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Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2022 April 2022
Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of the day, every day and continually,
let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve,
praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks
to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God, Trinity and Unity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Creator of all, Savior of all who believe and hope in Him, and love Him, Who,
without beginning and end, is unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable,
incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, praiseworthy, glorious, exalted,
sublime, most high, gentle, lovable, delightful,
and totally desirable above all else forever.
Amen.
(Prayer of Saint Francis taken from the Earlier Rule, chapter 23)
The following daily excerpts are from the Legend of the Three Companions
Chapter XV
THE DEATH OF LORD JOHN, THE FIRST PROTECTOR OF THE ORDER
AND HOW THE LORD HUGOLINO OF OSTIA
ASSUMED THE ROLE OF FATHER AND PROTECTOR OF THE ORDER
1
The venerable father, the Lord Cardinal John of Saint Paul, that cardinal who more frequently offered counsel and protection to blessed Francis, commended the life and accomplishments of the saint and his brothers to the other cardinals. – Prayer does not change God but the one who prays.
2
Their minds were moved to love the man of God with his brothers, so that each one of them wanted to have brothers in his own household, not for any service they might provide, but because of their holiness and the dedication with which they burned for them. – Weaknesses with God’s help can be the strongest thing we have.
3
After the Lord Cardinal John of Saint Paul had died, the Lord inspired one of the cardinals, Hugolino, at that time the bishop of Ostia, to cherish, protect, and support Francis and his brothers. – Go not where a path happens to be but where a path ought to be.
4
With burning intensity, he held them in awe as if he were the father of them all. What is more, more than the love of a carnal father reaching out naturally to his own sons, the love of this man overflowed spiritually on the man of God and his brothers, loving and supporting them in the Lord. – It is only the crushed grape that yields the wine.
5
The man of God heard of this man’s glorious reputation, for among the cardinals he was famous, and with his brothers approached him. Receiving them with joy, he told them: “I am offering you myself for advice, assistance and protection, ready to give myself according to your good pleasure. I only ask that, for God’s sake, you have me remembered in your prayers.” – It is by Christ’s wounds that we are healed.
6
Then blessed Francis, thanking God, told that lord cardinal: “My lord, I gladly want to have you as the father and protector of our religion, and I want all my brothers to have you always remembered in their prayers.” Then blessed Francis asked him to be present at the chapter of the brothers at Pentecost. – It might take a crucified church to bring a crucified Christ to the world.
7
He immediately agreed graciously, and, from then on, was present every year at their chapter. When he came to the chapter, all the brothers who had gathered at the chapter would go in procession to meet him. – The Way of the Cross takes the road of poverty and suffering in every form.
8
As they were approaching, he would dismount from his horse and go on foot with them to the church of Saint Mary. Afterward he preached to them and celebrated Mass, during which the man of God, Francis, would chant the Gospel. – God still speaks to those who take the time to listen.
Chapter XVI
THE ELECTION OF THE FIRST MINISTERS
AND HOW THEY WERE SENT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
9
Eleven years after the founding of the religion when the brothers had increased in number and merit, ministers were chosen and sent with some of the brothers throughout nearly the entire world in which the Catholic faith was practiced and observed. – It is important that people know what you stand for.
10
They were received in some of the provinces, but were not permitted to build houses. On the other hand, they were expelled from others for fear they might be non-believers, because, although the Lord Pope Innocent III had approved the Order and the Rule, nonetheless, he did not confirm this by letter, and the brothers, therefore, suffered many adversities from clerics and lay people. – It is important that people know what you don’t stand for.
11
The brothers were then forced to flee from various provinces, and so, persecuted, afflicted, even set upon by thieves who stripped and beat them, they returned to blessed Francis with great bitterness. – Love may suffer but it overcomes.
12
For they had suffered this in almost every region beyond the Alps, in Germany, Hungary, and in many other regions. When this had been made known to the Lord Cardinal, he called blessed Francis to him and took him to the Lord Pope Honorius, since the Lord Innocent was now dead. – In Jesus there is a hope stronger than history.
