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
February 2026
Let every creature in heaven, on earth, in the sea and in the depths,
Give praise, glory, honor and blessing to Him Who suffered so much,
Who has given and will give in the future every good, for He is our power and strength,
Who alone is good, Who alone is almighty,
Who alone is omnipotent, wonderful, glorious and Who alone is holy,
worthy of praise and blessing through endless ages.
Amen.
(Prayer of Saint Francis in the Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful)
Daily Franciscan Sources continue from The Assisi Compilation, #89 – #94
Daily Thoughtful Quotes from St. Philip Neri
89 – HE HELPS A POOR WOMAN FROM RIETI SUFFERING FROM AN EYE DISEASE
1 – At that time a poor woman from Machilone came to Rieti with an illness of her eyes. One day when the doctor came to visit blessed Francis, he said to him: “Brother, a woman with eye trouble came to see me. But she is so poor that I have to help her for the love of God and give her expenses.”
– There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer.
2 – When blessed Francis heard this, moved by piety for her, he called one of the companions, who was his guardian, and said to him: “Brother Guardian, we have to give back what belongs to someone else.” “And, what is that, brother?” he said. “That mantle,” he replied, “which we received as a loan from that poor woman with eye trouble. We must give it back to her.” “Do what you think best, brother,” the guardian answered.
– A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.
3 – With joy, blessed Francis called a spiritual man, who was extremely close to him, and said to him: “Take this mantle and a dozen loaves of bread with you, and go to that poor and sick woman whom the doctor, who is taking care of her, will point out to you. Say to her: ‘The poor man to whom you lent this mantle thanks you for the loan of the mantle which you made with him. Take what is yours.’ ”
– To preserve our cheerfulness amid sicknesses and troubles, is a sign of a right and good spirit.
4 – He went then and told her everything as blessed Francis had told him. Thinking he was joking, she replied with fear and embarrassment: “Leave me in peace. I don’t know what you are talking about!”
– The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it were the last.
5 – He placed the mantle and the dozen loaves of bread in her hands. When the woman reflected that he had spoken the truth, she accepted everything with trembling and her heart filled with joy. Then, fearful that he would take it back, she secretly got up during the night and joyfully returned to her home.
– First let a little love find entrance into their hearts, and the rest will follow.
6 – Moreover, blessed Francis also told his guardian that every day, for the love of God, he should give her food for as long as she stayed there. We who were with blessed Francis bore witness that, sick or well, he displayed such charity and piety, not only to his brothers, but also toward the poor, whether healthy or sick.
– The greatness of our love of God must be tested by the desire we have of suffering for His love.
7 – Thus, he deprived himself of the necessities of his body that the brothers procured for him with great devotion and solicitude. At first coaxing us not to worry, with great inner and outer joy, he would then offer to others things he had denied his own body, even though they were extremely necessary for him.
– The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years.
8 – And that is why the general minister and his guardian ordered him not to give his tunic to any brother without their permission. Because the brothers, out of the devotion they had for him, would occasionally ask him for his tunic, and he would immediately give it to them. Or he himself, if he saw a sickly or poorly clad brother, would at times cut his habit in half, giving one part to him and keeping the other for himself, for he wanted to have and to wear only one tunic.
– The cross is the gift God gives to his friends.
90 – HE WOULD GIVE AWAY THE TUNIC HE WAS WEARING TO HELP THE POOR
9 – Once when he was traveling through a certain region preaching, two brothers from France happened to meet him. From this they enjoyed great consolation. Finally, out of the great devotion they had toward him, for the love of God they asked for his tunic. As soon as he heard “the love of God,” he immediately took off his tunic, remaining naked for almost an hour.
– Christian joy is a gift of God flowing from a good conscience.
10 – For it was blessed Francis’s custom when someone said to him “for the love of God, give me your tunic or cord,” or anything else that he had, he would immediately give it to them out of reverence for that Lord who is called Love.
