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The Crown of Thorns

Someone I know said that they were in an area of complete and utter darkness. "Then a mist appeared, through which two hands appeared that were handing me a crown of thorns.

"I took the crown of thorns from the outstretched hands and placed it upon my head. As the crown was being seated upon my head, I prematurely winced, fully expecting searing pain from those thorns to shoot through my head and throughout my entire body.

"But instead of pain, a warm and wonderful feeling of joy and peace settled over me. I was being bathed in God’s love.

"Simultaneously with the crown of thorns being placed upon my head, a vision appeared before me of a glass mirror “unfurling” like a window shade, even though it was glass.

"Jesus then appeared in the glass before me.

"I was immediately filled with shame because Jesus had caught me wearing his crown, and I immediately pulled it from my head.

"As I did, the glass rolled up and Jesus disappeared.

"I then placed the crown back onto my head.

"As I did, the glass again unfurled before me...and again Jesus was standing before me.

"At that moment, the realization hit me that I was looking into a mirror and seeing my own reflection, and that reflection was my Savior and my Lord! And me! One and the same!

"This vision greatly troubled me. After all, who did I think I was, anyway? Was I so vain as to think myself equal to Jesus? God forbid! The vision continued to frighten me long afterwards, fearing that my attitude was obviously not right with God…that is, until I heard these words spoken to me:

“Do not be afraid to put on my crown of thorns.
It is My crown of glory!
Wear it as I did.
I will bear the pain so that you have none.
Then, and only then, will you see Me in glory.
Then we shall meet face to face.
You in me, and I in you.
People will see me in your image.
Give yourselves to Me fully,
And I will come to you in glory…”

The Religious Have Thrown Off Their Habits

The prophesies say that the day will come when the religious will throw off their habits and move from their poor hermitages in the woods into large houses in the cities, and that seculars will pick up their habits and move away from the materialism of the city back into the gospel poverty of the hermitages in the country. There is no doubt that this is again happening today.

John Michael Talbot
HERMITAGE
Chapter 12

Being Lost In Ecstacy

Whether he [St. Francis] was walking or sitting, at home or abroad, whether he was working or resting, he was so wholeheartedly intent on prayer that he seemed to have dedicated to it not only his heart and soul, but all his efforts and all his time. He was often taken right out of himself in such an excess of devotion that he was lost in ecstacy. Then he experienced things which were beyond human understanding, and he would be completely oblivious of all that went on about him.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Minor Life
CHAPTER IV - 1

Sad And Gloomy Face

It is not right for a servant of God to show a sad and gloomy face to his brother or to anyone else.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 96

The Reward Given To The Elect

Therefore he [St. Francis] said that it was wonderful to be able to beg with the title of Friar Minor because our Lord himself had used it so clearly in the Gospel, when describing the reward given to the elect.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER VII - 8

Living In Peace With Prelates And Clerics

The good souls, which the brothers wish to achieve among the people, will be greater if, living in peace with prelates and clerics, they win the people and the clergy over to God rather than if they were to convert only the people to the scandal of the clergy. Likewise, we are bound, to the extent possible, to love them always, to honor and venerate them.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 15

The World Is To Provide For The Brothers Necessities

There is a contract between the world and the brothers; The brothers are bound to give the world a good example, and the world to provide for their necessities. If, then, the brothers break their contract by reneging on their good example, the world will withdraw its hand in just censure.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life - 70

Strip The Altar Bare!

Strip the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary and cart off its varied furnishings if you cannot satisfy one who is in need. Believe me, it is dearer to Mary that the Gospel of her Son be kept, though it means stripping her altar, than to see her altar ornamented and her Son neglected!

