The Real Presence in the Eucharist

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You Are My God - Fr. Stan Fortuna at the Franciscan University of Steubenville Youth Conference

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Fr. Barron Comments on Eucharistic Adoration

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Proposed Portiuncula Chapel at the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center

 Photo of the Portiuncula Chapel at the Little Portion in Arkansas

Francis also told the friars to build their houses small and their cells of wood, not of stone, and he wanted them built in a humble style. He abhorred pretentious buildings, and disliked superfluous or elaborate appointments. He wished nothing about their tables or appointments to appear worldly or to remind them of the world, so that everything should proclaim their poverty and remind them that they were pilgrims and exiles.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 6

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Simplicity Itself

 Photo of the Rivotorto (Crooked River) where St. Francis and his early followers first lived.

More often than not, the bare earth was the only bed Francis had to lay his tired body on, and his pillow was a stone or a piece of wood. His clothes were simplicity itself - nothing more than a course, rough covering to protect him... He knew that expensive clothes only gave his lower nature, with all its passions, the courage to attack all the more fiercely.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
Chapter III

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Holy Simplicity

"Saint Francis was zealous with more than usual care to show forth in himself, and he loved in others, holy simplicity, the daughter of grace, the sister of wisdom, the mother of justice."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
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Order of the Brothers of Penance

"Carried away by the force of his preaching, great numbers of people adopted the new rule of penance according to the form instituted by St. Francis which he called the "Order of the Brothers of Penance." The way of penance is common to all those who are on the road to heaven and so this way of life includes members of both sexes, clerics and lay folks, married and single. How meritorious it is in the eyes of God is clear from the numerous miracles worked by some of those who followed it."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life

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Many Franciscans Abandoning Their Vocations

Foreseeing the future, Francis knew through the Holy Spirit and often repeated that many Franciscans, under the pretext of edifying others, would abandon their vocation, that is to say, pure and holy simplicity, prayer and Lady Poverty; they would consider themselves more fervent and more on fire with the love of God because of their knowledge of the Scriptures, whereas precisely because of it they would inwardly remain empty and cold; and they would not be able to return to their former vocation and they had let their time given to them to live in this holy vocation slip by. "And I strongly fear," he concluded, "that what they seem to have will be taken away from them because they have abandoned their vocation."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 70

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RALPH MARTIN

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Ralph Martin

"THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE"

Are you interested in the Contemplative Life?

Drawing upon the teaching of seven Spiritual Doctors of the Church, Ralph Martin presents an in-depth study of the journey to God. This book provides encouragement and direction for the pilgrim who desires to know, love, and serve our Lord. I have personally read this book six times and grow deeper in my faith with every reading.

About the Author:

Ralph Martin has been a leader in renewal movements in the Church for many years, and the author of many books, articles, and audio albums on contemporary issues in the life of the Church and the teachings of the saints. He is currently Director of Graduate Programs in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heat Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit and Assistant Professor of Theology. He continues to lead the work of Renewal Ministries, an organization devoted to Catholic Renewal and Evangelization and hosts the weekly television program "The Choices We Face." He and his wife Anne are parents of six children and grandparents of six and reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Veneration of the Body of Christ, which is held in the priest's hands during the Holy Eucharist

"St. Francis admonished the brothers faithfully to observe the holy Gospel and the rule to which they had bound themselves; to bear themselves reverently and devoutly towards the services of the Church and all ecclesiastical observances; to hear Mass and adore the Body of the Lord with devotion and worship. He also taught the brothers to honor with special respect all priests who were ministers of the sacraments; and wherever they might happen to meet such a priest they should bow before him, and not only kiss his hands, but, if he were riding, even the hooves of his horse, out of reverence for his priestly authority."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions

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Franciscan Lay Apostolate: Hasidic Franciscans?

 

With their distinct dress, Hasidic Jews are pretty hard to miss, and that’s part of the point. They believe their faith separates them from the general population and that their style of dress should reflect this distinction. It’s also an expression of their commitment to tradition, as their dress today was typical for Ukrainian Jews 250 years ago. Male Hasidic Jews also sometimes sport long beards and curled sideburns called payot, based on a biblical commandment barring men from shaving the sides of their faces.

