francis, and openly to signify that the souls of his friars, who go to Purgatory, can in no way be more easily delivered from their pains and brought to the glory of Paradise, than by virtue of his Stigmata, according to the words which Christ spoke to St. Francis when He imprinted them upon him. – I cannot receive now what God will offer me tomorrow.
30 – Wherefore, as soon as these words had been spoken, that fire in the cloister vanished, and the dead friar came to St. Francis: and, together with him and with Christ, all that blessed company went up into heaven with their glorious King. For the which cause, this friar his companion, who had prayed for him, was exceeding glad when he saw him delivered from his pains and taken to paradise; and thereafter he told all that vision in order to the other friars, and together with them gave praise and thanks to God. – Nothing is small or great in God’s sight, whatever He wills becomes great to us.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 7th, 2024 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
May 2024
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis of Assisi,
The Lord grant you the gifts of Easter Joy:
The Peace of the Father’s abiding Life
The Paraclete of the Holy Spirit’s Presence
The Pardon of the Incarnate Son’s Mercy
Divine Love within and around you
and
The warmth of Mary’s Motherly Love
Who accepted us as Her children at the foot of the Cross
The month of May continues the joy of the Easter Good News of the Resurrected Savior. This month also celebrates the “Woman” whose total surrender to the Will of the Father allowed what we celebrate in the Sacred Triduum to happen. Simple statement. Yes. But true!
Scripture confirms Mary’s response to the Angel’s offer: let it be done to me as you have said (Luke 1: 38). At Mary’s let it be done, God entered the human scene as a distinct human being, a man. The Life-Ministry-Passion-Death-Resurrection-Glorification of the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus, depended on Mary’s “yes”. God sought humanity’s collaboration through Mary. Mary’s response was the beginning of a new experience of God for humanity. She, Mother of the Redeemer, stood at the foot of the Cross of Jesus. The Presentation ritual performed in Jerusalem for the Infant Jesus years before was now the reality, in fact and not in ritual, fulfilled for all humanity and every age on the Altar of the Cross. The Mother confirmed and offered the bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh, blood of her blood (Genesis 2: 23) to the Father, Whose Spirit overshadowed (Luke 1: 35) Mary that the flesh became man and dwelt among us (John 1: 14).
The Cross was a reality that followed Mary every moment of her life with Jesus. The ultimate gift of herself saw the humanity of all God’s children on the Cross in and with Christ. The Cross now signaled the consummation (John 19: 28) of the Father’s Promise to redeem us by One like us Who is also One with the Father. Mary’s life journey with Jesus offered her the time to allow her to enter more deeply into the Father’s Will that she accepted unconditionally years before. The mystery of the Cross prophesied through the prophets was now revealed in fact to Mary at Golgotha and the Empty Tomb.
As in the life of our Blessed Mother, the Mystery of the Cross for St. Francis led him gradually into a knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of the desire of his life:
My Lord Jesus Christ, I beg You to grant me two graces before my death: first, that for the rest of my life I may experience in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, the same pain that you suffered, O sweet Jesus, during the time of Your most cruel Passion; and second, that I may feel in my heart, as much as possible, the same love which inflamed You, the Son of God, and led You to suffer Your passion gladly for us sinners.
Eventually Francis became a living expression of the Cross that followed him his entire life. The joy of the journey of discovery was leading to the glory of total union in conformity to Christ. This ultimate gift would be conferred years later on Mount La Verna.
The Incarnation was not a static moment in history. It began a process that God envisioned from all eternity. Human in every way but sin, Jesus, the Son of God, known as son of Mary and Joseph, began a journey of fulfillment through total surrender to the Father’s Will, that was fulfilled 33 years later on the Cross when Jesus said: It is consummated (John 19: 28). The mystery began at Nazareth in Mary’s womb, was first seen at Bethlehem in a manger, continued preaching-teaching-healing throughout Israel and Judah, and consummated triumphant on Golgotha. The empty tomb confirms the truth of Jesus’ identity and verifies the faith of the disciples in Him.