13
He had another rule—composed by blessed Francis as he was taught by Christ—confirmed by the same Lord Honorius with a seal solemnly affixed. In this rule, the time between the chapters was prolonged to avoid hardship for the brothers living in remote areas. – In Jesus there is a love mightier than death.
14
Blessed Francis proposed to ask the Lord Pope Honorius, therefore, that one of the cardinals of the Roman Church be a sort of pope of his Order, that is, the Lord of Ostia, to whom the brothers could have recourse in their dealings.- A person filled with joy preaches without preaching.
15
For blessed Francis had had a vision which led him to ask for the cardinal, and to entrust the Order to the Roman Church. Waking from sleep, he began to think about this vision … “The Lord in his mercy has given, and will give me, many sons whom I will be unable to protect with my own strength. I must, therefore, commend them to the holy Church who will protect and guide them under the shadow of her wings.” – In whom do I put my faith?
16
A few years after this vision, he came to Rome and visited the Lord of Ostia who obliged blessed Francis to go with him to the Curia the following morning. He wanted him to preach before the Lord Pope and the cardinals, and to commend his religion to them with devotion and eagerness. – God is not an idea. God is a presence!
17
Although blessed Francis excused himself, claiming he was simple and stupid, he nevertheless had to accompany that man to the Curia. – All we want in Christ, we find in Christ.
18
When blessed Francis presented himself before the Lord Pope and the cardinals, they saw him with boundless joy. – We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.
19
Getting up, he preached to them, prepared only by the Holy Spirit’s anointing. After he finished speaking, he commended his religion to the Lord Pope and to all the cardinals. – We can face all conditions by the power that Christ gives us.
20
The Lord Pope and lord cardinals had been greatly edified by his preaching, and their hearts were moved to a more burning love of the religion. – Learn from the past and fulfill the present.
21
Afterwards blessed Francis told the Supreme Pontiff: “Lord, I am suffering with you over the worry and continuing labor with which you must watch over God’s Church, and I am greatly ashamed that you must have such solicitude and care for us lesser brothers. For, since many nobles, rich people, as well as many religious, are unable to come to you, we, who are surely poor and looked down upon by some religious, must have great fear and shame not only to have access to you, but even to stand at your door and to presume to knock at the tabernacle of Christian virtue… – God is always near you and with you.
22
Therefore, I humbly and resolutely beg your Holiness to give us the Lord of Ostia as pope, so that, at a time of need, the brothers may have recourse to him, always saving your pre-eminent dignity.” – If God seems far away, guess who moved!
23
The Lord Pope was pleased with the petition, and he granted blessed Francis that Lord of Ostia, appointing him a most fitting protector of his religion. – God is a giver, and has nothing to give but Himself.
24
With the mandate of the Lord Pope, as a good protector, he extended his influence to protect the brothers, writing to many prelates who were persecuting the brothers. – The greatest adventure is to seek God.
25
He did this so that they would no longer oppose them, but would rather give them advice and assistance in preaching and living in their provinces, as good and holy religious approved by the authority of the Apostolic See. – The greatest human achievement is to fall in love with God.
26
Many other cardinals likewise sent their own letters for the same reason. In the following chapter, after blessed Francis gave the ministers permission to receive brothers into the Order, he sent them to those provinces, carrying the letters of the cardinals as well as the Rule confirmed by the apostolic seal. – Lord, grant me a heart full of thankfulness.
27
Once the prelates saw all of these, and recognized the endorsements shown by the brothers, they permitted the brothers to build, live, and preach in their provinces. – Jesus Christ will be Lord of all, or he will not be Lord at all.
28
And after the brothers lived and preached in this way in those provinces, many people, seeing their humble and holy way of life, and hearing their very pleasant words, moving and inflaming minds to love of God and to doing penance, they came to them and humbly accepted the habit of holy religion. – Redemption is to forget self in God.
