Parresia: A Quality Of A Monk To Perform Miracles

Brother Francis Michael Mary and Fra Chris

Athanasius comments: "For Anthony [St. Anthony of Padua] did not heal by issuing commands, but by praying and calling upon the name of Christ, so that it was evident to everyone that it was not he who did this, but the Lord manifesting his compassion to men and, through Anthony, was healing those who suffered." (Matthew 17:19 and John 16:23-24)

Vita Antonii 83-84

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St. Nicholas Youth Group in Sunman, Indiana

As promised to the Youth Group at St. Nicholas Parish in Sunman, Indiana!

Here is Father Stan Fortuna, Franciscan Monk, at the Franciscan University of Steubenville Youth Conference in 2007...ENJOY!!!

Pax Et Bonum!

Fra Chris

Voice of the Innocents "Healing of the Heart" Conference

Saturday, October 24,
East Central High School
St. Leon, Indiana

Voice of the Innocents, Inc., invites you to a conference on

"Healing of the Heart"

* Exposing the lies that bind us
* Breaking destructive soul ties
* Finding freedom from false judgments
* Healing from rejection and abuse
* Restoring lost innocence
* Living in the Father's love and blessing

Doors open at 7:30 a.m.

Speakers:

Deacon Ralph Poyo

Fr. Gregory Bramlage

Condensed Schedule of the Day:

* Why Are We Afraid to Walk in Faith by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Holy Mass
* Recovering Your Stolen Identity by Fr. Gregory Bramlage
* Restoring Lost Innocence by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Laying on of Hands
* Eucharistic Procession
* Miracle Hour

Call (812) 623-8007 for more information.

To download a full brochure/registration form, visit

www.HealingthroughthePowerofJesusChrist.org

<http://www.healingthroughthepowerofjesuschrist.org/>

Please stop by the
Portiuncula Hermitage & Retreat Center Booth
for
Healing Prayer
and a delicious cup of
Mystic Monk Coffee!


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St. Francis Prepared For His Death

Francis began THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN in the summer of 1225, at a time indeed when he was deep in suffering, but when he had already attained the mystical heights in his experience on Mount La Verna. But the joy he had experienced in that great privilege was tempered by the thought of how many men were greatly offending their Creator by misusing the creature world God had given them. "For His praise," he said, "I want to compose a new hymn about the Lord's creatures, of which we make daily use, without which we cannot live, and with which the human race greatly offends its Creator."

The first part of the Canticle, up to the verses about pardon and peace, he composed in the garden of the Poor Clare's convent at San Damiano, where he lay sick and in intense suffering for six or seven weeks. He then composed a melody for it and frequently urged his brothers to sing it when they were out preaching. The second part, consisting of the next two verses about pardon and peace, he composed a short time later in an effort to restore peace between the quarreling parties in a dispute between the civil and religious authorities of Assisi. The final verses about Sister Death Francis added shortly before his own death, after Brother Leo and Brother Angelo had sung the Canticle at his request. Celano adds that his last words were: "Welcome, my Sister Death."

St. Francis of Assisi
Omnibus of Sources

il Cantico delle Creature
(The Canticle of the Creatures - St. Francis of Assisi)

by
Angelo Branduardi

Lyrics

A te solo Buon Signore
Si confanno gloria e onore
A Te ogni laude et benedizione
A Te solo si confanno
Che laltissimo Tu sei
E nullomo degno e
Te mentovare.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Con le Tue creature
Specialmente Frate Sole
E la sua luce.
Tu ci illumini di lui
Che e bellezza e splendore
Di Te Altissimo Signore
Porta il segno.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorelle Luna e Stelle
Che Tu in cielo le hai formate
Chiare e belle.
Si laudato per Frate Vento
Aria, nuvole e maltempo
Che alle Tue creature dan sostentamento.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorella nostra Acqua
Ella e casta, molto utile
E preziosa.
Si laudato per Frate Foco
Che ci illumina la notte
Ed e bello, giocondo
E robusto e forte.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la nostra Madre Terra
Ella e che ci sostenta
E ci governa
Si laudato Mio Signore
Vari frutti lei produce
Molti fiori coloriti
E verde lerba.
Si laudato per coloro
Che perdonano per il Tuo amore
Sopportando infermite
E tribolazione
E beati sian coloro
Che cammineranno in pace
Che da Te Buon Signore
Avran corona.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la Morte Corporale
Che da lei nesun che vive
Pue scappare
E beati saran quelli
nella Tua volonte
che Sorella Morte
non gli fare male

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Come Celebrate The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi

The Richmond Franciscan Community
Invites Everyone To Join Us !!!