We are witnesses to that truth. We are ambassadors of the message and messenger through the centuries. The Cross! Even in the joyful periods of our Christian lives, the bright shadow of the Cross is always, and must be, present. The problem is that some portray the Cross without Jesus, and that only promotes pain, suffering, and slavery. Some want only Jesus the Resurrected One without the Cross. That is a lie. We need both together in order to express what the joy of Resurrection morning is all about. Thus, we understand more the depth of the prayer of St. Francis, Lord I beg You to grant me two graces, and so on, that we read above. The stage is now set for Francis Bernardone to encounter Jesus in the Cross of San Damiano.
One day when Francis went out to meditate in the fields, he walked near the church of San Damiano which was threatening to collapse because of age. Impelled by the Spirit, he went inside to pray. Prostrate before an image of the Crucified, he was filled with no little consolation as he prayed. While his tear-filled eyes were gazing at the Lord’s cross, he heard with his bodily ears a voice coming from that cross, telling him three times: “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is all being destroyed.” Trembling, Francis was stunned at the sound of such an astonishing voice, since he was alone in the church; and as he absorbed the power of the divine words into his heart, he fell into an ecstasy of mind. At last, coming back to himself, he prepared himself to obey and pulled himself together to carry out the command of repairing the material church, although the principal intention of the words referred to that which Christ purchased with his own blood, as the Holy Spirit taught him and as he himself later disclosed to the brothers. (Legenda Major, chpt. 2, 1)
At San Damiano, the Crucified Christ challenged Saint Francis to Go rebuild My house. That task meant Francis had to transform himself first. The prayer Francis prayed before the Crucifix was from a heart ready and willing to listen and live the mystery of love the Cross conveyed to him:
O most high, glorious God,
Enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me
True faith, certain hope, and perfect charity,
Sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command.
At first Francis interpreted his experience in a literal manner, doing all he could to provide the means, with stones and mortar, to rebuild the physical structure of San Damiano, which actually was in ruins. Although this may have been part of the intent of the revelation, Francis quickly realized that the rebuilding process of a building had to include also the transformation of his heart. He would have to rebuild his inner self, and in doing so, discover his true identity. A simultaneous vocation unfolded: rebuilding the place and rebuilding his person. He had to be focused on Christ so that he could rebuild, renew, restore, with the help of God, the person he was created to be.
The story of every transformation is to rebuild and fix what is missing or broken. In so doing we add a freshness to what seemed old and useless. Thus we restore beauty, pleasure, purpose and give hope, encouragement and joy. This little phrase Francis heard three times, Go rebuild my house, affected the rest of his life and that of those who sought to live the Gospel Life as Francis envisioned.
How did Francis go about rebuilding his life? The process slowly unfolded from his gazing upon the Crucified Savior over time. What were the steps? Saint Clare of Assisi described it best in her Second Letter to Saint Agnes of Prague, when she wrote: Gaze upon Christ, consider Christ, contemplate Christ, imitate Christ. Those four steps – gaze, consider, contemplate, imitate – became the pathway into the discovery of a new heart, a new power and a new self.
Gaze to see, consider to know, contemplate to understand, and imitate as the result of a spiritual process of conviction that leads to a life to be lived. To live Jesus is to be totally conformed to Him that it is no longer I who live but He Who lives in me (Galatians 2: 20).
To imitate Christ is the key to understand what happened to Francis at San Damiano and the key to an effective rebuilding of one’s life. To imitate relates to the word image. In our context here, it means to become the image of the one upon whom I gaze. Francis learned that his self-image, that is, his identity, was to become that of Christ on the cross. Both Francis and Clare must have spent countless hours contemplating this mystery. The change that would take place within Francis’ heart was imaged by what he gazed upon, and this new self would become his tool for renewing the house of God. The key to all this is the Incarnation. The condescension of compassion (St. Leo Great sermon on Nativity of Jesus) presents the sublime humility and humble sublimity of Jesus in being human that we might share in the awesome graces of divinity.
In the Incarnation, God revealed to us Who He is. The Incarnation showed us the face of God. But what does this image portray? What do we see? What Francis and Clare saw in the person of the Incarnate Christ was humility, poverty and charity. The most visible, tangible expression of this was the cross.