– My children, if you desire perseverance, be devout to our Blessed Lady.
11 – He would be greatly displeased, and would reprimand the brothers when he heard them invoking the love of God needlessly. For he would say: “The love of God is so very exalted that it should be mentioned with great reverence rarely and only in dire necessity.” Then one of the brothers took off his tunic and gave it to him.
– At communion we ought to ask for the remedy of the vice to which we feel ourselves most inclined.
12 – Very often he endured great need and hardship when he gave away his tunic or a part of it to someone, because he could not quickly find or have another one made. This was true especially since he always wished to have and to wear a poor tunic made of bits and pieces, and occasionally he wanted it patched on inside and out.
– Obedience is the true holocaust which we sacrifice to God on the altar of our hearts.
13 – Because he rarely, if ever, wanted to have or wear a tunic made from new cloth, but would acquire one worn by a brother for a long time, and sometimes he would even accept one part of his tunic from one brother and the rest from another. But, because of his many illnesses and the cold, he would occasionally patch it on the inside with new cloth.
– He who always acts under obedience may be assured that he will not have to give an account of his actions to God.
14 – He held and observed this kind of poverty in his clothing until the year when he returned to the Lord. For a few days before his death, because he was suffering from dropsy, he was almost completely dehydrated and weakened by many of the other sicknesses he had, the brothers made several tunics for him, so that they could change his tunic night and day as was necessary.
– Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if he wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength.
91 – HE TRIES TO GIVE A PIECE OF HIS TUNIC TO A POOR MAN
15 – Another time a poor man with poor clothing came to a hermitage of the brothers and, for the love of God, asked for some cloth from the brothers. Blessed Francis told a brother to look around the house and, if he found some, to give it to him.
– He who is unable to spend a long time together in prayer, should often lift up his mind to God by short prayers.
16 – And going around the whole house, that brother told him that he did not find any. So that the poor man would not go away empty-handed, blessed Francis went out secretly, so that his guardian would not forbid him. He took a knife, and sitting in a hidden place, he began to cut away a piece of his tunic, which was sewed on the inside of the tunic, wanting to give it to the poor man in secret.
– Believe me, there is no more powerful means to obtain God’s grace than to employ the intercessions of the Holy Virgin.
17 – But immediately, since the guardian sensed what he wanted to do, he went to him and forbade him to give it away, especially since the weather was then very cold, and he was extremely sick and cold.
– We must often remember what Christ said, that not he who begins, but he that perseveres to the end, shall be saved.
18 – Blessed Francis told him: “If you do not want me to give it to him, you must make sure that some piece is given to the poor brother.” And so, at the prompting of blessed Francis, the brothers gave the poor man some cloth from their own clothes.
– There is nothing more dangerous in the spiritual life, than to wish to rule ourselves after our own way of thinking.
19 – When the brothers loaned him a mantle—or when he was traveling through the country preaching and he became sick and could no longer go on foot, he would occasionally ride a donkey, since he did not want to ride on a horse unless compelled by the greatest necessity.
– He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works, and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing
20 – And such was the case shortly before his death when he became seriously ill. When he was staying in some place, he did not want to accept it unless, in some way, he could give it to a poor person he might meet or who would come to him if his spirit were convinced that the person was in evident need.
– The man who loves God with a true heart, and prizes him above all things, sometimes sheds floods of tears at prayer, and has in abundance of favors and spiritual feelings coming upon him with such vehemence, that he is forced to cry out, “Lord! let me be quiet!
92 – HE ASKS BROTHER GILES TO GIVE HIS MANTLE TO A POOR MAN
21 – At the beginning of the religion, when he was staying at Rivo Torto with only two brothers whom he had at that time, the one who was the third brother, came from the world to receive his life. When he had stayed there for a few days, still wearing his secular clothes, a poor man happened to come to the place asking alms of blessed Francis.
