Fifth Week of Lent: Hear Us, O Lord!

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Apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.

( With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
    LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to my voice in supplication.

Psalm 130: 1-2


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Social Distancing

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Social distancing or self isolating? Why not use the time to create a prayer corner (if you haven’t already). Here’s mine, where I daily pray the Divine Office. ~ Chris Dickson

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The Eternal Glory Of The Trinity

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"If you happen to meditate on Andrei Rubley's Trinity icon of the 15th Century, look for the tree, tent, the cup between the three persons - tree representing life, the tend representing God coming to dwell in our home/world/earth and the cup for God's self-immolation for what we have got in our salvation. What a powerful portrayal of love among the three Persons, which is dynamic and most sublime."

Fr. Sengole Gnanaraj, STL

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Escape

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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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Virtue And Vice

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Where there is Love and Wisdom,
there is neither Fear not Ignorance.
Where there is Patience and Humility,
there is neither Anger nor Annoyance.
Where there is Poverty and Joy,
there is neither Cupidity or Avarice.
Where there is Peace and Contemplation,
there is neither Care nor Restlessness.
Where there is Fear of God to guard the dwelling,
there no enemy can enter.
Where there is Mercy and Prudence,
there is neither Excess nor Harshness.

Saint Francis of Assisi
The Admonitions
Admonition XXVII



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Overview Of Jerusalem Ohio As Reported by Chris Dickson

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Emery and Lizzie cruisin' through beautiful downtown Jerusalem, Ohio

As of 2009, Jerusalem's population is 147 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of -1.32 percent.

The median home cost in Jerusalem is $58,790. Home appreciation the last year has been -4.50 percent.

Compared to the rest of the country, Jerusalem's cost of living is 21.27% Lower than the U.S. average.

Jerusalem public schools spend $5,615 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 19 students per teacher in Jerusalem.

The unemployment rate in Monroe County, Ohio is 16.90 percent (U.S. avg. is 9.50%).

Residents with income below the poverty level in 2007:

This township:	17.2%
Whole state:	10.6%

Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2007:

This township:	6.1%
Whole state:	4.8%

Cities in this township include: Beallsville.

Religion

53.19% of the people in Jerusalem, OH are religious
(meaning they affiliate with a religion);
6.13% are Catholic;
19.62% are Protestant;
0.00% are LDS;
27.44% are another Christian faith (including Amish);
0.00% in Jerusalem, OH are Jewish;
0.00% are an eastern faith;
0.00% affiliates with Islam.


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Exposition Of The Blessed Sacrament At The University Of Steubenville Youth Conference

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Only A Small Piece Of Bread

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O wonderful ascent, O stupendous descent! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity, that the Lord of the Universe, God and Son of God, should so humbly hide himself, for our salvation, in what seems to be only a small piece of bread! Look, then, upon the humility of God! And pour out your hearts before him. Humble yourselves that he might exalt you. Hold back nothing of yourselves, that he may receive your all who gave his all to you.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Letter to the Whole Order

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Let Humanity Kneel In Fear

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Let humanity kneel in fear, let the whole universe tremble, and let heaven rejoice when Christ the Son of the Living God is on the altar in the hands of the priest.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Letter to the Whole Order

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O God, My Flesh Faints For You (Psalm 63)

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Once when Brother John was staying in the Place of Mogliano of the Custody of Fermo in the Province of the Marches...when he had proceeded as far as the Preface of the Blessed Virgin, the supernatural illumination and sweet consolation of God's love increased so much within him that when he reached the Qui pridie he could hardly endure such overwhelming sweetness. Finally, when he came to the Consecration itself and began to pronounce the words of the Consecration over the Host, he kept repeating the first of the formula - Hoc est - Hoc est - very often, and he was unable to go any further. And the reason why he could not go on was that e felt and saw the presence of Christ and of a throng of angels and saints, so that he almost fainted because of their grandeur which he felt in his soul.

St. Francis of Assisi

Little Flowers of St. Francis - 53

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The Prayer "Absorbeat"

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"May the power of your love, O Lord, fiery and sweet as honey, wean my heart form all that is under heaven, so that I may die for love of your love, you who were so good as to die for love of my love." ~ Saint Francis of Assisi

Attributed to St. Francis by Thomas of Celano in his Second Life of St. Francis

(II Cel., 196: "The love of him," he said, "who loved us so much is to be loved.")

