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Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 1st, 2023 July 2023
All-powerful, most holy, Almighty and supreme God,
Holy and just Father, Lord King of heaven and earth
we thank You for Yourself, for through Your holy will
and through Your only Son with the holy Spirit
You have created everything spiritual and corporal
making us in Your own image and likeness,
We thank You.
Excerpts taken from Franciscan Sources the Tribulations
Angelic Prophecies
1
After the Rule was confirmed and they were returning, meal time had passed, and they were weak and exhausted from the labor of their journey, and far away from the homes of any people. Suddenly a handsome youth joined them on the road, and offered them his bread which he brought with him, and he discussed many things with them about the perfection of the evangelical life of Christ. – Nothing surpasses the greatness or the dignity of the human person
2
With the power of his words he inflamed them with a great burning of charity, and their minds were overcome with astonishment at the wonder of his words. He immediately disappeared in an amazing way, and left them enkindled with the life-giving love of Christ. They all realized at the same moment that it had been an angel of God who offered them the bread. – Reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and the angels know of us.
3
Restored both in spirit and in body, they gave great thanks to God for His gift and kindness. In fervor of spirit they knelt together, lifting their feelings and hearts to Him, and they promised and swore not to shrink from the promise of holy poverty under the pressure of any need or tribulation. They had understood by God’s providence and the angelic words that God has greater care for their bodies and souls than a mother has for her child, in fact, even more than He has for heaven and earth; and that it is impossible for God not to provide His servants with what is useful and needed for the body; not to hear the prayers of the poor, and not to fulfill the holy desires which He alone inspires. – A test of one’s character is that person’s respect for those who can be of no possible service to him/her.
4
For He Himself said: “I will not desert you, nor forsake you,” and “Do not be afraid, little flock, because it has pleased my Father to grant you the kingdom; how much more the necessities of life.” Saint Francis himself used to say that the almighty power of God is made known and shines forth in the faith and endurance of the saints, because we have been saved by faith, and all the works of God are done in faith. –The more faithful you listen to the voice within you, the better you hear what is sounding outside of you.
5
Without faith it is impossible to please God; as it is written, one who doubts divine providence is like the waves of the sea, moved and tossed about by the wind. For that man should not suppose that he will receive anything from God, because someone like that is devious in spirit and erratic in all his ways. All things are possible to one who believes, and all things, however bitter, are sweet and light to one who loves. – Our wills are ours to make them Yours, O God.
6
The apostles, martyrs, and the Fathers, naked and withdrawn from the world, serving God in faith and charity lived for Christ and not for themselves. Having before their eyes the examples of Christ like a cloud of witnesses of eternal refreshment, “they went about in the skins of sheep and goats, needy, afflicted, tormented: the world was not worthy of them.” – To deny the freedom of the will and is to make morality impossible.
7
How many torments all the saints suffered so that they might safely reach the kingdom with the palm of martyrdom! They shared in the sufferings of Christ and were abandoned to temptations, infirmities, wants, and the persecutions of demons and humans; to be tested and proven in the crucible of tribulations, as in fire, and through endurance to be numbered among the saints, reigning with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. – God is omnipotent, but powerless still, to stop my heart from wishing what it will.
8
We are given great and immeasurable gifts of the spirit and benefits from the Lord at the very time when, for the moment, we are afflicted and tempted, so that, once our endurance has been proven, we may reach Christ with the palm of martyrdom. When we are living just and holy lives and when, because of our observance of obedience, poverty, and chastity, we incur need, sickness, and death, we should rejoice, looking at Him who, for the sake of the joy that lay before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame. – We glorify rugged wills, but the greatest things are done by timid people who work with simple trust.
9
In the same way they rejoice who win victory over opponents: they find it all the more valuable the longer they sought and longed for it. Every one of the saints puts on the elegance and beauty of incorruptible and eternal glory, placed in the line moving toward the undying good at the moment when each of them completely dies to vices and passions in exchange for imitation and profession of the life of Christ, desiring to be freed from the body, and through tortures and torments to pass over to Him, who endured suffering and death on the cross for us, who were enemies of God and slaves of sin and most deserving of eternal death. – All great virtues bear the imprint of self-denial.
10
Christ Jesus worked in His servant Francis in the same way as in the early saints, and many rushed toward the fragrance of his life and that of his companions, and were drawn by the power of the Spirit of Christ to love heavenly things and put them into practice. – No one remains what they were when they recognize themself.
11
Fervent in the spirit of Christ they preached the Gospel in deed and in word. The hearts of those who saw them were transformed, and to confirm their life and preaching Christ daily worked innumerable signs and miracles through Francis. – In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up that makes us rich.
12
Caught up in the spirit of God, they condemned the world with its passions; and, according to the counsel of Christ, selling all they had and giving it to the poor, they were joined in heart and habit to the poor of Christ. – Those who deny themselves for Christ shall enjoy themselves in Christ.
13
The number of brothers quickly multiplied, and were organized under ministers and custodians in the various provinces of the Christian people. But it is certainly no small undertaking to take on the discipleship of the life of Christ and to pursue the things demanded by so great a profession, because to begin something good is for many, but perseverance until the end is for the few and the perfect. – Our divisions prevent our neighbors from hearing the Gospel as they should.
14
To mortify the senses; to silence the tongue and heart according to the counsel of the Gospel; in a Christ-like way to offer continually both body and soul to God; to intend and accomplish both internal and external works according to the pleasure of God’s will; and to endure in these things until the end is a gift from God, but it is not pursued and preserved without great anguish and—I might say—sweating blood, sharing in pains like those of the cross. – Of what use is it to have many irons in the fire if the fire is going out?
15
Our weakness is great and we all fall easily into things of sensuality; and the prudence of the flesh, under the cloak of discernment, like the force of a violent wind, drives us strongly toward those things—iron chains and a cell of bronze—consenting to the first and following the second. For there will be no one in the lot of the saints who follows those things. – Church unity is like peace, we are all for it but are not willing to pay the price.
16
Through this the first man conceived the beginning of ruin and became involved in both the worst evils of self-love and self-satisfaction. Under the appearance of discernment the brothers began to open their eyes and to take their example from other religious ways of life. Some of the more learned ones among them suggested to the simpler ones that this would be safe and useful. – It is not our differences that really matter, but the meanness behind that is ugly.
17
Without considering their fault of presumption, infidelity, and disobedience, and dragging others after themselves by word and deed, they had a taste for things contrary to Christ, to the founder, and to the Rule they professed. These things reached the ears of their father and he, punishing those who did such things with harsh rebukes, turned to Christ, praying that they be set right. – The best creed we can have is charity towards the creeds of others.
18
While he was praying an angel of the Lord appeared to him in an amazing form and appearance: the head was gold, arms and chest silver, stomach bronze, legs of iron, feet of earth and clay; the shoulders covered with vile and rough sackcloth. The angel showed Saint Francis that he was rather ashamed of that sackcloth covering. – Joined by mutual love and sealed by oneness of mind we can overcome any obstacle.
19
He was amazed at seeing this. The angel said to him: “Why do you gawk and gaze? This form, in which I was sent to appear to you, signifies the beginning, development, and end which your religion will have, until the time it goes into labor, the time of the reform of the life of Christ and the state of the Church. – Doubt is the parent of discovery.
20
”The golden head is you, with all your companions who have carried Christ and His death written in your heart, have loved to cling to His footprints with your whole heart, and have wished for all time to have nothing under heaven on account of His love. But just as the descent of the seed of Abraham was promised not in Ishmael but in Isaac, so the descent of your name will not be in sons of flesh, but in sons of spirit, in deed and in truth. – When unhappy, one doubts everything, when happy, one doubts nothing.
21
“For they shall abandon the state of the golden life of humility and poverty, having nothing, wishing nothing, and seeking and loving Christ alone. Having put aside prayer and devotion, they will turn to knowledge which inflates, eagerness for lectures and the accumulation of a multitude of books under the pretext of their neighbor’s edification and the salvation of souls. And because they prefer verbs to virtues, and science to sanctity, they will remain cold within and devoid of charity, having changed gold into cold and porous silver. – When in doubt risk it!