29
Seeing the trust and love that the Lord of Ostia had for the brothers, blessed Francis loved him most affectionately from the depths of his heart. And because he knew, through an earlier revelation of God, that he would be the future Supreme Pontiff, he predicted this in the letters he wrote to him, calling him the father of the whole world. For he wrote to him in this manner: “To the venerable father of the whole world in Christ …” – Human beings are too noble to serve anyone but God.
30
Shortly afterwards, after the death of the Lord Pope Honorius III, that Lord of Ostia was elected the Supreme Pontiff, named Pope Gregory IX, who, until the end of his life was a remarkable benefactor and protector of the brothers as well as of other religious, and above all, of Christ’s poor. For this reason, he is believed to be numbered deservedly in the gathering of the saints. – O Lord, our hearts will not rest until they rest in You.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on September 3rd, 2020 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
©Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana
5
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on July 20th, 2020 Praying the Rule
Lord, our God, we intend to make present the charism of our Seraphic Father Francis in the life and mission of the Church, in various ways and forms but in life-giving union with one another. By our profession, we pledge ourselves to live the Gospel in the manner of St Francis by means of our Rule approved by the Church (Arts. 1-3). Help us, we pray, so that daily we may:
- observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St Francis, going from gospel to life and from life to the gospel (Art. 4);
- seek to encounter the living and active person of Jesus Christ in our brothers and sisters, in sacred scripture, in the Church and in the Eucharist (Art. 5);
- go forth as witnesses and instruments of the Church’s mission among people, proclaiming Christ by our life and words (Art. 6);
- conform our thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by the radical interior change which the Gospel calls “conversion”, making use of the sacrament of reconciliation on the way to renewal (Art. 7);
- let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all we are and do (Art. 8);
- imitate the Virgin Mary’s complete self-giving in her openness to your every word and call (Art. 9);
- faithfully fulfill the duties proper to our various circumstances in life (Art. 10);
- seek the proper spirit of detachment and purify our hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power (Art. 11);
- acquire the purity of heart needed to set ourselves free to love God and our brothers and sisters (Art. 12);
- accept all people as your gift, Lord, and an image of Christ (Art. 13);
- exercise our responsibilities competently in the Christian spirit of service (Art. 14);
- be in the forefront of promoting justice by the testimony of our human lives and by courageous initiatives (Art. 15);
- esteem work both as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption and service of the human community (Art. 16);
- cultivate the Franciscan spirit of peace, fidelity and respect for life in our families, striving to make it a sign of a world already renewed in Christ (Art. 17);
- respect all creatures, animate and inanimate “as bearing the imprint of the Most High” (Art. 18);
- be bearers of peace and messengers of perfect joy in every circumstance, as immersed in the resurrection of Christ, we serenely tend towards Sister Death and our ultimate encounter with you, our Father (Art. 19).
All this we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Brother. Amen.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on June 23rd, 2020
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 7th, 2020
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2020 April 2020
Our Father most holy: Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Savior
You, Lord, are Supreme Good, the eternal Good, from Whom all good comes
Holy be your Name…That You may rule in us through Your grace…
Your will be done that we may love You with our whole heart, soul, and mind
Give us this day Your own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Forgive us through Your ineffable mercy and make us, Lord, forgive completely.
And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
Amen
(Prayer Inspired by the Our Father – abbreviated)
Following are daily excerpts taken from various Franciscan writings
1
Once there was a great war between the citizens of Perugia and Assisi. Francis was captured … and …endured the squalor of prison. His fellow captives were overcome with sadness … but Francis rejoiced in the Lord. (2Celano,bk.1,chpt.1) – Anyone can stand up to an opponent: give me someone who can stand up to a friend.
2
Though staying in a pit and in darkness, he was imbued with an indescribable happiness never before experienced. (1 Celano,bk.1,chpt.5) – I may have all the faith needed to move mountains, but if I have no love, I am nothing.
