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Posted By Kate Kleinert, on September 1st, 2020 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 regional website: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
September 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord bless you with His peace!
The Fathers of the Church maintained that human beings stand at the point of intersection between two gravitational fields. First, there is the force of gravity which pulls us down – towards selfishness, falsehood and evil; the gravity which diminishes us and distances us from the heights of God. On the other hand there is the gravitational force of God’s love: the fact that we are loved by God and respond in love attracts us upwards. (We find ourselves) between this twofold gravitational force; everything depends on our escaping the gravitational field of evil and becoming free to be attracted completely by the gravitational force of God … (Pope Benedict XVI)
The more we respond to this force that attracts upward to God, the more we are encouraged to look up and beyond the things that so often easily attract and even seduce us here on earth. We are human beings, created to live in and love God’s creation. However, life here is a journey and not the end of all our desires. When we build on the bridge, rather than cross over it, life becomes precarious and the thought of the future can be disconcerting and frightening. When we allow ourselves to be ‘grasped by God’, life changes immensely, though the circumstances we encounter may remain the same. The more intimate and personal the experience we have, the less capable we are of expressing in words all that we feel.
Our Seraphic Father St. Francis not only had a profound relationship with God, but also received signs of God’s unbounded love and trust. The Poverello of Assisi emptied himself of all that could possess him. His response from the Eternal Love would be the image of the Crucified Lord he would bear the last two year of his life. He became a living image of the Crucified Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. What can anyone say about such a powerful and awesome experience! Not only to be in God’s presence, but to be physically signed as God’s Incarnate Son for all the world to see! What can we say? What embarrassment and humiliation he must have suffered in wanting to be devoid of everything, even human respect and recognition, and now becoming a spectacle for all the world to see this ’new and wonderful thing that has happened’.
We know that it was as he was celebrating the Lent of Saint Michael, that St. Francis was invaded by an absolute silence. It surrounded and enveloped him in this ‘Divine Presence’. Filled with wonder but peace at the same time, in a moment of total abandonment, he saw before him a mysterious person, adorned with the wings of the seraphs of whom the Prophet speaks in Scripture, whose hands and feet and side were dripping blood. What Francis must have felt at that moment is indescribable for those of us who have not experienced this gift of God’s love. Such a sight, as the powerful presence of the Almighty in the Scriptures, would surely have taken the life of Francis, had he not been signed for a purpose requiring he remain for a short while longer among us. As the old prayer for the Feast of the Stigmata states: … when the world was growing cold you signed your servant Francis with the holy stigmata to re-kindle the fire of your love … No doubt, as the vision disappeared, he became aware that his hands and feet and side were pierced and bleeding. Can we imagine the pain and agony that he must have felt every day bearing these wounds? Yet, there was still a joy in his heart at the powerful confirmation of God’s love for him and all that he had been ready and willing to do in response to God’s original call at San Damiano. What was impressed in his heart at San Damiano was now impressed on his body for all to see at La Verna.
It would not be long before Our Seraphic Father would sing his own song of praise and thanksgiving for all the Lord had done for him and through his lowly servant. Just as Jesus on the cross, St. Francis would offer his prayer of ’consummatum est’ to the Father and all the brothers. He would let them know that he had done his part and now they must continue and do their part. I have done what was mine to do. Powerful words of acknowledgment and gratitude for a life fully lived for God and others. Then he continues telling the brothers that you must do your part. Prophetic words that remind us all that we who have accepted the call to be Franciscans must continue to live the Spirit and Life we have professed. It is not enough to know the life of St. Francis of Assisi, or be aware of his writings and the Spirit of the Order of which we are all gratefully brothers and sisters.
There is a story, that loses in the translation, that speaks of some rather cute but insignificant looking donkeys who, to attract attention to them by the gypsies who use them because they are so small, are adorned with bells, colored ribbons, and so on. Some who profess our lives are like those donkeys, they need the frills to attract attention to themselves but refuse to let their lives be the attraction. We pride ourselves on having a Founder who was stigmatized, but we are hesitant to bear the ’stigmata’ of our responsibilities and fidelity to the Word of God, the Church, the Rule, the Constitutions, our own local ministers in harmony with the Church and Order. Some are running after everything that makes them ’feel’ good, rather than pray, reflect on, and live what they have professed to make them be good and become better, all the way to ’sainthood’. We are all called to be saints.