Saturday

October 3rd

St. Mary's
701 North “A” Street
Richmond, IN

From 5:30-6:00 P.M.

Immediately following the Celebration of St. Francis's life, there will be a Pitch-In dinner in the basement of Seton East. Everyone is invited to bring their favorite covered dish.

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When The Time Of Death Was At Hand

When therefore St. Francis had rested for a few days in a place he greatly longed to be in and realized the time of death was at hand, he called to him two brothers and spiritual sons and commanded them to sing in a loud voice with joy of spirit the Praises of the Lord over his approaching death, or rather, over the life that was so near.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER VIII

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Francis Went Home To The Portiuncula To Die

Francis asked to be brought to St. Mary of the Portiuncula, so that he might yield up his spirit where he had first received the spirit of grace.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
Chapter XIV

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Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley Comments on New Franciscan Constitution

"The present constitutions emerged from a long process and the hard work of commissions and General Chapters. We also had the advantage of the newly composed Constitutions of the OFMs and the scholarly work of the legendary Father Cajetan Esser, O.F.M. Each Chapter of the present Capuchin Constitutions adopted a format which takes the Revelation of the Church and then Francis’ genius and then our fraternity and then develops the topic of the Chapter. It is a wonderfully constructed ecclesial vision of religious life and Franciscan spirituality. It locates us in the context of the Church and not as a sideshow of charismatic wonder.

"Capitular fathers were grateful to the fine work of the Italian Friar Guiseppe Santorelli from the Province of Ancora who helped incorporate more of the original Capuchin constitutions into the new Constitutions. All in all the Chapters that worked on the Constitutions did a remarkable job. I was present for some of those Chapters as a lowly translator and witnessed firsthand the hard work of the Capitulars.

"The new Constitutions despite its many strengths does have some flaws in my opinion. It is my hope that the call to re-look at the Constitutions might address some of these concerns:

• The new Constitutions dropped too much of our life of penance and the contemplative side of our life.
• The new Constitutions fail to give a clear formula for living a life of poverty “with explanations.”
• The new Constitutions favor generalities to honor an ill-conceived notion of pluriformity that has robbed the Constitutions of its fire.
• The new Constitutions needed to say more about the friars’ love for the Church and the fidelity to her moral and dogmatic teaching. Francis was so devoted to the Church, despite all the defects and shortcomings of the clergy and leadership.
•Our Constitutions should not be a bland description of how we are living our vocation in the 3rd millennium, but rather a description of how we should be living our life in a concrete program of radical poverty, radical prayer, radical love. Constitutions should not be easily tempered with. Performance and stability are important to inspire people with a sense of awe and seriousness. In today’s world young people see how everything is expendable, “throw-away.” Technology has created a world where everything is experimental or obsolete.

"The Constitutions are our identity as Capuchins and need to be firmly grounded in our history. We do not need a document that is modern and trendy that will soon seem dated and passe.

"Conclusion:

"Capuchin Identity is safeguarded by the Constitutions only in as much as it inspires us to live the Rule and Testament in a radical way. Generalities will never do. The Gospel Life of the Capuchin Brotherhood is about radical love. It is a life that begins with contemplative prayer. This allows one to imitate the self-emptying of Christ’s kenosis and leads to a radical witness that invites people to renounce the extreme individualism and materialism of our age in order to follow Christ poor and crucified.