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life - 67

Just As A Mother Loves And Cares For Her Son, We Are To Care For One Another

The friars should have no hesitation about telling one another what they need, so that they can provide for one another. They are bound to love and care for one another as brothers, according to the means God gives them, just as a mother loves and cares for her son.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Rule of 1221 - Chapter IX

Have No Fear Of Being Thought Insignificant Or Unbalanced

Have no fear of being thought insignificant or unbalanced, but preach repentance with courage and simplicity. Have faith in the Lord, who has overcome the world. His Spirit speaks in you and through you, calling men and women to turn to him and observe his precepts. You will encounter some who are faithful, meek, and well disposed; they will joyfully receive you and your words. But there will be more who are skeptical, proud, and blashpemous, and who will insult you and resist your message. Prepare yourselves, therefore, to bear everything with patience and humility.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 36

When Your Christian Brothers And Sisters Refuse To Help You In Your Time Of Great Need

And when people shame you by refusing you alms, you should give thanks to God for that, because in recompense for shame we receive great honor before the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you should know that shame is imputed not to the one who suffers it, but to the one who inflicts it. And alms are the inheritance and justice due the poor which our Lord Jesus Christ acquired for us. You who labor to acquire alms, then, have a great reward and also enrich those who give to you; for everything that people leave behind in the world will perish, but for the charity and almsgiving they've practiced they will have their reward from the Lord.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Rule 1221, Chapter IX

Everyone Running After St. Francis

"You want to know why after me? You want to know why after me? You really want to know why everyone is running after me? I have this from the all-holy eyes of God that see the good and the evil everywhere. For those blessed and all-holy eyes have not seen among sinners anyone more vile of insufficient than I am. And so in order to do that wonderful work which He intends to do, He did not find on earth a viler creature, and therefore He chose me, for God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the base things of the world and the despised, to bring to naught the noble and great and strong, so that the creature, in order that no creature should glory before Him, but 'let him who takes pride, take pride in the Lord,' that honor and glory may be only God's forever."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Little Flowers of St. Francis - 10

Feast Of St. Francis Of Assisi, October 4, 2008

Dear Sisters and Associates,

As we near the feast of St. Francis, my thoughts return to the lovely hillside town of Assisi that I was privileged to visit on a pilgrimage some years ago. I truly wish every Sister and Associate could have the opportunity to walk the streets of Assisi, and to absorb the sense of Francis' presence that pervades the town even today.

Francis loved his home town, and prayed frequently for its people and their needs. Jesus, too, wept and prayed over his beloved Jerusalem. Our towns and cities and their inhabitants have so many needs these days. What are the special needs of your civic community these days? It would be very Christian and very Franciscan to make a special effort to keep them in our prayers, especialy during this election time.

During his lifetime, Francis' relationship with God and ministry went through various stages. There was the young and enthusiastic Francis, eager to be about the work which the Lord called him. We see the Francis whose love of his Creator led him to a greater love for and kinship with all creation. We have the penitent Francis, so aware of this failings and full of appreciation for the mercy of his God ("Who are you, God, and who am I?"). We might identify withe the sick and suffering Francis, whose eyesight failed him and whose body kept him from doing all he might want to do for the Lord. Perhaps we resonate with the Francs who had to come to terms with the fact that he had to relinquish control of the order he founded, and that it was changing from his ideal even while he lived. Francis, too, was a man for all seasons, especially for the seasons of life. Where in your journey do you particularly meet him today?

As we celebrate the love and dedication and vision of Francs this year, may we find strength and courage, peace and joy in the life of our spiritual father, and know that the God who loved and sustained Francis will do the same for us.

May God give you peace,
Sister Miriam
for the General Council

Be Especially Humble To The Clergy

Blessed Francis wished his sons to be at peace with all men and to behave themselves humbly to everyone, but he showed them by his own words and example to be especially humble to the clergy. For he said, 'We have been sent to help the clergy in the salvation of souls, so that we may supply whatever is lacking in them. But men will not be rewarded according to their office, but their work. Remember, my brothers, that the winning of souls is what pleases God most, and we can do this better by working in harmony with the clergy than in opposition...'