It is not often that we are privileged to enter the heart of a saint. It is not often that we are privileged to peer into the depths of a soul “inebriated” with the eternal. We emulate the life we revere. We are privileged to be made sharers in the gifts of that life ‑ gifts bestowed because of the love and willingness of that privileged soul to be a person for all people. Through Baptism, St. Francis, as well as we, became one with Jesus in the Spirit through the life of grace. In his emptying of himself and discarding all that pertained to his former life in society before the Bishop and people of Assisi, the Poverello of Assisi became one with Christ in his detachment from the world and its “ego”, from its exclusive relationships and their confining demands, and from the material things and their possessive nature that keep one a slave to wants unfulfilled rather than encourage gratitude for gifts received. In his service to the poor and the brothers and sisters, St. Francis became one with the Mediator between God and Humanity. His love for Christ, His Mother, and the Church overflowed into an evangelical ministry that touched the hearts and lives of many.
We too are offered similar privileges and responsibilities. Their effectiveness is determined by our conviction and commitment to surrender to the One Who calls us to such a privileged position. We too share in the Baptismal character of all the faithful called to live the Gospel. We too are encouraged to live the spiritual detachment from the inflated ego, the unbridled passions of the senses and the slavery to material things. We too are expected to share in the priesthood of the faithful when, together with those ordained to the ministerial priesthood, we offer the perfect sacrifice that re‑presents the one sacrifice of Jesus. We experience the effects of this sacrifice according to the intensity with which we surrender ourselves to the urging of the Spirit and the work of grace in our life.
The impression of the Stigmata on the body of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi is a personal, intimate and uniting experience. The “mysterious person” took St. Francis through the mystical-mysterious experiences of his life of prayer and contemplation, and impressed on his body an image, enfleshed for the world to see, of the Savior’s eternal love for all humanity. The outward signs of Jesus Crucified that St. Francis bore were a renewed reminder of God’s love for His creation, a creation that had grown cold in its love and trust in God. The life of our “crucified” father, whose mere presence served as a sign of contradiction to the world, was a call for everyone to look beyond the self‑centeredness, violence, and materialism of those who so quickly relegate God to an outpost of the mind or who forget God altogether. Humanity all too soon forgets its past experiences of infidelity and the consequences they have on a world that lives without God as its guiding presence.
The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi was accepted and recognized by the Church and by those lives transformed by God’s grace, God’s love and wonders did not cease to emanate from his very presence. He was like the bronze serpent Moses raised for the Israelites to look on ‑ lest they die ‑ and be healed of the venom of the serpents that had bitten them. The venom of the Serpent that has bitten and poisoned so many of God’s elect down through the centuries continues its murderous mission as it seeks to infect the lives of good people who sincerely search for and desire the Lord in their lives. When we look to the Crucified of Calvary we are saved. When we look to the Crucified of Assisi we are encouraged to look upon and believe in a God Who walks with us and works within us leading us beyond any poisonous seduction, allurement, or even compromise that would severely affect or even destroy our relationship with God. But, we must look upon him and believe. We must look upon the Lord Crucified and believe in His power and presence to save. We must look upon our Seraphic Father and remember the love he had for God and the love God had for him, and remember the love we had when we heard and accepted the call to be the sons and daughters of the Crucified of Assisi. We were called to follow his example of openness and faithfulness to God, God’s Word, His Church and our Franciscan Family; when any of these lack, we cannot call ourselves true Franciscans, and in some cases possibly not even true Catholics.
We talk about St. Francis of Assisi, we reflect on his life and words at our meetings and Masses. Do we emulate his life and teachings so that others see the values we preach lived in our own lives? There is often a real lack of substance in our devotion to St. Francis, in fact, there are some who know the great mystics of other religious traditions and have not even opened a book to read St. Francis, St. Clare and the great mystics of our own Seraphic Family. Often those in formation will not read the books offered for their knowledge, but are ready and willing to read other spiritual writers. Nevertheless, the question arises: if you want to be a Franciscan, but do not want to read or study our life as the Family of Francis and Clare, how much do you really want to be a Franciscan? Oh, and by the way, we are a family. St. Francis tells the brothers in the Rule, and all his spiritual children: For if mother loves her child according to the flesh, how much more must we love one another according to the Spirit!
The highest praise is imitation! Let us begin to recognize the holiness in our Franciscan Family and strive to live the Spirit and Life offered us. Let us be authentic!
As Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi, we carry on the Christian’s mission to be Heralds of the Lord’s goodness to the world. Our appreciation and devotion for the Poverello must inevitably lead us to emulate his virtues and to live the counsels he offered in his role as guide and father of our Franciscan Family. He proclaimed God’s love to the world, and his lasting example challenges those who seek him out to live the values of prayer, sacrifice, reconciliation, reparation, charity and love that he expounded. The Cross of Jesus made us one again in the Blood of the Savior; the wounds of our Seraphic Father challenge us to remember the Cross, our banner of salvation, and to live our life more deeply in the Father’s Will as did our Savior.
The month of September is imbued with the mystery of the Cross. May we, as Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi, treasure the example and words of our Seraphic Father and Founder. May the image of the Crucified Savior become more alive and meaningful to us through the image of his privileged servant, our Father, and not just at our official meetings or special gatherings. May the Feast of the Sacred Stigmata Impressed on our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi that we celebrate this month be a calming and reassuring reality for us to consider as we continue our earthly journey. May his words and example be indicators that help us find our way through the crossroads of life, especially when the choices offered are enticing, alluring, seductive, but we know them in faith to be deceiving and dangerous. May we rejoice in the Lord for the gift He gave the Church and the world in our Father St. Francis.
May God bless you; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi watch over you, his Spiritual Children, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 24th, 2020 Two options for Franciscan related face masks. Neither the Region nor I have any connection to either company!
Franciscan Themed Face Masks
Tau Cross Face Masks
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 23rd, 2020 Who do you say that you are?
This weekend, I participated in the National Formation Directors Workshop. I learned a great deal; but, what keeps resounding in my head is from the talk that Father Christopher Panagoplous, T.O.R. President in Turn of the CNSA, gave at the opening on Friday night.
He referred to today’s (8/22/20) Gospel from Matthew, chapter 18. Jesus asked the apostles “But who do you say that I am?” Father Chris took that question and asked all of us “But who do you say that you are? When someone says “Tell me a little about yourself”, what comes out of your mouth first? How do you see yourself and in what order of importance? Well, I’m a widow, I love to garden, I rescue hospice dogs, I’m a ‘pre-reader’ for several of my favorite authors, I’m a penpal to several prisoners, I crochet winter scarves for the homeless, I’m a cantor, lector and Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist at my parish, I do a lot of different kinds of crafts, I love old black and white movies and oh yeah….I’m a Secular Franciscan.
Oh yeah,…I’m a Secular Franciscan????? As if that is an afterthought, or at the bottom of the list. All the other things are what I do. Being a Secular Franciscan is who I am!
If I’m not seeing it as first in my life how can anyone else see it? Can anyone see from the way I live my life that being a Secular Franciscan is who I say I am? In this craziness we are living in now, do I stand by when a group of neighbors are having a racist conversation? Do I faithfully recycle and put a full bin out on collection days? During this time of ‘sheltering-in-place’ have I reached out to anyone outside my circle of family and friends to see how they are doing?
While we have this time on our hands thanks to the pandemic, why not take an inventory of who you are and what you do and see if things need to be reorganized a bit? All of us can use a tune-up now and again. Thanks, Father Chris, for the reminder!
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 22nd, 2020
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 10th, 2020 
Renee Eck, OFS, Minister of St. Patrick fraternity, Wilmington, DE, proudly passed on this news: my husband Howard Eck, OFS, from St Patrick’s fraternity was accepted as an acolyte this past weekend. God willing next year he will be an ordained deacon.
(Howard is Formation Director of St. Patrick’s) Congratulations and best of luck in the coming year!!
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 10th, 2020 I had the distinct privilege of “attending” = Zoom, the monthly gathering of the Immaculate Conception fraternity yesterday. During the business meeting, it was reported that there was a certain amount of money in the “Poor Box”. The minister, Amanda Jamnicky, OFS, explained for my benefit just what the Poor Box is. Every month a box is left on the table during the gathering and everyone throws in whatever change they have on them. When the amount reaches $50, the money is given to a member of the fraternity. (They are going down the list of members alphabetically) That member then donates the $50 to his or her favorite charity. What a truly Franciscan apostolate! – Helping the poor and including everyone in the fraternity! Well done, Immaculate Conception, well done!
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 2nd, 2020
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 1st, 2020 August 2020
Let us desire nothing else, let us wish for nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight, except our Creator and Redeemer and Savior, the one true God,
Who is fullness of Good, all Good, every Good, the true and Supreme Good,
Who alone is merciful and gentle, delectable and sweet, Who alone is holy, just and true, holy and right,
Who alone is kind, innocent, pure,
from Whom and through Whom and in Whom is all pardon, all grace, all glory.
