Sister Briege McKenna, OSC

Two years before he died St. Francis sang, in the Umbrian dialect, his great song, "The Canticle of Brother Sun," and when he finished it, he sang this song for St. Clare and her Poor Ladies:

"Listen, poor little women, called by the Lord,
gathered together from many places and provinces:
Live always in truth,
so you may die in obedience.
Do not long for the life outside,
for that of the spirit is better...

"Those who are heavy with sickness
and the others who are tired because of them,
all of you: bear with it in peace.
For you will sell this fatigue for a dear sum,
and each of you will be crowned queen in heaven
with the Virgin Mary.


Collectanea Frandescana 48 (1978), 5-29

Preaching the Gospel

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

St. Francis

False Glory and Honor

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.

St. Francis
Admonition 6

Father Gregory Bramlage invites you: Spring Healing Conference

March 1, 2008


The Holy Spirit and Evangelization

Batesville High School Auditorium
Batesville, Indiana

Healing Through the Power of Jesus Christ Center
c/o Saint Nicholas Parish
6461 East Saint Nicholas Drive
Sunman, IN 47041

E-mail: St.NicholasCatholicChurch@yahoo.com
Phone: (812) 623-8007





"Worldly Busyness and Worry"

We need to be especially alert to the evil subtlety of Satan. His one desire is to keep people from having a mind and heart disposed to their Lord and God.

He circles, lusting to snatch away the human heart by the ruse of some gain or assistance and to stifle remembrance of the word and precepts of the Lord.

He wants to extinguish the light of the human heart, and so he moves in by means of worldly business and worry.

Rule of 1221, Chapter XXII

Guard Against Accepting Gifts

"The brothers should guard against accepting churches, dwellings, even poor ones, and whatever else might be built for them, unless they are truly in keeping with the holy poverty we have promised in the Rule, and let them always dwell there only as guests, as pilgrims and strangers."

The Testament of St. Francis

16th Annual International Week of Prayer and Fasting

For the Conversion of Nations, an End to Abortion, and to Build a Culture of Life

October 7 - 13, 2008

We ask people to participate by doing the following:

Fasting * Daily Mass * Holy Hours * Rosary * Divine Mercy Chaplet

True Nobility And A Royal Dignity

"I will never blush to go and seek alms; but, on the contrary, I consider it a true nobility, and a royal dignity and honor..."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Brothers Sun And Fire

At dawn, when the sun rises, everyone should praise God who has created Brother Sun for our service, for through him our eyes light up the day; in the evening, when night descends, everyone should praise God through Brother Fire, for through him our eyes light up the night. We are all, as it were, blind, and it is through these two brothers that the Lord gives light to our eyes. We should praise the Lord, then, in a special way for these creatures and for the others, too, who serve us day by day.

St. Francis
Mirror of Perfection

I Am A Sinner And Unworthy

When you are visited by the Lord, you should say, "Lord, you have sent me this comfort from heaven, even though I am a sinner and unworthy, and I entrust it to your keeping because I feel like a thief of your treasures." And when you leave your prayer, you should seem to be only a poor little sinner, and not someone especially graced by God.

St. Bonaventure
Major Life

Dr. Alan Keyes Announces He's Seeking The White House

Many of you may recall the interview with Dr. Keyes in April of 2006 while I was still hosting the Dickson/Chappell Report (recordings of that program are available for purchase.)

http://www.renewamerica.us/forum/?date=060507


Seasoned statesman:

Alan Keyes spent 11 years with the U.S. State Department. He served in the U.S. Foreign Service and on the staff of the National Security Council before becoming Ronald Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations (1985-88). In the interim, from 1983 to 1985, he served as ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, where he represented America's sovereign interests in the U.N. General Assembly.



Genuine conservative:

Keyes was President of Citizens Against Government Waste (1989-91) and founder of National Taxpayers' Action Day. As the two-time Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Maryland, he challenged liberal Democrats Paul Sarbanes (1988) and Barbara Mikulski (1992). In the 1996 and 2000 Republican presidential campaigns, Alan Keyes eloquently elevated the national political debate as a candidate for president. With his unequivocal pro-life, pro-family message, he forced the GOP leadership to address America's moral crisis. His political views are consistently based on America's founding ideals, those in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

Alan hosted his own syndicated radio show throughout the 1990s, America's Wake-Up Call, and a television commentary show, Alan Keyes is Making Sense, during 2002 on MSNBC. He is currently writing books and speaking publicly on America's moral crisis.



Well-educated leader:

Keyes has a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory. He served as Interim President of Alabama A&M University in 1991. He speaks French and has studied Spanish, Russian, and ancient Greek, and is the author of Masters of the Dream: The Strength and Betrayal of Black America (1995); and Our Character, Our Future: Reclaiming America's Moral Destiny (1996).



Pro-life champion:

Keyes has unashamedly and consistently raised the standard of unalienable rights--and Biblical truth--in defense of the unborn. He confronts the culture of death with compelling and inspiring reasons why abortion must be banned from our land.



Dedicated family man:

Keyes and his wife Jocelyn have three children: Francis, Maya, and Andrew. Alan's stated purpose in life, like that of America's Founders, is to provide a secure future for our posterity.