22
“Since they shall speak much but do little, they will start to trample on the solidity of the humble life and the substance of their foundation, namely the truth of poverty; taking on distracting cares and concerns they will change silver into bronze, and they will not be concerned about returning to the earlier good things, namely to the fervor of heavenly desires. – Insecurity welcomes restraints to keep the hands from shaking.
23
They will put on a simulation of humble and religious manners of great holiness, but inwardly they will be clothed in hypocrisy, panting for praises and honors. They will wish, not to be more outstanding and holier than others, but to be considered and to appear so. – Doubt comes in at the window when inquiry is denied at the door.
24
Thus they will sink to worse things and, to their own great loss, like bad merchants, will exchange the silver of eloquence and the product of learning for a hypocritical simulation in bronze, producing their works in order to get human praise. – Give me the benefit of your convictions if you have any, but keep your doubts to yourself for I have enough of my own.
25
“But their simulation and hypocrisy cannot be concealed for long; and when it is laid bare, they will sense that they are losing their worth in the eyes of those who praised them, day to day becoming filthier, and because of this they will start to become angry and indignant and will persecute those they once tried so hard to please, seeking opportunities to afflict those who have stopped revering and complimenting them. In this way they shall change red and ringing bronze into hard and harsh iron. – Love is above all the gift of oneself.
26
Changed into an iron nature, they will be ready and bold, not just to take revenge but also quick to do evil for insults received, but fragile, petty, and impatient beyond measure when it comes to bearing any insults. – God wants the heart.
27
”Like the iron mixed with tile you see in my feet, so in the end the brothers will be, like iron, quick and cruel in inflicting evils and, like tile, impatient and fragile in bearing them. And so those brothers who at the beginning were clothed in the purest gold of the charity of Christ, in the last days, when the religion you founded will go into labor, will be considered like clay pots. – One loving heart sets another on fire.
28
“This sackcloth I am wearing, and of which I show that I am ashamed, is the cheapness and austerity of poverty which the brothers promised the Lord they would wear proudly and joyfully. But they have abandoned their earlier charity: it was this that united them to God, and made them think that holding to the submissiveness of poverty and humility in all things was the first payment of heavenly honor, and the pledge of eternal glory. So they will refuse to bear the labors and shortages of poverty inwardly; and outwardly they will bear it only in appearance and in words, and even then with shame.” – God made us to love Him not to understand Him.
29
After this the angel left him and, filled with grief, he began to lament anxiously in the presence of the Lord about all that he had seen and heard. Christ appeared to him and said: “Why are you so troubled and sad, Francis? I was the one who called you out of the world, ignorant, weak, and simple, so that in you I might show forth my wisdom and strength. – All virtue is loving right; all sin is loving wrong.
30
Anything good that you have begun or done in the Church and in the religion will be credited to my name. I am the one who created humanity, assumed it, redeemed, repaired, and reconciled it freely. I direct, protect, and preserve those whom I have chosen and call to penance. And without me no one can will or accomplish the good. I called you from the world when you were in sin. I enlightened you and taught you to take the easy yoke of my way of life upon you and carry it humbly. – Love is the only force that can make things one without destroying them.
31
I will guard and preserve all that I founded and planted through you. I will raise up whatever falls, and will repair whatever is destroyed, and I will substitute others for those who have fallen. If they are not yet born, I will cause them to be born. And even if your religion should be reduced in numbers to three, it will still remain, by my favor, unshaken until the end of time. – Human beings must be known to be loved, but divine things must be loved to be known.
July 2023-Monthly Spiritual Asst Reflection
Posted By Terri Leone, on June 21st, 2023 A Church on Mission
The National Eucharistic Revival in the United States moved into its
second, or parish, year on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In July 2024, the Church in the United States will hold a National Eucharistic Congress. We at Catholic Apostolate Center continue to work with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Eucharistic Congress organization to assist all in moving out on mission from our encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. On Monday, June 19, Pope Francis met with the organizers of the Congress and offered these and other important insights. His words are quoted here at length and should be reflected on often.
“It is my hope, then, that the Eucharistic Congress will inspire Catholics throughout the country to discover anew the sense of wonder and awe at the Lord’s great gift of himself and to spend time with him in the celebration of the Holy Mass and in personal prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament…. I likewise trust that the Congress will be an occasion for the faithful to commit themselves with ever greater zeal to being missionary disciples of the Lord Jesus in the world… This is the sense of a missionary spirit. You go to the celebration of Mass, receive communion, adore the Lord and then what do you do after? You go out and evangelize. Jesus asks this of
us. The Eucharist, then, impels us to a strong and committed love of neighbor.
For we cannot truly understand or live the meaning of the Eucharist if our hearts are closed to our brothers and sisters, especially those who are poor, suffering, weary or who may have gone astray in life” (Pope Francis, Greeting to the Organizing Committee of the National Eucharistic Congress in the United States of America).
May the Charity of Christ urge us on!
In God, the Infinite Love,
Fr. Frank – Catholic Apostolate Center
St. Francis of Assisi’s “Letter to the Entire Order” (excerpt)
26 Let everyone be struck with fear,
let the whole world tremble,
and let the heavens exult
when Christ, the Son of the living God,
is present on the altar in the hands of a priest!
27O wonderful loftiness and stupendous dignity!
O sublime humility!
O humble sublimity! …
Humble yourselves that you may be exalted by Him! 1 Pt 5:6 Jas 4:10
29Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves,
that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!
How will you give Christ to your brothers & sisters today?
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 21st, 2023 Dear brothers and sisters of Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Fraternity,
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
In preparation for their Chapter of Elections, Jerry Sanvardine, OFS (Minister) told me that the fraternity planned to attend the 9:30 AM Mass at St. Anthony Church because Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish had this announcement in their Corpus Christi Sunday bulletin:
“ON THE HORIZON—OUR PATRONAL FEAST WEEKEND OF JUNE 17-18 SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA We shall be honoring the co-patron of our parish at all Masses the weekend of June 17-18. While the actual feast day is Tuesday, June 13, liturgical law permits that a patronal feast may be observed on the nearest weekend. This permits a greater and more solemn celebration of our parish feast day. The faithful will be able to venerate St. Anthony’s relic at the conclusion of Mass. The usual weekday Masses will be celebrated on June 13.”
This Mass was offered for the intentions of Spirit of St. Francis Fraternity.
Pam Stout, OFS (Regional Secretary), and Jeff Redder, OFS (Regional Councilor-at-large) accompanied me to the elections. With great joy, I announce the results of the Chapter of Elections held on June 18, 2023 for Spirit of St. Francis Fraternity in Hamilton, NJ:
| Name |
Position |
Helpful Info |
| Jerry Sanvardine, OFS |
Minister |
Reelected |
| Mike Sabol, OFS |
Vice Minister |
Reelected |
| Christine Muszynski, OFS |
Secretary |
New |
| Joe Campos, OFS |
Treasurer |
Reelected |
| Sue Campos, OFS |
Formation Director |
New (previous secretary) |
| Joanne Sanvardine, OFS |
Councilor |
Reelected |
(Seated l-r): Pam Stout (SKD Secretary), Sue Campos (Formation Director), Teresa Redder (SKD Minister), Joanne Sanvardine (Councilor), Christine Muszynski (Secretary)
(Standing l-r): Joe Campos (Treasurer), Jerry Sanvardine (Minister), Mike Sabol (Vice Minister), Msgr John Dermond (Spiritual Asst & Ecclesial Witness), & Jeff Redder (SKD Councilor)
Note: Jerry made the beautiful Tau cross that Teresa is holding. One of these Tau crosses was on each table of the gathering area and a wonderful reminder of our profession commitment.
The fraternity also joyfully celebrated the birthdays of Jean Fell (June 11th) and Sue Campos (June 16th).
May God continue to bless these faithful servant leaders and the fraternity that they serve with peace, goodness, and joy!