In the Incarnation, Francis saw that becoming human was the basis for humility. In embracing our humanness, Jesus did not cling to being God. This choice was the epitome of humility. In so choosing, Jesus could accept everything to which human nature is prone, even death. This image of Christ as seen on the cross became an essential component of Francis’ new self.
Like Jesus, humility for Francis meant not to cling to anything or appropriate any goods, titles, honors or position. It meant to be a servant to all, even to inanimate creatures. Both the Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis and the Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis remind us of this servanthood It means generosity of spirit and generosity of heart, the willingness to let all others be first. It means obedience to all, being subject to all, just like Jesus, the Word made flesh, who did not cling to honor, status or power. In recognizing himself in this image, Francis embraced the essence of his being and the realization that he needed nothing else to give him worth.
The poverty Francis saw in the Crucified was the poverty of being a human creature. In letting go of divinity, Jesus accepted to be dependent, powerless, helpless and empty, and to “be on his own”. This is the essence of poverty. This true picture of humanity, modeled in the Incarnation, enabled Saint Paul to write that Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus, as God, chose to become human and poor, in order to reveal God’s self, which is love, and teach us our true identity. This poverty of God was most visible by the fact of God’s Son dying on the cross. Here Jesus embraced powerlessness, emptiness and utter helplessness and opened himself to complete abandonment and trust in his Father. These were, and are, essential components of the human makeup.
The other element that the image of Christ on the cross portrayed was that of charity, compassionate love, all-embracing Love. Jesus’ outstretched arms drew in all humanity, welcoming every creature into the embrace of God’s tender love through mercy, forgiveness and acceptance of all. This meant recognizing and accepting the worth and dignity of each person.
The cross is a mirror. In seeing myself in that mirror, I see Christ Crucified, and in seeing Christ Crucified, I see my most authentic self. As I am transformed into that image, I become the person God has always intended me to be. The distinguishing marks that identify me are the same I see in Jesus: poverty, humility and charity, which are identifying marks of the face of God. Then I am my true and genuine self. This reflection is difficult to describe and I’m sure equally difficult to understand or accept. Yet it lies at the heart of Francis’ spirituality and mission.
It also ties in most intimately with his experience before the San Damiano Crucifix and the invitation to rebuild the Church. It was a transformed heart, a transformed self, into the image of Christ that became the tools by which society, the Church and all life could be rebuilt. As we embrace this process, we take a major step towards discovering who we are as a disciple of Christ. We are also well on the way to rebuilding our inner life and ultimately rebuilding the house of God.
How can we make “God’s Project” real and concrete? We must come to a moment in life where, like Francis, we say: This is what I want and desire with all my heart. (Words o St. Francis at the Portiuncula after hearing the gospel of the sending out of the disciples) Once that is clear, then the rhythm of daily prayer is essential. We need to beg God for the kind of transformation of heart needed to have a dwelling place for humility and poverty and charity. We cannot achieve this on our own power. It is God’s project, God’s work, and only grace can make it happen.
The other arena is that of relationships, whether in the family, among friends, community life or one’s workplace. It is here that humility, poverty and compassionate charity are brought to life and nowhere else.
Francis’ biographers point out that, when people met up with Francis or heard him preach, it was not simply a question of listening to words of peace and joy. Nor were people merely persuaded to reflect upon reasons for forgiving each other, doing penance or thanking and praising God. Rather, they were confronted with these realities in the person of Francis. They were in the living presence of forgiveness, peace, faith and love. Francis had integrated these values into his person by taking on the image of Christ on the cross.
Francis became conformed to the Crucified to such a degree that at the end of his life he appeared like the Crucified with the wounds of Christ engraved into his flesh. This would complete what began at San Damiano when the wounds of the sacred Passion were impressed deep in his heart, though not yet on his flesh (Second Life, #10, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume 2: The Founder),
Francis sought repeatedly for ways to encourage the brothers to give birth to these essentials, to strive for purity of heart, and thus give birth to Christ in their own lives. This is the transformation that must go hand in hand with all other endeavors in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. This is the inner rebuilding that gives life and spirit to any outward effort.