3
He rose therefore swift, energetic and joyful, carrying the shield of faith for the Lord, and strengthened with the armor of great confidence, he set out for the city. (1Celano,bk.1,chpt.5) – We get no deeper into Christ than we allow him to get in us.
4
Though delighting for the most part (in his dream), he silently wondered to himself about its meaning…With a happy spirit he awoke the next morning…Considering his vision a prediction of great success… (1Celano,bk.1,chpt.2) – The Gospels do not explain Easter; Easter explains the Gospels.
5
When morning came, then, he returned in haste to Assisi, free of care and filled with joy, and, already made an exemplar of obedience, he awaited the Lord’s will. (Major Legend,chpt.1,#3) – The lives of Jesus’ followers changed the course of human history. No reasonable explanation has ever been given for their transformed lives except their own: they had seen Jesus alive.
6
Saint Francis with his brothers rejoiced greatly at the task and the favor given by so great a father and lord. They gave thanks to Almighty God, who places the lowly on high and raises up mourners to health. (1Celano,bk.1,chpt.14) – That which you cannot let go of, you do not possess. It possesses you.
7
They had great joy, because they saw nothing and had nothing that could give them empty or carnal delight…Only divine consolation delighted them, having put aside all their cares about earthly things. (1Celano,bk.1,chpt.14) – One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore.
8
This holy man insisted that spiritual joy was an infallible remedy against a thousand snares and tricks of the enemy. He used to say: ’The devil is most delighted when he can steal the joy of spirit from a servant of God’. (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.88) – We can live forty days without food, eight minutes without air, but about one second without hope.
9
‘But if spiritual joy fills the heart, the serpent casts its poison in vain. The devils cannot harm a servant of Christ when they see him, filled with holy cheerfulness.’ (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.88) – Our job is not to do something for the Church, but to do something with it.
10
The saint therefore always strove to keep a joyful heart, to preserve the anointing of the spirit and the oil of gladness. He avoided very carefully the dangerous disease of melancholy, so that when he felt even a little of it slipping into his heart, he quickly rushed to prayer. (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.88) – No one ever made more trouble than the Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
11
O martyr, laughing and rejoicing, who endured so gladly what was bitter and painful for others to see! (1Celano,bk.2,chpt.7) – Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up.
12
I see that (the devils) cannot harm me through myself. Indeed whenever I feel tempted and depressed and I look at the joy of my companion, because of that joy I immediately turn away from temptation and melancholy toward inner and outer joy. (Mirror Perfection, #96) –The person who isn’t busy being born is busy dying.
13
By a joyful face he understood the fervor and solicitude, the disposition and readiness of a mind and body to willingly undertake every good work; because through this kind of fervor and disposition others are motivated than through the good deed itself. (Mirror Perfection, #96) – We can’t understand the Holy Spirit, but we can understand the Spirit’s impact on our lives.
14
He did not want to see a gloomy face, which more often shows laziness, a closed mind, and a body listless for every good work. (Mirror of Perfection,#96) – I cannot change the whole world, but I can change a small part if it…myself.
15
It is not right for a servant of God to show himself to others sad and upset, but always pleasant. Deal with your offenses in your room, and weep and moan before your God. (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.91) – God is already in our lives. Our business is to recognize this.
16
Wherever the brothers may be and in whatever place they meet they should respect spiritually and attentively one another, and honor one another without complaining. Let them be careful not to appear outwardly as sad and gloomy but show themselves joyful, cheerful and consistently gracious in the Lord. (Earlier Rule,#7) – Blessed are they who place themselves in the hands of Jesus. He will place himself in their hands.
17
They (the brothers) walked with joy wherever they went, speaking among themselves about the words of the Lord, and saying nothing among themselves which did not serve the glory and praise of God, and the good of the soul. (Three Companions,chpt.12) – What we usually pray to God is not that his will be done, but that he approve ours.
18
When they laughed, they were filled with happiness and spiritual joy, so that they no longer remembered the adversities they experienced. (Anonymous of Perugia,chpt.6) – How else but through a broken heart may the Lord Christ enter in?