Peace and all good,
Teresa
+ + +
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 17th, 2023 Brothers and sisters,
I joyfully announce the results of the Chapter of Elections held in Norristown, PA, on June 11, 2023 for Immaculate Conception Fraternity:
| Name |
Position |
Helpful Info |
| Amanda Jamnicky, OFS |
Minister |
Reelected to 3rd term |
| Stephanie Russo, OFS |
Vice Minister |
New
(previous formation director) |
| Maria Innocenti, OFS |
Secretary |
New
(previous vice minister) |
| Jeremy Cherelli, OFS |
Treasurer |
Reelected |
| Lisa Bechtel, OFS |
Formation Director |
New
(previous secretary) |
| Mike Stanek, OFS |
Councilor |
New |
| Iliana Mendez, OFS |
Councilor |
Reelected |
Let us keep these servant leaders in our prayers!
Peace and all good,
Teresa Redder, OFS
Seated (left to right): Amanda Jamnicky (Minister), Lisa Bechtel (Formation Director), & Maria Innocenti (Secretary)
Standing (left to right): Stephanie Russo (Vice Minister), Jeremy Cherelli (Treasurer), Iliana Mendez (Councilor), Mike Stanek (Councilor), and Teresa Redder (Regional Minister)
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 17th, 2023 Brothers and Sisters,
Peace be with you! As we become involved in any kind of ministry, we learn quickly how important it is to be present to others and to value the encounter with the other person. As I begin my term as regional minister, I am personally inspired by the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis “The Joy of the Gospel.” In our Franciscan vocation, the Gospel truly does bring us joy and we must be renewed continually. When the Word of God finds its home in us, then all of our encounters are transformed by God’s love and grace. And so, let us begin, dear brothers and sisters, to find joy in every encounter!
In Christ’s love,
Teresa
Joyful Gospel Living-June 2023
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 17th, 2023 Fr. Greg Friedman Franciscan Retreat October 6 to 8, 2023
As announced at our May 6th Chapter of Elections when copies of this flyer were distributed to all fraternity ministers or their delegates, our region has announced our regional retreat weekend for October 6-8, 2023 at St. Francis Retreat Center in Easton, PA. The retreat presenter will be Fr. Greg Friedman, OFM with Franciscan perspectives on the papal encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.” We hope that each of our 24 fraternities in the region sends at least two representatives. Retreats are a special time and space to pull back from the ordinary and to encounter the extraordinary with new eyes. May this retreat awaken new horizons for our vocation!
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on June 4th, 2023 June 2023
(The following prayer was prayed by St. Pio of Pietrelcina everyday.
This might be a simple daily tribute to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, requesting that He remain in our hearts always.)
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. / You know how easily I abandon You. / Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often. / Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor. / Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness. / Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will. / Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. / Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company. / Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. / Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a dwelling of Your Love. / Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late; the days are coming to a close and life is passing.
Death, judgment, eternity are drawing near. / It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. / It is getting late and death approaches. / I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. / O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile! / Stay with me tonight, Jesus, because in the darkness of this life, with all its dangers, I need You. / Help me to me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the power which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to be one with you, and if not by Communion, at least by grace and love. / Stay with me, Jesus. / I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not deserve them, but I only ask for the gift of Your Presence. / Oh yes, I ask this of You! / Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask for no other reward but to love You more and more, with a strong and active love.
Grant that I may love You with all my heart while on earth, so that I can continue to love You perfectly, throughout all eternity, dear Jesus. Amen
(The following are taken from Franciscan Sources and each is followed by a quick thought for the day)
The Tribulations
[Francis Instructs His Companions]
1
His companions—namely Bernard of Quintavalle, Giles, Angelo, Masseo, and Leo —related that Saint Francis once said in secret to these five: “Brothers, although I may be the most vile man and least worthy creature of God, nevertheless, that you may grow in reverence and faith in your vocation and the promise of the life and Rule revealed to me by the Lord, know that Christ reveals His presence to me with great kindness and familiarity, especially whenever I cry out to Him for the benefit of the religion. He so fully and clearly agrees to all the things that I ask for that—as the Lord Himself once told me—He gave to very few, to the rarest of saints, such an abundance of His presence. – No wise man wants a soft life.
2
By His kindness and grace alone He called me and revealed Himself to me, and He taught me that I should seek confirmation of His spotless life from the Church and the Lord Pope. And Christ swayed the Lord Pope and his brothers the Lord Cardinals, and they understood that I had been sent to them by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the Lord Pope granted me everything that I asked. – Wisdom has four virtues: prudence, temperance, courage and righteousness.
3
“Happy are they who faithfully and devoutly strive to live according to their vocation, and observe purely and simply until the end the things which they promised the Lord, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven with unique glory. – There is no wisdom disjoined from goodness.
4
And woe to those who attempt to nullify out of their knowledge those things which He deigned to reveal to me to the glory of His grace, for the present and future benefit of the whole religion, and for the salvation of the souls of all the brothers. Because such people deprive themselves of grace, and drag others away from salvation, they deserve the most bitter punishments of Gehenna.” – It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see. – Carry your cross patiently and in the end it will carry you.
5
Christ did not wish to hide from him the good things and the bad, defects and progress, slips and falls, what trials and tribulations, what struggles, and what revelations would follow and happen to the religion until the end. – The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
6
Now, after that remarkable vision and its effect on the heart of each—when, absent in body, Francis was present to his brothers in a fiery chariot and their consciences were laid bare to each other, as the holy man Brother John of Celano wrote in his legend—on returning to the brothers he first comforted them regarding the heavenly vision shown them, then foretold in detail what was to happen in the religion after them. – A wise person looks at things the way they are.
7
“Do not be discouraged, brothers, because you are few and simple. Shortly many shall come to this life and religion, not only simple men, but also the wise and noble, rich and poor, laymen and clerics; and not only Italians, but also French, Spanish, Scots, Irish, Germans, Slavs, Hungarians, and those from other nations. Behold, the sound of their feet is in my ears. – Pain is God’s way of arousing a deaf world.
8
“Therefore be grateful to God and strive with all your might to make firm before Him your vocation and election in both works and holy feelings, because God placed us—unlettered, contemptible, and abject—as founders of this humble, poor, and first and last final state in this last hour. – God whispers in our pleasures but shouts in our pains.
9
It follows that it is fitting that we be even more humble, and with fear and trembling work out our salvation and bear worthy fruit of penance before God, Who by His good will alone called us to the heavenly following of His life. – Great things are accomplished with great endurance.
10
“Since many will be called and few chosen even in this religion, especially in the last days, when the times of tribulation approach, you should understand the truth of future happenings. The Most High will fill us now, at the beginning of the religion, with gifts and graces, with the sweetness of His blessing and the fruits of charity. – Beauty is God’s handwriting.
11
Like guests at His table, He will feed us the bread of life and understanding and give us to drink spiritual joy and happiness, and content us with the ineffable taste of peace and wisdom. – It is impossible for the world to exist without God.
12
“But an enemy will try to sow weeds in the religion, and many will enter the religion who will begin to live not for Christ but for themselves, and will follow the prudence of the flesh more than obedience to the faith and the Rule, granting much to the flesh and little to the spirit, acquiescing to the fragility of nature, and closing the ears of the heart to grace. – We expect too much of God, but He always seems ready.
13
They shall neglect to do violence to themselves that they may seize the kingdom of God. Because of this the religion will diminish and decline from perfection, and the fervor of perfect charity will begin to grow tepid. – The hardness of God is always kinder than the softness of man.
14
There shall also be some who innocently and faithfully follow after us in sorrow and weariness, and they shall be afflicted and oppressed by those who differ from them. – God is not an idea or a definition we have committed to memory, He is a presence we experience in our hearts.
15
“Then, after that tribulation of evils and sufferings, the situation will decline toward what is worse and even more bitter. Evil spirits shall attack the religion, and many shall rise against it: those living carnal, animal lives in the religion shall be multiplied, and they shall be entangled and caught in the delights and the cares of life. – If God loves us as much as we love God, where would we all be?
16
“They shall shamelessly throw themselves into lawsuits in order to acquire money, bequests, and legacies. They shall withdraw from love of holy poverty and humility. In hatred they shall persecute and punish those in the religion who resist them. Because of this their words and deeds, internally and externally, shall be very bitter. Internally, they shall move away from poverty, humility, and prayer; they shall give themselves ambitiously to learning and lecturing, and they shall prefer words to virtues, learning to holiness, pride and arrogance to humility. – God would not be the God that He is if we could prove that He was.