Therefore, let nothing hinder us, nothing separate us or come between us.
Let us all, wherever we are
Glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the Most High and supreme eternal God.
Amen.
(Saint Francis of Assisi)
1
The truly clean of heart are those who look down upon earthly things, seek those of heaven, and, with a clean heart and spirit, never cease adoring and seeing the Lord God living and true (Admonitions,#16) – Let yourselves be charmed by Christ…attracted by his example…loved by the love of the Holy Spirit…fall in love with Jesus Christ.
2
We carry Him (Jesus) in our heart and body through love and a pure and sincere conscience; and give Him birth through a holy activity, which must shine before others by example. (Letter to Faithful) – Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ! Open to his saving power.
3
He taught them to mortify not only vices and to check the promptings of the flesh, but also to check the external senses, through which death enters the soul. (1Celano,chpt.16) – Human beings are called to become disciples of that Other One who infinitely transcends them, in order to enter at last into true life.
4
Unbending in discipline he stood upon his guard, taking the greatest care to preserve purity of both soul and body (Major Legend,chpt.5) – In the mystery of his cross and resurrection, Christ has bridged the infinite distance that separates all people from new life in him.
5
He used to say that it should be incomparably more tolerable for a spiritual man to endure great cold in his flesh rather than to feel even slightly the heat of carnal lust in his heart. (Major Legend,chpt.5) – Faith must be quickened by love. It must come alive through the good works which reveal God’s truth in us.
6
If, at the instigation of the devil, any brother commits fornication, let him be deprived of the habit he has lost by his wickedness, put it aside completely, and be altogether expelled from our Order. Afterwards he may do penance. (Earlier Rule,chpt.13) – Being a Christian must mean being a witness for Christ.
7
The Rule of the Lesser Brothers is this: to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without anything of one’s own, and in chastity. (Later Rule,chpt.1) – The commandments must be understood as a path involving a moral and spiritual journey toward perfection, at the heart of which is love.
8
He was naturally courteous in manner and speech, and following his heart’s intent, never uttered a rude or offensive word to anyone…His reputation, because of this, became so widespread…that many who knew him said that, in the future, he would be something great. (Three Companions,chpt.1) – Through the Spirit, (Jesus) gives the grace to share his own life and love and provides the strength to bear witness to that love in personal choices and actions.
9
He taught not only that the vices of the flesh must be mortified and its prompting checked, but also that the exterior senses, through which death enters the soul, should be guarded with the greatest care. (Major Legend,chpt.5) – God who is always merciful even when he punishes preferred the correction rather than the death of a sinner, did not desire that a homicide (murder of Abel by Cain) be punished by the exaction of another act of homicide.
10
To carry in his own body the armor of the cross, he held in check his sensual appetites with such a rigid discipline that he scarcely too what was necessary for the sustenance of nature. (Major Legend,chpt.5) – Peace must become the goal of all men and women of good will.
11
At that time the brothers dedicated themselves to the practices of fasts, of vigils, of work, in order to dominate the incentives of the flesh. (Anonymous of Perugia) – Peace is our duty: our grave duty, our supreme responsibility.
12
The brothers were sometimes surprised that he did not often visit such holy handmaids (St. Clare and Sisters) of Christ…but he would say: ’Don’t imagine, dear brothers, that I don’t love them fully. But I am giving you an example, that as I do, so should you also do’. (2Celano,chpt.155) – At the last judgment we shall all be judged without distinction on our practical love of our brothers and sisters.
13
When he spoke with her (St. Clare) or about her, he never mentioned her by name, but he called her the Christian. (Bro. Stephen) – It will be in the practical love they have shown that many will discover that they have in fact met Christ, although without having known him before in an explicit way.
14
Father Francis exhorted her (St. Clare) to despise the world and instilled in her ears the sweetness of being wed to Christ, persuading her to preserve the precious gem of her virginal chastity for her blessed Spouse. (Legend of St. Clare,chpt.5) – If you want peace, reach out to the poor!
15
(St. Clare) entrusted herself totally to Francis, choosing him as her guide, after God…and she accepted with an ardent heart all that he taught her about the good Jesus. (Legend of St. Clare,chpt.6) – (The church is a ‘pilgrim church’); her pilgrimage is interior: it is a question of a pilgrimage in the Holy Spirit strengthened by the power of God’s grace promised her by the Lord…
16
The week that Francis passed from this life, Clare informed Francis of her desire to see him. The saint, informed of this, was deeply moved, because he loved Clare and her sisters with a father’s love. (Legend of Perugia) – (There is) a need for a profound transformation of hearts through the rediscovery of the father’s mercy and through victory over misunderstanding and over hostility among brothers and sisters.