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 54

This Is Your Vocation

The peace which you proclaim with words must dwell even more abundantly in your hearts. Do not provoke others to anger or give scandal. Rather, let your gentleness draw them to peace, goodness, and concord. This is your vocation: to heal wounds, to bind what is broken, to bring home those who are lost. And remember that many who may now seem to be of the devil can one day become disciples of Christ.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions, 58

School Of The Americas Demonstration November 21-23

Behind the gates, a clash of views

National Catholic Reporter

December 7, 2007

Editor’s note: NCR has covered the annual protest at Fort Benning since the early 1990s, always from outside the gates of the fort. This year, we asked Paul Winner to report on the event from inside the fort. Winner’s story and a report by Patrick O’Neill, who has provided detailed coverage of this event for several years, are included on these pages. The full range of O’Neill’s reporting has been posted on our Web site, ncronline.org.

By PAUL WINNER

Fort Benning, Ga.

As a young man, John Kiser sat in a classroom with Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez and posed a direct question: Are Christians called to be pacifists?

Gutiérrez, the 70-year-old father of liberation theology, had come to Princeton Theological Seminary as a visiting professor. Kiser, a novice seminarian, had recently felt himself drawn to service as a military chaplain, but had not completely squared that calling with the Gospels -- at least, not yet.

Kiser, now a Presbyterian minister and one of the chaplains at Fort Benning, spoke recently during the weekend of the annual School of the Americas protest, a largely Catholic show of opposition to the training of Latin American military personnel, many of whom oversaw and committed human rights violations during the civil wars in Central America during the 1980s.

Kiser recalled how he and Gutiérrez pulled out their Bibles and discussed the Roman soldier of Luke Chapter 7, Christ’s measurement of the soldier’s faith, and how at no point did Christ instruct this man -- as he instructed the adulterer in the Gospel of John -- to “go and sin no more.” They finessed the finer points of the Hebrew verbs harag and ratsakh, “kill” and “murder,” as a means of unearthing the exact meaning of the commandment dealing with killing. For in the Torah, according to many Jewish scholars, the correct translation would be “ Thou shalt not murder,” which left open the possibility that even the taking of life could be tacit within the Law of Moses. The founder of liberation theology agreed that in some cases, killing of course takes place without criminal intent. But what cases, exactly? Those in wartime? And what did such a stunning sanction mean for following Christ’s example?

Both men believed that even pacifists retained “a moral imperative to protect innocent life,” and that a responsible Christian could be called into military service, the better to be “an ethical voice within the apparatus itself.”

Kiser ended up writing his thesis on the just war theory, then left Princeton to pursue a doctorate with the Oblates. Within a few short years, he was an officer in uniform, tending to the wounded and dying on both sides of conflict. Most recently, in Tikrit, Iraq, he served as an emergency room chaplain not only to military personnel but also to Muslim civilians, Iraqi children, and those designated by superiors as “enemy combatants.”

“I see the role of the chaplain as both pastoral and prophetic,” said Kiser now. “And I believe that the prophetic tradition in Christianity does not persuade us solely into pacifism.”

He reclines in his chair and rubs his eyes, briefly, then offers me a Coca-Cola from a mini-fridge behind his desk. He is a kindly, compact man in his 40s with a runner’s build and polite, boyish smile. He has been meeting with civilian visitors to Benning all day, and will continue presenting his case for a soldier’s ethical responsibilities well into the weekend.

“Well,” he says, “this is our Superbowl Weekend.”


* * *
It is, for many at the school, possibly the biggest weekend of the year. The reason is not the “God Bless Fort Benning” pro-troop demonstration in nearby Columbus, Ga. Nor does the weekend’s importance stem from the latest, most ominous headline in this week’s Army Times: “If you haven’t gone to war -- you’re about to: 37,000 targeted for deployment.” Rather, the size of the weekend is due to the demands imposed by this chaplain’s latest job, the very job he signed up for years earlier -- attempting to be a voice within the apparatus itself.