– In sickness we ought to ask God to give us patience, because it often happens, that when a man gets well, he not only does not do the good he proposed to do when he was sick, but he multiplies his sins and his ingratitude.
22 – Blessed Francis said to him who was the third brother: “Give the poor brother your mantle.” Immediately, with great joy, he took it off his back and gave it to him. It then seemed to him that, at that moment, the Lord immediately had infused new grace into his heart because he had given the poor man his mantle with joy.
– They who have been exercised in the service of God for a long time, may in their prayers imagine all sorts of insults offered to them, such as blows, wounds, and the like, and so in order to imitate Christ by their charity, may accustom their hearts beforehand to forgive real injuries when they come.
93 – HE HAS A NEW TESTAMENT AT THE PORTIUNCULA GIVEN TO THE POOR MOTHER OF TWO BROTHERS
23 – Another time while he was staying at Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, a poor old woman who had two sons in religion, came to that place seeking some alms of blessed Francis because that year she did not have enough to live. Blessed Francis said to Brother Peter of Catanio, who was the general minister at the time: “Have we anything to give our mother?”
– During mental prayer, it is well, at times, to imagine that many insults and injuries are being heaped upon us, that misfortunes have befallen us, and then strive to train our heart to bear and forgive these things patiently, in imitation of our Savior. This is the way to acquire a strong spirit.
24 – He used to say that the mother of any brother was his own and that of all the brothers in the religion. Brother Peter told him: “We do not have anything in the house that we can give her, especially since she wants such alms as would provide for her corporal needs.
– We are not saints yet, but we, too, should beware. Uprightness and virtue do have their rewards, in self-respect and in respect from others, and it is easy to find ourselves aiming for the result rather than the cause.
25 – In the church we only have one New Testament for reading the lessons at matins.” At that time, the brothers did not have breviaries and not many psalters. Blessed Francis responded: “Give our mother the New Testament, so she can sell it for her needs. I firmly believe that the Lord and the Blessed Virgin, His Mother, will be pleased more by giving it to her than if you read in it.” And so he gave it to her.
– Let us aim for joy, rather than respectability. Let us make fools of ourselves from time to time, and thus see ourselves, for a moment, as the all-wise God sees us.
26 – For it can be said and written about blessed Francis, what was said and written about Job: Mercy grew up with me and it came out with me from my mother’s womb. For us, who were with him, it would take a long time to write and recount not only what we learned from others about his charity and piety toward the poor, but also what we saw with our own eyes.
– If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the Pater Noster, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.
94 – A CATTLE DISEASE AT SANT’ELIA IS CURED BY WATER USED TO WASH THE STIGMATA
27 – At the same time when blessed Francis was staying in the hermitage of Saint Francis (!) at Fonte Colombo,a a cattle disease, commonly called basabove, from which none usually escapes, happened to spread among the cattle of Sant’Elia, not too far from the hermitage. So that all the cattle became sick and died. One night it was said that a certain spiritual person of that town had a vision in which he was told: “Go to the hermitage where blessed Francis is staying and get the water with which he washed his hands and feet. Sprinkle it upon all the oxen, and they will immediately recover.”
– It is an old custom of the servants of God to have some little prayer ready and to be frequently darting them up to heaven during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the mire of this world.
28 – That man got up early in the morning, went to the hermitage, and told all of this to the companions of blessed Francis. At meal time they put the water for washing his hands in a jar, and, in the evening, they asked him to allow them to wash his feet, without telling him about the matter. And so, afterwards, they gave the man the water blessed Francis used to wash his hands and feet. The man took it and with it, as if it were holy water, sprinkled the cattle stretched out on the ground almost dead and also all the others. And immediately, through the grace of God and the merits of blessed Francis, all of them were cured. At the time blessed Francis already had scars in his hands, feet, and side.
– Let us think, if we only got to heaven, what a sweet and easy thing it will be there to be always saying with the angels and the saints, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.
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