Reverence For Stones

I am sitting here at my desk holding two stones in my hands. They were given to me by my Mother-in-law, Mary Ann Lloyd, who picked them up off the ground in Assisi and Medjugorje. The fragrant words of Brother Celano play over and over again in my mind and soul:

"He (St. Francis) walked reverently over rocks, out of consideration of him who is called Peter, the Rock. And when he came to this psalm verse, 'Upon a rock you have exalted me' (Psalm 61:2-3), he would say, to be even more reverent, 'At the feet of the Rock you have exalted me.'" (Celano, Second Life, 165)

I wonder. Did Brother Francis walk reverently over this very stone 800 years ago? And what about the rock from Medjugorje? If I were to remain silent concerning the will of God, would these stones begin to cry out (Luke 19:40)?

Saint Francis Receives The Stigmata

"Two years before his death, from the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary until the September feast of St. Michael, Brother Francis kept a Lent in the locale of La Verna in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and of St. Michael. After the vision and words of a seraph and the imprinting of the stigmata of Christ in his body, he made the praises written on the other side of this sheet (written in his own hand) giving thanks for the grace bestowed on him."

Brother Leo
Monograph of St. Francis

Humility Of God

See, every day he humbles himself as he did when, from his royal throne, he came into the womb of the Virgin; every day he comes to us with the same humility; every day he descends from his Father's bosom into the hands of the priest at the altar.

St. Francis
Admonition 1

Humility

In the love which God is (1 John 4:16) I beseech all my brothers - speakers, workers, whether clerics of laics: Seek to humble yourselves in all things, and do not glory in yourselves or rejoice inwardly, or exalt yourselves for the good words and works or, indeed, of any good which God sometimes says or does or works in you or through you.

Rule 1221 - Chapter XVII

An Innocent, Prayerful Heart

Since spiritual joy springs from the heart's innocence and the purity of incessant prayer, these are the two virtues we need to acquire and keep. Then that joy which I long to see and feel in myself and in others, that inward and outward joy, will be an edification to neighbor and a reproach to the Enemy. For sadness is his and those who follow him; rejoicing and always being happy in the Lord are ours.

Mirror of Perfection - 95

Prayer

St. Francis always sought to keep his spirit in union with God through uninterrupted prayer, so that he would not be without consolations of the Beloved. In his dedication to contemplation, prayer was the comfort of his life; and as if he were already a citizen of heaven and a fellow citizen of the angels, he went in ardent search of the Beloved, from whom he was separated only by a partition of flesh.

St. Bonaventure
Major Life - 10:1

We Have Done Little Or Nothing

Though St. Francis had to moderate his early rigor because of his illness, he continued to say: "My brothers and sisters, let us begin to serve the Lord God, for up till now we have done little or nothing."

Celano
First Life - 103

"For The Love Of God."

One of the expressions we use in ordinary speech always moved Francis profoundly whenever he hears it, and it was, "For the love of God." As soon as he would hear these words, they would excite him, work upon him, and enkindle him, as if an inner chord had been plucked by them. And he kept faithfully till his death the promose he made to himself when he was still living a worldly life, that he would never refuse a poor person who begged anything "for the love of God." He used to say, "How greatly we should love the very love with which God has loved us so much."

Celano
Second Life - 196

Churches

The Lord gave me such a faith in churches that I used to simply pray these words: "We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all your churches in the world, and we bless you because through your holy cross you have redeemed the world."

The Testament of St. Francis

Living In The Present Moment

"Silence is God's first language, everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God."

Thomas Keating
Invitation to Love

A Prayer In Suffering

By: Father Michael Scanlan

Grant me, O Lord, the grace to unite my sufferings with yours so that I may suffer as your true follower. I do not ask to be freed from afflictions since these are the reward of the saints; but I beg of you to make me find in calmness and resignation the true use of trials.

My God, I desire, I accept, I abandon myself lovingly to your holy will!

Prayer Of St. Francis Of Assisi

LORD,
Make me an instrument of your PEACE.
Where there is hatred, let me sow
LOVE.
Where there is injury, PARDON.
Where there is doubt, FAITH.
Where there is despair, HOPE.
Where there is darkenss, LIGHT.
And where there is sadness, JOY.
O DIVINE MASTER,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to CONSOLE.
To be understood, as to UNDERSTAND.
To be loved as to LOVE.
For it is in GIVING that we receive,
It is in PARDONING
That we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to ETERNAL LIFE.

Joy Wards Off Evil

Servant of God, if you apply yourself to acquiring and preserving, both in heart and demeanor, that joy which comes from a pure heart and is won by devotion to prayer, the devils can do you no harm. They say, "This servant of God is as happy when things are going badly as when all is well, and so we cannot find an opening to enter him and hurt him."

St. Francis
Mirror of Perfection - 95

Let Your Gentleness Draw Others

The peace which you proclaim with words must dwell even more abundantly in your hearts. Do not provoke others to anger or give scandal. Rather, let your gentleness draw them to peace, goodness, and concord. This is our vocation: to heal wounds, to bind what is broken, to bring home those who are lost. And remember that many who may now seem to be of the devil can one day become disciples of Christ.

St. Francis
Legend of the Three Companions - 58

Regarding Blame And Praise

For his part, Francis preferred insults to praise, because he knew that insult leads to self-improvement, praise to downfall. And so when people praised his merits and holiness, he would command one of the brothers to assault his ears with phrases that humiliated and mortified him.