This image of Christ in Francis was very real, as we read in Celano: The brothers who lived with him know that daily, constantly, talk of Jesus was always on his lips, sweet and pleasant conversations about Him, kind words full of love. Out of the fullness of his heart his mouth spoke. So the spring of radiant love that filled his heart within gushed forth. He was always with Jesus: Jesus in his heart, Jesus in his mouth, Jesus in his ears, Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his hands, he bore Jesus always in his whole body…. With amazing love he bore in his heart and always held onto Christ Jesus and Him crucified. (Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume 1: The Saint, New City Press, p. 283)
May the Jesus we seek to imitate, truly be in our mouth, ears, lips, our whole being. The Cross that spoke to Francis is for us a reminder of the Jesus Who speaks to our hearts daily inviting us to rebuild, refresh, and restore the Christ that time, circumstance, or whatever may have distorted or covered over. The challenge of San Damiano is an offer and gift as fresh and vibrant today for us as it was for our Seraphic Father 800 years ago.
May the gift of the Holy Spirit, Whose descent into the heart of the Early Church at Pentecost, fill us with the gifts necessary to Live Jesus. We are Heralds of the Great King. In a world so desperately in need of the Good News, Who is a Person, Jesus the Christ, we preach Christ, and Christ Crucified and Risen (1 Corinthians 1: 23).
God bless you; our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you; and Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi watch over all of us and our loved ones with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap
Regional Spiritual Assistant
(NB – Part of this month’s letter is taken from an article in St. Anthony’s Messenger in 2022. There are deletions, modifications, insertions not by the author, but the substance of the article from Roch Niemier, OFM. In gratitude and recognition for our brother’s article, I offer it for our consideration of the Third Cross of Saint Francis, the Cross of San Damiano, as presented by St. Bonaventure in his Legenda Major of St. Francis.)
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 7th, 2024 St. Katharine 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
May 2024
Though reflecting each month of the Jubilee Year celebrating the 800th anniversary of the reception of the Stigmata of the Christ by St. Francis of Assisi, the following prayer, composed by St. Francis, mat be recited is each day of this month to the Mother and Queen of our Seraphic Family.
Hail, O Lady,
Holy Queen,
Mary, holy Mother of God,
Who are the Virgin made Church,
Chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven
Whom he consecrated with His most holy beloved Son
And with the Holy Spirit and Paraclete,
In whom there was and is
All fullness of grace and every good.
Hail His Palace!
Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling!
Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant!
Hail His Mother!
Daily excerpts from the Little Flowers of St. Francis, Fourth Consideration of the Stigmata.
Daily quotes from various spiritual writers.
Of the Fourth Consideration of the Sacred, Holy Stigmata
1 – As for the fourth consideration, it is worth knowing that, after the true love of Christ perfectly transformed Saint Francis into God and the true image of Christ crucified, the forty-day Lent in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel in the saint Mount Alverna, after the solemnity of Saint Michael, the angelic man Francis came down from the mountain with Brother Leo and a devout farmer, on whose donkey he was riding, since, because of the nails in his feet, he could not walk, but with great difficulty. – Do not have Jesus on your lips and the world in your heart.
2 – Having, therefore, descended from Mount Alverna, the fame of his holiness had already spread throughout the region and the shepherds had spread the fact of having seen Mount Alverna in flames, which was a sign that God had performed some miracle. To Saint Francis, all the people of the country, upon hearing that he was passing, came to see him. Men and women, small and large, all strove to touch him and kiss his hand with great devotion. – Carry the cross patiently and in the end it will carry.
3 – Not being able to escape the devotion of the people, although he had his palms bandaged, however, to better hide the sores, he still wrapped them and covered them with his sleeves, and only allowed the exposed fingers to be kissed. But, no matter how much he tried to hide and conceal the secret of the glorious wounds to flee from every occasion of worldly glory. – Kindness is loving people more than they deserve.
4 – It pleased God to manifest his glory with many miracles performed by the virtue of said wounds. Above all, on this journey from Mount Alverna to Santa María degli Ángeli, and later, with many others in different parts of the world, both during his life and after his death, so that his hidden and wonderful virtue and the measureless charity and mercy of Christ towards him through clear and evident wonders, of which we enumerate some here. – Which are you: a stumbling block or a stepping stone?
