"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
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Showing posts with label il Poverello d'Assisi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label il Poverello d'Assisi. Show all posts

Saturday, May 08, 2010

"Come To The Quiet" Men's Retreats At Portiuncula Hermitage



Dr. Tom Ringenberg during personal prayer time at the
Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio


Dear Christian Brothers,

Having just experienced one of the most peaceful and fulfilling weekends of my Christian life, I feel led to write you and encourage you to take a fresh breath of the clean air at the Portiuncula Retreat in Jerusalem Ohio. Surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation in the hills of Appalachia, I was refreshed in God’s peace.

The initial reaction to a weekend of silence, fasting and prayer was mixed as I revel in the world’s flash of media and the madness of twenty-four hour news. I feared boredom and the lack of external stimulus. But God is good, and He provided plenty for me. Walks in the woods and fields, silent prayer and meditation, communal prayer with my Brothers in Christ, prayers of intercession, and theological discussion on the travel to and from Jerusalem, stimulated my spirit far more than my flesh has ever been stimulated.

It is my hope that Portiuncula will become a haven for those who need a fresh touch of God. I will return soon to restore my soul with peace. Join me in supporting the Portiuncula project by attending a retreat weekend of fasting, prayer, brotherhood and silence in the Franciscan Tradition.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Tom Ringenberg
Centerville, IN

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Monday, April 05, 2010

Finding Time To Be Alone At The Portiuncula

The woods above Eremo, Italy

If you wish to grow in your spiritual life, you must not allow yourself to be caught up in the workings of the world; you must find time alone, away from the noise and confusion, away from the allure of power and wealth.

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
THOMAS A KEMPIS

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Peace And Tranquility At The Portiuncula


Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center
Jerusalem, Ohio


"If the body takes its food in quiet, which, along with itself, will become the food of worms, with what great peace and tranquility should not the soul take its food, which is God himself."


Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER LXIII

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Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Spiritual Joy


St. Francis maintained that the safest remedy against a thousand snares and wiles of the enemy is spiritual joy.



Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, Second Life

Chapter LXXXVIII



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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Shelter Under A Rock Of The Mountain

la Sanctuario il Poverello d'Assisi

Francis said: "When the Lord withdrew into solitude to pray and fast for forty days and nights, he did not have a cell or a house built for himself but he took shelter under a rock of the mountain." That is why, following his example, he refused to have either a house or a cell on this earth and forbade that one be built for him.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 13

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Escape


Francis learned how to distribute the time in which he could gain merit wisely, devoting part of it to his neighbor by doing good, and part to the restful ecstasy of contemplation. According to the demands of time and circumstances he would devote himself fully to the salvation of his neighbor, but when he was finished, he would escape from the distracting crowds and go into solitude and peace. There he was free to attend exclusively to God and he would cleanse any stain he had contracted while living in the midst of the world.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER XIII

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Heirs And Queens Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

Sister Briege McKenna, OSC

The summit of Most High Poverty has made you, my dearest sisters, heirs and queens of the kingdom of heaven. It has made you poor in material things, but rich in virtue.

Saint Clare
The Rule of St. Clare
CHAPTER VIII

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St. Clare Instructs Her Sisters

St. Clare Sisters Palm Harbor, FL

For the Lord Himself has not only placed us as examples and mirrors for others, but also for our own sisters whom the Lord has called to our way of life, so that they in their turn will be mirrors and examples for those living in the world.

Saint Clare of Assisi
The Testament of St. Clare - 6

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Fasting On Christmas


When the question arose about eating meat that day, since Christmas day fell on a Friday, Brother Francis replied, saying to Brother Morico, "You sin, Brother, calling the day on which the Child was born to us a day of fast. It is my wish," he said, "that even the walls should eat meat on such a day, and if they cannot, they should be smeared with meat on the outside!"

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CLI

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St. Francis of Assisi Built The Very First Nativity Scene in Greccio


What Francis did on the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ near the little town called Greccio in the third year before his glorious death should be especially noted and recalled with reverent memory. In that place there was a certain man named John, of good reputation and an even better life, whom blessed Francis loved with a special love, for in the place where he lived he held a noble and honorable position in as much as he had trampled upon the nobility of his birth and pursued nobility of soul. Blessed Francis sent for this man, as he often did, about fifteen days before the birth of the Lord, and he said to him: "If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed." When the good and faithful man heard these things, he ran with haste and prepared in that place all the things the saint had told him.

...The manger was prepared, the hay had been brought, the ox and the ass were led in. There simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made, as it were, a new Bethlehem.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXX

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Please Help Build The Portiuncula Chapel

Please help us duplicate this Franciscan University of Steubenville
Chapel at the the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio


What if the Portiuncula Hermitage earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or what if a percentage of every purchase you made on-line went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half of its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

Although this may not sound like a lot of money, if only 1000 of our supporters use GoodSearch.com just 5 times per day for the year, the Portiuncula Hermitage would receive over $18,000 towards its mission of spreading God's love!

It's easy. Just download the GoodSearch – Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center toolbar at:



Website owners can also help by adding a customizable badge to their homepage or blog.

So please, make a commitment to browsing the Internet with GoodSearch.com with the Portiuncula Hermitage as your designated charity. Set it as your homepage, or bookmark it so using it becomes a habit.