19
Whether ill or in good health they (the brothers) were always joyful and patient. (Anonymous of Perugia,chpt.6) – Only when we learn to see the invisible, will we learn to do the impossible.
20
They were always joyful in the Lord, having nothing within them or among them that could in some way bring them sadness. (Three Companions,chpt.11) – The effect of our sharing in the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive.
21
Blessed is that religious who has no pleasure and joy except in the most holy words and deeds of the Lord and, with these, leads people to the love of God with gladness and joy. (Admonitions,#20) – Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation.
22
He himself felt great joy in the Lord when he heard the words of Sacred Scripture. (Legend of Perugia,#38) – Often the ‘god’ that people reject is not the true God, but a mistaken notion of God that exists only in their minds.
23
If a servant of God always strives to have and preserve internally and externally the spiritual joy that proceeds from purity of heart and is acquired through the devotion of prayer, the evils could do him no harm. (Mirror of Perfection,#95) – Lord, help us to deal with ugly situations in a beautiful way.
24
Because spiritual joy springs from integrity of heart and the purity of constant prayer, it must be your primary concern to acquire and preserve these two virtues, to possess internal, as well as external joy. (Mirror of Perfection,#95) – To be ignorant of the scriptures is to be ignorant of Christ.
25
Whenever he used to say your name, O holy Lord, he was moved in a way beyond human understanding. He was so wholly taken up in joy, filled with pure delight, that he truly seemed a new person of another age. (1Celano,chpt.29) – Jesus came not to eradicate suffering, but to fill it with his presence.
26
Sometimes he used to do this: a sweet melody of the spirit bubbling up inside him would become a French tune on the outside; the thread of a divine whisper which his ears heard secretly would break out in French song of joy. (2Celano,bk.2,chpt.89) – The old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind.
27
(The thieves) beat him and threw him into a ditch filled with snow, saying, ’Lie there, you stupid herald of God!’… He jumped out of the ditch, and exhilarated with a great joy, he began in an even louder voice to make the woods resound with praises to the Creator of all. (Major Legend,.chpt.2) – The living Christ still has two hands, one to point the way, and the other held out to help us along the way.
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Where there is poverty with joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. (Admonitions,#27) – If Christ were standing before me now, what would I feel, not about him, but about myself?
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(Saint Francis dying, said to Brother Elias) ’Allow me to rejoice in the Lord, Brother, and to sing His praises in my infirmities, because, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, I am so closely united and joined with my Lord, that, through His mercy, I can well rejoice in the Most High Himself.’ (Mirror of Perfection,#121) – The goal of religion is not to get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us.
30
(As Saint Francis lay dying the guardian) took the tunic with a cord and underwear, and offered them to the little poor man of Christ, saying: ’I am lending these to you as to a poor man, and you are to keep them with the command of holy obedience. At this the holy man rejoiced and was delighted in the gladness of his heart, because he saw that he had kept faith until the end with Lady Poverty. (Major Legend,chpt.14) – You cannot have God for your Father, if you don’t have the Church for your mother.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on February 3rd, 2020
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on November 23rd, 2019
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Posted By Kate Kleinert, on May 18th, 2019 Brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you peace! It is not often enough that there is joyful news to share but today is certainly one of those days. After studying for 20 months, the first Lay Spiritual Assistants’ Class has finished and produced 5 newly certified Lay Spiritual Assistants. They are: Kathy Agosto, OFS, Liz Bueding, OFS, Imelda Cruz, OFS, Edith Kurzweil, OFS, and Jean Peziak, OFS,
These ladies have worked hard and are to be congratulated! Many, many thanks to the Lay Spiritual Assistants’ Team: Justin Carisio, OFS, Marie Clardy, OFS and Cindy Louden, OFS. Although the ‘students’ worked hard, the team worked harder! A great effort by all involved has certainly produced fruit! 
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