17
Accusing those who oppose them, they shall call it piety to shame and oppress them by deceit, and will preach that it is justice to wage war upon them. They shall disturb clerics and fall away from reverence for them, contradicting the humility they promised. – The atheist staring from his attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in his own false image of God.
18
The laity shall be scandalized by their greed for things, and they shall give an example of frivolity and vanity in their changing places, and in sumptuous and ornate buildings. They will bite and devour each other. They will pant for ecclesiastical honors, competing among themselves to be and to appear superior. – God is a busy worker, but He loves help.
19
But they shall despise as crazy brothers who try to cling to humility and labor to rise up to Heaven through a pure observance of their promises. They will revile such brothers as useless and good for nothing, but they will admire and extol those intent on seeking high offices, and praise their prudence. – Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
20
“Therefore, after these things, their conduct and life will be very bitter and completely unbearable to everyone, and they shall shame and persecute and defame each other. The stench of their conduct will be impossible to hide. Then the religion beloved by God will be so defamed by bad example that the good brothers will be ashamed to go out in public. – Give what you have; to someone it may be more than you dare to think.
21
Then every wicked man will turn the stench of his own malice back at the brothers, and will start to excuse and minimize his crimes by comparing his deed to those of the brothers, saying: ‘The brothers do things that are even worse.’ Only a few, with many tribulations and much opposition, will turn themselves wholeheartedly to Christ and the observance of their vocation. – The return from our generosity is not always evident.
22
The novices who shall then enter the religion, lacking the example and direction of their superiors, will be stunned by the things they will see and their life-giving desires and works of grace will dry up, and they shall look back. But some of them shall cry out to Christ in prayer and, lacking the guidance of masters, they shall be filled with outstanding gifts of grace and blessings from the Lord and shall be led to the summit of highest perfection. – When the hand ceases to scatter, the mouth ceases to praise.
23
In the end what will become of them is what usually happens with fishermen: they cast their net into the sea, and catch a great multitude of bad fish and a few good ones. Hauling it to shore they pick out the few good ones and place them in their containers, but they toss out the bad ones and leave them on the shore to be devoured by birds.” This is already happening to this religion in these last days. – There is nothing permanent except change.
[Confirmation of the Rule]
24
After a few days, when their number had now come to twelve, Christ appeared to him again and said: “Write down the life which I have revealed to you and present it to My Vicar. Request in My name that it be confirmed for you, your companions, and all who wish to accept it. Those who shall receive it humbly and reverently, and observe it simply and faithfully, will share in the spirit of life and be clothed in the light of My splendor. – When human beings are easy in their circumstances, they are naturally enemies to innovations.
25
Those who despise it shall be wrapped up in darkness and shadows, and they shall be worse off than other men for they will have fallen from a higher state and calling.” – Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, not even to profit by it, but to cause it.
26
What he requested seemed very difficult, almost impossible, for the weakness and tepidity of the men of his day, so the Supreme Pontiff urged him to accept some order or rule that was already approved. But he insisted that he had been sent by Christ to request this life, not another, and remained firm in his petition. – When people shake their heads because we live in a restless age, how would they like a stationary life and do without any change.
27
Then Lord John of Saint Paul, Bishop of Sabina, and Lord Hugo, Bishop of Ostia, moved by the spirit of God, stood by Saint Francis, and in the presence of the Supreme Pontiff and the cardinals offered many reasonable and very effective arguments for the things he was asking. – There is no mortar that time will not loose.
28
Meanwhile, that night, the Supreme Pontiff saw in a dream a man identical in every way to Saint Francis, supporting on his shoulders the Lateran church, which was leaning so far that it would fall, and kept it upright by his strength. – To change and to improve are two different things.
29
And the next day Saint Francis, instructed by the spirit of Christ, presented before the pope a parable about a poor and beautiful woman who conceived and bore sons resembling the king; and she raised them in the desert. Sometime later, passing through the area again, the king recognized them as his offspring, placed them at his table, and made them heirs and kings of his kingdom. – What Jesus asked is not that we give up anything, because that is loss, but that we exchange what we have for something better.
30
The Supreme Pontiff understood that what he was asking came from Christ and not from man, and giving thanks to God, granted his requests, and by his authority made them preachers of the Gospel, and promised in the future that if they asked for something he would do it generously and graciously. – Nothing surpasses the greatness or dignity of the human person.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on June 4th, 2023 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 2023
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary
May you enter the loving embrace of the Father
Whose Holy Spirit fills us with Life and Love.
The Cross, earth’s greatest pulpit, raised our King for all to see in the glory and majesty of his infamy and humiliation. The Heart of Jesus unloved by those loved by Him must have felt such deep sorrow and pain that words cannot fathom, much less explain. His words cut deeply into the hearts of those who stood by. The words of the bystanders to the Cross were filled with anger, ridicule, blasphemy. Jesus responded with words from the Cross filled with understanding,
compassion, forgiveness, surrender, and LOVE.
The Cross-Road of Calvary offers a challenge to all who look upon the Crucified. It indicates a needed directional change “upward” and beyond. Jesus, exhausted and weak, musters up the strength to say It is finished (John 19: 30). If we only would reflect and understand the powerful meaning and impact of these few words, how our lives might change! While the English translation is good, it is the Latin expression that so powerfully expresses the deeper significance of the words. They speak of the completion of a mission, the fulfillment of the Promise God made to our first parents, as well as of all the prophecies up to that time regarding the Messiah. Nevertheless, they also speak of the intimacy and fruitfulness of the greatest act of God’s love: consummatum est! – It is consummated! (John 19: 30) When an agreement is consummated, when a love is consummated, the total surrender of one to the other is made without reserve, and from the two a new way of being emerges, unique in its own personality, but similar to those whose agreement and love have allowed it to be. Jesus totally surrendered His Will and existence to the Father and thus also to all humanity.
We are the children of that consummated act of love that introduced humanity once again to the loving embrace of the Eternal Father. In the Blood of the Savior, and His love for us, we are re-born into a new creation and receive our status as children of God, (cfr.1 John 3: 1) in the blood of Christ. We are unique in our individual personalities but are one with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, through the Blood of Christ. The Easter Proclamation of Light Service chants: What good would life have been had Christ not come to us as our Redeemer! Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son. It is this same Incarnate Son Who completed His mission on earth by being “consumed” upon the cross. It was this consummation that brought an end to the earthly life of Jesus and began a new Life for us.
The completion of His mission from the Father was the beginning of our being sent forth as His “backup plan” as His Mystical Body in time. This awesome responsibility and trusting mandate of Jesus continues for the sisters and brothers of the Poverello of Assisi who responded with their “yes” to live the life of the Gospel. The Gospel is the “Good News” and the Good News is the person of Jesus the Christ, Son of God, Word Incarnate. He continues His life-giving ministry of presence and power through us, a compassionate presence of powerful love.
The Divine Heart of Jesus burned with love for everyone. The crown of thorns was a sign to mock Him as Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. (John 19: 19) His majesty was marked by the throne of the cross, the crown of thorns, nails for jewels, and a beaten body covered in blood for a royal robe. The image of the Crucified Savior and His pierced Heart is a constant reminder that Love is not loved. St. Francis of Assisi weeping profusely often repeated this phrase so that others might consider the Love of Christ that is so often taken for granted, or “not taken” at all.
Many great Saints have promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not some emotional expression of pious prayers intended to excite our feelings, as some seem to believe. All true prayer should be able to arouse within us a sense of the Divine Presence. Prayers help us feel good and trusting in what we believe God will respond to our needs according to His Will. However, when we speak Cor ad Cor (heart to Heart) to the Lord, the relationship deepens and we move from feeling to becoming. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a symbol for us to focus upon that reminds us of a love unequaled and always desired. Prayer keeps the loving relationship alive and, hopefully well, with the Source of all we are and are called to be.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart offers us the image that society uses to express the transparency of truth (cross my heart and hope to die – used by children), unquestionable integrity (put my whole heart and soul into it), and the depth of limitless love (I love you with all my heart). We use the heart to confirm and seal many a relationship we desire to establish with others. The heart is mentioned not just as an emotional symbol but as a verifying reality of the depth of a person’s desires and availability. The heart conditions the thoughts and actions that people often express. The following of one’s heart reveals a great deal about who a person is, or desires to be.