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Holy Simplicity

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Saint Francis was zealous with more than usual care to show forth in himself, and he loved in others, holy simplicity, the daughter of grace, the sister of wisdom, the mother of justice.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CXLII

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A Quiet And Secret Place Of Solitude

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Photo of Death Fork on the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio

At certain times the blessed and venerable father Francis left behind the crowds of the world that were coming together daily with the greatest devotion to hear and see him, and he sought out a quiet and secret place of solitude, desiring to spend his time there with God and to cleanse himself of any dust that may have clung to him from his association with men.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, First Life

CHAPTER II

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Prayer Is The Chief Comfort In This Life Of Contemplation

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Prayer was the chief comfort in this life of contemplation in which Francis became a fellow-citizen of the angels, as he penetrated the dwelling places of heaven in his eager search for his Beloved, from whom he was separated only by a partition of flesh.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Bonaventure, Major Life

CHAPTER X

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St. Clare Of Assisi

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St. Clare's Tunic and Mantle on display at the Portiuncula in Assisi, Italy

On Palm Sunday, March 18, 1212, a young noblewoman of Assisi, Clare, di Favarone, attended Mass at the cathedral of San Rufino where she received her palm from the bishop himself. It was a signal to her. That night she left home secretly and went to the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, the Portiuncula. There St. Francis himself witnessed her vows to live the Gospel life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. From that moment until her death she was a true Bride of the Poor Christ, the most faithful daughter of Francis.

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The Portiuncula Hermitage Considering Hosting A Chapter Of Mats In 2021

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Once the faithful servant of Christ, St. Francis, held a General Chapter on the plain of St. Mary of the Angels, where more than five thousand friars gathered together.

And in that camp each group had made tents covered on top and round about with rushes and mats; accordingly this Chapter was called the Chapter of Mats. They slept on the bare ground or on some straw, and their pillows were stones or pieces of wood.

As a result, everyone who saw or heard them had such devotion for them, and the fame of their holiness was so great, that many people came to see them from the Pope's Court, which was then nearby Perugia, and from other parts of the Valley of Spoleto. Many counts and barons and knights and other noblemen and many plain people, and cardinals and bishops and abbots with other members of the clergy, flocked to see this very holy and large and humble gathering of so saintly men, such as the world had never seen.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Little Flowers of St. Francis

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Sister Briege McKenna's Message For Priests

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I talk about personal holiness. The crisis in the priesthood is not celibacy; it is faith in Jesus Christ. People who have a relationship with Jesus Christ can't live with sin in their lives. So I pray that they have a living faith in Jesus Christ with the Eucharist in the center of their lives. The tragedy in Ireland is that there is so much negativity and they get so discouraged.

The greatest need is to be a personal witness to Jesus Christ. If their message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it will bear fruit. The people are hungry. If you look at any list of retreats, sometimes the person of Jesus isn't even mentioned, but there is nothing like spending time with the Eucharist. It is so easy to be attracted by good things, but leave out the most important thing, which is our prayer life.

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Singing Praises

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When the sweetest melody of spirit would flame up in his heart, St. Francis would release it by singing in French, and the trickle of divine inspiration which his inner ear had caught would begin to overflow like a minstrel's song.

At times, as I have seen with my own eyes, he would pick up a stick from the ground and, holding it in his left arm, would draw across it another stick bent by means of a string, as if he were playing a violin. Then pretending to play, he would sing in French the praises of the Lord.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, Second Life

CHAPTER XC

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A Lukewarm Spirit

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"When the spirit becomes lukewarm and inward grace grows cold, it follows that flesh and blood seek their own pleasures."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection 


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Despising And Disregarding The Principle Foundations Of Our Order

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"Many [brothers and sisters] have become so blind as to imagine that people will be edified and turned to devotion by their present ways rather then by the former, and they imagine that they are living more sensibly this way. They despise and disregard the way of holy simplicity and poverty, which is the first principle and foundation of the Order." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

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