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Discernimento Vocazionale

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The Real Presence Association

Our Lord Jesus told his disciples, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. If you had known me, you would also have known my Father. And henceforth you do know him, and you have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known me? Philip, he who sees me sees also the Father (John 13: 6-9).

...It is the Most High himself who has told us, (Mark 14: 22-24), and, This is my Body and Blood of the new covenant he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting (John 6:55).

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE ADMONITIONS
Admonition I

 

 

 

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St. Francis's Tunic Bore A Likeness To The Cross

Original Tunic once worn by St. Francis of Assisi found in Assisi, Italy

 

Francis designed for himself a tunic that bore a likeness to the cross, that by means of it he might beat off all temptations of the devil; he designed a very rough tunic so that it might crucify the flesh with all its vices and sins, he designed a very poor tunic, one that would not excite the covetousness of the world.

Saint Francis of AssisiCelano, First Life
Chapter IX

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Build Humble Cells; Small And Of Wood

 Hermitage Cell

Francis also told the friars to build their houses small and their cells of wood, not of stone, and he wanted them built in a humble style. He abhorred pretentious buildings, and disliked superfluous or elaborate appointments. He wished nothing about their tables or appointments to appear worldly or to remind them of the world, so that everything should proclaim their poverty and remind them that they were pilgrims and exiles.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 6

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Holy Obedience Due Our Bishops

 Photo of Pond at the Portiuncula Hermitage and Retreat Center in Jerusalem, Ohio

 

'When the friars have examined the land necessary for a house,' Francis said, 'they should go to the Bishop of that city and say to him, "My Lord so-and-so is willing to give us so much land for the love of God and for the salvation of his soul, so that we may build a house there. We are therefore coming to you first of all, because you are the father and lord of the souls of all the flock entrusted to you, as well as of ourselves and of all the brethren who will dwell in this place. So, with God's blessing and your own, we would like to build there." '

He spoke this because the harvest of souls which the friars desire to gather is more readily obtained by working in harmony with the clergy, thereby helping both them and the people, than by antagonizing them, even though they may win the people.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 10

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Chris Dickson, F.L.A.

Adoro te Devote

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Leaving Home, Leaving Church - A Rite of Passage?

Published September 12, 2012 | By scribe

By Mike Filce, Crisis Magazine, Sept. 4, 2012

We rural people share a common understanding when it comes to our young: that it is essential for them to leave home after high school, to go away to college or work.  This understanding comes from witnessing the stagnation of those who stay, the narrowed horizons and expectations, the dead-end life goals and plans.

Those who grow up here in Tahoe often do return, having seen what’s “out there,” and preferring what they know here.  It then is a choice for something, rather than an absence of choice based on ignorance.  Unsurprisingly, these “returnees” seem to find greater happiness and purpose than those who have never left.

A Rite of Passage?

The trouble for Catholics arises in that we often come to view our children’s faith journey in similar terms—almost condoning their choice to drift away from the faith we have guided them in forming.  After all, many of us did the same thing—stopped attending mass with our parents, stopped practicing the sacraments on a regular basis, rationalizing our choices in myriad ways.  When you’re young and impatient, when you find attending mass a chore, it requires only the smallest excuse to drift away.  There are plenty of Christian assemblies around to provide the stimulation as well as the ready-made critiques of the Catholic faith and they do an admirable job of reaching out to our young people; and to be fair, we Catholics have provided our young with plenty of excuses to grow disinterested.  So when our young adults stray, we are not greatly surprised or alarmed.  Perhaps we offer up a prayer for their eventual return—that the Holy Spirit will lead them home; perhaps we lament the lack of programs and services aimed at retaining our young adults; but that’s usually as far as it goes.

And when our own children begin to drift, we accept it as our cross to bear, rather than pushing the child away from the Church even further.  Without exception, it seems, we parents opt to avoid the tyranny of forced attendance, clinging to the hope that our children will one day return of their own volition.

