O loving one bear in mind your poor children for whom, without you,
their one and only consolation, there is little comfort…
they still .. tearfully cry out to you:
O father, place before Jesus Christ, son of the Most High Father,
His sacred stigmata; and show Him the signs of the cross on your hands, feet, and side,
that He may mercifully bare His own wounds to the Father,
and because of this the Father will ever show us in our anguish His tenderness.
Amen.
(Prayer to St. Francis from the End of the Second Book of the Life of St. Francis by Bl. Thomas of Celano)
Daily meditative phrases from various sources
1
Blessed Francis felt more pity for the man’s soul, rooted in mortal hatred, than for his body. He said to him: Brother, forgive your lord for the love of God, so that you may set your soul free, and it may be that he will return to you what he has taken. Otherwise you will lose not only your property but also your soul. – When man becomes ‘bereft of God’, he loses the meaning of his own life and in some way becomes ‘bereft’ of himself.
2
So blessed Francis said (to the Dominican who asked his explanation of a passage from Ezekiel): … a servant of God should be burning with life and holiness so brightly, that by the light of example and the tongue of his conduct, he will rebuke all the wicked. – The family is the great workshop of love … where people are taught to love … with the incisive power of experience.
3
In order to preserve the virtue of holy humility, a few years after his conversion, at a chapter, he resigned the office of prelate before all the brothers of his religion, saying: From now on, I am dead to you. But here you have Brother Peter of Catanio; let us all, you and I, obey him. – Do not separate your faith from your daily life and your daily life from your faith, as so many people do today.
4
He used to affirm that the Lesser Brothers had been sent from the Lord in these last times to show forth examples of light to those wrapped in the darkness of sins. – The life and the whole being of each Christian must be identified around one central axis: fidelity to Jesus Christ.
5
(When asked by a brother to designate one worthy to be general minister, Francis said): He must be a person of very dignified life, of great discernment and of praiseworthy reputation…without personal favorites…be a committed friend of prayer…must put the sacrament of the Mass first … and commend himself and his flock to divine protection.- The only path worthy of the human family is the path of peace, of mutual respect, understanding, and love, and solidarity with those in need.
6
(Francis continued the requisites of a general minister saying): After prayer, he must make himself available for all to pick at him, and should respond to all and provide for all with meekness. He is someone who … will take as much care of the lesser and simple brother as of the learned and greater ones. – We begin to pray, believing it is our own initiative that compels us to do so. Instead , we learn that it is always God’s initiative within us.
7
(Continuing the image of the general minister, Francis said): He should bear in his behavior the image of holy simplicity and nourish this virtue … he must loathe money … to be imitated, he must never engage in the abuse of using any money pouch. – God alone is our true and lasting support.
8
(The general minister should be): …someone who comforts the afflicted, and the final refuge of the distressed, so that the sickness of despair does not overcome the sick … let him let go of some of his rights that he may gain a soul for Christ … let him not close the heart of mercy to (those who are runaways) – Love and prayer are the only sure spiritual levers with which it is possible to lift up the world. And this applies to all areas of life.
9
I want all to honor (the general minister) as standing in the place of Christ, and to be provided for everything with all the kindness of Christ – In a world thirsting for peace, it is indeed urgent that Christian communities proclaim the gospel unanimously.
10
Blessed Francis was not embarrassed to go through the city’s public places to find some meat for a sick brother. However, he also advised the sick to be patient when things were lacking and not stir up a scandal if everything was not to their satisfaction. – It is indispensable that (Christian communities) witness to divine love, which unites them, and make themselves messengers of joy, hope, and peace.
11
He burned with great zeal for the common profession and Rule, and endowed those who were zealous about it with a special blessing. He called it their Book of Life, the hope of salvation, the marrow of the Gospel, the way of perfection, the key of Paradise, the pact of an eternal covenant. – The Holy Spirit makes man realize his own evil and at the same time directs him toward what is good.
12
It grieved the blessed Father when brothers sought learning while neglecting virtue, especially is they did not remain in that calling in which they were first called. – Thanks to the multiplicity of the Spirit’s gifts, every kind of human sin can be reached by God’s saving power.
13
He used to say that the lukewarm who do not apply themselves constantly to some work, would quickly be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth. No idler could appear in his presence without feeling the sharp bite of criticism. – Whoever calls with faith on the name of Jesus can have the experience similar to the one mentioned by Luke: for power came forth from him and healed all.
14
So that that brother (who was in pain because he was hungry and could not sleep) would not be ashamed to eat alone, blessed Francis, a man of great charity and discernment, immediately had the table set and they all ate together with him. – Only a higher moral vision can motivate the choice for life.
15
After the meal, blessed Francis said to the other brothers: My brothers, each of you must consider his own constitution … Just as we must beware of overindulging in eating, which harms body and soul, so we must beware of excessive abstinence even more, because the Lord desires mercy and not sacrifice. – Provided that we approach hte word of God and listen to it as it really is, it brings us into contact with God Himself, God speaking to us.
16
Let each one provide for his body what it needs as our poverty will allow. This is what I wish and command you. – May Mary help us love nothing more than Christ, who reveals to the world the mystery of divine love and true human dignity.