"Some people are advocating removing some of the concrete directives on prayer that are in the Constitutions and place them in the Ordinances. This would be a fatal mistake. The ordinances are unknown and irrelevant to most of the friars. The Rule and Constitutions will always be the documents that form us and teach us our identity. The Constitutions cannot be a weak exhortation to live a vague ideal of the most common denominator. Rather, the Constitutions should be a challenging document that incorporates concrete directives about the life of prayer, poverty, and austerity. We need more boldness in our Constitutions if we are going to inspire young men to join our ranks.

"If we embrace or institutionalize a comfortable, bourgeois life style, the Order will die out, no matter how much lip service we give to a liberal social agenda. Our way of life lived in all its radical renunciation is capable of producing men whose witness of prayer, poverty and love will help transform society by calling people back to God, calling them to come home to the Church, by helping people to have a sense of personal vocation and to be part of a communal mission.

"It is my conviction that the contemplative aspects of our life should be addressed first of all. The Capuchin charism begins with the eremitical emphasis of the first friars as reflected in the document of Albacena, the subsequent Constitutions elaborate more on ministry and mission. The point of departure however is the contemplative basis of our vocation. When the life of prayer is carefully delineated, then the other aspects of our life take shape. The centrality of the Eucharist and mental prayer needs to be very clear. Daily celebration of a communal Eucharist, two periods of meditation, and the communal praying of the entire liturgy of the hours needs to be enshrined in the Constitutions as a bare minimum. To leave that up to local communities to legislate is too risky. By leaving things out of the Constitutions we are sending a signal that they are not really important and we encourage a take it or leave it attitude.

"The subjective mood, weak exhortations and mild recommendations do not communicate the sense of urgency that Francis wants to communicate in the Rule. It is a matter of life and death. St. Paul says no one will follow an uncertain trumpet blast. Our legislation should not be an exercise in subtleties. The directives about prayer and poverty need to be concrete, airtight and unyielding."

Cardinal Sean O'Malley

http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/

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La Morte di Francisco (Transitus)

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Carried Half Dead Through Towns And Villages

First Lesson: Francis now hung body and soul upon the Cross with Christ; the fervor of his seraphic love raised him up to God and he was consumed with zeal for souls, so that he shared his Lord's thirst for their salvation. He could no longer walk because of the nails protruding from his feet, and so had himself carried, half-dead as he was, about the towns and villages.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Minor Life
CHAPTER VI

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Voice of the Innocents Fall Conference "HEALING OF THE HEART"

Saturday, October 24, 2009

East Central High School

St. Leon, Indiana

Voice of the Innocents, Inc., invites you to a conference on

"Healing of the Heart"

* Exposing the lies that bind us
* Breaking destructive soul ties
* Finding freedom from false judgments
* Healing from rejection and abuse
* Restoring lost innocence
* Living in the Father's love and blessing

Doors open at 7:30 a.m.

Speakers:

Deacon Ralph Poyo

Fr. Gregory Bramlage

Dr. Susan Stanford-Rue

(Author of: "Will I Cry Tomorrow? Healing Post-Abortion Trauma)

Condensed Schedule of the Day:
* Why Are We Afraid to Walk in Faith by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Holy Mass
* Recovering Your Stolen Identity by Fr. Gregory Bramlage
* Restoring Lost Innocence by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Laying on of Hands
* Eucharistic Procession
* Miracle Hour

Call (812) 623-8007 for more information.To download a full brochure/registration form, visitwww.HealingthroughthePowerofJesusChrist.org

<http://www.healingthroughthepowerofjesuschrist.org/>

Please drop by the

Portiuncula Hermitage Table

for

Prayers for God's Healing Touch

and for a cup of our

Mystic Monk Coffee!!!

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Fr. Stan Fortuna (Franciscan Monk) at Franciscan University of Steubenville Youth Conference

Georgiana Gibson

St. Francis exhorted death itself, terrible and hateful to all, to give praise, and going joyfully to meet it, he invited it to make its lodging with him. "Welcome," he said, "my sister death."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CLXIII

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When God Reveals His Secrets

"Brother, remember that when God reveals his secrets to you, it is not for yourself alone; they are intended for others too. If you hide something which is intended to do good to many others, you have every reason to fear that you will be condemned for burying the talenty given to you."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER XIII

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Crying And Moaning Over The Passion Of My Lord!