17
(As the body of Francis is brought to Assisi passing San Damiano, Clare and sisters weep saying): Father, what shall we do? Why are you abandoning us poor women? lf consolation ebbs away along with you, who will comfort us in so great a poverty, poverty of merit as much as of goods? Who will help us in temptations? (1Celano,bk.2,chpt.10) – Refusal of God’s fatherly love and of his loving gifts is always at the root of humanity’s divisions.
18
(Clare and Sisters continue): You, who experienced so many temptations! Who will comfort us in the midst of distress? You, who were so often our help in times of distress! What bitter separation! what painful absence! (1Celano,bk.2,chpt.10) – God, ‘rich in mercy’, does not close his heart to any of his children.
19
Among the virtues Francis loved and desired the brothers preserve after holy humility he loved the beautiful and immaculate virtue of chastity.(Mirror,#86) – (God) waits for (his children), looks for them, goes to meet them at the place where the refusal of communion imprisons them in isolation and division.
20
Unbending in discipline, he kept an exceedingly attentive watch over himself. He took particular care in guarding the priceless treasure in a vessel of clay, that is, chastity, which he strove to possess in holiness and honor through the virtuous purity of both body and soul. (Minor Legend,chpt.3) – The initiative on God’s part is made concrete and manifest in the redemptive act of Christ, which radiates through the world by means of the ministry of the church.
21
His mastery over the flesh was now so complete that he seemed to have made a covenant with his eyes; he would not only flee far away from carnal sights, but also totally avoid even the curious glance at anything vain. (Minor Legend,chpt.3) – The essence and role of the family are in the final analysis specified by love.
22
Even though he had attained purity of heart and body, and in some manner was approaching the height of sanctification, he did not cease to cleanse the eyes of his soul with a continuous flood of tears. (Minor Legend,chpt.3) – The family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the church his bride.
23
We prohibit anyone of you to wander outside of obedience with the habit of your holy religion and thus corrupt the purity of your poverty. (‘Cum Secundum’ of Pope Honorius III) – Man cannot live without love. His life is senseless if love is not revealed to him, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.
24
Encompassed by the weakness of the flesh, a human cannot follow the spotless crucified Lamb so perfectly as to avoid contacting any filth. Therefore he taught those who strive after the perfect life to cleanse themselves daily. (Major Legend,chpt.5) – (We are) to become a temple of the Blessed Trinity. What greater degree of communion with God could (we) ever aspire to?
25
Although he had already attained extraordinary purity of heart and body, he did not cease to cleanse the eyes of his soul with a continuous flood of tears, unconcerned about the loss of his bodily sight. (Major Legend,chpt.5) – The hectic pace of daily activity, combined with the noisy and often frivolous invasiveness of the means of communication, is certainly not something conducive to the interior recollection required for prayer.
26
(The Dominican theologian after visiting with Francis said to the friars) My brothers, the theology of this man, held aloft by purity and contemplation, is a soaring eagle, while our learning crawls on its belly on the ground. (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.69) – You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. (St. Augustine)
27
I beg in the Lord all my brothers who are priests, or who will be, or who wish to be priests of the Most High that whenever they wish to celebrate Mass, being pure, they offer the true Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ with purity and reverence, with a holy and unblemished intention.(Letter to the Order) – The Holy Spirit is the gift that comes into man’s heart together with prayer. In prayer he manifests himself first of all as the gift that ’helps us in our weakness’.
28
Seeing the foe was carrying the day, the most high Lord sent in the cavalry with a well-trained commander. St. Francis was chosen as standard-bearer. He wanted no one to ride with him who did not accept the reins of three bridles: poverty, obedience, and chastity. (Jacopone of Todi) – The new evangelization will show its authenticity and unleash all its missionary force when it is carried out through the gift not only of the word proclaimed but also of the word lived, and in particular the life of holiness.
29
Wherever they may be or may go, let all the brothers avoid evil glances and association with women…Let us all keep close watch over ourselves and keep all our members clean. (Earlier Rule,chpt.12) – The life of holiness constitutes the simplest and most attractive way to perceive at once the beauty of truth, the liberating force of God’s love, and the value of unconditional fidelity to all the demands of the Lord’s law.
