The most beautiful music you've never heard. — Second Sunday of Advent Gregorian Chant

 

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"Come to the Quiet" Retreat Means Living For God

 

Portiuncula Hermitage Jerusalem, Ohio

The desert is a place of spiritual revolution, not of personal retreat. It is a place of inner protest, not outward peace. It is a place of deep encounter, not of superficial escape. It is a place of repentance, not recuperation. Living in the desert does not mean living without people; it means living for God. Antony and the other desert dwellers never forgot this. They never sought to cut off their connections to other people instantly. They sought rather to refine these relationships increasingly.

Of course, the desert was, on a deeper level, always more than simply a place. It was a way. And it was not the desert that made the Desert Fathers and Mothers, any more than it was the lion that made the martyrs.

In the Heart of the Desert

Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis

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The Miracle Of The Vineyard In Rieti

 

Tiers Vino outside Assisi, Italy

Blessed Francis was staying near the church of St. Fabian in Rieti. A number of cardinals, accompanied by clerics, almost daily visited the saint out of respect and devotion.The church had a small vineyard and since the church had but one door, all those who came to visit passed through that one door, trampling the vineyard under foot. The priest was scandalized and disturbed: "This year," he said, "my vintage is lost. The vineyard is small but every year I harvest enough grapes for my needs."

St. Francis said to the priest: "Stop being disturbed and scandalized: nothing can be done about it. Place your trust in the Lord, because through me, his poor servant, he can repair the damage..."

The priest usually harvested thirteen loads of wine, but that year he harvested twenty from his destroyed vineyard.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 25

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