The St. Katharine Drexel Region of the Secular Franciscan Order

May 2022 

 O virgin mother, daughter of your Son, humble beyond all creatures and more exalted; 

predestined turning point of God’s intention; 

Your merit so ennobled human nature that its divine Creator did not scorn 

to make Himself the creature of His creature. 

The Love that was rekindled in Your womb sends for the warmth of the eternal peace 

Within whose ray this flower has come to bloom. 

Here to us, you are the noon and scope of Love revealed; 

and among mortal men, the living fountain of eternal hope. 

Lady, you are so near God’s reckonings that who seeks grace and does not first seek you 

would have his wish fly upward without wings. 

Not only does your sweet benignity flow out to all who beg, 

but oftentimes your charity arrives before the plea. 

In you is pity, in you munificence, in you the tenderest heart, 

in you unites all that creation knows of excellence! 

This prayer appears now and then in our monthly letters or calendars. It is part of a Cantico of the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. An Italian poet of the 13^th century whose love for St. Francis of Assisi urged him to become, as we are told, a member of the Third Order of Penitents of Assisi, as the Secular Franciscans were called in the beginning. He expresses in these words he writes in the Paradiso part of his Divine Comedy, a prayer he places on the lips of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He presents so beautifully in prose what St. Francis of Assisi proclaimed in prayer regarding our Blessed Mother Mary. Our love for Mary should never lessen. She is the One Whose Motherly love will assist and lead us closer to Jesus, Her Son and our Lord and Savior. Through Mary we have the opportunity of approaching one another as spiritual siblings in the Blood of our Older Brother, Jesus, in Whom we have become the redeemed  children of God the Father gifted with His Holy Spirit. One can never say enough or too much ofMary. De Maria Numquam Satis! – (You can never get enough of Mary – free translation). First said by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, then taken up by other saints and people of faith, we are invited to enter Her Immaculate Heart and be embraced by Her Motherly Love.

Chapter XVII

THE DEATH OF BLESSED FRANCIS

AND HOW TWO YEARS EARLIER HE RECEIVED THE STIGMATA OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

1

After twenty years of clinging most perfectly to Christ, and of following the life and footsteps of the apostles, in the one thousandth, two hundredth, and twenty-sixth year of the Incarnation of the Lord, on the fourth of October, a Sunday, Francis, that apostolic man, most joyfully passed to Christ, winning eternal rest after many labors, and fittingly entering into the presence of the Lord. One of his followers, renowned for his sanctity, saw his soul like a star as big as the moon with the brilliance of the sun, rising up above the great waters, and borne up to heaven by a brilliant cloud. – Endurance bears what is difficult and turns it into glory.

2

For he had worked intensely in the Lord’s vineyard, eager and fervent in his prayers, fasts, vigils, sermons, and wholesome journeys, in care and compassion for his neighbor, and in disregard of himself. From the beginning of his conversion to the day of his passing to Christ, he had loved Him with his whole heart, constantly keeping the memory of Him in his mind, praising Him with his mouth, and glorifying Him with his fruitful deeds. – Repentance is sorrow turned into action, movement toward a new and better life.

3

For he loved God with such enthusiasm from the depths of his heart that, on hearing His name, completely melting within, he would burst forth saying that heaven and earth must bow at the Lord’s name. – Reverence for life offers a new relationship with creation.

4

While he was still alive in the flesh, the Lord adorned him with a wonderful prerogative of a unique privilege, wishing to show the whole world the fervor of love and the incessant memory of the Passion of Christ which he carried in his heart. – Faith knows the way; hope points the way; love is the way.

5

For when he was taken above in the seraphic ardor of desires into God and into Him, he who, by a boundless love, wanted to be crucified, was transformed by a compassionate sweetness. – The confession of evil works is the beginning of good works. (St. Augustine)

6

One morning, around the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, while he was absorbed in prayer on a slope of Mount La Verna, two years before his death, a seraph with six wings appeared to him. – The greatest truth are the simplest and so are the greatest people.