Kiser’s most recent post within the U.S. Army is as both chaplain and ethics instructor at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. WHINSEC, as it is called, was formerly known as the School of the Americas -- a training school, transplanted from Panamanian soil, for young officers of Central and South America. Established as a Cold War continuation of the Monroe Doctrine, the school has suffered from an image problem since its dedication on Georgia’s soil, stemming largely from the murderous reputation of Latin American militaries (and paramilitaries) in the latter half of the 20th century. Those forces, dedicated to suppressing dissent, often enjoyed shadowy help from the world’s leading democracy.


Dr. Luis Ramírez, a visiting scholar at WHINSEC who came to Benning from the Peace Secretariat in Guatemala, recently told a group of visiting protesters that he had observed the reputation of the United States in Latin America to be “on the floor” for so many years, he was shocked to witness the latest turnaround in attitudes inside and outside the military. “Now,” he said, “today, you can see in the students here at this school, the desire in them that human rights become the standard.”


This is due, he swore, to the work of the institute.

The School of the Americas closed its doors in December 2000. By the time winter thawed, WHINSEC had opened in its place, with several new courses, a new stated mission and new faculty. Ramírez and Kiser were but two of the new faces arguing human rights down the elegantly curved halls.


Protest against the school, however, did not change. Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois had inaugurated a memorial demonstration outside the gates of Fort Benning one year after the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador. His mission was to draw national and international attention to the place where many of those responsible for the Jesuits’ murder had trained, and to call for the school’s permanent closure. The protest eventually swelled into the thousands, increasing with each year.

Now, in balmiest November 2007, the protests outside the main gate of the fort will be met by presentations inside the gate by Chaplain Kiser and others about the school’s mission, and they will take questions from the protesters themselves.

* * *
Ten years ago, Gutiérrez and Kiser had stood in the Princeton classroom and been passionately engaged in exegesis. An exercise in contemplative scholasticism, exegesis is the main reason many come to seminary in the first place: to burrow into the Word at the subtlest, most fragile of levels, and better divine the will of God. It may seem like hairsplitting to an outsider, but to someone discerning whether he or she is born to faithful leadership, exegesis is the source and locator of authority, despite the starkly conflicting interpretations which exegesis inevitably brings to the surface.


It is not the best means of dialogue, however, between opposing groups outside of seminary.

This year, on Saturday, Nov. 17, hundreds of protesters -- from veterans’ organizations, peace fellowships, high schools and various colleges -- are crowded loudly into an auditorium on the base. Protesters line the walls and steps. There are banners and peace signs. Many students wear green T-shirts reading “I Will Shut Down the School of Assassins.” They have left school to come here, and have briefly been returned to student status as they sit through a detailed PowerPoint presentation. Slides offer a number of facts (“10 percent of every course content addresses human rights and ethics”), and is followed by an introduction of the afternoon’s panelists, including Chaplain Kiser, Lt. Col. Linda Gould, representing the school’s Board of Visitors; Maj. Tony Raimondo, professor of law and overseer of the school’s human rights courses; and the school’s commandant, Col. Gilberto Perez. Questions from the audience rise, slowly at first, and then with an almost natural force. Microphones are passed through the seats.


The moderator points to the wall. “With the bandana, yes.”
The question -- like many that follow -- begins with an admission of vagueness, the single phrase It is my understanding that ... This one ends with an observation that WHINSEC has been known to train militaries in a civil capacity, policemen and firemen, which seems outside the school’s charter. Panel members agree that the school does and should continue to train “first responders, much like our own National Guard.”

Another hand. “Dreadlocks, there.”


“I keep seeing pictures around this place with, like, a sword. And they’re asking me to follow them.” Several of the students stifle laughter.

Col. Perez jumps in to explain Benning’s infantry symbol -- a bayonet crowned with the words FOLLOW ME -- and how the building they’re all sitting in used to be home to the fort’s infantry school. “I am not,” Perez explains, “authorized to make changes to the school’s façade.”


Another student stands. “This is directed at the chaplain. When the Bible says, you know, ‘Do Not Kill,’ I want to know how that, like, affects your ministry.”