The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, following The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), is the crowning celebration of the liturgical year. All the other liturgical celebrations originate and revolve around the great Paschal Mystery of the Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus. More often than not they concern some truth of our Catholic Faith that we accept and believe as “Catholics”. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus may not be a dogma of faith, but it summarizes in this image the love of Jesus for humanity. In a sense it explains everything we believe as God’s continued act of Eternal Love. It becomes the ultimate explanation for all the events celebrated during the year by reminding us of their origin in God’s Love, their development and progression in God’s Love, and their ultimate fulfillment in God’s eternal Loving Embrace.
Reflection and meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our Lord and God, Crucified Savior, Pierced Redeemer, invites all to come to the Throne on which hung the Savior of the world (cfr. Veneraton of the Cross Liturgy of Good Friday). Ascending to the right hand of the Father He bears with Him the “engraved” signs of His love for His family redeemed in His sacrificial offering on the Cross. The nail prints and open side are eternal reminders for us of the love of God Who became one of His own creatures, the condescension of compassion as St. Leo the Great refers to the Incarnation. For all eternity He bears the marks of His indelible unity with creation and the length He was willing to go as one of us to seal an unbreakable bond with the Father. In Jesus, the bond between time and eternity is made sure and we are offered the undeniable road that leads to the fullness of Life. God devised the way in Jesus, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of the solid connection that leads to Life.
The human Heart of Jesus is one with the Eternal Love of God and the two who are one call us to seek first the kingdom of God and His holy operation (Scripture and St. Francis of Assisi) Come, let us adore Him! As we do, our eyes are open to see, our minds to understand, and our hearts to receive the message of love and compassion we are called to continue. Unless we can open our hearts to envelop others in love, our love remains stale and life-less, or better, love-less. As our Mother St. Clare of Assisi wrote to a spiritual daughter St. Agnes of Prague: Gaze upon the Lord. Gaze upon His Face. Allow the image of the Crucified and His pierced Heart to enter your soul through the windows of your eyes and experience the love that emanates from that image.
The Love of Christ forgets our sins and remembers only His mercy. Jesus makes his voice more clearly audible in our hearts when we focus in prayer and gaze upon the Lord. St. Francis knew that love is recognized in the daily crosses of our lives. It is as though Jesus is saying Courage! Do not be afraid! (Mark 6: 50) I have conquered the world! (John 16: 33) The love of Jesus and the images of that Love in the Crucified and the Sacred Heart empower us to be courageous in proclaiming, faithful in living, and thus at peace in our trust in the One Whose Love can never fail. The moment of His greatest defeat, was the moment of His victory.
Franciscans of any obedience strive to embody for deeply the charism of our Seraphic Father. We are called to disarm our hearts as Jesus disarmed His Most Sacred Heart. Through His ultimate sacrifice to death we are able to rejoice in our restored nature to grace and new life. Faith in Jesus empowers us with courage rooted in an active hope that conquers hearts and the world. After the battles of life comes the serenity, peace and joy that can only be lived and not even imagined. We are consumed by love for God and love for neighbor. God is continually fixed in our mind and imprinted in our heart. We can never lose sight of Him. We feel nothing except the desire to have and want what God wants. How overpowering it is to live by the heart! It means living at every moment a death to our egos that never kills the body, but energizes and enlivens our spirit, our soul. Who will set me free from this consuming fire! (cfr Hebrews 12: 29)
St. Francis of Assisi lived in the presence of God and was consumed by God’s love. The more he lived in God, the more he was aware of the concerns and needs of his sisters and brothers. How can we speak of love of God in our hearts, when we have no love for our sisters and brothers?! Love is not always materially fruitful. In fact, some may think us foolish, others may think us exhibitionists, others may call us hypocrites. We may be ridiculed by those who cannot understand a forgiving heart. Some may think us weak because we have disarmed our heart towards those who may oppose or offend us. Others may fail to recognize us now that we have unmasked our fears and are willing to stand courageously and trustingly before one another in the Name of Jesus.
True devotion for the Love of Jesus in His Sacred Heart is found in its epitome in our love for the Hidden Prisoner in the Tabernacle. This love is a transforming antidote to all that affects us in spirit and often even in the body. Jesus, I trust in You! (Prayer of Divine Mercy) We trust in Jesus, because Jesus has shown us the depth of his trust in us, to the point of being pierced that we might be healed. Through His wounds you are healed (1 Peter 2: 24).
It is most obvious how the Poverello of Assisi lived the image of the Crucified. A few years before he died his body received the visible stigmata of the wounds of Jesus. Hearts were rekindled in their awareness and love for the Passion-Death of our Savior. It was in the wound of the heart however, seen by only a privileged few, that Francis could say I have died, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me (Galatians 2: 20). The holy heart of St. Francis, empowered by the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Whose image he was gifted to be, could now say with St. Paul: I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s sufferings, for the sake of his body, the church (Colossians 1: 24). Now he understood, the words of the Cross of San Damiano: Francis rebuild my Church for as you see it is falling in to ruin. The consuming love that filled the heart of our Seraphic Father was one with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the spirit until the mystery became fullness of reality for eternity.
As Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi, the Crucified of La Verna, how much we still have to learn about Love! The Sacred Heart that pulsated from the womb of Mary until it was pierced by the soldier’s lance as Jesus hung upon the Cross keeps reminding us that Love is not loved. Can we ever learn to love God for God’s Love’s sake without looking for return?! When we can love without fear, though we recognize our sins and failures that never seem to leave us, then it is that we can truly say Jesus I trust in you.(Divine Mercy prayer) Redemption was sealed with the last drop of blood and water from the Sacred Heart of Jesus spilled on the cross at Golgotha by the soldier’s lance. This gift of redeeming and forgiving love is repeated whenever we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation with sincere loving repentance. The Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus knows no limits, His love is everlasting (Psalm 136). Do not let human inconstancy, foolish fear, and senseless shame keep you from the well of Jesus’ Love that is overflowing for all to drink from the richness of His Most Sacred Heart. And may that forgiving Love lead us to the uniting and empowering Love of the Eucharist that allows us to be one with Him as He is in the Father.
May the Good Lord bless you; Our Lady and good St. Joseph, guide, guard and protect you; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis and holy Mother St. Clare watch over you, their Spiritual Children and all your loved ones, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on May 5th, 2023 May 2023
Hail, O Lady, holy Queen, you are the virgin made church
and the one chosen by the most holy Father in heaven
whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all the fullness of grace and every good.
Hail, His Palace! Hail, His, Tabernacle! Hail, His Home!
Hail, His Robe! Hail, His Servant! Hail, His Mother!
And hail all you holy virtues which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit
are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that from
their faithless state you may make them faithful to God.
(Salutation of the Blessed Virgin)
(below: first quote from Franciscan sources THE TRIBULATIONS –
second quote from various spiritual writers)
Prologue
1
The life of Francis, poor and humble man of God, founder of the three Orders, has been written by four estimable persons, brothers brilliant in learning and holiness, namely John and Thomas of Celano, Brother Bonaventure, minister general after blessed Francis, and a man of marvelous simplicity and holiness, Brother Leo, the companion of Saint Francis. – To expect God to do something while we do nothing is superstition not faith.
2
Anyone who reads and diligently examines these four descriptions or histories will be able to know in part from the matters told in them the vocation, way of life, holiness, innocence, life, and first and last intention of that seraphic man; and how Christ especially loved him and was kind and familiar with him, cleansing, illuminating, and forming him; drawing him after Himself to follow the footprints of His perfection, appearing to him crucified. He so transformed him into Himself, that from then on he lived not for himself but, fully crucified, for Christ. – Live with people to know their problems and live with God in order to solve them.
3
To him Christ was substance, impulse, sense, light, and life; he was imprinted by fire in his memory, intellect, and passion; he was united and secretly conformed to the cross deep within his marrow. And all that he was, all that he desired, thought, spoke, and did, he received from Christ, and he vigilantly, humbly, and blessedly arranged and perseveringly fulfilled all according to Him and on account of Him. – The hottest place in hell, says the poet Dante, is reserved for those who in a moral crisis maintain their neutrality.