30
Saint Francis used to engage carefully in a daily, or rather, constant examination of himself and his followers. Allowing nothing dangerous to remain in them, he drove from their hearts any negligence. He was on his guard at every hour. (1Celano,chpt.16) – The Mother of God is a type of the church in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. The church brings forth to a new and immortal life children who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God. (Vatican II)
31
He taught them to mortify not only vices and to check the promptings of the flesh, but also to check external senses, through which death enters the soul. (1Celano,chpt.16) – In Jesus all broken lines unite; in Him all scattered sounds are gathered into harmony. (G.K.Chesterton)
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on August 1st, 2020 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
August 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you his peace!
The Brothers and Sisters of Penance, Spiritual Children of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi, are called to live as the “Penitents of Assisi” in a world who “seeks a sign”. Just as in the days of Noah (cfr. Luke)…just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale (cfr. Matthew), as Jesus responded to those who sought a sign from Him, today’s society and world are looking for “a sign”. They forget or are unaware that the sign they seek is a person. Our Secular Franciscans have found that person in Jesus Christ. The life with which we Franciscans are entrusted to learn and live is found in the Gospels. The manner of life in the world and not of the world ( cfr. John 15 / John 17 et al.) we seek through the example and words of the Seraphic Patriarch of Assisi. This life can be effectively and joyfully lived by an enormous variety of personalities as we see in the lives of the multitude of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds officially recognized by the Church. Love for the Franciscan charism and a commitment to live in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi has also endeared thousands of others not “officially” recognized as “heroic” examples of virtue by the Church. Nevertheless, their hidden lives have impacted and helped men and women for eight centuries to make vital life-changing decisions in God’s way and will.
St. Francis of Assisi may be an attractive poetic character to some, but the man who accepted the challenge of the Gospel life has been a transforming influence for millions. Francis was simple in his approach, loving in his manner with the poor and suffering, unrelenting in his determination that God’s call to him and those who wished to follow must be lived “without gloss”. St. Francis was no ‘pushover’. He knew and believed in the original voice that said Francis, go rebuild my Church for as you see it is falling into ruin (voice from the Crucifix in San Damiano Church, Assisi). He would not change what he knew and believed to be the will of God for him and for those who sought to follow his way of Gospel living.
The first members of the Secular Franciscan Order were practical people who continued living in the world with a commitment to the Gospel life in a spirit of simplicity, prayer, peace (disarmed hearts), fulfillment of their daily responsibilities, greater awareness-respect-commitment to God’s Word and Sacraments, love for the Church even at historically questionable times of schism, heresy, moral decadence. The brothers and sisters of Penance were challenged to grow in holiness. This was a holiness that did not strive to encourage them to be proud of their humble demeanor and/or self-righteous holy practices. Our brethren of the penitential life sought solely to become saints. They knew as we know that holiness is not a question of the ‘popular thing to do’. It is not a question of being with the ‘in crowd’ of some church society. Holiness does not call attention to us but to the Christ that shines through us. Sanctity is the consequence of a personal decision one makes to be fully directed by the Spirit of God through a process of daily conversion.
Unless our prayer is enfleshed in our lives, and our lives resound in our prayer, our spiritual life is stunted, if not altogether dead or in agony. True holiness can never be achieved fully until we enter the everlasting embrace of the Eternal Father, through the blood of his Son Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through our earthly journey we strive to grow each day in holiness and move forward toward the ultimate goal: God-Everlasting Life in His Love. The almighty intercession of Our Heavenly Mother, Mediatrix of All Graces, is the channel through which prayers and graces flow, as She accompanies Her children on this journey. The intercession of the saints, angels and souls in Purgatory to whom we pray also fulfill their role in the wholeness of our journey. The process is not impossible, nor is it difficult. Remember that the hand will never reach for what the heart does not desire. What we truly desire, we will seek to move heaven and the netherworld to obtain. But, it is demanding! It demands that we desire this holiness, seeking spiritual wholeness, holistically. Following the prompting of the Holy Spirit and using the graces God entrusts to us, every bit of creation serves to strengthen the inner being that drives us to be in this world but not of this world ( cfr. John 15 / John 17 et al.) .
