Oct 4, 2014 |
From The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Paul Sabbatier, published 1919.
Among the numerous chapels in the suburbs of Assisi there was one which Francis particularly loved, that of St. Damian. It was reached by a few minutes’ walk over a stony path, almost trackless, under olive trees, amid odors of lavender and rosemary. Standing on the top of a hillock, the entire plain is visible from it, through a curtain of cypresses and pines which seem to be trying to hide the humble hermitage and set up an ideal barrier between it and the world.
Served by a poor priest who had scarcely the wherewithal for necessary food, the sanctuary was falling into ruin. There was nothing in the interior but a simple altar of masonry, and by way of reredos one of those byzantine crucifixes still so numerous in Italy, where through the work of the artists of the time has come down to us something of the terrors which agitated the twelfth century. In general the Crucified One, frightfully lacerated, with bleeding wounds, appears to seek to inspire only grief and compunction; that of St. Damian, on the contrary, has an expression of inexpressible calm and gentleness; instead of closing the eyelids in eternal surrender to the weight of suffering, it looks down in self-forgetfulness, and its pure, clear gaze says, not “I suffer,” but, “Come unto me.”
One day Francis was praying before the poor altar: “Great and glorious God, and thou, Lord Jesus, I pray ye, shed abroad your light in the darkness of my mind…. Be found of me, Lord, so that in all things I may act only in accordance with thy holy will.”
Thus he prayed in his heart, and behold, little by little it seemed to him that his gaze could not detach itself from that
of Jesus; he felt something marvellous taking place in and around him. The sacred victim took on life, and in the outward silence he was aware of a voice which softly stole into the very depths of his heart, speaking to him an ineffable language. Jesus accepted his oblation. Jesus desired his labor, his life, all his being, and the heart of the poor solitary was already bathed in light and strength.
This vision marks the final triumph of Francis. His union with Christ is consummated; from this time he can exclaim with the mystics of every age, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”
But instead of giving himself up to transports of contemplation he at once asks himself how he may repay to Jesus love for love, in what action he shall employ this life which he has just offered to him. He had not long to seek. We have seen that the chapel where his spiritual espousals had just been celebrated was threatened with ruin. He believed that to repair it was the work assigned to him.
From that day the remembrance of the Crucified One, the thought of the love which had triumphed in immolating itself, became the very centre of his religious life and as it were the soul of his soul. For the first time, no doubt, Francis had been brought into direct, personal, intimate contact with Jesus Christ; from belief he had passed to faith, to that living faith which a distinguished thinker has so well defined: “To believe is to look; it is a serious, attentive, and prolonged look; a look more simple than that of observation, a look which looks, and nothing more; artless, infantine, it has all the soul in it, it is a look of the soul and not the mind, a look which does not seek to analyze its object, but which receives it as a whole into the soul through the eyes.”
Lord God, You made Saint Francis of Assisi Christ-like in his poverty and humility.
Help us so to walk in his ways that, with joy and love,
we may follow Christ Your Son, and be united to You.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Sep 22, 2014 |
Opening Prayer
Daily Meditation from The Story of a Soul:
Like the Prophets and Doctors, I would be a light unto souls, I would travel to every land to preach Thy name, O my Beloved, and raise on heathen soil the glorious standard of Thy Cross. One mission alone would not satisfy my longings. I would spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, even to the most distant isles. I would be a Missionary, not for a few years only, but, were it possible, from the beginning of the world till the consummation of time. Above all, I thirst for the Martyr’s crown. It was the desire of my earliest days, and the desire has deepened with the years passed in the Carmel’s narrow cell. But this too is folly, since I do not sigh for one torment; I need them all to slake my thirst. Like Thee, O Adorable Spouse, I would be scourged, I would be crucified! I would be flayed like St. Bartholomew, plunged into boiling oil like St. John, or, like St. Ignatius of Antioch, ground by the teeth of wild beasts into a bread worthy of God. With St. Agnes and St. Cecilia I would offer my neck to the sword of the executioner, and like Joan of Arc I would murmur the name of Jesus at the stake.
Leonie’s Longing Prayer:
Saint Therese, your love could not be contained within the boundaries of one vocation: you longed to give everything to God. Teach us, too, to extend our love beyond any limitations we have set, and to seek new paths in the service of Christ all our days.
Concluding Prayer:
O God, who didst inflame with Thy spirit of love the soul of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, grant that we may also love Thee, and make Thee much loved. Amen.
Sep 8, 2014 |
Lord God, the day of our salvation dawned when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to Your Son. As we celebrate her nativity, grant us Your grace and Your peace. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Aug 8, 2014 |
Saint Dominic, 1170-1221
Spanish priest and founder of the Dominican Order.
An excerpt from The Lives of the Brethren of the Order of Preachers, compiled by Blessed Humbert de Romans, AD1277.
Suddenly he was rapt in spirit before God and saw Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin sitting at His right. It seemed to Blessed Dominic that Our Lady was wearing a cape of bright blue, the color of sapphire. As Blessed Dominic looked around, he could see religious of all the orders but his own around the throne of God, so that he began to weep bitterly and stood far away, not daring to approach the Lord and His mother. Then Our Lady motioned for him to come near. But he would not dare, until Our Lord Himself also called him. Then Blessed Dominic cast himself before them weeping bitterly.
But Our Lord told him to rise, and when he did, Our Lord asked him, “Why are you weeping so?”
“I am weeping because I see all the other orders here but no sign of my own.”
And the Lord said to him, “Do you want to see your Order?” and he answered, “Yes, Lord.”
Then Our Lord, putting his hand upon the shoulders of the Blessed Virgin, said to Blessed Dominic, “I have entrusted your Order to my Mother.” Then he asked him again, “Do you still wish to see your Order?” and again he answered “Yes, Lord.”
Then the Blessed Virgin opened the cape which covered her and spread it out before Blessed Dominic, to whom it seemed vast enough to cover the entire heaven and, under it, he saw a large multitude of the brethren. Then prostrating himself, Blessed Dominic gave thanks to God and to Blessed Mary His Mother. After that the vision disappeared and he returned to himself just as the bell rang for Matins.
Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, 1842-1909
Australian Religious Sister, foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
An excerpt from a letter written to her mother, Flora: from May 14th 1867, shortly after the founding of her new Congregation.
Oh, I have long been sick and weary of the world and its cares, of its false pleasures and delights. Still, I could not wish to leave it as long as I thought God willed my stay in it. I have such an earnest longing for the Order of Saint Joseph and know well how hard it will be to get it established here, but everything God blesses will prosper, and surely His blessing attends this holy Order; none other is so fitted for the wants of this Colony… think, dear Mamma, of the work that is to be done, and how few there are to do it, and thank God for permitting a child of yours to be one, the least worthy, of the workers. If our work be so pleasing to Him, will He not console and bless you, dear Mamma, for having first lead me to love Him?
From Mary MacKillop and Flora (2004), edited by Sheila McCreanor.
Jul 16, 2014 |
Almighty Lord and God, let the gracious intercession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel help us.
Under her protection, may we come to the mountain of God, Christ the Lord,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Saint Thérèse, pray for us!
From The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Paul Sabbatier, published 1919.
on life, and in the outward silence he was aware of a voice which softly stole into the very depths of his heart, speaking to him an ineffable language. Jesus accepted his oblation. Jesus desired his labor, his life, all his being, and the heart of the poor solitary was already bathed in light and strength.
Saint Dominic, 1170-1221
Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, 1842-1909
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