"CUM GRANDE HUMILITATE!"

"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."

A special "Thank you!"
Goes out to
John Michael Talbot
for giving us permission
to use his song on our
"Come to the Quiet"
You Tube Video
T
T
_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________
Showing posts with label ST. FRANCIS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ST. FRANCIS. Show all posts

Thursday, December 20, 2007

New Age Franciscans: St. Francis Not Welcome Here!

I am appalled by the naivete of our Church being duped into anti-Christian communism. Liberation theology is a threat to free society by its undermining of the Church and its magisterium through attempting to redefine moral issues (changing the Gospel to support theology opposed to shaping theology as a result of the Gospel.)

Ignorance is not bliss and unless we familiarize ourselves with the dangers, then future generations will demand answers as to why we threw away our faith in order to embrace communism and eco-tyranny.

To quote Gustavo Gutierrez (the "father" of liberation theology,) "There is no evil in being subversive, struggling against the capitalist system...Liberation leads to reinterpreting the Gospel...As I have witnessed the power of Marxism to provide motivation for a life of service where none existed before, I have come to a new appreciation of this part of my own history. I cannot settle for any story of America that fails to give a central place to this vision."

Again, Roger Garaudy (one of France's foremost Marxist intellectuals) wrote, "Socialism is a traditional stage in the passage from capitalism to communism." Also, "When the established order involves such injustice that millions of men are exploited, oppressed, mutilated, and humiliated by this order, a revolution, even armed revolution, can be less costly and in the long run less 'violent' than this established disorder, which has become pure violence. Of this, incidentally, many Christians are today becoming conscious, including, for example, even priests and bishops in Latin America."

Charles E. Curran, no longer permitted by the Church to teach moral theology at Catholic universities, has stated,"Questions arise in the light of both the importance and the limitations of Scriptures. In the light of the most striking development has been the emergence of dissent within the Roman Catholic theological community from the teachings of the hierarchical magisterium on specific moral issues."

One cannot help but feel an air of approval when local archdiocesan newspapers print articles written by these people. Already we have seen a swing by our priests and educators away from the Church's doctrine of "norma normans non normata"(the Scriptures being the norm above all other norms by which all norms are taken) and are thus shown to question the Scripture's relevance in our daily lives.

Perhaps we need to seek the definition of a couple terms which seem to have taken on good and bad connotations in complete reversal of their intended meanings:

First of all, the term orthodoxy means "right praise," or consistency with the faith of the Church as embodied in Sacred Scripture, the Fathers, official teachings and the liturgy.

Libertaion theology, on the other hand, is defined as a new type of theology which emphasizes the motif of liberation in both Old and New Testaments and which reinterprets all doctrines in terms of that motif. Forms of liberation theology include Environmentalism, Peace and Social Justice (ie., Communism), Latin American, black and feminist.

Specifically regarding the Franciscan Environmentalist movement, I feel compelled to question whether, as Franciscans, we have come to worship Creation more than we do the Creator?

Brothers and Sisters, Jesus "liberated" all of us from the bonds of oppression. Rather than reinterpreting the Gospel, perhaps we would be better served to "live it." This idea may not be popular with some in the Church today, particularly Franciscans, but by returning to the basics of our faith, we will be truly liberated through the instruction of Sacred Scriptures if only we would accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Saint Francis Receives The Stigmata

"Two years before his death, from the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary until the September feast of St. Michael, Brother Francis kept a Lent in the locale of La Verna in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and of St. Michael. After the vision and words of a seraph and the imprinting of the stigmata of Christ in his body, he made the praises written on the other side of this sheet (written in his own hand) giving thanks for the grace bestowed on him."

Brother Leo
Monograph of St. Francis

Monday, October 08, 2007

The Canticle of Brother Sun

Altissimu, omnipontente, bonsignore,
tue sono le laude
la gloria elhonore
et omne benedictione.

Ad te solo,
Altissimo, se Kofano
et nullu homo enne dignu
te mentovare.

A Translation:

Most high, all powerful, all good, Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor
And all blessing.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy
To pronounce your name.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The Price For Fame

"The price we pay for fame is the lessening of the secrets of the conscience. It is far more hurtful and dangerous to abuse virtues than to be without them; neither is it a greater virtue to seek for good, than to preserve it when acquired."

St. Francis
Admonitions to the Brothers

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Vow of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

When invited by others to dinner, the saint would say,"I do not wish to give up my royal dignity, the inheritance and possessions of myself and my brethren, which is that we should beg from door to door."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Note: A couple years ago a very dear friend of mine, a priest, told of visiting a convent that was all hand-carved woodwork, granite masonry and marble floors. He said to himself, "If this is how they practice their vows of poverty, I can only imagine how they practice their vows of celibacy!"

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Carnal Men Cannot Understand Spiritual Things

The holy father taught his brethren to use this short but holy salutation: "May the Lord give thee his peace!" Some persons, however, were displeased at this, and the brethren feared to use it. The saint said, however, "Let them say what they choose about these holy words, for they do not understand the things of God; but do not you be ashamed of them, for before long many heroes and princes will show you great reverence on account of this salutation."

Saint Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Saturday, September 08, 2007

No One Is To Be Praised In This Life

"No one ought to be praised whose end is uncertain. If at any moment God should withdraw from me the treasures of his grace, which he now grants to me, what else would remain to me but a soul and body which sinners possess in common with the faithful?"

St.Francis
Miscellaneous Writings