They Have Not Rejected You, But Me

"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying" "Return, O Sulamitess: return that we may behold thee. These children provoke me to anger and they will not hearken to you, because they will not hearken to me. The heart of this people is become hard of belief and provoking; for they have not rejected you, but me."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Sacrum Commercium
CHAPTER IV - 52

Not Moved By Anger, But Forced By Necessity

At length, coming to a certain cloister of monks, he spent several days there as a scullion, wearing a ragged shirt and being satisfied to be filled only with broth. But, when all pity was withdrawn from him and he could not get even an old garment, he left the place, not moved by anger, but forced by necessity; and he went to the city of Gubbio, where he obtained a small tunic from a certain man who once had been his friend. Then, after some time had elapsed, when the fame of the man of God was beginning to grow and his name was spread abroad among the people, the prior of the aforementioned monastery recalled and realized how the man of God had been treated and he came to him and begged pardon for himself and his monks out of reverence for the Savior.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life - 16

NEVER REFUSE ANYONE WHO ASKS "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD"

One of the expressions we use in ordinary speech always moved St. Francis profoundly whenever he heard it, and that was, "For the love of God." As soon as he would hear these words, they would excite him, work upon him, and enkindle him, as if an inner chord had been plucked by them. And he kept faithfully till his death the promise that he made to himself when he was still living a worldly life, that he would never refuse a poor person who begged anything "for the love of God." He used to say, "How greatly we should love the very love which God has loved us so much."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life - 196

The Fragrant Perfume Of Holiness

St. Francis used to say that he felt filled with the sweetest fragrance (Exodus 29:18) and anointed with "costly ointment" (John 12:3) when it was reported to him that his brothers, scattered throughout the world, were drawing many to return to the right way by the fragrant perfume of their holiness. When he heard this, he rejoiced in spirit and poured his enviable blessings upon those brothers who, by word and deed, were leading sinners to the love of Christ. On the other hand, those who dishonored religious life by their evil deeds incurred his condemnation and his terrible curse: "By you, Most Holy Lord, and by the whole celestial court, and by me, too, your little one, cursed be they who by their bad example disrupt and destroy what you have built up, and do not cease to build up, through the holy brothers of the Order."

Saing Francis of Assisi
St. Bonaventure, Major Life 8:3

When You See A Poor Man

When you see a poor man, you must consider the one in whose name he comes, namely, Christ, who took upon himself our poverty and weakness. The poverty and sickness of this man are, therefore, a mirror in which we ought to contemplate lovingly the poverty and weakness wich our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in his body to save the human race.

St. Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 89

Rebuke Wicked People By The Light Of Our Example

..."A servant of God should burn and shine in such a way by his own life and holiness that he rebukes all wicked people by the light of his example and the devoutness of his conversation; in this way the brightness of his life and the fragrance of his reputation will make all men aware of their own wickedness."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 53

Lay Franciscans Meeting October 4th - The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi

The Richmond Lay Franciscans will meet on the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi on Saturday, October 4, 2008, at 11:30 A.M. in the Fr. Minton Room at Seton West School (Holy Family Church).

Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate the life of St. Francis!

St. Francis, in as far as he was able, broke forth in this psalm : "I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord." He also invited all creatures to praise God, and by means of the words he had composed earlier, he exhorted them to love God. He exhorted death itself, terrible and hateful to all, to give praise, and going joyfully to meet it, he invited it to make its lodging with him. "Welcome," he said, "my sister death."

Following In Our Lord's Footsteps

And St. 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 himslef 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 they be built for him.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 14

How To Behave When Sad

Francis once saw a certain companion of his with a peevish and sad face, and not taking this lightly, he said to him: "It is not becoming for a servant of God to show himself sad or upset before men, but always he should show himself honorable. Examine your offenses in your room and weep and moan before your God. When you return to your brothers, put off your sorrow and conform yourself to the rest."..."Let the brothers beware lest they show themselves outwardly gloomy and sad hypocrites; but let them show themselves joyful in the Lord, cheerful and suitably gracious."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER XCI

We Can Recite What They Did

Did not the Lord's flock actually follow him in tribulation and persecution, shame and hunger, sickness and trial and all the rest, and thereby receive eternal life from the Lord? What a great shame, then, that while the saints actually followed in the footsteps of the Lord, we, today's servants of God, expect glory and honor simply because we can recite what they did.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Admonition 6

What a Fine Place This World Would Be

PETER MAURIN

What a fine place
this world would be
if Dualist Humanists
tried to be human
to men.
What a fine place
this world would be
if Personalist Theists
tried to be
their brother's keeper
as God
wants them to be.
What a fine place
this world would be
if Fundamentalist Protestants
tried to exemplify
the Sermon on the Mount.
What a fine place
this world would be
if Roman Catholics
tried to keep up
with Saint Francis of Assisi.