St. Bonaventure
Major Life - 6:1

As Brothers We Are To Be Subject To All

All the brothers, wherever they find themselves serving or working for others, are not to be administrators or officials or preside over the house where they are offering service. Nor are they to accept any office which would cause scandal or bring harm to the souls. But let them be the lesser ones and subject to all who dwell in the same house.

St. Francis
Rule of 1221 - Chapter VII

Humbly Embrace Shame

Blessed are those servants who are not quick to excuse themselves and who humbly put up with shame and reproach for sins they are not guilty of.

St. Francis
Admonition 22

Let Your Goodness Proclaim To The Wicked Their Own Wickedness

"So, as I understand it (Ezekial 3:18), your life shining and your goodness spreading like a sweet odor will proclaim to the wicked their own wickedness."

Celano
Second Life: 103

True And Perfect Joy

Brother Leo asked St. Francis,"Father Francis, when then is true and perfect joy?"

St. Francis said, "Well, I am returning from Perugia, say, and I arrive at our Friary of the Portiuncula very late at night. It is wintertime, muddy, and so cold that icicles have gathered at the fringes of my habit and keep cutting into my legs until they bleed. But at last, cold, and covered with mud, I make it to the entrance of the Portiuncula. I knock and knock and call out, and finally a brother comes and asks, 'Who are you?' and when I answer, 'Brother Francis,' he says, 'Go away. This isn't the hour to be wandering about. How dare you want to come in!' And when I insist, he snaps back, 'Get out of here, you simpleton, you idiot! We have brothers enough here and we don't need one more like you.' But I again move toward the door and say, 'For the love of God, please take me in tonight.' 'Absolutely not!' he says. 'Go to the Crosiers' hostel and ask them.'

"Now I tell you this: If I keep my patience through all this and do not get upset, then that is true joy and true virtue and salvation of soul."

St. Francis
A Dictated Writing

Insults And Scorn

In the beginning, when St. Francis was still wearing the clothes of a layman, although he had already renounced the world, he went about Assisi for a long time looking wretched and so emaciated by penance that many thought he had turned simple-minded. They laughed at him as though he were mad, and relatives and strangers alike drove him away with insults and stones and mud. But he was already seasoned with a divine salt and rooted in peace of soul by the Holy Spirit, so he bore patiently all their insults and scorn with a joyful countenance, as if he were deaf and mute.

Little Flowers of St. Francis
Chapter 2

Speaking To Demons

Do what you want to me, wicked and deceitful spirits, for you can only do what the Lord allows you to do. Therefore I am happy to suffer everything that God lets you do to me.

St. Bonaventure
Major Life - 10:3

When We Are Despised

Blessed are you, servant of God, if you do not consider yourself any better when you are honored and extolled by others than when you are considered low and simple and despised; for what you are before God, that is what you are, and no more.

St. Francis
Admonition 19

Of Those Who Injure Or Take Advantage Of Us

The brothers should offer no resistance to injury (Matthew 5:39); indeed if someone slaps them on the cheek, they should offer the other as well (Matthew 5:39; Luke 6:29). And if one should take their cloak, let them not hang on to their tunic.

St. Francis
Rule of 1221 - Chapter XIV

To Mary And All The Holy Virtues

Hail his palace, hail his tabernacle, his house,
Hail his vesture, hail his handmaid, his mother,
And hail all you holy virtues, who through the grace and
illumination of the Holy Spirit are poured into the hearts
of
believers, so that you might transform unfaithfulness into
faithfulness to God.

St. Francis
Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary

"May the Father remain by your side, may he henceforth never leave you..."

The Gospa's blessing.

Do Not Speak Ill Of A Brother

Hearing a certain religious speaking ill of his brother, Saint Francis said to his vicar: "Arise, arise, inquire diligently, and if thou findest the accused brother innocent, thou shalt inflict on the accuser a punishment striking to all. Great evils will befall the order unless it is delivered from detractors; the sweet odor of many will be corrupted unless stinking mouths are closed....The brother who despoils another of the glory of his reputation shall be despoiled of the habit, nor can he raise his eyes to God until he first restore what he has taken away."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Schools Of Prayer

Our Christian communities must become genuine "Schools" of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just by imploring help, but also thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening, and ardent devotion until the heart truly "falls in love."

Pope John Paul II
Apostolic Letter: "Novo Millennio Ineunte"

Goverment Taxes

It is not lawful to take the things of others to give to the poor. It is a sin worthy of punishment, not an act deserving a reward, to give away what belongs to others.

St. Francis of Assisi
Admonitions To The Bretheren

Peace Must Dwell In Our Hearts

The Peace which you proclaim with words must dwell even more abundantly in your hearts. Do not provoke others to anger or give scandal. Rather, let your gentleness draw them to peace, goodness, and concord. This is your vocation: to heal wounds, to bind what is broken, to bring home those who are lost.

St. Francis
Legend of the Three Companions

Think, Do, And Say What Is Holy

I prayed that God would deign to show me when it is I am his servant and when not, for I want nothing else but to be his servant. And the Lord answered most graciously: "Know that you are truly my servant when you think, do, and say what is holy."

St. Francis
Mirror of Perfection 74