This month we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus (August 6) and the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother into heaven (August 15). It is interesting to note that both deal with the divine and the human, the soul and the body, the invisible and the visible, the immortal and the mortal, the perfect and the flawed. One is seen as the fruit of the process of the other. The Transfiguration that dazzles the apostles is the transformation of the body that the Apostles walked and talked with during their years with Jesus. The Assumption of Mary’s physical body into the realm of the spirit is the celebration of the transformation of the material body of Mary that grew old and was subjected to life’s many changes into a fully glorified spiritual being. No person can be truly holy without being truly human – human as God intended at the beginning of time and not as we have become through the abuse and misuse of our free will. These two feasts should be an encouragement for us to continue our endeavors to grow in the spirit, regardless of our weaknesses, faults, and even sins. They should encourage us to strive more intensely to live the spirit of our Franciscan vocation every day of our lives. The monthly fraternity meeting is the fraternal gathering where family meets in love to be “energized” to live the family values with joy even beyond the formality of a meeting.
Vigilance over one’s self at all times, without scrupulosity or undue exaggeration, is essential. Nourished by the Eucharist as much as possible, we see ourselves and others with the eyes of Jesus. He speaks to our heart with compassion. He helps us to see the world with the practicality of one who lives, as mentioned before, in the world but not of the world. Our faith is simple and robust. Yes, Lord, I do believe, therefore I give myself over to your Good News made flesh – Jesus – and seek to live and be the image of Jesus for others as well.
Our Franciscan brothers and sisters are men and women in love with Jesus and His Good News of God’s extravagant love for all of creation. St. Francis of Assisi gives us an example of what it means to be excited about every facet of life. Through prayer, reflection, service, all Franciscans are assisted in experiencing God’s loving presence in their lives, and God’s loving presence in all creation as well as in all created human beings. Created things consecrated and transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus in the world, love and devotion for Mary the Mother of Jesus overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to be the highest honor of our race and “almighty” intercessor for all before God, the faith of the Church of Christ subsisting in the Catholic Church, make us one family in God. Every gathering of the fraternity, formally or informally, should be an experience that fosters and enhances our love for one another and desire to bring that to others. The strength of our commitment to our particular expression of Franciscan life is rendered powerfully present wherever we are by the example of our love for one another, deep devotion in the practice of daily living our Catholic faith in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Secular Franciscans are an example of what the everyday Catholic can become. Find time each day to pray and reflect. Allow the experience of God to flow over from your personal lives into acts of charity and service for all. Let the hand of Christ reach out to fulfill the heart’s desire to be Christ to the other and to touch Christ in the other.
We Franciscans should glow like beacons of light in a world that has grown dim in its spiritual fervor! We must not compromise our Baptismal promises or our Franciscan profession. We are called to be examples and guides for others! By living the evangelical life of a Penitent of Assisi we touch the lives of others and lead them closer to Jesus and Mary! We are expected to take up the challenge to be Christ to the world! This is our mission. As the “Penitents of Assisi” we know that “penance” is a change of heart that ultimately changes one’s life. This is the road of daily conversion, the road of holiness.
All of this may seem like much. It may seem impossible. It may seem unattainable. If that were the case, then we would have to say that the Gospel is impossible to live. St Francis faced this predicament himself when he presented his original Rule of Life for the first followers to the Pope. He was told it was impossible to live the Gospel as literally as he stated. A Cardinal of the Papal Court who was present at the event counseled the Pope that to say such a thing was to say living the Gospel is impossible. That would be blasphemy and heresy. Needless to say, Francis was given the permission he asked. All things are possible when we believe in God and trust in his grace that can transform those who place their lives in His hands. The God of surprises, is a God Who supports and provides for those who say “yes” even to the “impossible”. Our Heavenly Mother said “yes” to the impossible and just look at what happened! Was it ever heard that God was so near to His people as our God is to us? (Exodus 33: 1-16 34: 8-10)
We are called to continue the vocation St. Francis first received at San Damiano. All Franciscans enter the unique vocation, not of sacramental priesthood but of the priesthood of the faithful baptized in Christ. We are encouraged by the examples of an immense throng before us to become victims with the Victor. Christian Victimhood is a concretizing of the baptismal priesthood in Christ we have all received. When we consider the implications, “victimhood” is a word difficult to accept. It is even more difficult to want to accept this state as a vocation. Actually, it is the call of every baptized Christian to be Jesus in this world. Jesus became a victim on the cross. We accept to be baptized in His baptism and drink the chalice He drank (cfr. Mark 10: 37-40). We accomplish this chiefly by living fully the responsibilities of our Christian Catholic Franciscan life. We even accept, if that be God’s will, the extraordinary “crucial” (cross-shaped) moments with serenity and trust. We need not create “our cross”, the one we would like. That would be a “cheap shot”, and rather cowardly. Believe that God in His love knows our strengths and will never give us anything that we cannot bear or will not be beneficial to us … and His glory?! Accepting a share in the sufferings of Christ, we are given what God wills, and we have it made for eternity, forever!