What the Studies Say

The process of disengagement is a subtle yet corrosive one, and there is no shortage of pundits who attempt to list reasons for it. Such attempts invariably reflect on the alarming trends and note the clichés that we all tend to reiterate when lamenting the tragic exodus of our youth.

For a typical summary of reasons behind the exodus, I refer you to a respected 2011 study by Charles Zech and Father William Byron, not to affirm their accuracy, but to confess my own easy acceptance of such findings, and to contrast them with my revised assessment that the answers lie in a different direction.  This study—eventually titled “Empty Pews: Survey of Catholics Regarding Decrease in Mass Attendance”—boils the somewhat predictable responses down to a list of seven reasons Catholics leave church (also summarized by Merica, Zimmerman).

The trouble with such studies is that they highlight the more public and sensational concerns—scandals and particularly rigid stances or doctrines; they conclude with platitudes and clichés without clarifying why young people really drift away from Catholic worship.

Getting at the Real Reasons

Looking a little further, one will consistently find that “People are not [leaving the Church] because they disagree with specific Catholic teachings; people are leaving because the church does not meet their spiritual needs and they find Protestant worship service better” (Reese).  Read “emotional” for “spiritual,” and “desires” for “needs,” and you have a fairly accurate picture.

Offering the most accurate explanation for the exodus is Dennis Coday, editor for the National Catholic Reporter.  He bases his analysis on a 2009 follow-up study to the well-known “Pew Report,” a 2007 study involving 35,000 Americans.  Coday reports that commonly the decision to leave “happened over time” rather than being “prompted by a one-time event”; it’s not about the sex-abuse scandals.  Catholic Researcher, Mark Gray, agrees that “The poster child of former Catholics is a disaffected teenager . . . This is about youth coming of age and not feeling connected to their faith” (qtd. in Coday).

“Matthew’s” story, as told in an essay by Kathryn Jean Lopez, epitomizes the complex emotional need to “feel connected,” which claims most casualties of the faith: Matthew grew up in a practicing Catholic household and went to Catholic schools.  He was raised, as many of us were, “with the indoctrination of how the Church was infallible, perfect, the sole authority of God.”  Not surprisingly, as he grew older, “he began to wonder whether this corresponded to the Church he saw.”  Couple this disillusionment with the way in which another Christian faith made him “feel welcomed, valued, and affirmed,” and you have the standard recipe for disenfranchisement.  It is almost pointless to speculate “how many there are who end up in ‘Bible churches’ because they find fellowship, scriptural preaching and teaching, and a sense of spirituality they had been lacking” (Lopez).

Where the Research Leaves Us

Whether or not we have children, we need to recognize this crisis among our Catholic children and young adults, because it is therefore a crisis of our Church and our Faith—for we are all one body, and we share responsibility for the faith formation of our young; likewise we all suffer when they neglect and abandon their faith.  We as parents and members of the congregation have become too passive in allowing other influences to govern our children’s key decisions, downplaying them as harmless rites of passage.

Uniquely Catholic

First, let’s acknowledge that because we claim to be the “one true Church,” to have the answers, to be the leader in the world, we open ourselves to relentless scrutiny, and a human institution must always fall short when measured against perfect righteousness.  Make no mistake, our young people bring that scrutiny to mass.

I urge you to spend a few minutes during mass to observe the congregation through the eyes of a teenager—witnessing people as the automatons our teenagers see.  It looked that way to me as well, and played a key role in my wanderings. In fact, it took years for me to realize that Catholics take to heart Jesus’ teaching that “what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:5-6, NAB), and in embracing this teaching, end up looking like the least devout, the least engaged, the least spiritual, while in fact they are often among the most. Add to that the criticism that our faith and worship are not “scripture-based,” and you have the basis of evangelical efforts to lead us away from our church and toward theirs.

Under these attacks, our young people easily lose sight of the mass as an exaltation of the scriptures and a multi-faceted prayer . . . and that’s as good a place as any to start a dialogue with our kids.

