Third Order of St. Francis - St. Joseph of Cupertino Fraternity - St. Peter of Alcantara Province.
``Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of Antioch, 1st c. A.D
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011
In a certain church in Spain, there is an ancient crucifix held in deep reverence, for, strange to say, the right arm of the figure of Christ is unnailed and hangs down. Legend has it that a great sinner one day confessed his sins beneath the crucifix with every mark of firm resolve and sincere contrition.
The priest hesitated before granting the absolution because the poor man's sins were so heinous and so numerous. The delay distressed the sinner and he implored pardon. "I will absolve you," said the priest, "but do not fall again." The sinner promised, was absolved and went away. He remained faithful for a long time to his promise, but at last he was weak and fell again.
Once again he appeared before the same priest and under the same crucifix, but the confessor said:"I cannot absolve you this time." But the penitent pleaded: "I repent, I was sincere when I promised the last time but the temptations were great and I am weak." Convinced that all the conditions for a good confession were present, the confessor absolved him but added: "This is the last time."
A long time elapsed and then, through habit on one hand, and weakness on the other, the poor man fell again into sin. Presenting himself to the confessor who had absolved him on the two previous occasions, the priest said: "This time it is useless; your repentance is not sincere." In spite of the pleadings of the poor sinner and his promises of amendment, the priest said: "I cannot absolve you at this time."
At that instant sobs were heard coming, not from the sinner, but from the crucifix. The hand of the figure of Christ because detached from the cross and indicated, by tracing the Sign of the Cross, that the man was to be absolved, while a voice said to the priest: "You did not shed your blood for him as I did."
Taken from "In Love With The Divine Outcast"
St. Francis by Caravaggio.
From the Works of the Seraphic Father
St. Francis of Assisi, 1882
The Saint Prophesies great Schisms and Tribulations in the Church.
A short time before the holy Father's death, he called together his Children and warned them of the coming troubles, saying: 'Act bravely, my Brethren; take courage, and trust in the Lord. The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase. The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity. At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavour to draw many into error and death.
Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it. There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God. Then our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for the proving of the elect.
Those who preserve their fervour and adhere to virtue with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the earth. But the Lord will be the refuge of the afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him. And in order to be like their Head, these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy. Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Our Lord Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Some members in our parish say a chaplet to St. Therese every month from the 9th to the 17th. It is simply 24 Glory Be's and in between each one say "St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Pray for Us!"
Another devotion that I read about and have been doing for years is on Tuesday simply say three Hail Mary's in honor of St. Therese and she will give you a little "rose". But I must warn you that sometimes those little "roses" are not exactly what you were wishing for but I assure you that they are ALWAYS what God wants for you! Tuesdays are never dull.
One of the worst abortion clinics in the world-Father Bernard received a call from a parishioner that lives near this clinic with the joyful news! Continue to pray for an end to abortion!:
Notorious Rockford Abortion Mill License Suspended Indefinitely By The State Of Illinois!
There are a few things for us to consider in today’s Gospel. What are we allowed to do on Sundays? Are we humble? How our actions should speak of our humility. Last, but not least we should consider the reward awaiting the humble.
What is lawful for us to do on Sundays? We must keep Sunday holy because it is the Lord’s Day. It is principally a day of rest and prayer – a day dedicated to God and our souls. We are busy six other days of the week concerned for our bodies and our physical well being. On Sunday we are asked to give attention to our souls and our spiritual well being. We are asked to give special attention to God on this day because we were unable to do so on the other days. With the Sabbath obligations moved to the first day of the week – Sunday – since the times of the Apostles, we now find ourselves not so much ending the week with God as we are beginning the week with God. Putting God first is the best way to start everything including our week.
Of course there arises as we see in today’s Gospel times when it becomes necessary for us to allow the cares and duties of the rest of the week to encroach upon Sunday, but on such occasions we should remember that it is for the love of God that we do so, and if possible we should do our best to restore what was taken from Sunday some other time. Loving God and thanking, petitioning, honoring and worshiping Him are never out of season or unwelcomed.
Our Lord also admonishes us today to be humble. We are reminded not to seek the first place but rather to seek the last place. We can do this simply and naturally once we realize our own unworthiness.
Our worthiness is not to be measured by a comparison with our neighbor, but rather with God. Jesus tells us that it is He that we are to imitate and follow. All too often we compare ourselves with our neighbor and end up like the Pharisees despising our neighbor and filling our own hearts and heads with a very dangerous and harmful pride and vanity. If we would on the other hand look at ourselves and then look at Jesus we would find that we have rather much to be humbled by and ashamed of. We are told by Jesus to learn of Him and to be meek and humble of heart. Realizing our own faults and failings in this area is a profound humiliation which should lead us as St. Francis and many of the saints to consider ourselves the worst of sinners. We are the worst of sinners not by comparison with our fellow men but rather in comparison with God. We are His children and He is to be our role model by which we measure ourselves. “Be ye perfect because your heavenly Father is perfect.”
If we will seek this last place in all humility, our lives will be in agreement with Jesus who humbled Himself to become man. He became not the greatest of men but the least of men. Not the first but rather the last. He humbled Himself even to the death on the cross. After this terrible death He arose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. From the least and the lowest He is now in the Highest.
This is what He is suggesting to us when He tells us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. We are to follow Him in dying to ourselves at least by denying ourselves day by day. We pick up our cross and follow Him each day when we patiently endure the burdens and cares of this life, and when we seek our proper place in all truth and humility. If Jesus who is God did this for us who are we to think that this is somehow beneath us? In all truth we deserve to suffer what Jesus innocently suffered for us so whatever evil comes our way in this life, is just payment for our sins. It should be considered not an evil but rather a good because it is for our salvation that it is given to us.
If we accept this advice and willingly take the last and the least position we will find a greater reward in Heaven because we have more faithfully imitated our role model Jesus Christ.
S AISLE E. WINDOW (detail)
Christ in Majesty is holding an orb in his left hand depicting three continents, all that was known to the medieval world. The lower figure inscribed on the left is St Denys of France, protector of cattle, and St Blosius, protector of sheep, is on the right. The Woodman window was restored in December 2000.
"A sinner cannot outrage the Deity more than by despairing of divine mercy on account of the number and enormity of his crimes; for God's clemency is far greater than the iniquity and guilt of an entire world...Of God's mercy never despair."
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