7

Within its six wings there was the form of a very beautiful, crucified man, whose hands and feet were extended after the manner of a cross, and whose features were clearly those of the Lord Jesus. – Imitate Mary, you will not go astray. (St. Bernard)

8

Two wings covered his head, two, the rest of his body down to the feet, and two were extended as if for flight. – Pray to Mary, you will not despair. (St. Bernard)

9

When the vision disappeared, a marvelous glow of love remained in his soul, but, even more marvelous, an impression of the stigmata of our Lord Jesus Christ appeared in his flesh. – Think of Mary, you will not err. (St. Bernard)

10

Until his death, the man of God, unwilling to divulge God’s sacrament, concealed it to the best of his ability, although he was unable to cover it completely since it became known to at least his intimate companions. – Supported by Mary, you will not fail. (St. Bernard)

11

After his most happy passing, all the brothers who were present, as well as many seculars, clearly saw his body unmistakably adorned with the wounds of Christ.- Embraced by Mary, you will be saved. (St. Bernard)

12

They saw in his hands and feet, not just the holes of the nails, but the nails themselves formed by his own flesh, taking shape from it, and showing the dark color of iron. – If you judge people, you will have no time to love them. (Mother Teresa)

13

His right side appeared as if pierced with a lance, covered with a red scar from a very real and very visible wound, which, even while he was living, frequently poured out sacred blood.- Every child come with the message that God is not discouraged with us.

14

The undeniable truth of those stigmata appeared most brilliantly through sight and contact not only in his life and in death, but also after his death, the Lord revealed their truth even more brilliantly by many miracles shown in different parts of the world. – Be quiet and God will speak to you.

15

Through these miracles, the hearts of many who did not look kindly on the man of God and doubted the stigmata were also moved to a great assurance of faith. – There is a child asleep in the heart of the most severe people. (Dom Helder Camara)

Thus, those who had been his detractors, by God’s active goodness and the undeniable weight of evidence, became faithful heralds and promoters of his fame. – What begins in the heart of God is complete only when it enters my heart.

Chapter XVIII

HIS CANONIZATION

17

In various parts of the world blessed Francis was becoming resplendent because of the light of new miracles. – Jesus is the condescension of divinity and the exaltation of humanity. (cfr. St. Leo the Great)

18

And from far and wide, those who, through his merits, enjoyed unique and extraordinary benefits from the Lord, hurried to reverence his holy remains.- The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.

19

After consulting the cardinals and many other prelates, and approving the miracles which the Lord wrought through his intercession, the Lord Pope Gregory enrolled him in the catalog of saints, ordering that his feast be solemnly celebrated on the day of his death. – When the soul lays down its faults before God, it feels as though it had wings.

20

These things happened in the city of Assisi, in the presence of many prelates of the Church, an exceptionally large representation of rulers and barons, and a vast crowd of people from all parts of the world whom the Lord Pope had invited. – If you want an increase of Jesus, there must be a decrease in self.

21

This took place in the year one thousand two hundred and twenty-eight, the second year of the Lord Pope’s pontificate. – You may not have been responsible for your heritage, but you are responsible for your future.

22

The Sovereign Pontiff, who loved the saint very much during his lifetime, not only honored him through an extraordinary canonization, but also laid the first stone of the church to be built in his honor, enriching it with sacred gifts and precious appointments. –       The world is round, and the place which seems like the end may be the beginning.

23

To this new church, two years after his canonization, the saint’s most sacred body was solemnly transferred from the place where it was first buried. – Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

24

He sent to the church a golden cross, decorated with precious gems and containing wood from the Lord’s cross.- Half the confusion in one’s life comes from not knowing how little one needs.

25

He also sent appointments, vessels, and many other furnishings for the service of the altar, together with many precious and solemn vestments. – God in heaven let me feel my nothingness, in order to feel more powerfully the greatness of your goodness.

26

Exempting the church from any inferior jurisdiction, the Sovereign Pontiff, by apostolic authority, proclaimed it “the Head and Mother” of the whole Order of Lesser Brothers, as is clear in an official public document that was undersigned by all the cardinals. – What I have will belong to another someday. But what I am will be mine for all eternity.

27

It would mean little to honor the saint of God with material things, had not the Lord willed to work through him, physically dead but spiritually alive in glory, numerous miracles of conversion and healing. – Why is it that so many church members say “Our Father” on Sunday and go around the rest of the week acting like orphans?

28

After his death, both men and women, through his intercession, were converted to the Lord. Many nobles and their sons put on the habit of his Order, and their wives and daughters entered the monasteries of the Poor Ladies. – When we look for the  best in others we find the best in ourselves.

29

Many learned and exceptionally educated men, some laymen, others holding ecclesiastical offices, wholeheartedly renounced the allurements of the flesh, the absence of piety, and the lust of this world.- The little things! The little moments! They aren’t little

30

They entered the Order of the Lesser Ones, obliging themselves to follow, according to the particular grace given them by God, the poverty and the footsteps of Christ and his most blessed servant Francis. – How well does the light of your faith radiate to those with whom you live and work?