5 – It happened that, as Saint Francis approached a village on the edge of the Arezzo region, a woman stood before him, crying bitterly and carrying in her arms her eight-year-old son, who had been suffering from dropsy for four years; His belly was so disproportionately inflated that, standing upright, his feet could not be seen. The woman put the son in front of her, begging St. Francis to ask God for him. Saint Francis put himself first in prayer; Once this was finished, he placed his hands on the child’s belly. Immediately all the swelling disappeared and he was perfectly healthy, and he returned him to his mother, who received him with great joy and took him home, giving thanks to God and his saint. And she very gladly showed the cured son to the entire neighborhood who came to her house to see him. – Life can be understood backward but it must be lived forward.
6 – That same day Saint Francis passed through Borgo San Sepolcro. Before he reached the town, a crowd of people from the city and neighboring villages came out to meet him; Many of them went before him with olive branches in their hands and shouting loudly: — Here comes the saint, here comes the saint! – Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
7 – And people crowded and pressed on him in their desire to touch him out of devotion. But he went with his mind so elevated and absorbed in God through contemplation, that, no matter how much they touched him, pulled him, and squeezed him, as if he were insensitive, he did not feel anything that happened or was said around him, and He didn’t even realize that he was passing through the city or the region. – To repent is to take God’s point of view rather than my own.
8 – In fact, when they had passed Borgo and the crowd had returned to their homes, upon reaching a leprosarium a mile beyond Borgo, he came to himself from the celestial contemplation, and, as if coming from the other world, asked his companion: — When do we get to Borgo? – We see things not as they are but as we are.
9 – In truth, his spirit, fixed and absorbed in the contemplation of heavenly things, had not realized the things of earth, nor the diversity of places and times, nor the people he met. This also happened to him other times, as his companions could clearly verify. – How else but through a broken heart can the Lord Christ enter in?
10 – That night Saint Francis arrived at the hermitage that the brothers had in Monte Casale, where there was a brother so pitifully ill and horribly tormented by a disease, that his illness seemed more like tribulation or torment from the devil than a natural illness. He sometimes threw himself on the ground with great convulsions and foaming at the mouth; other times all the members of his body would contract, or they would distend or retract and twist until they touched the back of his neck with his heels; or else he would throw himself up and then fall on his back. – The effect of our sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive.
11 – While Saint Francis was at table with his people, he heard them talk about this brother, a hopeless victim of such a pitiful illness, and he had compassion for him; He took a slice of bread that he was eating, made the sign of the cross on it with his holy stigmatized hands and sent it to the sick brother. As soon as he had eaten it, the patient was perfectly cured and never felt that illness again. – Knowing the truth and not doing it is as foolish as writing a love letter and not sending it.
12 – The next morning, Saint Francis sent two of the brothers who were in that hermitage to live in Alverna, and with them he sent along the farmer who had come with him, so that he could return to his home. The brothers went along with the farmer, and when they reached the territory of Arezzo, some of the inhabitants saw them from afar and were filled with joy thinking that Saint Francis was coming, who had passed through there two days before. – Our lives belong not to us alone but to all who need us.
13 – Now, the wife of one of them had been in childbirth pain for three days and she was about to die. They hoped that she would recover her health if they managed to get Saint Francis to place his holy hands on her. But, as the brothers approached, they were saddened that Saint Francis was not among them. But although the Saint was not physically present, his power was not lacking, because the faith of those men was not lacking. Admirable thing! The woman was dying and she already had all the signs of death. They asked the brothers if they had anything that had been touched by the most holy hands of Saint Francis. – Prayer is an expression that we are living incompleteness.
14 – The brothers searched with interest, and found nothing else that Saint Francis had touched but what he was seated on while riding the donkey. They took it with great reverence and devotion and placed it on the body of the pregnant woman, devoutly invoking the name of Saint Francis and entrusting her to him with faith. As soon as the object touched the woman, she immediately felt out of danger and gave birth easily with joy and health. – When you betray somebody else, you betray yourself.
15 – After a stay of several days in the hermitage, he left there and headed to Città di Castello. Here the inhabitants presented him with a woman who had been possessed by the devil for some time, and humbly begged him to free her from the devil, because she had the entire region in an uproar with her screams, her ferocious screams, and her dog’s barking. Saint Francis, after praying, drew the sign of the cross on her and ordered the demon to come out of her. He left immediately, leaving her body and spirit healthy.- The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.
