Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Peter Maurin on St. Francis



Peter Maurin, co-founder (with Dorothy Day) of the Catholic Worker movement, was often called a modern-day St. Francis. Maurin wrote a number of poetry-lie essay called Easy Essays in which he outlined a vision of Catholicism that St. Francis might have celebrated. in several of those essays, Maurin cited St. Francis. Below is an excerpt from one essay:


What St. Francis Desired

According to Johannes Jorgenson,
a Danish convert living in Assisi,
St. Francis desired
that men should give up
superfluous possessions,
St. Francis desired
that men should work with
their hands.
St. Francis desired
that men should
offer  their services
as a gift.
St. Francis desired
that men should ask
other people for help
when work failed them.
St. Francis desired
that men should live
as free as birds.
St. Francis desired
that men should go through life
giving thanks to God for His gifts.

The Third Order

"We are perfectly certain
that the Third Order of St. Francis
is the most powerful antidote
against the evils that harass
the present age."

Leo XIII.

"Oh, how many benefits
would not the Third Order of St. Francis
have conferred on the Church
if it had been everywhere organized
in accordance with the wishes
of Leo XIII."

Pius X.

"We believe that the spirit of
the Third Order,
thoroughly redolent of Gospel wisdom,
will do very much
to reform public and private morals."
 
Benedict XV.

"The general restoration of peace and morals
was advanced very much by the
Third Order of St. Francis,
which was a religious order indeed,
yet something unexampled up to that time."

Pius XII

(From “The Case for Utopia”)

 


Pax et bonum

Monday, August 18, 2014

A Prayer from St. John XXIII


 
 
Prayer by Pope St. John XXIII
 
O Jesus, come back into our society, our family life, our souls, and reign there as our peaceful sovereign. Enlighten with the splendor of faith and the charity of your tender heart the souls of those who work for the good of the people, for your poor. Impart in them your own spirit, preserving the flame of enthusiasm ever alight in their hearts.  
 
Amen. 
 
Pax et bonum

Strive to be joyful every day


We know that we aren’t always going to be happy. Sadness, even tragedy, is going to cross our paths more than once. But if we strive to be joyful on a daily basis, we seem to develop reserves upon which we can draw.

-from Pope Francis and our Call to Joy -(Diane Houdek)

Pax et bonum

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Local Franciscan rises to CFR leadership


In June, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal met in General Chapter and Father Anthony Baetzold  of St. Leo's Parish in Hilton was elected Vicar. We know him from so many days of prayer he's led for the local Secular fraternities over the last few years.

The entire leadership team is:

Servant – Fr. John Paul Ouellete, CFR
Vicar – Fr. Anthony Baetzold, CFR
Council – Br. John Joseph Brice, CFR
Fr. Solanus Benfatti, CFR
Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR
Fr. Emmanuel Mansford, CFR

May God be with Father Anthony and all the other members of the leadership team.

Pax et bonum

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Socializing with Franciscans 2



Here are more pictures from our fraternity picnic July 26.






Pax et bonum