Defending the Faith at Home

The other day my wife and I had to explain to our fifteen-year old daughter why we weren’t allowing her to attend a weekend retreat with her friend’s evangelical Christian church group.  Acknowledging that we cannot compete with the “fun” offered by other churches, we talk to her about the differences at the heart of our Faith and how those differences demand more from us, but that they define her and her faith in a vital way.  We talk about what the “one true church” means; we do not pretend that all churches and all faiths are equal in God’s eyes; we try to make her aware of the motives of evangelical groups, and what challenges that will raise for her.  It’s going to be an ongoing issue, one I’m sure we will continue to pray over, one that will push us to seek out guidance, one that will force us to frequently evaluate our beliefs and how we live them, and more importantly how we model those values to our children.

My wife and I do not see any point in “competing” with other faith communities or in trying to bring what works for them into our Church as so many seem inclined to.  We can neither surrender our children to the more enticing activities of other churches, nor try to emulate those churches in hopes of “winning” some unspoken battle for attention.  Emulation would only convey fear, whereas we need to embrace and celebrate the uniqueness of our faith instead.  This doesn’t mean it’s not important to create engaging opportunities for our children and young adults, but that it’s more important to get them to look at their relationship with God and their church as something transcending the allure of fun events with friends.

Returning to the Voices of Wisdom, One Last Time

Not surprisingly, one of the Pew Report’s findings was that “The church must make a preferential option for teenagers and young adults or it will continue to bleed. Programs and liturgies that cater to their needs must take precedence” (Reese; Cabaniss)—a suggestion so sensible and unassailable that we tend not to question it.  But it’s also the same facile response that always emerges in such conversations, probably because it sounds so logical.  The problem, as Margaret Cabaniss so cogently expresses, is that such “preferential options” have been made available for some time, and without effect; in fact, she points out, if we merely mimic what’s offered down the street, that provides even less reason to stay.  She focuses instead on what makes us unique: the Eucharist.  Cabaniss is also absolutely correct that “modern, ‘accessible’ liturgies, social justice outreach; and tight-knit communities” mean nothing “if we haven’t conveyed the fundamental truth at the heart of our Faith: that we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord in the Eucharist at every Mass, through an unbroken 2,000-year chain stretching back to Christ Himself. Any attempt to address the attrition problem that doesn’t begin here will fail before it has begun.”

Cabaniss is not alone in this assessment.  Rev. Joseph Wilson, a priest at St. Luke’s Church in Queens, New York, identifies the real problem as a “deep misunderstanding of what the Mass is about,” citing the pervasive and misguided expectation that the “liturgy is our self-expression, that it should be comfy and entertaining.” He focuses on the need to inculcate the understanding that mass should really be “not about what we do so much as about what God does” (qtd. in Lopez).  In all the hand wringing over the loss of so many young Catholics, I’ve rarely seen such a pithy and vital truth.

Where Do We Go From Here

Let’s turn to solutions—what we can take away from this discussion and begin applying to our families and communities.  I offer this list not only in the hopes that you will find something useful, but also for myself, as a way to clarify the task before me:

• We must first renounce the notion that our young people must be entertained more than challenged.

• We must consciously stop interpreting the departure of our young people as some kind of “rite of passage.”

• We must be wary of trying to emulate those who compete for our children by providing fun and distraction.

• We must emphasize to our children that God wants us to be serious thinkers; He does not want a cheerleader camp.

• We must talk directly with our children about the church’s complex challenge – its role in the world; the nature of its critics and the allure of other faith communities.

• We must be clear first in our understanding, second in our explanations of our faith to our children.

• We must help our children to see the difference between the Church as a faith and the church as only the sum of its flawed human representatives.

• We must constantly talk with our children about the literature, movies, music, and other media they are exposed to, and teach them to evaluate the messages that play such a subtle yet ubiquitous role in their lives.

• We must challenge our children to reflect on the tenets of their confirmation and the sacraments as a whole.