We are incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ. We share in the priesthood of the faithful. While the priest offers the bread that becomes the Body of the Savior, all can offer the daily responsibilities of life. Our work, our relationships, our hopes, our dreams, all we are, created in God’s image, we offer each day. While the priest offers the wine in the chalice that becomes the Blood of Christ, we can offer our sufferings, our fears, our hardships. With the priest we offer not only the gifts he consecrates but the very gift of ourselves together with the Victim of Calvary re-presented at the altar of Sacrifice and the Table of the Lord.
At Baptism, in Christ we are anointed priest, prophet and king. We too offer sacrifice; we too become a sacrifice; and we too share the benefits of that One Great Sacrifice offered once and forever. The Eucharist re-presents the mystery we share and seek to become. Sacrifice means to make sacred or to make holy. We are consecrated (made sacred with) in Jesus, as He Himself prayed the night before He died: Father, I pray for them…consecrate them in truth…who would be my disciple must follow in my footsteps. In the Eucharist we receive, we become a living sign of thanksgiving to God ever present among and within us. He is our Emmanuel (God with us). It is a reminder of the Communion we share with all God’s children, beginning with our family in Christ and extending our disarmed hands and hearts out to the whole world.
As Mary called our Seraphic Father to the chapel of the Portiuincula (Feast August 2nd) to extend a special blessing and privilege to those who honor Her as our Lady of Angels, may Her love and blessings continue to flow to each one of us, Her Franciscan children. Like our most Blessed Mother, let us allow the Holy Spirit to overshadow us with His presence. May that Holy Spirit enter the recesses of our hearts. Thus, the image of Christ can be born within us so that we can offer Him in and with our lives, as Mary did at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum,…CALVARY, to the whole world. Like Mary, we are called to be Tabernacles and Monstrances of the one Saving Lord, Whose Holy Spirit has anointed us to continue the wonderful mystery of our salvation together with our priests in, with, and for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. We form that Body! The Mass is Christ; the Church is Christ; we are the Church, therefore, we must become the Mass we celebrate and offer our lives each day in union with the Sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ. This is the holistic means of human wholeness that leads to holiness in God’s loving grace.
May the Lord bless you and your loved ones; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi with St. Clare of Assisi watch over each one of you and your loved ones, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on July 20th, 2020 Praying the Rule
Lord, our God, we intend to make present the charism of our Seraphic Father Francis in the life and mission of the Church, in various ways and forms but in life-giving union with one another. By our profession, we pledge ourselves to live the Gospel in the manner of St Francis by means of our Rule approved by the Church (Arts. 1-3). Help us, we pray, so that daily we may:
- observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St Francis, going from gospel to life and from life to the gospel (Art. 4);
- seek to encounter the living and active person of Jesus Christ in our brothers and sisters, in sacred scripture, in the Church and in the Eucharist (Art. 5);
- go forth as witnesses and instruments of the Church’s mission among people, proclaiming Christ by our life and words (Art. 6);
- conform our thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by the radical interior change which the Gospel calls “conversion”, making use of the sacrament of reconciliation on the way to renewal (Art. 7);
- let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all we are and do (Art. 8);
- imitate the Virgin Mary’s complete self-giving in her openness to your every word and call (Art. 9);
- faithfully fulfill the duties proper to our various circumstances in life (Art. 10);
- seek the proper spirit of detachment and purify our hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power (Art. 11);
- acquire the purity of heart needed to set ourselves free to love God and our brothers and sisters (Art. 12);
- accept all people as your gift, Lord, and an image of Christ (Art. 13);
- exercise our responsibilities competently in the Christian spirit of service (Art. 14);
- be in the forefront of promoting justice by the testimony of our human lives and by courageous initiatives (Art. 15);
- esteem work both as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption and service of the human community (Art. 16);
- cultivate the Franciscan spirit of peace, fidelity and respect for life in our families, striving to make it a sign of a world already renewed in Christ (Art. 17);
- respect all creatures, animate and inanimate “as bearing the imprint of the Most High” (Art. 18);
- be bearers of peace and messengers of perfect joy in every circumstance, as immersed in the resurrection of Christ, we serenely tend towards Sister Death and our ultimate encounter with you, our Father (Art. 19).
All this we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Brother. Amen.
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