Please note also that Dr. Keyes is a former Trustee of the Franciscan University of Steubenville (click here for audio/visual of Dr. Keyes, Fr. Michael Scanlan, Bishop Sam Jacobs, Scott Hahn, and Fr. Mitch Pacwa from the 2005 Steubenville Conferences.)

http://www.franciscanconferences.com/Media/

How The Passion Of Christ Should Be Wept Over

Not long after his conversion, the saint was weeping and groaning loudly near Our Lady of Angels, and, being asked by a certain spiritual man why he wept so bitterly and loudly, he answered, "I weep over the Passion of Christ, and far from being ashamed thereof, I would that my cries could be heard all over the world."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

The Hope of Future Glory Renders the Endurance of Sufferings Sweet

Being asked how he could bear such great suffering in his eyes and his whole body so joyously and courageously, the saint replied, "So great is the glory which I expect, that all pains, all sickness, all humiliations, all persecutions, all mortifications are pleasant to me."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

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

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!"

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

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

Concerning Theologians

For those who were puffed up with learning prejudiced this truth by their own lives and by their empty words. They said this truth was falsehood and they cruelly persecuted, as if they were blind, those who were really walking in the truth of holy humility.

Mirror of Perfection - 72

How The Early Brothers Lived

"We prayed the Office, the clerics like other clerics, and the laics saying their Our Fathers. And we most willingly lived in abandoned churches. And we were without learning and subject to all."

The Testament of St. Francis

Dr. D. James Kennedy: I Will Miss Him

On July 30, 2005, Dr. D. James Kennedy was a guest on my radio talk show. I was both honored and deeply humbled by Dr. Kennedy's warmth, wit and genius.

The voice of the man known as "most listened-to Presbyterian minister in the world" is now silent. Officials with Coral Ridge Ministries confirmed to OneNewsNow.com Wednesday morning that Dr. D. James Kennedy passed away at around 3 a.m. Kennedy's retirement from his position as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was announced August 26.

To those of us who dearly loved James, he was a political powerhouse on moral issues. I will miss him.

The Mission of the Lesser Brothers

The truth is that the Lord chose the Lesser Brothers and sent them forth for the welfare and salvation of all souls everywhere. And not only will they be received in lands of the faithful but in lands of unbelievers as well. And as long as they fulfill what they have promised the Lord, he will take care of their needs whether they be in the hands of those who do not believe or of those who do.

Writings of Leo, Rufino, and Angelo - 73

Christopher Hitchens: The Dogmatic Doubter

I read with great sadness the article published in the September 10th edition of Newsweek entitled, "The Dogmatic Doubter." I am not angry with Mr. Hitchens nor with Newsweek for publishing this article. I feel extreme sadness for both because they simply "don't get it."

In "Dark Night of the Soul," St. John of the Cross states very clearly, "What the soul draws also from the aridity and emptiness of the night of desire is spiritual humility. Through humility, acquired along with self-knowledge, the soul is purified of the imperfections of spiritual pride into which she stumbled during her time of prosperity. Aware only of her own aridity and misery, it never occurs to her that she is now making better progress than others, which is what she used to erroneously believe...Her own wretchedness is so present in her sight that there is no room to scrutinize others."

St. John of the Cross goes on to say, "'I fell mute, humbled,' says David. 'I kept silence in blessing and my sorrow was renewed.' It seemed to him that all that was good in his soul had been entirely depleted. Not only could he find no speech to express it, but the grief he suffered about his own insignificance left him mute concerning his neighbor."

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? It's nearly word for word in the Newsweek article concerning Mother Teresa.

May the Lord Jesus Christ come into your life in a very powerful and wonderful way, Christopher, and heal your broken heart.

We Are To Consider Ourselves Inferior To All

Being urged and entreated by certain religious to ask privileges of the sovereign pontiff for the greater liberty and credit of the order, the holy father said, "The greatest privilege of myself and my brethren is to have no privileges in this world, but to obey all, and to consider ourselves inferior to all."

The Servant of God Must Show Joy

If Saint Francis saw any of his companions with a sad or downcast countenance, he reproved him, saying: "If thou art grieving over thy sins, my brother, why dost thou show thy sorrow exteriorly? Let this sadness be between thee and God, and pray to him that through his mercy he may spare thee and restore to thy soul the joy of salvation, which thou hast lost through thy sins. But before me and others, show thyself always joyful, for it does not become the servant of God to manifest sadness exteriorly, nor to have a troubled countenance."

St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Called To Be An Example Of Others

"My brethren who are dwelling in poor houses, when they hear that I am dwelling with cardinals, will suspect me of mixing in worldly affairs, of being advanced in honors, and of enjoying pleasures. I think, therefore, it is better for one who is called to be an example of others, to fly from the court, and remain in lowly dewllings with the humble, that he may animate those who are suffering from poverty by bearing the same."

St.Francis
Miscellaneous Writings

Father Todd Riebe: The Pure Heart

"Blessed are the pure in Heart: they shall see God" (Matt 5:8). The pure of heart are those who despise earthly things and seek those of heaven, and who never cease adoring and looking with pure heart and soul upon the Lord God living and true.

St. Francis
Admonition 17

The Punishment of Fornication

If any brother, by the instigation of the devil, commit a sin of the flesh, let him be entirely deprived of the habit which he has defiled by his crime, and let him altogether be expelled from our order, and let him go to do penance for his sins.

Sayings of the Holy Father St. Francis