• We must pass on to them a religion that is not adulterated by the modern “cafeteria-style” approach to the Church’s doctrines and teachings.

• We must openly acknowledge with our children that our faith does demand much more than others’ and we must support them tirelessly in shouldering that burden; after all, nothing valuable comes without hard work.

• We must demonstrate for them what role spiritual emotion plays in their faith so they do not perceive it as bloodless; we must remind them that what a congregation looks like is often different from what is really going on within its members.

• Last, we need to show our children that Christ is the center of our lives, not just what we do on Sunday.

A longer version of this essay first appeared August 30, 2012 on The Devout Life blog.

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/leaving-home-leaving-church-a-rite-of-passage

 

 

BonTon Community Day Booklet - Helping Non-Profits Like the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage

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Use most coupons in-store or online.  Shop Friday, November 9th or Saturday, November 10th to save big on top of our already-low sale prices. Proceeds from online donations will benefit all Community Day groups.

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Chris Dickson, F.L.A. 

Servant General

Franciscan Lay Apostolate

   

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Bishop Jeffrey Monforton Installation September 10, 2012

The installation of Bishop Jeffrey Monforton will take place on Monday, September 10th at 2:00 p.m. at the Finnegan Field House on the grounds of Franciscan University of Steubenville.

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Franciscan Lay Apostolate

The Franciscan Lay Apostolate  is currently under the direction of Fra Chris Dickson, F.L.A. Along with his staff, the F.L.A. works to foster the spread of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, and helps to raise the dignity of people's lives in Appalachia. 

Apostolicam Actuositatem is the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity. It defines the mission of the lay Christian faithful to both "lead non-believers to the faith and to instruct, strengthen, and encourage the faithful to a more fervent life". The lay apostolate is made up from laypeople and consecrated religious who exercise a ministry in cooperation with the Catholic Church. These organizations cooperate with ecclesiastical authorities. They operate "under direction of her pastors" but are not members of the official Church hierarchy nor in Holy Orders. 

Apostolates operate with the permission of the local Ordinary of a Diocese, but without material support. The Franciscan Lay Apostolate does not employ a professional fund raiser. We depend solely upon contributions from people like yourself.

Won't you please prayerfully consider a one-time gift of $5.00 or $10.00 to help us tend to the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of our brothers and sisters in Appalachia? 

Mailing Address (Currently):

Portiuncula Hermitage

P.O. Box 114

Richmond, IN 47375-0114

Thank you for your kind consideration and Pace e Bene!

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The Catholic Church vs. Liberation Theology

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by Chris Dickson, F.L.A.

I am appalled by the naivete of our Church being duped into anti-Christian communism. Liberation theology is a threat to free society by its undermining of the Church and its Magisterium through attempting to redefine moral issues (changing the Gospel to support theology opposed to shaping theology as a result of the Gospel.)

Ignorance is not bliss and unless we familiarize ourselves with the dangers, then future generations will demand answers as to why we threw away our freedom in lieu of communism.

To quote Gustavo Gutierrez (the "father" of liberation theology,) "There is no evil in being subversive, struggling against the capitalist system...Liberation leads to reinterpreting the Gospel...As I have witnessed the power of Marxism to provide motivation for a life of service where none existed before, I have come to a new appreciation of this part of my own history. I cannot settle for any story of America that fails to give a central place to this vision."

Again, Roger Garaudy (one of France's foremost Marxist intellectuals) wrote, "Socialism is a traditional stage in the passage from capitalism to communism." Also, "When the established order involves such injustice that millions of men are exploited, oppressed, mutilated, and humiliated by this order, a revolution, even armed revolution, can be less costly and in the long run less 'violent' than this established disorder, which has become pure violence. Of this, incidentally, many Christians are today becoming conscious, including, for example, even priests and bishops in Latin America."

Charles E. Curran, no longer permitted by the Church to teach moral theology at Catholic universities, has stated,"Questions arise in the light of both the importance and the limitations of Scriptures. In the light of the most striking development has been the emergence of dissent within the Roman Catholic theological community from the teachings of the hierarchical magisterium on specific moral issues."