16 – When this miracle spread throughout the town, another woman with great faith brought her little boy, seriously ill with a malignant sore, to him and devoutly begged him to make the sign of the cross over the boy. Saint Francis, agreeing to his devotion, took the little boy, removed the bandage from the wound, blessed him by making the sign of the cross over him three times, and then bandaged him again with his hands and gave him to his mother. Since it was late, she simply put him to sleep in bed. In the morning she went to get the child out of bed, and found him without the bandage. He was completely cured, as if he had never had any illness. At the site of the sore the flesh had formed like a red rose, as if to bear witness to the miracle rather than as a scar from the sore. That rose, in fact, having remained with him throughout his life, often incited him to devotion to Saint Francis, who had cured him. – Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There is no courage without being scared.
17 – Saint Francis stayed in that city for a month, acceding to the devout prayers of the inhabitants, and during that time he performed many other miracles. Afterwards he resumed the journey to Santa María degli Ángeli with Brother Leo and with a good man who lent him his little horse so that Saint Francis could ride on it. And it happened that, because of the bad roads and the extreme cold, having walked all day, they could not reach any place where they could stay. They were forced by night and bad weather to take shelter in a cave, to protect themselves from the snow and the night. – God often visits us, but most of the time we are not at home.
18 – Finding himself out in the open and poorly sheltered, the good man who owned the donkey, unable to sleep because of the cold and without the possibility of making a fire, began to lament and grumble within himself and cry, and almost murmured about Saint Francis, who had led him to that place. Then, Saint Francis, noticing him, had compassion for him, and with fervor of spirit he stretched out his hand over him and touched him. Admirable thing! As soon as he had touched him with his hand, scorched and pierced by the fire of the seraph, the cold completely disappeared, and he felt filled with so much heat inside and out, that it seemed to him that he was standing at the mouth of a burning furnace. – The age old struggle: the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of conscience on the other.
19 – Thus, comforted in soul and body, the man surrendered to sleep, and, according to him, he slept that night among stones and snow until dawn more softly than he had ever slept in his own bed. The next day they continued their journey to Santa María degli Ángeli. When they were close, Brother Leo raised his eyes and looked towards the hermitage of Saint Mary. Then he saw a most beautiful cross, with the image of the Crucified, which was walking in front of Saint Francis, who was walking in front of him. – Knowing God is a question of opening one’s heart and loving God.
20 – That cross went in such a way before the face of Saint Francis that, when he stopped, it also stopped, and, when he walked, it walked; and its brilliance was such that it not only shone on the face of Saint Francis, but also illuminated the entire environment around it, and it remained until Saint Francis entered the hermitage of Saint Mary. – Religion is not a list of things to do but a person to be followed.
21 – Upon arriving at the hermitage, Saint Francis and Brother Leo were received by the brothers with great joy and charity. From then on, Saint Francis lived most of the time in the place of Saint Maris degli Angeli until his death. From day to day the fame of his holiness and his miracles spread more and more throughout the Order and the world, even though he, due to his profound humility, hid as much as he could the gifts and graces of God and proclaimed himself to be very great sinner. – What comes from the heart touches the heart.
22 – Brother Leo was surprised by this, and he began to think about his simplicity: This man calls himself a very great sinner in public. He entered the Order as an adult. God distinguishes him with so many favors. Nevertheless, in secret he never confesses to carnal sin. Could he be a virgin? And a vehement desire came to him to know the truth about it, but he did not dare to ask Saint Francis; So he turned to God, begging him to assure him of what he wanted to know, and he deserved to be heard for his insistent prayer, and he received certainty that Saint Francis was truly a virgin in the body through the following vision: he saw Saint Francis sitting on a elevated and exalted place, to which no one could go or approach, and it was revealed to him that that lofty and singular place meant the height of virginal chastity in Saint Francis, as was appropriate for a flesh destined to be adorned with the sacred wounds of Christ. – All that we send into the lives of others, comes back into our own.