There is increased laughter this time. The mood in the room is changing. Kiser does not speak of the just war tradition, or the private conciliations each person of faith makes with nations at war. Instead, he leans into the microphone and decides to offer some of the exegesis he once shared with Gutiérrez involving Hebrew verbs. By the time he clarifies what he believes is the Mosaic injunction “to not murder,” the audience as a whole has succumbed to groans, hoots, and come on’s.

A blonde, middle-aged woman in jeans leans forward, trying to refocus the attention of the room on history and curriculum. “It is my understanding that interrogation tactics have been taught here?”
Maj. Raimondo takes up the question. “We do not. Teach. Interrogation. Tactics. Here.” Immediately it is clear that no one in the audience believes this -- or they are taking exception to use of the present tense -- inspired, perhaps, by the previous answer’s exegesis. Raimondo delivers an analysis of his chosen subject, international law, presenting the topic in stark contradistinction with the more flexible legal policies of the Bush administration. He concludes with a claim that his program has been sanctioned by the United Nations, and studied with approval by Amnesty International. There is no follow-up to this answer, which hangs in the air between a sea of agitated hands.


A solidly built young man with dark hair and sunglasses perched on his head is waving at each new question. “Hello? Pick me, please? Come on, it’s a democracy ...”


The moderator calls on two others, then cheerfully focuses his attention.


“I believe we have someone with a question.”


The young man lowers his hand. “Thank you,” he says, and proceeds to deliver an otherwise impromptu-sounding speech involving the CIA, the overthrow of President Salvador Allende in Chile, the use of pesticides in Latin America, and the American military being an arm of elite economic interests. He issues a condemnation of “you guys” who claim to “assist in the search for democracy.” He closes with information of his personal experience and points his finger at the panel. “You are protecting a corporate agenda.” As he sits, there is sustained applause.


Lt. Col. Gould asks the crowd to look at the numbers. “Almost 60,000 officers have come through the school since its inception. Five hundred of those officers have been investigated for violations. One hundred have been convicted of a criminal act within their home nations ...” The numbers make a case that the school has enjoyed a 99 percent success rate among graduates.


A girl near the front row asks, “But how do we know? Why can’t you keep better track of graduates?”

Gould says, “We can’t do that. You wouldn’t want us doing that. Keeping tabs on visitors when they go back to their home countries?”
From the back row someone asks, “How presumptuous is it that we train, and teach human rights, given our own record of abuses?”
Kiser takes up the question, insisting that as a man of faith, he can’t work within an apparatus that tolerates abuses to human rights. “These are aberrations. Abu Ghraib is an aberration.”
The session has crept past the 45-minute mark. Several students have stopped paying attention. Many of them whisper jokes, or take pictures of the assembly. A slight, boyish-looking student in a dark shirt stands to quietly condemn the United States government for its role in manufacturing the revolution in his home country of Guatemala in 1954. His voice increases with each sentence until the young man is nearly shouting. “American foreign policy has destroyed Central America. Destroyed South America. Get out. Just get out.”
Through the applause, Gould asks, “Are you an American?”
“No,” he says. “I’m ... from Guatemala.”


“Then why don’t you go back to your home country and work through the democratic process to ask that the government ...”
The young man is momentarily at a loss. “Because!” he finally blurts. “It’s a corrupt government!”


“The school did not exist in 1954. There is no causal link between what you claim and this school. Have there been American foreign policy mistakes? Of course. But this place, this school, doesn’t teach torture, rape, pillaging ...”

“The CIA overthrew Guatemala!”

The moderator informs the audience that time is short. Only a few questions remain. Some thank the panelists for their openness. They hope to continue the dialogue throughout the rest of the day, if not into the coming years. In the room remains a kind of pent-up energy, as if the purpose in today’s open house had not yet been fully brought to fruition. The weekend’s protest, after all, is an argument with history. Considerable energy is directed from all corners of the room against our nation’s total history of secret -- and not-so-secret -- foreign policy decisions that subverted democratic processes or enabled ruthless dictators to be designated friendly.


