Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Tag: St. Francis

You are Here :
Christian Witness, Homilies, , ,

Reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God's-Promise-thumb

Lord, increase my…
faith, soften my heart!

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Francis began his life as a confirmed sinner. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned farmland around Assisi. Francis wanted for nothing and was spoiled. He indulged in fine food, wine, and women, and left school at the age of 14. By this time, he was well known as a wild teenager who partied and broke the city curfew. He was also known for his charm with women and for being a great dresser.

Francis did learn the skills of archery, wrestling and horsemanship. While expected to follow his father into the family textile business, he dreamed of other pursuits. Instead of planning a future as a merchant, he daydreamed of being a knight; and if Francis had any ambition, it was to be a war hero like the knights he admired. In 1202, war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, and Francis eagerly took his place with the cavalry.

People aren’t very good at softening their hearts. We are, unfortunately, pretty good at hardening them. Think of someone who holds a grudge, hasn’t spoken with a family member in years, or has closed their heart to the needs of others. We don’t often see them have a change of heart, a softening, unless someone intervenes…

Francis and the men of Assisi came under heavy attack by superior forces and ran. Many were killed. Most of the surviving Assisi troops were put to death. Dressed like an aristocrat and worthy of a decent ransom, Francis was captured. Francis spent nearly a year in a miserable prison cell waiting for his father to ransom him. It was there that he first heard God’s call…

The One who can soften our hearts, who intervenes, is Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls us to listen, to repent, and to soften our hearts – to have deeper faith. Like Francis, we have to listen for God’s call. We have to accept Him in faith and allow Him to soften our hearts and build our faith. Today’s psalm speaks of the life Francis went on to live once his heart was softened:

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds…

The Holy Spirit worked to plant the seed of faith in Francis. We all have that seed of faith in us, the whole world does, but like Francis we have to open our ears to God’s call. We have to let Him soften our hearts, build our faith, so that like Francis we can serve Him in joy.

Calendar of Saints, Christian Witness, PNCC, Saints and Martyrs, ,

Pet Blessings across the PNCC

Blessing of animals in honor of the Commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi at a PNCC Parish near you as follows:

Saturday, October 2nd, 10:30-11:15 a.m., St. Mary’s Polish National Catholic Church, 200 Stephenson St., Duryea, PA.

Saturday, October 2nd at 1 p.m. at St. Francis Parish, 1752 Harton Avenue, East Meadow, Long Island, NY.

Saturday, October 2nd at 2pm at St. John the Baptist Parish, 414 West Oak St., Frackville, PA.

Saturday, October 2nd, at 10am at Holy Name of Jesus Parish, 1040 Pearl St., Schenectady, NY. A collection of pet food and other supplies will be taken in support of local pet rescue organizations.

Contact your local Parish for more information.

Poetry,

October 4 – Prayer of St. Francis attributed to 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 darkness, 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.

Traditional translation

Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l’amour.
Là où il y a l’offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l’union.
Là où il y a l’erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l’espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer,
car c’est en donnant qu’on reçoit,
c’est en s’oubliant qu’on trouve, c’est en pardonnant qu’on est pardonné,
c’est en mourant qu’on ressuscite à l’éternelle vie.

Christian Witness, Media, Saints and Martyrs, , ,

On the Commemoration of St. Francis (ooops)

From the Herald Tribune: Dutch priest blesses beasts in Catholic church on World Animal Day

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: A canary, a goldfish, a guinea pig, a handful of cats and more than two dozen dogs received blessings from a Catholic priest in church Thursday to mark World Animal Day….

I have no problem with such blessings, which hearken back to the blessing of fields, flocks, and livestock. Helps us to remember our agrarian roots and to be thankful for all of God’s creatures and creation.

That being said, notice the co-opted term. No more St. Francis (mentioned only as the patron saint of animals), just World Animal Day and a rather funny pious tradition that makes the folks back home all warm and fuzzy.

They should be required to at least add a footnote: Respect for God’s creation, and our stewardship of it, brought to you by the Catholic Church.

All Right Reserved © 2005 - 2023