31

What was written of Samson can fittingly be said of him who lives a life of glory: those he killed at his death were more than those he had during his lifetime. Through the merits of our most holy father Francis, may He who lives and reigns forever bring us to this same glory. Amen. – When the world seems at its worst, Christians must be at their best.

The Holy See
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
1 SEPTEMBER 2020

“You shall thus hallow the fiftieth year
and you shall proclaim a release throughout the land
to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you.”
(Lev 25:10)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Each year, particularly since the publication of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ (LS, 24 may 2015), the
first day of September is celebrated by the Christian family as the World Day of Prayer for the
Care of Creation and the beginning of the Season of Creation, which concludes on the feast of
Saint Francis of Assisi on the fourth of October. During this period, Christians worldwide renew
their faith in the God of creation and join in prayer and work for the care of our common home.
I am very pleased that the theme chosen by the ecumenical family for the celebration of the 2020
Season of Creation is Jubilee for the Earth, precisely in this year that marks the fiftieth anniversary
of Earth Day. In the Holy Scriptures, a Jubilee is a sacred time to remember, return, rest, restore,
and rejoice.

A Time to Remember
We are invited to remember above all that creation’s ultimate destiny is to enter into God’s eternal
Sabbath. This journey, however, takes place in time, spanning the seven-day rhythm of the week,
the cycle of seven years, and the great Jubilee Year that comes at the end of the seven Sabbath
years.

1.  A Jubilee is indeed a time of grace to remember creation’s original vocation to exist and flourish as
a community of love. We exist only in relationships: with God the Creator, with our brothers and
sisters as members of a common family, and with all of God’s creatures within our common home.
“Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful
pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us
in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth” (LS, 92)
A Jubilee, then, is a time of remembrance, in which we cherish the memory of our inter-relational
existence. We need constantly to remember that “everything is interconnected, and that genuine
care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and
faithfulness to others” (LS, 70).

2. A Time to Return
A Jubilee is a time to turn back in repentance. We have broken the bonds of our relationship with
the Creator, with our fellow human beings, and with the rest of creation. We need to heal the
damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life.
A Jubilee is a time to return to God our loving Creator. We cannot live in harmony with creation if
we are not at peace with the Creator who is the source and origin of all things. As Pope Benedict
observed, “the brutal consumption of creation begins where God is missing, where matter has
become simply material for us, where we ourselves are the ultimate measure, where everything is
simply our property” (Meeting with Priests, Deacons, and Seminarians of the Diocese of BolzanoBressanone, 6 August 2008).

The Jubilee season calls us to think once again of our fellow human beings, especially the poor
and the most vulnerable. We are asked to re-appropriate God’s original and loving plan of creation
as a common heritage, a banquet which all of our brothers and sisters share in a spirit of
conviviality, not in competitive scramble but in joyful fellowship, supporting and protecting one
another. A Jubilee is a time for setting free the oppressed and all those shackled in the fetters of
various forms of modern slavery, including trafficking in persons and child labour.
We also need once more to listen to the land itself, which Scripture calls adamah, the soil from
which man, Adam, was made. Today we hear the voice of creation admonishing us to return to our
rightful place in the natural created order – to remember that we are part of this interconnected
web of life, not its masters. The disintegration of biodiversity, spiralling climate disasters, and
unjust impact of the current pandemic on the poor and vulnerable: all these are a wakeup call in
the face of our rampant greed and consumption.

Particularly during this Season of Creation, may we be attentive to the rhythms of this created
world. For the world was made to communicate the glory of God, to help us to discover in its
beauty the Lord of all, and to return to him (cf. SAINT BONAVENTURE, In II Sent., I, 2, 2, q. 1,
conclusion; Breviloquium, II, 5.11). The earth from which we were made is thus a place of prayer
and meditation. “Let us awaken our God-given aesthetic and contemplative sense” (Querida
Amazonia, 56). The capacity to wonder and to contemplate is something that we can learn
especially from our indigenous brothers and sisters, who live in harmony with the land and its
multiple forms of life.

3. A Time to Rest
In his wisdom, God set aside the Sabbath so that the land and its inhabitants could rest and be
renewed. These days, however, our way of life is pushing the planet beyond its limits. Our
constant demand for growth and an endless cycle of production and consumption are exhausting
the natural world. Forests are leached, topsoil erodes, fields fail, deserts advance, seas acidify
and storms intensify. Creation is groaning!

During the Jubilee, God’s people were invited to rest from their usual labour and to let the land
heal and the earth repair itself, as individuals consumed less than usual. Today we need to find
just and sustainable ways of living that can give the Earth the rest it requires, ways that satisfy
everyone with a sufficiency, without destroying the ecosystems that sustain us.