A muscular staff sergeant -- one who had accompanied these guests of the school on buses from the gate to the auditorium -- appears behind the back row and listens to the general murmur. He takes a sip from a can of Diet Coke.

“Lively group,” he says. “Sorry I missed it.”


* * *
The tensile energy in the auditorium could be described as another variation on the blue-state, red-state divergence that characterizes a depressingly large segment of our political discourse. After an hour in the auditorium, it is clear to many assembled that there are those who simply do not like, or trust, men and women in uniform. And there are those who see the protesters as simply juvenile, not to say ill-informed, and their defiance as tending to the agenda of their own survival.

Kiser returns to the building with the terra-cotta roof. He will continue teaching the school’s expanded curriculum on human rights. He will conduct exercises designed to highlight ethical behavior in crises, peaceful conflict resolution, and the role of a responsible soldier within a democratic populace.

Atrocities in wartime are still aberrations, to him, without a doubt -- a fact that should never go overlooked. But even if atrocities are “less than 1 percent” of the norm, “it is still too much when we’re dealing with human lives. ... All of this troubles me.”

But he reminds me that he is, unlike the soldier in Luke, not a centurion -- merely a pastor to centurions. He does not bear arms. This is a crucial distinction in the calling he answered many years earlier, and vital to understanding his commitment to staying in the service, and at the school.


“I truly believe that God uses voices within the system to change and be that ethical, prophetic voice of morality.” His firm belief, in the end, is in a Christ who wanted centurions who believed “to effect and transform the Roman Empire.”

This is his commitment to God, he said. His faith in such a commitment has gotten more unshakeable over the years. “Who is anyone to question my faith?”


Paul Winner, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York, teaches at a Christo Rey school in East Harlem, N.Y.

School Of The Americas Demonstration November 21-23

Dear Chris:

Good to make contact with you! We certainly appreciate the support.

It is such a shame that this whole SOAW movement has gained such steam under false pretenses.

I have directly engaged many of them and held them accountable for much of the false witness they bear.

Who knows, but the Lord, what will be the outcome of all of this. All I know is that I feel God has called me to this ministry, and now, specifically at WHINSEC. It is an incredibly interesting and exciting ministry that certainly has a international dimension. It has taken me to Honduras, Brazil, and I will be in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay in the next few months.

I am very impressed by your blog, but could not find where you all have discussed WHINSEC.

I attached a recent NCR article about the protest weekend. My ministry to the ethical dilemmas of Soldiers and Police is discussed in it.

I want you to know, as a good German pastor, I always have a good German Franziskaner hefeweizen in my refrigerator!!!

God Bless You,

John



John W. Kiser, D.Min.
Chaplain (Major) US Army
Command Chaplain/Ethics Instructor
Western Hemisphere Institute for
Security Cooperation
Fort Benning, GA 31905
706-610-9972

School Of The Americas Demonstration November 21-23

We encourage anone who is interested in the issue to come in and see us, to sit in classes, to talk with students and faculty, and to review our instructional materials. I would suggest waiting until after mid-January, because there will be several courses in session then, and all our people will be here.

I often joke with our Catholic friends that I am from the Southern
Baptist branch of the Catholic Church, but I do so with a purpose--I
then offer contact with other Catholics who know us well and support us enthusiastically. I don't know if you are in acccord with the very conservative Catholic organization that produced the attached article and interview (both are on their website, along with other pertinent documents: www.tfp.org), but they did some rather thorough
investigative reporting of their experiences here in the area, and the interview allowed me to hit on almost all the issues brought up by our opponents.

By the way, the Franciscan who almost ended up on our board was *** *******. He came down and got to know us, so I don't think he holds
the same uninformed views of his brothers, but he was leaning toward
pacifism anyway, so may not have stayed with us long even if accepted.