Humble Reverence To Churches

Once while he [Francis]was staying at Saint Mary of the Portiuncula and there were as yet few friars, blessed Francs went through the villages and churches round about the city of Assisi proclaiming and preaching to the people that they should do penance. And he carried a broom to sweep out the churches that were dirty, for he was very grieved when he found any church not as clean as he wished.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 56

Pope Gregory IX Wept Freely

When the Lord Bishop of Ostia, who later became Pope Gregory IX, attended the Chapter of the friars at Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, he entered the house with many knights and clergy to see the friars' dormitory. And seeing how the friars lay on the ground and had nothing beneath them but a little straw, and a few poor broken-down pallets, and no pillows, he began to weep freely before them all, saying, "Look how the friars sleep here! But we, wretched creatures, enjoy so many luxuries! What will become of us?" So he and all the others were much edified. He did not even find a table in the place, because the friars used to eat on the ground; for as long as blessed Francis lived, all the friars in that house used to eat on the ground.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 21

Rapt In Contemplation

How much grace God often gave to the poor men who followed the Gospel and who voluntarily gave up all things for the love of God was manifested in Brother Bernard of Quintavalle who, after he had taken the habit of St. Francis, was very frequently rapt in God by the contemplation of heavenly things.

Thus one time it happened that while he was attending Mass in a church and his whole mind was on God, he became so absorbed and rapt in contmplation that during the Elevation of the Body of Christ he was not at all aware of it and did not kneel down when the others knelt, and he did not draw his cowl back as did the others who were there, but he stayed motionless, without blinking his eyes, gazing straight ahead, from morning until noon.

Brother Bernard of Quintavalle
Little Flowers of St. Francis - 28

When Honors Are Lavished And Sanctity Trumpeted

When honors were lavished upon him and his sanctity was trumpeted, blessed Francis often replied: "I have no guarantee that I will never have sons or daughters." And he added: "If at a certain moment, the Lord wanted to take away the treasure he has confided in me, what would I have left? A body and a soul; the infidels have just as much. And I must believe that if a robber or an infidel had received as many graces from the Lord as I have, he would be more faithful to God than I am."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 104

Reverence For Women

Once St. Francis was giving a mother and her daughter the comfort of the word of God. All the while he spoke, he never looked at them, and so when they left, his companion said to him, "Father, that holy woman and her virgin daughter came to you with such devotion; why didn't you look at them?" But the holy father answered, "Who would not be afraid to look upon the bride of Christ? A whole sermon was preached with my eyes and face when then looked at me, but not I at them."

Celano, Second Life - 114

Mystic Monk Coffee - Helping the Portiuncula: the Little Portion

The Carmelite Monks are a Roman Catholic Monastery that has a great passion for Coffee as an incredible fruit of the earth as well as a way to help Catholic culture. The monks love coffee from its growth, drying process to its roast and taste in the cup. Every step adds to the taste of the beans in your cup and the monks find this a delightful past time that compliments their monastery.

The monks hope to add a new chapter in the history of coffee. It is a well known fact that monks discovered the great use of the coffee beans as a delicious drink that helps a sleepy monk.

How do monks know anything about roasting coffee? Monks are perfectionists in all their labors. Monks also love everything natural and earthy because it is very contemplative and recalls God's works to them.

Monks have always been the backbone of Catholic culture. In America ever since the revolution, coffee also has been the backbone of American society. This is why coffee and Catholic monks go hand in hand. The Carmelite Monks know that coffee is so integral to our modern society and see it as a great opportunity to give people everywhere a chance to have a unique relationship with monks. The uniting of coffee and Catholic monks is a perfect combination. For more information about the Carmelite monks and their focus on helping Catholic culture click here: Real monks and catholic coffee

Buy catholic coffee roasted by the monks. Truly most people who drink the monks coffee think it is the best they have ever drank and come back to buy more catholic coffee.

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The Cloud of Unknowing

For silence is not God, nor speaking; fasting is not God, nor eating; solitude is not God, nor company; nor any other pair of opposites. He is hidden between them, and cannot be found by anything your soul does, but only by the love of your heart. He cannot be known by reason, he cannot be thought, caught, or sought by understanding. But he can be loved and chosen by the true, loving will of your heart.

Draw From Secret Prayers

Francis wanted such men to be ministers of the word of God who give themselves to study of spiritual things and are not hindered by other duties. For these, he used to say, have been chosen by a certin great King to deliver to the people the edicts that proceed from his mouth. But he said: "The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons; he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CXXIII - 164

The Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Francis embraced the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ with indescribable love, because she had made the Lord of Majesty our brother and had obtained mercy for us. After Christ, it was Mary in whom he placed his trust and whom he chose as advocate, both for himself and his brothers.