17
When Francis began to have brothers, he was so happy about their conversion and that the Lord had given him good company, that he loved and revered them so much that he did not tell them to go for alms … rather, sparing them shame, he himself would go for alms every day … – (The word of God) brings us into contact with Christ, the Word of God, the Truth, who is at the same time both the Way and the Life.
18
(Seeing Francis’ fatigue, the brothers said): We want to go for alms. So (Francis) talked to them. My dearest brothers and sons, don’t be ashamed to go for alms, because the Lord for our sake made Himself poor in this world … This is our inheritance, which the Lord Jesus Christ acquired and bequeathed to us and all who want to live in holy poverty according to His example. – It is decisive for each one of us to meet Christ personally.
19
So that the brothers would observe the words of the holy Gospel: Do not be concerned about tomorrow … for a long time many brothers … did not want to collect or receive more alms than were enough for them for one day.- It is Christ who understands the human heart, who can satisfy its hopes and longings and give answers to the concerns and the difficulties that humanity today faces.
20
From the very moment blessed Francis spoke (to the brother suffering from severe depression), he was immediately freed both in spirit and body from that great trial … through the grace of God and the merits of blessed Francis, he remained in great serenity and peace of soul and body. – The Holy Spirit is the author of our sanctification.
21
And he would say: When the Lord stayed in solitude where he prayed and fasted for forty days and forty nights, He did not have a cell or a house built there, but He sheltered Himself under the rocks of the mountain. And so, after His example, he did not want to have a house or cell in this world, nor did he have one built for him. – The Holy Spirit transforms man deep down, divinizes him, makes him participant in divine nature, just as fire makes metal incandescent, just as spring water quenches thirst.
22
The holy father … did not want the brothers for any treason to go beyond the norm of poverty either in houses or churches, in gardens or in other things they used. And he did not want them to possess the right of ownership to these places, but always to stay in them as pilgrims and strangers.- The need of Christians for reconciliation with one another, for mutual forgiveness, is great.
23
The Lord, he used to say, has called us to help His faith and the prelates and clerics of holy Mother Church. This is why we are always bound to love, honor, and revere them as much as we can. For this reason let them (the brothers) be called Lesser Brothers … – (Do) not be afraid of openly and courageously expressing (y)our faith in Christ in (y)our daily lives, especially in works of charity and solidarity with those who are in need.
24
Since I cannot speak much because of weakness and the pain of my illness, I am showing my will to my brothers briefly in these three words: as a sign of remembrance of my blessing and my testament, may they always love each other; may they always love and observe our Lady Holy Poverty; and may they always remain faithful and subject to the prelates and all the clerics of holy Mother Church.- It is important for media personalities (and all people) to be men and women of integrity and of sound character worthy of the respect which is paid them and of the trust which is given them. (we can apply this to all Christians)
25
Blessed Francis was very sad when he entered some church and saw that it was not clean. Therefore, after preaching to the people, at the end of the sermon, he would always have all the priests who were present assembled in some remote place so he could not be overheard by the people. He would preach to them about the salvation of souls and, in particular, that they should exercise care and concern in keeping churches clean, as well as altars and everything that pertained to the celebration of the divine mysteries. – The world should be enriched by … (our) goodness.
26
Brother Pacifico was taken up into ecstasy … and he saw many thrones in heaven, one of them higher than the others, glorious, resplendent adorned with every precious stone … All at once he heard a voice telling him: This was Lucifer’s throne and blessed Francis will sit on it in his place. – The first step of evangelization is to accept the grace of conversion into our own minds and hearts, to let ourselves be reconciled to God.
27
Brother Pacifico was told this in his heart: In this you can know that the vision you saw is true. For as Lucifer was cast down because of his pride, so blessed Francis will merit to be exalted and sit on it because of his humility. – We must first experience God’s gracious mercy, the love of Christ which has reconciled us to himself and given us the work of handing on this reconciliation.
28
During his illness, blessed Francis composed some Praises of the Lord which he had his companions recite sometimes for the praise of God, the consolation of his spirit, and also for the edification of his neighbor.- Man’s relationship with God demands times of explicit prayer, in which the relationship becomes an intense dialogue, involving every dimension of the person.
29
When he came in and stood before the table of the brothers … he sat down on the floor beside the fire, facing the brothers … sighing he said … When I saw the table finely and elaborately prepared, I considered that this was not a table of poor religious … for more than other religious, we should follow the example of poverty and humility in all things, because we have been called to this and have professed this before God and people … – O Lord of life, when the moment of our definitive ‘passage’ comes, grant that we may face it with serenity, without regret for what we shall leave behind.
30
It was customary for blessed Francis, whenever anyone out of devotion requested him to pray to the Lord for his soul, to offer a prayer as soon as possible, so that he would not forget afterwards. – In meeting You (Lord), after having sought you for so long, we shall find once more every authentic good which we have known on earth, in the company of all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and hope.
31
What was bitter to his body he accepted and considered sweet on account of the sweetness and compassion that he drew daily from, the humility and footprints of the Son of God. Because of the sufferings and bitter experiences of Christ, which He endured for us, he grieved and afflicted himself daily in body and soul …- Jesus asks us to follow him and to imitate him along the path of love, a love which gives itself completely to the brethren out of love for God.
