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October 4, 2018 Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi Reading 1 Jb 19:21-27 Job said: Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,for the hand of God has struck me!Why do you hound me as though you were divine,and insatiably prey upon me? Oh, would that my words were written down!Would that they were inscribed in a record:That with an iron chisel and with leadthey were cut in the rock forever!But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;Whom I myself shall see:my own eyes, not another's, shall...

For more than 700 years the Friary of Folloni near Montella in Italy has protected and guarded some small fragments of textile. According to the legend the textile fragments originate from a sack that appeared on the doorstep of the friary in the winter of 1224 containing bread sent from Saint Francis of Assisi, who at that time was in France. The bread was allegedly brought to the friary by an angel. Ever since that cold winter's night the sack has been guarded by the friary, and today the last few remaining fragments are kept as a relic in a...

October 4, 2017 Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi Reading 1 Neh 2:1-8In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,when the wine was in my charge,I took some and offered it to the king.As I had never before been sad in his presence,the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:"May the king live forever!How could I not look sadwhen the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,and its gates have been eaten out...

Lessons from the Life of St. Francis Msgr. Charles Pope • October 2, 2017 • Many fine histories exist on the life of St. Francis of Assisi so there is no need to replicate that information in this post. (Here is a recently published one that is particularly good.) As we prepare for the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4), let’s reflect on a few lessons from his life.1. On the possibility of radical conversion and the role of affliction and humiliation – The son of a successful cloth merchant, St. Francis enjoyed a very affluent, easy...

The Portiuncula (small portion) refers to the land in Assisi, Italy, that belonged to the Benedictines. On this land  was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God but abandoned. The great St. Francis had great devotion to the queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly and repair it.  He heard that the angels often visited it, so that it was called St. Mary of the Angels. The Benedictines wanted to give Francis the church but in order to remain faithful to Lady Poverty, Francis rented it from them...

Considering the Crusades in the Context of the Current Conflict with Radical Islamists By: Msgr. Charles PopeRecent and persistent attacks by radical Muslims, especially the most recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians, have many asking what can or should be done to end such atrocities. Military actions by numerous countries, including our own, are already underway. Most feel quite justified in these actions and many are calling for more concerted efforts to eliminate ISIS and related zealots who seem to know no pity, no reason, and no limits. I do not write here to opine on the need for...

Transitus Today is the vigil of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  Franciscans from all around the world have a Transitus celebration this evening.  The Transitus is a Franciscan devotion to ritually remember the passing of Saint Francis from this life into God. It is similar to what you might do on the anniversary of the death of a  family member or very dear friend.    You sit around and remember their lives, recall the day they died and what occurred.  You share your memories and talk about how much they meant to you.  Tonight at 7 PM we...

ROME — Bypassing strapped government funding, a community of Franciscan friars in Rome was able to raise more than a quarter of a million dollars in 30 days through the crowd-funding platform, Kickstarter.The small cell where St. Francis of Assisi used to sleep when he came to Rome. (Screengrab from the Franciscans’ Kickstarter webpage) The Franciscans in charge of the Church of St. Francis at Ripa will be using the money to restore the darkened, crumbling cell where St. Francis of Assisi stayed during his visits to Rome.More than 1,100 people, mostly from the United States, contributed to the Franciscans’...

The Origin of Nativity Scenes “... Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged.” According to St Luke the Evangelist (2,7) Jesus was born in a stable or at least in a place where animals were kept. In fact the word presepio (Nativity Scene) comes from the Latin verb praesepire (to enclose, to hedge, to fence) and today it means manger or crib. The term is thought to have been used for the first time with...

Away in a Manger January 5th, 2009 by Fr. William Saunders As we learn each week from the saints, one must wonder, “How did the saints celebrate Christmas?” One of the best examples whose celebration lives on in our own is St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Thomas of Celano, one of the first biographers of St. Francis, wrote, “More than any other feast, he celebrated Christmas with an indescribable joy. He said that this was the feast of feasts, for on this day God became a little child and sucked milk like all human children. Francis embraced with great tenderness...

Guess the saint: This saint joined a Crusade to Egypt in the hopes of PROSELYTIZING as many musloids as he could before being killed. This saint was not killed, but was instead received into the court of a sultan. Our saint then offered to engage in a trial by fire – literal fire – with the sultan’s musloid “scholars”. Our saint offered to enter into a fire pit and if he emerged unscathed, the musloid scholars would then have to concede that the CATHOLIC GOD (the word “catholic” means “universal”, so of course God is Catholic, and of course His...

Chesterton and Saint Francis | By Joseph Pearce This essay appears in Joseph Pearce's new book Literary Giants, Literary Catholics. Chesterton enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Saint Francis of Assisi. As a small boy, long before he had an inkling of the nature of Catholicism, Chesterton was read a story by his parents about a man who gave up all his possessions, even the clothes he was wearing on his back, to follow Christ in holy poverty. From the moment the wide-eyed Gilbert first heard the story of Saint Francis, he knew he had found a friend. As such,...

The relationship between Muslims and Christians received added attention this past Easter when Pope Benedict XVI publicly baptized Magdi Allam, the most prominent Muslim journalist in Italy.  Allam knew that publicly renouncing his Islamic faith would bring attempts on his life from angered Muslims, but expressed conviction that his newfound faith would sustain him through any difficulties. "You asked me whether I fear for my life, in the awareness that conversion to Christianity will certainly procure for me yet another and much more grave death sentence for apostasy. You are perfectly right. I know what I am headed for but...

n 1223, St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated a pious practice that in places today has become so common that many think that it always existed. This great saint, as he was traversing the rolling hills of central Italy one December to proclaim the Gospel, noticed that few of his countrymen were taking the mysteries of the faith seriously. Many were not preparing for Christmas at all. Of those who were getting ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth, they looked at it as an event tied exclusively to the past. The mysteries of the faith had become sterile. The central persons...

In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated a pious practice that in places today has become so common that many think that it always existed. This great saint, as he was traversing the rolling hills of central Italy one December to proclaim the Gospel, noticed that few of his countrymen were taking the mysteries of the faith seriously. Many were not preparing for Christmas at all. Of those who were getting ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth, they looked at it as an event tied exclusively to the past. The mysteries of the faith had become sterile. The central...

PLEASE READ, AND IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION An Open Letter and Respectful Petition Dear Mr. Gibson, We, the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, together with the undersigned, wish to publicly express our gratitude to you and all those who participated in your recent production, "The Passion of the Christ". We who have viewed this film agree that it is not simply another movie about Our Lord, but an extraordinary work of sacred art. Your creative efforts have offered us new spiritual insights and have led us into...

Please sign the Franciscan Friars' (Father Benedict Groeschel's order) petition to Mel Gibson! Or at least read it :)

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...