Saint Francis of Assisi
St. Bonaventure
Major Life - 9:3

Caught Up in Spirit Into Heaven

Intoxicated by love and compassion for Christ, blessed Francis sometimes used to act like these. For the sweetest of spiritual melodies would often well up within him and found expression in French melodies, and the mururs of God's voice, heard by him alone, would joyfully pour forth in French tongue.

...But all this jollity would end in tears, and his joy would melt away in compassion for the suffering of Christ. And at such times he would break into constant sighs, and in his grief would forget what he was hlding in his hands, and be caught up in spirit into heaven.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 93

Richmond Catholic Community Charismatic Prayer Group

Richmond Catholic Community Charismatic Prayer Group

Sunday, September 21, 2008 7:00 PM Eastern Time

St. Mary's Church 701 North A Street Richmond, IN

Everyone is welcome to attend!

"In the midst of these experiences that are both painful and delightful together, our Lord sometimes gives the soul feelings of jubilation and a strange prayer it doesn't understand..What I'm saying seems like gibberish, but certainly the experience takes place in this way...

Saint Teresa of Avila
(Doctor of the Church)
The Interior Castle
The Sixth Dwelling Places
CHAPTER 6

Lay Franciscans

The Richmond Lay Franciscans will meet on Saturday, September 13, at 11:30 A.M. in the Fr. Minton Room at Seton West School (Holy Family Church).

Everyone is welcome to attend!

Brother Fly

In the early days of the Order, when the brothers lived in Rivo Torto, there was a brother who prayed little and did no work, who never went begging, for he was ashamed, but he ate well. Considering his behavior, blessed Francis was warned by the Holy Spirit that this brother was a sensual man. One day he said to him, "Go your way, Brother Fly, for you wish to eat the fruit of the labor of your brothers, while you remain idle in the vineyard of God. You resemble Brother Drone who gathers nothing, does no work, but eats the fruit of the activity of the working bees." He left without ever asking forgiveness, for he was a sensual man.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 64

Lodola Capellata (the Hooded Lark)

Above all birds he loved the little lark, known in the language of the country as lodola capellata (the hooded lark). he used to say of it, "Sister lark has a hood like a Religious and is a humble bird, for whe walks contentedly along the road to find grain, and even if she finds it among the rubbish, she pecks it out and eats it."

We Are Not To Refuse Anyone Who Asks "For The Love Of God"

One of the expressions we use in ordinary speech always moved Francis profoundly whenever he heard it, and it was, "For the love of God." As soon as he would hear these words, they would excite him, work upon him, and enkindle him, as if an inner chord had been plucked by them. And he kept faithfully till his death the promise he made to himself when he was still living a worldly life, that he would never refuse a poor person who begged anything "for the love of God." He used to say, "How greatly we should love the very love with which God has loved us so much."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life - 196

Never Judge Or Criticize Those Who Live In Luxury

Blessed Francis also warned his brothers never to judge or criticize those who live in luxury, eat fastidiously, and indulge in superfluous and splendid clothes; God, he said, is their Lord and ours; he has the power to call them to himself and to justify them. He insisted that the friars should reverence such men as their brothers and masters, and they are indeed brothers since they are children of the same Creator; while they are our masters since they help the good do penance by giving them what is necessary to the body.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions
CHAPTER XIV - 58

Mystic Monk Coffee : "Standing on Holy Grounds!"

Fair Trade Organic Guatemalan
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Mystic Monk Coffee is pleased to offer the socially conscious consumer a coffee that respects the value of every human life. Fair Trade/Organic is a decision to act with social justice. With the silky rich garnish of chocolate, Guatemalan has an acidity that is enjoyable with or without cream. From a distant land of beauty, enjoy a coffee that many consider to be one of the finest.

Simply scroll down on the left side of this page and click on the "MYSTIC MONK COFFEE" Icon!

(Now personally, I don't know that Brother Giles ever tasted Mystic Monk Coffee, but when I read about him "levitating" in the Little Flowers of St. Francis, well...., you'll just have to taste it yourself.)

Almsgiving Washes The Soul Of Filth And Sin

Let us have charity and humility, and let us give alms, for almsgiving washes the soul of the filth of sin.

For we lose everything we leave behind in this world, but we take with us the merit of the charity and the almsgiving we've practiced and for which we will receive from the Lord a reward and worthy recompense.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Letter to All the Faithful, Second Version

What You Are Before God, That Is What You Are, And No More

Blessed are you, servant of God, if you do not consider yourself any better when you are honored and extolled by others than when you are considered low and simple and despised; for what you are before God, that is what you are, and no more.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Admonition 19