As well, you can earn money for the Portiuncula Hermitage by doing your online shopping through GoodShop.com. It is a new online shopping mall which will donate up to 37 percent of each purchase to the Portiuncula Hermitage. Hundreds of popular stores, including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop.com and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting our valuable mission.

By simply surfing the web with GoodSearch.com and shopping with GoodShop.com you can raise much-needed funds for the Portiuncula Hermitage!

PLEASE FORWARD THIS PRAYER REQUEST TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

Pax Et Bonum!

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Living As Strangers And Pilgrims

Francis gave orders that the houses the brothers built should be small, like those of the poor. The brothers should not live as if the house belonged to them, but as strangers and pilgrims in a house which was not their own. It was part of a pilgrim's life, he said, to shelter under another's roof and pass on peacefully, longing for home. On a number of occasions, Francis ordered the brothers to leave a house, or even had it pulled down, if he thought it offended Gospel poverty, either because the brothers claimed the building as their own or because it was too sumptuous.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
Chapter VII

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From A Hovel


"From a hovel one ascends more quickly to heaven than from a palace."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life

CHAPTER XVI

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Welcome To The Portiuncula Healing Ministry



"Only say the word Lord, and I shall be healed"



We are a

Franciscan Prayer Ministry

located in Jerusalem, Ohio.

Through prayer and Adoration before our Eucharistic Lord, we seek His awesome power, grace, and mercy, to bring His divine healing and peace into your life.

To receive prayer simply e-mail your Prayer Requests to:


We encourage you to participate in our

Healing Services

and

Retreats


Thank you for visiting.

Pax Et Bonum!


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"Come To The Quiet" - Become A Monastic Without Having To Leave Your Day Job!


Dr. Tom Ringenberg during personal prayer time at the
Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio


Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,

Having just experienced one of the most peaceful and fulfilling weekends of my Christian life, I feel led to write you and encourage you to take a fresh breath of the clean air at the Portiuncula Retreat in Jerusalem Ohio. Surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation in the hills of Appalachia, I was refreshed in God’s peace.

The initial reaction to a weekend of silence, fasting and prayer was mixed as I revel in the world’s flash of media and the madness of twenty-four hour news. I feared boredom and the lack of external stimulus. But God is good, and He provided plenty for me. Walks in the woods and fields, silent prayer and meditation, communal prayer with my Brothers in Christ, prayers of intercession, and theological discussion on the travel to and from Jerusalem, stimulated my spirit far more than my flesh has ever been stimulated.

It is my hope that the Portiuncula will become a haven for those who need a fresh touch of God. I will return soon to restore my soul with peace.

Please prayerfully consider joining me in supporting the Portiuncula Retreat Center by simply contributing $5.00 $10.00 $15.00 or more a month.


Simply Click On The
Parish Pay
Icon



Or mail payments to:

"Portiuncula Hermitage"

% 508 South 16th Street
Richmond, IN 47374.



Thank you and God bless!

Yours In Christ,


Dr. Tom Ringenberg

Centerville, IN

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

St. Francis Swept And Cleaned The Churches He Visited


Thanks to Fra Martin (L) St. Andrew's Church is always
"So clean, you could eat off the floor!"


Once blessed Francis went to a village church in the neighborhood of Assisi, and humbly began to sweep and clean it. A report of what he was doing immediately spread through the whole village, for the people were always happy to see him and even more happy to listen to him. But when a peasant named John, a man of wonderful simplicity, heard about it as he was plowing his field, he went to him at once and found him humbly and devoutly sweeping the church. And he said to him, "Brother, give me the broom; I would like to help you." And taking the broom from his hands, he swept the rest of the church.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 57

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By Your Holy Cross You Redeemed The World


With his companions Francis now went to live in an abandoned hut near Assisi, where they lived from hand to mouth according to the rule of poverty, in toil and penury, drawing their strength rather from tears of compunction than from any bodily food. They spent the time praying continuously, devoting themselves especially to fervent mental prayer; they had not yet got any of the liturgical books, so that they could not chant the Divine Office. Christ's cross was their book and they studied it day and night, at the exhortation and after the example of their father who never stopped talking to them about the cross. When the friars asked him to teach them how to pray, he said, "When you pray, say the Our Father, and We adore you, O Christ, in all your churches in the whole world and we thank you, because by your holy cross you redeemed the world."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IV

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Canonical Hours


Francis recited the Canonical Hours no less reverently than devoutly. For though he suffered from infirmity of the eyes, stomach, spleen, and liver, he did not want to lean against a wall or a partition when he chanted, but always said the hours standing erect and without a capuche, without letting his eyes roam about and without interruption.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER LXII

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The Need To Do Penance



In all your sermons you shall tell the people of the need to do penance, impressing upon them that no one can be saved unless he receives the Body and Blood of our Lord.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Letter to All Superiors of the Friars Minor

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Monday, December 14, 2009

Welcome To The Portiuncula Healing Ministry



"Only say the word Lord, and I shall be healed"



We are a

Franciscan Prayer Ministry

located in Jerusalem, Ohio.


Through prayer and Adoration before our Eucharistic Lord, we seek His awesome power, grace, and mercy, to bring His divine healing and peace into your life.


To receive prayer simply e-mail your Prayer Requests to:


We encourage you to participate in our

Healing Services

and

Retreats


Thank you for visiting.

Pax Et Bonum!


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