23 – Saint Francis seeing that, because of his wounds, his physical strength was gradually failing and that he could no longer continue to take care of the government of the Order, hastened the convocation of the general chapter. When he had gathered in full, he humbly apologized to the brothers for the impossibility in which he found himself of continuing to care for the Order as general minister, although he did not renounce the office of generalship. This, in fact, he could not do, because he had been appointed general by the pope, for which reason he could neither leave the office nor establish a successor without express permission from the pope. But he appointed brother Peter Cattani as his vicar. – God is much more anxious to communicate with us than we are to listen.
24 – Once this was done, Saint Francis, comforted in spirit, raised his eyes and hands to heaven and said: To you, Lord and my God, I recommend this your family, which you have entrusted to me until now, and of which I can no longer continue taking care of myself due to my illnesses that you well know, my sweet Lord. I also recommend it to the provincial ministers. They will be obliged to report to you on the day of judgment if, due to their negligence, or their bad example, or their rigor in correcting, any brother is lost. – God dwells wherever we let Him in.
25 – God wanted all the brothers to realize that with those words he was referring to the wounds when excusing himself because of illness; and none could contain themselves without crying out of devotion. From then on he left all the care and government of the Order in the hands of his vicar and the provincial ministers; and he said: Now, having left the care of the Order because of my illnesses, I pray to God for our Order that I may give a good example to the brothers. And I know very well that, if weakness allowed me, the best service I could do to the Order would be to continually pray for it to God, so that He may govern, defend and preserve it. – The same fence that shuts others out, shuts us in.
26 – Even though, as has been said, Saint Francis tried, as far as he could, to hide the most sacred wounds and always walked, from the moment he received them, with his hands bandaged and his feet shod, he could not prevent many brothers from seeing them. They could see and touch them in different ways, especially the wound on his side, which he tried to hide with greater care. Thus, a brother who assisted him once induced him, with a pious trick, to take off his habit to shake off the dust; and, as he took it off in front of him, the brother clearly saw the wound on his side, and, quickly passing his hand over his chest, he touched it with three fingers, being able to measure its greatness and dimensions. – Hope is putting faith in work, when doubting would be easier.
27 – His vicar also looked at that time. But Brother Rufino verified it even more clearly, who was a man of great contemplation. Saint Francis even said about him that there was no one in the world holier than him. Because of his great holiness, he professed an intimate love for him and pleased him with everything he desired. – Where the human spirit fails, the Holy Spirit fills.
28 – This brother Rufino was able to verify and assure others in three ways about the truth of the wounds, and especially the one on the side. The first was that, having to wash his pants, which Saint Francis wore so big that he could stretch them at the top until covering the sore on the right side, Brother Rufino looked at them and observed them attentively, and always found them bloody on the right side, with which he realized with certainty that it was blood flowing from that wound. – If God loves us as much as we love God, where would we all be?
29 – Therefore, when Saint Francis saw that he spread his pants to observe that footprint, he reprimanded him. The second occasion was once when Brother Rufino was rubbing the back of Saint Francis. He intentionally took his hand and put his fingers on the sore on his side. Saint Francis then gave a cry of pain and said: God forgive you, brother Rufino. Why did you do that? – Without love and compassion for others , our own apparent love for Christ is fiction.
30 – The third occasion was the time when he asked Saint Francis, with great insistence and as a particular grace, to give him his habit and keep his out of love of charity. Condescending, although not willingly, to such a request, the charitable Father took off his habit, gave it to him, and put on his. With that taking off and putting on, brother Rufino clearly saw the wound. Likewise, brother Leo and many other brothers saw the wounds of Saint Francis while he lived. And although these brothers, due to their holiness, were men worthy of giving faith and credit to their word, yet, to remove all doubt in their hearts, they swore on the holy book that they had seen them clearly. – Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.
31 – Some cardinals who treated him with great familiarity also saw them, and, in veneration of the wounds of Saint Francis, they composed beautiful and devout hymns, antiphons and prose. The Supreme Pontiff, Pope Alexander, preaching to the people before all the cardinals, among whom was the holy brother Bonaventure, who was a cardinal, said and affirmed that he had seen with his own eyes the sacred wounds of Saint Francis when he still lived. – Nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see. On the contrary, everything is sacred.
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