Living Stones Notes #3

Living Stones Notes #3

My past, O Lord, to your mercy; my present, to your love; my future, to your providence.

. – St. Padre Pio

It was delightful seeing so many able to make our first gathering in six months. Fifteen of us joined together for fellowship, formation, and prayer at the St. Padre Pio Chapel September 13.

Our next gathering at the Chapel will be October 4, from 1-3. We will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis that day.

Remember that for ongoing formation one of the resources we are using is Live Like Francis: Reflections on Franciscan Life in the World  by Jovian Weigel OFM and Leonard Foley OFM. We are asked to read Chapter 2 of the book in preparation for the October 4 gathering..

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September 13, we renewed our professions. If you were not able to be there, here is renewal pledge we said:

Renewal of profession

MINISTER:

Today with great joy we are celebrating the renewal of our profession in the Secular Franciscan Order.

During the time we have been professed we have made a sincere effort “to make present the charism of our seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church” and to build “a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively.”

Let us, therefore, join in giving thanks and in recommitting to ongoing change of heart.

 

TOGETHER:

   We thank you, Lord, for calling us to the Secular Franciscan Order.

   We ask your pardon for all our shortcomings, weaknesses and transgressions against our commitment to the gospel life and against the Rule.

   We pray that you will allow us to experience once again the fervor and readiness of that first day when we entered the fraternity.

   We renew once again our commitment to the gospel life, according to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, until the end of our days.

   Grant also that we may live in harmony with our brothers and sisters, and may give witness to younger people of the great gift we received from our Franciscan calling to “go forth as witnesses and instruments of the Church’s mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by our life and words.”

 

Amen.

 

MINISTER:

Lord our Lord, Father of all, we thank you for the love and goodwill

that you have shown toward your people.

And so we ask you to help us who today celebrate our profession in the Secular Franciscan Order, and our efforts to fulfil our commitment to the gospel life which we took upon ourselves.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

ALL :Amen.

 

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The region sent out the following “Formation Friday” suggestion for this Thursday:

As members of the Franciscan family, our culture includes important events in the life of our founder. We will celebrate one of these important moments (this week).

 

What do you know about the Stigmata of St. Francis?

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+ St. Francis received the Stigmata around the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross in  September of 1224--two years before his death.

+ He was praying on Mt. La Verna preparing for the feast of St. Michael the Archangel.

+ Brother Leo was nearby.

+ While praying, Francis saw a Seraph with six wings. (Seraphs are angels of the highest order who are closest to God and most passionate in praising Him.) Between the wings was the image of a crucified man. When the vision disappeared, Francis was marked with the wounds of Christ. (St. Francis’s encounter with the Seraph and his passion in praising the Father has caused the Franciscan Order to be called the Seraphic Order and Francis our Seraphic Father.)

+ Francis had asked to experience the love Jesus felt for us and also the pain he suffered for us.

+ We celebrate the Feast of the Stigmata on September 17th

+ St. Francis is the first person in recorded Christian history to receive the Stigmata.

O St Francis, stigmatized on La Verna,

the world longs for you,

that icon of the crucified Jesus..

It has need of your heart,

open to God and to others;

of your bare, wounded feet,

of your pierced hands raised in supplication.

It longs for your voice so frail

yet forceful with the power of the Gospel.

Francis, help the people of this age

to recognize the evil of sin

and to seek purification from it in penance.

Help them to become free from the very structures of sin

that oppress today’s society.

Rekindle in the consciousness of those in government

an urgent need for peace between nations and peoples.

Instill in young people your freshness of life

that is capable of withstanding the snares

of the many cultures of death.

To those injured by every type of evil

teach, O Francis, the joy of being able to forgive.

To all those crucified by suffering,

hunger and war,

reopen the doors of hope. Amen.

Pope St, John Paul II (On a visit to Mt. La Verna in 1983)

 

Diane F. Menditto, OFS

Chair, National Formation Commission

Minister, Our Lady of the Angels Region

 

Pax et bonum,

Lee

 

Pax et bonum