Christ Instructs Francis
4
Jesus Christ found him faithful, obedient, grateful, simple, upright, humble, in accord with His heart; and revealed to him the first and last perfection of His evangelical life and that of His mother, His apostles, and the evangelists. He opened his ears and trained him with a powerful hand in the incorruptible and perfect works of heaven, and placed Himself in his heart, his mouth, and his arms. – A Christian must resemble a fruit tree whose fruit grows on it and not a Christmas tree whose gaudy decorations are only tied on.
5
Christ said to him: “Take from my hand the scroll, the law of grace and humility, of poverty, piety, charity, and peace; the form of life which I kept with my disciples, a life-giving rule for a spotless life and fullness of grace, the sure acquisition of glory for the soul directing in action and in thought the possession and ascent to heavenly and divine things. This I created substantially in the saints from the beginning and showed it to be the form of perfection. – Faith is the power that you and I have to move mountains if we are not too proud to push a barrow.
6
“Naked, being born of the Virgin in a way words cannot describe, I was wrapped in the swaddling clothes of poverty, and lay in the manger of humility, because I did not want to have a place in the inn, so that, in a mystery, I might show poverty to be the sure way to the kingdom of heaven, and I might confirm in words and deeds the humble lovers and observers of poverty to be heirs and kings of that same kingdom, ordained by my Father from eternity. – Let one do good deeds and then ask God to explain His Law.
7
“A powerful angel, in spirit and power the prophet Elias, herald of my advent and incarnation, John the Baptist, I sent before me to prepare my ways and to make straight the paths, to preach penance and, in deeds and in word, to give knowledge of salvation for the remission of sins. Thus, through him, all might believe in me, and for believing, loving, and observing the perfection of my poor, meek, and humble way of living and most divine life, all wishing to come after me might have a pious and most sure director, guide, and patron from this point until the end of the world. – First act like good an upright people then ask for wisdom.
8
“For this reason, giving to those choosing to come after me escape from the shadows of error and the damnation of eternal confusion and death, and entry to the kingdom of God, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, as soon as I was baptized by him I was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit. In fasting, vigils, and prayer I consecrated by example the period of forty days, teaching through this that the lifetime of the baptized ought to be consecrated fully and perfectly to divine worship; and so those following me, by my power might conquer the prince of death, ruler of the world of this darkness, and dead to the world and all things which are of the world, they might live for God alone, seeking and minding things that are above, not those on earth. – When we have grasped the way of humility then we can ask God for understanding.
9
“I preached penance and the kingdom of heaven, like a swift runner, covered with one tunic and a cheap cloak, opening up the ways of life to my disciples, going along together with them without money, sandals, bag, or purse. Lacking a roof, I who made the heavens had no place to lay my head, so that I might show to those imitating me that the world and all things which are of the world must be accounted as loss and dung and despised. – When someone says they have rights that usually means they are suffering wrongs.
10
“I spent the night awake in prayer before God, by day teaching in the synagogues and the temple hatred of the world, desire, greed, hypocrisy, and of lies, pride, and malice. And so that they might recognize Me as the Messiah promised to our forefathers, God made human, Emmanuel, and might accept Me for salvation, curing by My power all illnesses and infirmities, I cast out demons, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, and forgave sins. – When you begin to ignore human dignity you will eventually begin to ignore human rights.
11
“I made those whom I chose from the world otherworldly, Brother, by both My word and the example of My poor, humble, heavenly life. I did not lose any of them, but they remained with Me in My trials, and I sanctified them. Leaving the world, I commended them to the Father, because they were Mine and not of the world. By My example they were to be supernaturally victorious, and to preach through the whole earth to Jews and Gentiles hatred and contempt of the world on account of My name, and profess faith in Me and the eternal glory and honor of My kingdom, which is not of this world. – Justice impels us to desire and to insist that everyone receives what we all have a right to.
12
“I confirmed My preaching in My blood through death on the cross, naked, outside the gate hanging in the midst of thieves, abandoned to insults and the most bitter sufferings, boundless and innumerable, so that, redeemed by the price of My blood and the power of My death, I might raise up those corrupted by pride, vanity, and carnality, those rightly condemned to a double death; so that I might make them most ardent lovers of My pains and death and cross, overcoming themselves, the world, and the devil. – The challenge to Christians is to respond to the Word of God as present to us through human beings who have specific needs and strive to affirm their humanity.
13
Just as I laid down My life for the salvation of humankind to the honor and glory of the Father, so they, redeemed through Me, might lay down their life, to the glory and honor of My name, holding fast to the means of My death and the cross, by which the world, with the prince of death, is conquered, grace is possessed in the present, and glory in the future. – Glory is perfected grace.
14
“I conformed them to My death, sharing My pains and suffering, so that they might understand the beginning of the opening of the book of life and, in it, the inscription and message of My infinite love, the door leading into the brilliance of My wisdom, and the key opening the secret splendors of My works, words, precepts, counsels, sacraments and promises, and the sure revelation of the blessings of my glory, by which the children of light and My grace are separated from the children of darkness and sin, and the citizens of the kingdom from the citizens of Babylon and Hell.” – We cannot seek grace through gadgets.
15
This Benjamin, Francis, along with Paul, the least of the saints, learned and received all the things which he wrote in the Rule and the Testament and in his letters and admonitions, neither from men nor through a man, but by revelation of Jesus Christ appearing to him, seraphically dwelling in him, and speaking to him in the form of the cross. These things he preached blatantly in very clear, brief words, and perfectly fulfilled them in faithful deeds. – Don’t let go of me. God hold on a bit longer.
16
He was so ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit when Christ Jesus appeared to him as if nailed to the cross, that after the example of Christ Jesus the redeemer, who hung on the cross naked in the midst of thieves and died, he firmly proposed that, naked and separated from the world, unrecognized by all men, as we read about Mary Magdalene and many other saints, he would serve Christ even unto death, or he would offer himself to any harsh tortures and martyrdom to preach the faith and witness to Christ Jesus among the Saracens or other unbelievers. – We ride with ease when we are carried by the grace of God.
17
Turned toward Christ, he begged with devout prayers and burning desires, to be enlightened about his direction and reassured by Him from whom every good thing and every gift is freely given to all and without whom nothing pleasing to God can be accomplished. – We are drawn to God by loving attractions and holy inspirations.
18
Appearing to him, Christ Jesus, our Savior, said: “Francis: follow Me, and hold to the footprints of the poverty and humility of My life. To be conformed and united to Me in the senses, intellect, and action is the goal of My every promise and fulfillment of grace and glory. For if you cling to Me with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength, so that your every thought is in Me and about Me, all your words are from Me, for Me, and with Me, and all your works are done always on account of Me and for the honor and glory of My name, you will be My servant and I will be with you, and I will speak through your mouth, and whoever hears you, hears Me, and whoever receives you, receives Me, and whoever blesses you, will be blessed and whoever curses you, will be cursed. – Go only asks from you what he gives you the power to do.
19
“You and all your brothers whom I will give you are to live in My likeness living, as strangers and pilgrims, dead to the world. Ground yourself, your rule and life on the poverty and nakedness of My cross, because My substance of all communicable riches of grace and glory is grounded and based on poverty, and the infinite blessed enjoyment of all My goods is possessed in striving toward My humility. For the depth of humility is immense, and in those who truly love and possess poverty and humility is the look of My happiness and the resting-place and dwelling of My favor. – Grace justifies me and sets me free from the slavery of sin.
20
“Therefore the congregation of your brotherhood will be called the religion of lesser ones, so that from the name they might understand that above all they are to be truly humble of heart; since humility is the cloak of My honor and praise, and anyone passing from this life with this habit will find the gates of My kingdom open. – Man is born broken; he lives by mending. The grace of God is the glue.
21
“I asked My Father to grant Me in this last hour a little poor people, humble, and meek, and mild, who would be like Me in all things, in poverty and humility, and who would be content to have only Me; I would come to rest and remain in this people, just as My Father rests and remains in Me: and this people would rest and remain in Me just as I remain in the Father and rest in His Spirit. My Father gave you to Me, along with those who with their whole heart and with unfeigned faith and perfect charity cling to Me through you; and I will guide and nourish them, and they shall be sons to Me, and I shall be a father to them. – Grace is nature’s perfection.