In some ways, the current pandemic has led us to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles.
The crisis, in a sense, has given us a chance to develop new ways of living. Already we can see
how the earth can recover if we allow it to rest: the air becomes cleaner, the waters clearer, and
animals have returned to many places from where they had previously disappeared. The
pandemic has brought us to a crossroads. We must use this decisive moment to end our
superfluous and destructive goals and activities, and to cultivate values, connections and activities
that are life-giving. We must examine our habits of energy usage, consumption, transportation,
and diet. We must eliminate the superfluous and destructive aspects of our economies, and
nurture life-giving ways to trade, produce, and transport goods.

4. A Time to Restore
A Jubilee is a time to restore the original harmony of creation and to heal strained human
relationships.

It invites us to re-establish equitable societal relationships, restoring their freedom and goods to all
and forgiving one another’s debts. We should not forget the historic exploitation of the global
South that has created an enormous ecological debt, due mainly to resource plundering and
excessive use of common environmental space for waste disposal. It is a time for restorative
justice. In this context, I repeat my call for the cancellation of the debt of the most vulnerable
countries, in recognition of the severe impacts of the medical, social and economic crises they
face as a result of Covid-19. We also need to ensure that the recovery packages being developed
and deployed at global, regional and national levels must be regeneration packages. Policy,
legislation and investment must be focused on the common good and guarantee that global social
and environmental goals are met.

We also need to restore the land. Climate restoration is of utmost importance, since we are in the
midst of a climate emergency. We are running out of time, as our children and young people have
reminded us. We need to do everything in our capacity to limit global average temperature rise
under the threshold of 1.5°C enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement, for going beyond that will
prove catastrophic, especially for poor communities around the world. We need to stand up for
intra-generational and inter-generational solidarity at this critical moment. I invite all nations to
adopt more ambitious national targets to reduce emissions, in preparation for the important
Climate Summit (COP 26) in Glasgow in the United Kingdom.

Biodiversity restoration is also crucially important in the context of unprecedented loss of species
and degradation of ecosystems. We need to support the U.N. call to safeguard 30% of the earth
as protected habitats by 2030 in order to stem the alarming rate of biodiversity loss. I urge the
international community to work together to guarantee that the Summit on Biodiversity (COP 15) in
Kunming, China becomes a turning point in restoring the earth to be a home of life in abundance,
as willed by the Creator.

We must restore with justice in mind, ensuring that those who have lived on the land for
generations can regain control over its usage. Indigenous communities must be protected from
companies, particularly multinational companies, that “operate in less developed countries in ways
they could never do at home” (LS, 51), through the destructive extraction of fossil fuels, minerals,
timber and agroindustrial products. This corporate misconduct is a “new version of colonialism”
(SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, 27 April 2001, cited
in Querida Amazonia, 14), one that shamefully exploits poorer countries and communities
desperately seeking economic development. We need to strengthen national and international
legislation to regulate the activities of extractive companies and ensure access to justice for those
affected.

5. A Time to Rejoice
In the biblical tradition, a Jubilee was a joyous occasion, inaugurated by a trumpet blast
resounding throughout the land. We are aware that the cries of the earth and of the poor have
become even louder and more painful in recent years. At the same time, we also witness how the
Holy Spirit is inspiring individuals and communities around the world to come together to rebuild
our common home and defend the most vulnerable in our midst. We see the gradual emergence
of a great mobilization of people from below and from the peripheries who are generously working
for the protection of the land and of the poor. We rejoice to see how young people and
communities, particularly indigenous communities, are on the frontlines in responding to the
ecological crisis. They are calling for a Jubilee for the earth and a new beginning, aware that
“things can change” (LS, 13).

We also rejoice to see how the Laudato Si’ Special Anniversary Year is inspiring many initiatives
at local and global levels for the care of our common home and the poor. This year should lead to
long-term action plans to practise integral ecology in our families, parishes and dioceses, religious
orders, our schools and universities, our healthcare, business and agricultural institutions, and
many others as well.

We rejoice too that faith communities are coming together to create a more just, peaceful and
sustainable world. We are particularly happy that the Season of Creation is becoming a truly
ecumenical initiative. Let us continue to grow in the awareness that we all live in a common home
as members of a single family.

Let us all rejoice that our loving Creator sustains our humble efforts to care for the earth, which is
also God’s home where his Word “became flesh and lived among us” (Jn 1:14) and which is
constantly being renewed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth” (cf. Ps 104:30).
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 1 September 2020
FRANCISCUS
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