One cannot help but feel an air of approval when local archdiocesan newspapers print articles written by these people. Already we have seen a swing by our priests and educators away from the Church's doctrine of "norma normans non normata"(the Scriptures being the norm above all other norms by which all norms are taken) and are thus shown to question the Scripture's relevance in our daily lives.

Perhaps we need to seek the definition of a couple terms which seem to have taken on good and bad connotations in complete reversal of their intended meanings:

First of all, the term orthodoxy means "right praise," or consistency with the faith of the Church as embodied in Sacred Scripture, the Fathers, official teachings and the liturgy.

Libertaion theology, on the other hand, is defined as a new type of theology which emphasizes the motif of liberation in both Old and New Testaments and which reinterprets all doctrines in terms of that motif. Forms of liberation theology include Latin American, black and feminist.

Jesus "liberated" all of us from the bonds of oppression. Rather than reinterpreting the Gospel, perhaps we would be better served to "live it." This idea may not be popular with some in the Church today, but by returning to the basics of our faith, we will be truly liberated through the instruction of Sacred Scriptures if only we would accept Jesus as the catalyst of our lives.

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"Come to the Quiet" Retreat Venue Change

October 2012 "Come to the Quiet" Retreat   

 

Venue Change

Our October "Come to the Quiet" Retreat will be held at St. Sylvester's Roman Catholic Church in Woodsfield, Ohio.

Exact Dates and Times to be announced shortly...

There appears to be a growing interest in the monastic life among people of all
lifestyles – and no wonder! For centuries, the monastic life has provided monks and nuns with disciplines and practices aimed at helping them maintain balanced, healthy and centered lifestyles while they “prefer nothing to Christ.” But these practices are not only for monks! Join us as we explore practices such as silence, prayer, simplicity, solitude and celebration, and the benefits they have for all our lives.

Fee:   Free-Will Offering

To register, or for additional information, please email the Portiuncula Hermitage at hermitage@parallax.ws

 

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FORMATION

Members are those persons considered to be part of the F.L.A. All baptized Catholics who are fourteen years of age or older, who are in complete harmony with all the teachings of the Roman Catholic church and the Magisterium, are eligible to enter formation as Members.

Members include those who have pledged to live the F.L.A. Rule and Constitutions as well as those pursuing formation in the F.L.A. at the Postulance level or above and who have no impediments to pledging if their formation were complete (as example, someone already pledged to the Third Order Carmelites).

PRE-INQUIRY

A pre-inquirer is an individual who contacts the F.L.A., or any Member of it, for information, advice, and/or prayer about discerning the possible vocation to the F.L.A., but who has not completed the Inquirer application.

INQUIRY

Inquiry is the first level of formal contact with the F.L.A.. inquirers are exploring the F.L.A. way of life and discerning a possible vocation in it.

POSTULANCY

The postulancy is an introduction into the formation process. Postulants reflect on certain teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, on penance, and on the spiritual journey. They study the F.L.A. Rule and Constitutions and begin to follow them in certain ways. The Postulancy is a time of further discernment of a vocation to the F.L.A.

NOVITIATE

The principle years of formation are three years of the Novitiate, each consisting of at least twelve full months during which the Novice regularly participates in at least one Spiritual or Corporal Work of Mercy. The Novice undertake a study of Scripture and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Each year of formation integrates different prescriptions of the Rule and the Constitutions into the Novice life. These prescriptions are: for Novice 1, prayer; for Novice w, fasting and abstinence; Novice 3, simplicity of life. At the end of three years of Novice formation the penitent shall be praying certain prayers for a certain amount of time daily, shall fast and abstain weekly, and shall have greatly simplified his or her wardrobe and possessions.