I don't mind honest opponents who do not think we should be operating because of their own views on doing the training. The only opponents I challenge are those who accept the falsehoods that we teach illegal, immoral, or unethical things here. The facts do not support their views, and I try to introduce them to reality.

Thanks again, and I look forward to continuing this conversation,
perhaps in person!

Sincerely,
Lee

Mr. Lee A. Rials
Public Affairs Officer
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
35 Ridgway Loop
Ft. Benning, GA 31905

School Of The Americas Demonstration November 21-23

Beware of all pride and vainglory. Keep yourselves from the wisdom of this world and the prudence of the flesh. For the spirit of the flesh is desirous and very eager for words but does little to carry them out. And it does not seek the interior spirit of religion and holiness but desires of religion and holiness only what is outwardly apparent to people. It is of these that the Lord says, "In truth I tell you, they already have their reward" (Matt 6:2).

St. Francis
Rule 1221 - Chapter XVII

School Of The Americas Demonstration November 21-23

St. Francis used to say we should prefer nothing to the salvation of souls, and he said so for this reason: It is for souls that the only begotten Son of God deigned to ascend the cross.

St. Bonaventure
Major Life 9:4

It would appear that we are now concerned with every whim and doctrine that comes along...except for the salvation of souls:

"Let the brothers love one another, as the Lord says, 'This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you' (John 15:12).

"And let them show by their deeds the love they have for one another, as the Apostle says, 'Our love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine' (1 John 3:18).

"And they are 'not to go around slandering other people' (Titus 3:2); nor are they to grumble or speak evil, for it is written, 'Libelers and slanderers are enemies of God' (Romans 1:30). And they are 'to be peacable and gentle, and always polite to people of all kinds'" (Titus 3:2).

St. Francis
Rule of 1221 - Chapter XI

So why have we thrown everything that St. Francis believed in and followed hard-line Marxist, Communists?

Yes, there have been some evil men come out of the School of the America's, but is that any reason to shut something down that does so much good? It's like saying we should shut Richmond, Indiana down because the infamous Jimmie Jones came from there. Or should we go a step further, then, and shut Kool-Aid down because Jimmie Jones used it to kill off all his people?

Here is a letter from Sister Rachel West, The Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation. Please tell me if she and these other people are following the way of St. Francis or not. Personally, I believe these people to be the ultimate of evil, but you decide for yourself...

"Led by the School of Americas (SOA) Watch frounder Fr. Roy Bourgeois and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, thousands of protesters marched in solemn procession to the gates of Fort Benning, GA, site of the SOA, on the afternoon of Sunday, November 18. Among the participants were Sisters Jacquelyn McKracken (whose article about the SOA protest appeared in the December 2 edition of the Indianapolis Star), Joan Miller and Maureen Irvin.

"They gathered to protest the continued existence of the school (now known officially as the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation) whose graduates they hold responsible for the murders and torture of thousands of innocent people throughout Latin America. But they gathered as well to protest ongoing wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan and violations of human rights throughout the world. More and more, the annoual SOA vigil, first begun in 1990 to call for the closing of the SOA, has evolved into a massive anti-was and pro-human rights rally, probably the largest in the United
States.

..."This year's protest led, as they always have, to numerous arrests for trespass onto the base. Ten were arrested while entering through a side gate, and another for attempting to scale the main gate during the symbolic funeral procession. ....three other protesters, college students, were arrested and face charges for refusing to relinquish crosses whose size exceeded police regulations."

How sad. How very, very sad.

Pride And Vainglory

Beware of all pride and vainglory. Keep yourselves from the wisdom of this world and the prudence of the flesh. For the spirit of the flesh is desirous and very eager for words but does little to carry them out. And it does not seek the interior spirit of religion and holiness but desires of religion and holiness only what is outwardly apparent to people. It is of these that the Lord says, "In truth I tell you, they have had their reward" (Matthew 6:2).

Saint Francis of Assisi
Rule 1221, Chapter XVII

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 busyness and worry.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Rule of 1221, Chapter XXII

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.

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(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