One day, just a few years after his conversion, he was foll0wing the road that passes near St. Mary of the Portiuncula and, as he was walking by himself, he was lamenting and weeping out loud. A spiritual man, whom we know well and who reported it to us, met him at this time. This han had been very kind to the saint and had consoled him before he even had one brother and continued to do so. He said to him: "What is the matter, brother?" He thought that he was suffering from some infirmity. Blessed Francis answered: "I ought to travel through the whole world, crying and moaning without any false shame over the passion of my Lord!" The man began to cry with him and wept bitterly.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Legend of Perugia - 37

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Voice of the Innocents Fall Conference "HEALING OF THE HEART"

East Central High School

St. Leon, Indiana

Voice of the Innocents, Inc., invites you to a conference on

"Healing of the Heart"

* Exposing the lies that bind us
* Breaking destructive soul ties
* Finding freedom from false judgments
* Healing from rejection and abuse
* Restoring lost innocence
* Living in the Father's love and blessing

Doors open at 7:30 a.m.

Speakers: Deacon Ralph Poyo

Fr. Gregory Bramlage

Condensed Schedule of the Day:
* Why Are We Afraid to Walk in Faith by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Holy Mass
* Recovering Your Stolen Identity by Fr. Gregory Bramlage
* Restoring Lost Innocence by Deacon Ralph Poyo
* Laying on of Hands
* Eucharistic Procession
* Miracle Hour

Call (812) 623-8007 for more information.To download a full brochure/registration form, visitwww.HealingthroughthePowerofJesusChrist.org

<http://www.healingthroughthepowerofjesuschrist.org/>

Drop by the

Portiuncula Table

for a cup of

Mystic Monk Coffee!!!

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Show Yourself Happy In The Lord

Novices of the Franciscan Sisters, TOR, of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother
Toronto, Ohio

Anyone who comes to the brothers, friend or enemy, thief or robber, is to be received with kindness. And wherever the brothers are and anywhere they meet other brothers, they are to greet one another wholeheartedly and lovingly, and honor on another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9). And they are to be careful not to look outwardly sad, like gloomy hypocrites, but they are to show themselves happy in the Lord (Philippians 4:4), and cheerful and truly gracious.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE RULE OF 1221
Chapter VII

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We Are Not To Argue Among Ourselves

Carmelite Monks of Cody, Wyoming, makers of "Mystic Monk Coffee"

And all the brothers are to guard against speaking falsely of anyone and are to avoid verbal disputes. Rather, let them seek to keep silent whenever God gives them the grace to do so. And they are not to argue among themselves, nor with others, but they are to strive to respond with humility, saying, "We are useless servants" (Luke 17:10).

St. Francis of Assisi
RULE OF 1221
Chapter XI

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The Vineyard Of Rieti

Rieti, Italy

Blessed Francis was staying near the church of St. Fabian in Rieti. A number of cardinals, accompanied by clerics, almost daily visited the saint out of respect and devotion.The church had a small vineyard and since the church had but one door, all those who came to visit passed through that one door, trampling the vineyard under foot. The priest was scandalized and disturbed: "This year," he said, "my vintage is lost. The vineyard is small but every year I harvest enough grapes for my needs."

St. Francis said to the priest: "Stop being disturbed and scandalized: nothing can be done about it. Place your trust in the Lord, because through me, his poor servant, he can repair the damage..."

The priest usually harvested thirteen loads of wine, but that year he harvested twenty from his destroyed vineyard.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 25

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Parresia: A Quality Of A Monk To Perform Miracles

Athanasius comments: "For Anthony [St. Anthony of Padua] did not heal by issuing commands, but by praying and calling upon the name of Christ, so that it was evident to everyone that it was not he who did this, but the Lord manifesting his compassion to men and, through Anthony, was healing those who suffered." (Matthew 17:19 and John 16:23-24)

Vita Antonii 83-84

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