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Powerful Catholic Pro-Life Commercial Featuring Obama

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The Franciscan Friars Minor Alcantarines or Discalced (Barefoot)

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7.29. The Spanish reform was born before the division of the Order in 1517. In 1480 Juan de la Puebla had began an effort at reform, followed by Juan de Guadalupe in 1495. At this time this reform was under the obedience of the Minister General, and developed independently of the Observant Vicars General. In 1496 the Minister General Francesco Nanni gave him permission to live the Rule in the most strict observance. In 1499 the group of friars formed the Custody of the Holy Gospel.

7.30. The famous reformer Cardinal Cisneros, with the approval of the Spanish monarchs Fernando and Isabella, wanted to eradicate from Spain all religious who wanted to start reforms outside the Regular Observance. So in 1502 the permission given to Juan de Guadalupe was revoked, and the friars were asked to join the Observance in the houses of recollection which the Order in Spain had instituted for the purpose. But these reformed friars did not accept and declared their obedience to the Minister General of the Order. In 1515 these friars were known as "fratres de caputio", or "Discalced" Friars Minor and were given the Custody of Estremadura. They were also known as Reformed Conventuals, because of their obedience to the Minister General.

7.31. The "Ite vos" of 1517 commanded them to join the Order of Friars Minor, made up of the Observants and the other reformed groups. The Custody of Estremadura became the Province of St. Gabriel in 1520.

7.32. In 1515 Juan Pascual joined these friars. Later on he would ask to be left under the obedience of the Friars Minor Conventuals. Paul III gave him permission to accept novices and other Observants who would like to join the reform. When Juan Pascual died in 1554 he had laid the foundations for the Custody of San Josè.

7.33. A key figure in this Custody and a great reformer in Spain was St. Peter of Alcantara. He was a Minister Provincial of the province of St. Gabriel of the Reformed Conventuals. In 1557 the Minister General of the Conventuals gave him permission to become General Commissary of the Reformed Conventuals in Spain. Peter founded the hermitage of Pedroso. In 1559 the Custody of San Josè became a Province. The Alcanatarine reform was one of the strictest in the history of the Order. The same year in which Peter of Alcantara died, in 1562, the Province of San Josè left the Conventual obedience and entered the Observant family. Peter of Alcantara was instrumental in helping St. Theresa of Avila in the reform of the Carmelite Order, when she founded the Discalced Carmelites.

7.34. The Alcanatarine family was very intransigent in its sense of autonomy from the Observant mainstream and way of life. In 1621 the Alcantarines were given a General Commissary and a Procurator General.

7.35. By the end of the 18th century the Discalced or Alcantarine family of the Order of Friars Minor had spread to Italy (Naples and Lecce), Brazil, Mexico, East Indies, Japan and the Philippines. The Alcantarines were also a school of sanctity, with eminent figures such as St. Paschal Baylon, St. John Joseph of the Cross.

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Spiritual Joy

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Francis declared that if the servant of God strove to possess and preserve interior and external spiritual joy, which proceeds from purity of heart, the devils could do him no harm, but would be forced to admit: "Since this servant of God preserves his joy in tribulation as well as in prosperity, we can find no way to harm his soul."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 97

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Knock And It Will Be Opened To You In Contemplation

"Seek in reading and you will find it in meditation; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation."

St. John of the Cross
Sayings #158

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Am I Not A Miserable Man?

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St. Sylvester, a diocesan priest, was one of the first four companions of St. Francis of Assisi. He is buried in the Basilica in Assisi.

By divine inspiration, a priest named Sylvester began to reflect on Francis' action, and said to himself: "Am I not a miserable man, old as I am, to be avid for temporal goods, when this young man despises and hates them for love of God?" During the following night in a dream he saw an immense cross reaching to the sky, and its foot was planted in the mouth of Francis, while the arms spread from on end of the world to the other. On awakening, the priest realized and was convinced that blessed Francis was indeed the friend and servant of Jesus Christ and that the form of religion he was introducing would spread over the entire earth. Thus Sylvester was brought to fear God, and he began to do penance while still living in his own house. Before long, however, he entered the fraternity in which he lived perfectly and died gloriously.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 31

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Come...Follow me!

Come... Follow me!

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