22
Whoever receives you, receives Me; and whoever persecutes you, persecutes and despises Me: and My judgment will come upon your despisers and persecutors; but My blessing will remain upon those receiving and blessing you. “Let My Gospel be your Rule, and My life be your life, My cross your repose, My charity your life, My death your hope and resurrection. – A balanced soul, filled with the light of inner grace, is not afraid to look at the darkness outside.
23
Let the reproaches, blasphemies, and mockery against Me be your honors, blessings, and commendations; let your life, joy, and glory be to endure death and torments for Me; let your portion and riches be to wish to have nothing under heaven; let your distinction, consolation, and triumph be to be humbled beneath all and to rejoice to be afflicted and vilified on account of My name. – Grace is the free gift of Almighty God to needy humanity.
24
“The places in which the brothers will live as strangers and pilgrims to worship and praise Me, shall be vile, poor little buildings, made of mud and wattle, set apart from the vanities and tumult of the world, and lacking ownership and rights. With the obedience, permission, and good pleasure of bishops and clerics they shall accept the buildings as strangers and pilgrims, staying in them only as long as the owners of the places wish it and it pleases the bishops, always prepared to leave there willingly and thankfully when their hosts ask them to leave. They shall be like Me and conformed to Me when they spend time in worshiping Me, living in these places as strangers, preaching My name in deed and conduct; and as strangers and pilgrims they shall leave very willingly when asked, showing perfectly by such a glad and humble gesture that they hold onto nothing there and did not wish to hold onto anything.” – God and ourselves can only be bridged by God.
25
Therefore in his Testament, which he made near his death, he says: “After the Lord gave me brothers and companions, no one showed me what I ought to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I ought to live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel. And I had this written down simply and in a few words, and the Lord Pope confirmed it for me.” And for the pure and Catholic observance of this life, in the end he made his Testament, in which he showed that he received the beginning, development, and end of his conversion through revelation from Jesus Christ. – If you have seen your brother, you have seen God.
26
The faith and obedience of the Roman Church and of all the priests ordained by the same Church, though sinners, are to be venerated, so much so that, if he had as much wisdom as Solomon, he would not preach in their parishes against their will and obedience. Enlightened by Christ he taught them to respect, love, and honor the ministers of the sacraments of the Church as their lords, and above all that these sacraments and divine words and all masters and doctors of sacred theology must be venerated and honored because, he said, through this we share in spirit and life through their ministry. – To be Church means to live as part of a family aware that we need others.
27
They should perform the Office according to the custom of the Roman Church. The brothers should be content with one tunic patched inside and out for the sake of the true observance of poverty, and not wish to have more, but be sincerely subject to all, showing the lesser state of humility in their way of life and work, working with their hands for the sake of example and love of virtue, to avoid idleness, and to provide for the needs of their bodies and of those of their brothers in an evangelical way; showing that it is great humility, ineffable dignity, and participation at the table of the King of glory Himself to have recourse to the table of the Lord and seek alms from door to door when they are not paid for their work. – God did not spare His only Son, and He is not going to be soft on His adopted ones either.
28
Blessed Francis had learned from Christ that it is a great dignity and incomparable honor according to God and man for the evangelical poor to seek alms for the love of the Lord God, because all things created both in heaven and on earth cannot be compared to the love of God, for all things which the heavenly Father created for human use out of love for His beloved Son, after sin, have been given, free, as alms, to the worthy and the unworthy. Therefore, what is asked and given for the love of the Lord God and the love of Christ Jesus His Son, who became poor for us so that by His poverty He would make us rich in present grace and sanctify us as blessed in future glory, can be called the bread of angels rather than the food of the body. – I am a part and parcel of the whole, I cannot find God apart from the whole of humanity.
29
Thus, according to what he received from Christ, Francis says in his Rule: “Let the brothers not make anything their own, neither house, nor place, nor anything at all; but as pilgrims and strangers in this world, serving the Lord in poverty and humility, let them go seeking alms with confidence; and they should not be ashamed because, for us, the Lord made Himself poor in this world. This is that sublime height of the highest poverty which has made you, my most beloved brothers, heirs and kings of the Kingdom of Heaven, poor in temporal things, exalted in virtue. Let this be your portion, which leads into the land of the living. Giving yourselves totally to this, most beloved brothers, never seek anything else under heaven for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you will help them to become what they are capable of being.
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In order to preserve purely and completely the perfection of the highest evangelical poverty revealed to him by Christ, Francis, in the strength and certitude of the spirit of Christ, strictly orders: “Wherever they may be, they are not to dare to ask any letter from the Roman Curia, either personally or through an intermediary, whether for a church or a place, or under the pretext of preaching or the persecution of their bodies; but wherever they have not been received let the brothers flee into another country to do penance with the blessing of God.” He adds at the end that his Testament is not another Rule, but an exhortation or remembrance of both his first and last intention, revealed to him by Christ, a testament which he made for his blessed brothers, that they might observe the Rule they promised the Lord in a more Catholic way, because the Catholic, faithful, and pure observance of the Rule, which he received from Christ, was contained in the literal understanding of the Testament and Rule. – No wise man wants a soft life.
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Therefore he strictly commanded by obedience that they were not to place glosses on the Rule and Testament, saying: “They should be understood in this way.” But as the Lord granted him to speak and write the Rule and Testament simply and purely, they were to understand them simply and purely without gloss, and observe them with a holy activity until the end. Therefore anyone who possesses the truth of the faith and charity of Christ knows how many absurd and inappropriate things are said by those who attempt to void or nullify Saint Francis, his Rule and Testament, things against Christ, the apostles, their disciples, the evangelists, anchorites, cenobites, heads of churches, founders of all the orders of perfection and, in fact, even against the Roman Church itself. Christ was familiar with Francis, like a father with his most beloved son. He informed him of the good pleasure of His will; and showed him what was useful, fit, and helpful at the moment, and for coming, foreseen tribulation. He showed through him and in him the preparations for the final perfect state of contemplation in the heaven of the Church. But his own did not accept him. – They can be no wisdom disjoined from goodness.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on May 5th, 2023 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 2023
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis of Assisi,
The Lord grant you the gifts of Easter Joy,
given on the first Easter Sunday to those gathered in the Upper Room:
The Paraclete of Divine Presence
The Pardon of Divine Mercy
The Peace of His abiding Divine Life-giving Love within and around you…and
The ever-present warmth of motherly love of our Mother Mary
Who accepted us as Her children at the foot of the Cross
Our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi tells us so much of his love for Mary and his awareness of Her place in the mystery of our salvation. His love for Her was undeniable. Francis saw the Mother of God and our Heavenly Mother always in relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and, because of that, to the Church.
Holy Virgin Mary, among the women born into the world,
there is no one like you.
Daughter and servant of the most high and supreme
King and of the Father in heaven,
Mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
pray for us with Saint Michael the Archangel,
all the powers of heaven and all the saints,
at the side of your most beloved Son, our Lord and Teacher.
The Easter Season calls to mind the great truths of our Faith celebrated in this most holy period. The Incarnation of the Word in the womb of Mary is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Father’s Promise to humanity. Human nature is redeemed on Calvary, assured of salvation for those who live in the light and truth of the Resurrection of Jesus, and is raised up with Jesus and glorified in His Ascension. The last Sunday of this month celebrates the Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and heralds the birth of the Church and its coming of age to Proclaim the Gospel to every creature. (Mark 16: 15-16). The Holy Spirit continues this action of restoration and sanctification of creation down through the ages. And Mary is an integral protagonist at every moment in this Drama of Redemption and Theater of Salvation from the beginning to the fulfillment of God’s Promises.
Our Blessed Mother Mary, the mere mention of Whose name speaks of the ‘Yes’ with which she responded to God’s offer to become His earthly Mother, is a powerful yet gentle reminder of the eminent role She fulfills in the mystery and history of our salvation. Throughout the liturgical year Our Lady is always present as the Church celebrates the mysteries of Her Son. True devotion to Mary, our Mother and Queen, whose Immaculate Heart envelops all Her children with tender loving care, always leads us to Jesus, Her Son, and to a greater love and trust in God.
With the passing of time, many ‘obvious’ remembrances are institutionalized as feasts or celebrations of some sort, so that we do not forget their significance in our journey of faith. The further away we move in time from the actual events and persons we habitually celebrate, the more they can become a mere memory of the past rather than a living experience for us today. When we celebrate God and His saving action in and for humanity, the experience and relevance are always actual and timely. There can never be a time or occasion when God is not relevant or necessary. If God does not build the house, in vain do the laborers labor. If God does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. (Psalm 127: 1)
It is this active presence of God that demands we return to our origins to re-discover the relevance of God’s Word and the impact His Word must have on our daily life. If we could see the events of our Faith with the heart of those who had seen and walked with Jesus, before and after His Passion-Death-Resurrection, things could be drastically different. If we only allowed the events of our lives and how God manifests Himself to us to penetrate our hearts as Mary did! She kept all these things in Her heart. (Luke 2: 19) If we could only remember that we as Franciscans are called to live the Gospel, and thus reflect – keep in our hearts – upon the words of the Word and take them to ourselves, how different our response would be to the challenges of openness, compassion, understanding, patience, acceptance, detachment, transparency, obedience, Franciscan fraternity … LOVE! That little word “if” packs a wallop when it is taken seriously!
With the eyes of a Faith convinced and committed, we can experience the same zeal and enthusiasm of the first followers. We too can be excited, enthused and encouraging not only about our Catholic Faith in general, but also about our Franciscan vocation in particular, and all that envisions and expects of us who profess to be Franciscans. As a faith-filled Jewish woman, Mary knew what collaborating with God usually entails: to put it in Franciscan terms, “Perfect Joy”. The “joy” was in knowing that everything that would be asked of Her was a part of God’s Plan to restore creation to its original grace-filled beauty. The “perfect” part was accepting a central collaborative part in the process of faith-filled dependence on God’s will with a hope-filled acceptance of all that is asked, regardless of how much is totally understood or desired. Only Love, and true love, can so completely abandon oneself with serenity to the unexpected, unknown, undesired, and say “yes” with such trust, that a God could become human, without every losing anything of His Divinity, and humanity could actually share in the Life of God Himself. Wow! What more can anyone ask! All this is thanks to a young virgin who said “yes” to the impossible, because God asked Her permission and assistance!
The Holy Spirit that descended on the first followers is the same Holy Spirit that we receive at Baptism and Confirmation. The distinction is seen in the effects of the Spirit’s presence based on the availability of the person ‘gifted’ by the Holy Spirit. Our Faith, founded on the Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus, would be of no value had it not been for the empowering of the Spirit in those first followers whose availability to His prompting allowed them to be led by the Holy Spirit of God that they might lead others. We are called to lead others to know, love and serve God in the Gospel Life proclaimed by Jesus. In the Spirit, we remember, we celebrate, and we believe Jesus to be the Incarnate Son of God and Redeemer of humanity. This Faith will bring us to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus, and consequently with one another, just as it did for the first followers of Jesus. Mary, once again, is the prime exemplar; She believed the unbelievable, was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, (Luke 1: 34-35) and the impossible happened! The Creator became one with His creature; divinity and humanity became one through the total surrender in Faith of Mary to the Father’s will.
The first and most excellent of all the faithful was Mary, our Blessed Mother. Faith accompanied Her into the divine plan that made Her Mother of the Christ, Mother of the Christian, Mother of the Church. The depth of Faith of the Mother of God, expressed so powerfully at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, was enhanced with the added ministry entrusted to Her by Her dying Son. He called Her to become the Mother of all the Faithful: Woman, behold Your son; Son, behold Your Mother. (John 19: 26-27) Infinitely less than Jesus and eminently greater than all humanity, Mary makes the ultimate sacrifice in offering Her Son to the Father with the same availability to the Father’s Will with which She offered Her first ‘yes’ to become the Mother of the Savior. She manifests Herself to be, in the words of our Seraphic Father St. Francis, the Virgin made Church.
The Church maintains the living presence of the Savior, most especially in the great gift of the Eucharist – the living Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Savior. This same Church continues, with Mary, to offer Her Son – our Brother, Lord, Savior, Word Incarnate, GOD – to the Father, in that one perfect Sacrifice perpetuated through the ages in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We are that Church! We, like Mary, offer ourselves each day in loving response to God’s tremendous and extravagant love for us in Jesus. And we are spiritually transformed by the graces that flow to us from Jesus through Mary. We are offered the challenge and opportunity to become the living image of the One whom we consume, as He consumes us, JESUS.
Mother of the Redeemer, She excels in the example of total surrender to God’s Will. Her Faith is an active and essential element of Her very being. Faith is not just a static acceptance of some theological truth. It is living life in the light of what we have come to believe. St. Augustine tells us that faith is believing what you do not see, and seeing what you believe. Thus, ‘believing is seeing, not vice versa as we are accustomed to presume. Believing God’s Word, we see God’s almighty power and providence at work in our lives, and thus we can confidently yield to all the Father requests of us. This same Faith places Mary in a position of total trust in God and profound love for all His children, now entrusted to Her motherly care by Jesus. She stands as the Advocate for all Her children before the Majesty of the Blessed Trinity. Truly She is, as St. Francis of Assisi acknowledged: Daughter and Servant of the Most High and Supreme King and of the Father in heaven, Mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ, Spouse of the Holy Spirit. (Antiphon Office of the Passion) Her intimate relationship with the Triune God enables Her to be our most powerful Advocate in heaven.
Present in prophecy, present in history, and present in the expectations of all God’s People, Mary is a life-giving presence that speaks of the power of God working in human history. Mary is a sign of hope for a waiting world. She reverses the obstinacy of creation in Eden and accepts wholeheartedly to cooperate with all the Father asks of Her. She becomes the Mother of all the Faithful Who enter into a New Covenant with the Father in the Blood of His Son, conceived in Her by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary’s loving response and daily re-commitment to that response encourages us to respond to the Father and to ask that Jesus come alive in our hearts through the same Holy Spirit working within us.
Mary was the first to practice the Gospel in all its perfection before it was written. May Her example and prayers enable us and stimulate us to follow that example. We must make every effort, like many elect souls, to follow invariably this Blessed Mother, to walk close to Her since there is no other sure path leading to Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life – except the path followed by our Mother. We cannot afford to refuse to take this path, we who want to reach our journey’s end “successfully”. With Her, close to Jesus, we can proceed confidently through life in the midst of whatever we may encounter or must bear.
As Followers of the Poverello of Assisi, we strive to live the Faith we profess and to see in Our Heavenly Mother a sure Advocate Who pleads our cause. We open our hearts to the Spirit we have received and we listen to God Who speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. Francis encourages us to foster an ever-growing love for our Mother Who stands to intercede for us at every moment. Mary’s life was one continual ‘yes’ to God. Following Her example, let us gratefully accept sorrows, hardships, fortune, and all life offers and/or demands with the same ‘yes’ Mary offered to God. Her response to God’s invitation allowed the Eternal One to be enfleshed in Her life. During these trying times we have been experiencing, we continue to entrust ourselves to our Mother’s “almighty intercession”. May Her Son Jesus hear the plea we make through Her, and grant this world the peace, stability, and faith in God it so desperately needs to bring an end to the political, social, economic, international, religious, spiritual, moral, and more, confusion and fear that affects the whole world.
With every best wish for you during this season of new birth and new life, I pray we all live as the ‘People of the Resurrection’. In the midst of the world’s uncertainties and global threats, let us pray earnestly that God bless our earthly home with healing and freedom from the evil one and the evil that has and continues to affect all creation. May our lives be a song of praise to the God Who creates, redeems and sanctifies. He gave us Mary, His daughter, His mother, and His spouse as our intimate companion to help us come closer to one another as Her children, as She leads us ever closer to Jesus Her Son. May we confidently respond, as our Blessed Mother Mary did with a determined ‘Yes’ to all the Father asks of us, and thus become more like Jesus in Whose image Scripture tells us we are created. Let us all be open to the working of the Holy Spirit, first gift of the Resurrection, Whose descent upon the early Church gathered together with Mary in the Cenacle, we celebrate this year on the last Sunday of May. May the Holy Spirit inflame our hearts as He filled Our Mother Mary and all the first followers.
God bless and keep all of you safe; 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 watch over each one of us, their Spiritual Children, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
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