Gloria In Eggshell C's, Deo

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Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa!

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LOL

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The Vineyard At Rieti

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Photo of Rieti, 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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The Impenetrable Darkness That Leads To Union

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St. John of the Cross

What joy! The soul has emerged victorious from the tribulations of the night of sensory purification. She has risen above the state of the beginner and entered the state of the adept. God may not immediately move her into the night of the spirit, now. Instead, the soul may spend years cultivating mastery before she is ready to face the impenetrable darkness that leads to union.

Saint John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul
BOOK II
NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT

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Purifying The Mind

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"What greater cure for the wounds of conscience and for purifying the mind's acuity than to persevere in meditation on the wounds of Christ."

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

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Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit!

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Duns Scotus (“the Scot”) in the 14th century was also a stalwart defender of the Immaculate Conception and also used the “Potuit – decuit – ergo fecit” argument.

The argument is useful for the simple reason that it disarms opponents that deny the Immaculate Conception. It is still useful today in sharing your faith with Protestants.

Simply ask, “Could God make a person without original sin?” (potuit)

Next ask, “Would it have been decent or fitting for the Son of God to have his mother 100% pure and loyal to him?” (decuit)

Then follows the conclusion, “Well then, if He could do it and it was fitting, then He did do it. Mary was conceived immaculately (conceived without stain – macula is Latin for “stain”).

Therefore (ergo), God did make his Mother without original sin. (fecit)

So “Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit!” Memorize these four Latin words and you will defend Our Lady with honor.

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Happy Immaculate Conception Non-Feast Day!

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Remember, today is a 

"Holy Day Communion Service"
of  
"Non-Obligation!" 

(Whatever in the world THAT is...)

Please forgive us, Holy Mother, for ignoring your Feast Day... 

Please don't ignore our petitions as we have ignored you, Mary Most Holy...

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Whenever Applause Breaks Out At Mass

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Ignore Garrulous People

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You should not pay attention to garrulous people, and when they accuse others you should treat them with particular reserve, and should not believe them too readily.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 80

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Judging Others

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One day St. Francis heard a brother insinuate to a poor little man who was begging an alms, "How do I know you're not really rich and pretending to be in need?"

When Francis, the Father of the Poor, heard this, he was deeply saddened. He severely rebuked the brother who had dared to utter such words and ordered him to strip before the beggar and beg his pardon, kissing his feet.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
Chapter XXVIII

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Idol Worship

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Just as the people of Israel once abandoned worship of their Creator to serve idols made with hands, so too, in our day and age, many religious, indeed, many well-known and respected men, have abandoned the true wisdom in which God alone is worshiped perfectly and inwardly and is adored by single-minded lovers. Instead, they wretchedly fill themselves with all sorts of knowledge, as if to fabricate idols for themselves out of various newfound proofs. Diabolically inspired, these ideas so absorb and take possession of the human spirit that they have no place for true wisdom.

Carthusian Spirituality
Hugh of Balma
The Roads to Zion Mourn (De Mystica Theologia)
Written in 1083 A.D.

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Pare Down Your Closet

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Hiking the "South 40" at the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio

Maybe you're not ready to clothe yourself in a monk's simple habit, but there are still many ways we Lay Franciscans can wean ourselves from a $100 Billion a year fashion industry. Why not pare down your closet and share your wardrobe with a homeless shelter or local soup kitchen with people who really need it? 

Chris

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A New Kind Of Simpleton

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St. Francis spoke to his brothers in the fervor and power of the Holy Spirit, saying, "The Lord told me that He wished me to be a new kind of simpleton in this world, and He does not wish us to live by any other wisdom but this."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 68

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Jedi

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Monks

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A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery. He
goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, My car broke
down. Do you think I could stay the night?

The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his
car. As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound; a
sound like no other that he has ever heard. The next morning, he
asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, We can't tell you
because you're not a monk.

The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his
merry way. Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of
the same monastery.

The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car..

That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he
had heard years earlier.

The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the monks reply,

We can't tell you because you're not a monk.

The man says, all right, all right. I'm dying to know.

If the only way I can find out what that sound was is to become
a  monk, how do I become a monk?

The monks reply, you must travel the earth and tell us how many
blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles.
When you find these numbers, you will become a monk.

The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he
returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, I have
travelled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and
have found what you had asked for. There are 371,145,236,284,232
blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the
earth.

The monks reply, congratulations, you are correct, and you are
now considered a monk .

We shall now show you the way to the sound.

The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says,
the sound is behind that door..

The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He asks,
May I have the key ?

The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.

Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone... The man
requests the key to the stone door.

The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door
made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide
it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire.
And so it went on until the man had gone through doors of emerald,...

...silver, topaz, and amethyst.

Finally, the monks say, This is the key to the last door .

The man is relieved to be at the end. He unlocks the door, turns
the knob, and behind that door he is astonished to find the source
of that strange sound. It is truly an amazing and unbelievable sight

... But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.

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The Object Of My Desires

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Ah! What poetry flooded my soul at the sight of all these things I was seeing for the first time and the last time in my life! It was without regret I saw them disappear, for my heart longed for other marvels. It had contemplated earthly beauties long enough; those of heaven were the object of its desires and to win them for souls I was willing to become a prisoner.

Saint Theresa of Lisieux

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The Portiuncula is the Franciscan Tradition

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St. Mary of the Angels, the "Little Portion" (Poriuncula), in Assisi, Italy

 

St. Bonaventure, a Minister General of the Franciscan Order and the author of the Major Life of St. Francis (LgMaj 2:8) wrote:

“When he finally completed this church [San Damiano], he came to a place called the Portiuncula where there stood a church of the most Blessed Virgin Mother of God, built in ancient times but now deserted and no one was taking care of it. When the man of God saw it so abandoned, he began to stay there regularly in order to repair it, moved by the warm devotion he had toward the Lady of the world. Sensing that angels often visited there, according to the name of that church, which from ancient times was called Saint Mary of the Angels, he stayed there out of his reverence for the angels and his special love for the mother of Christ."

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Personal Holiness

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 Sister Briege McKenna, OSC

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 centre 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.

Sister Briege McKenna

St. Clare Sisters Retreat Ministry

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December 8th - Feast Of The Immaculate Conception

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John Duns (c. 1266 – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus (/ˈskoʊtəs/ SKOH-təs, Ecclesiastical Latin: [duns ˈskotus]; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of Western Europe in the High Middle Ages, together with Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham.^[9] Scotus has had considerable influence on both Catholic and secular thought. The doctrines for which he is best known are the "univocity of being", that existence is the most abstract concept we have, applicable to everything that exists; the formal distinction, a way of distinguishing between different aspects of the same thing; and the idea of haecceity, the property supposed to be in each individual thing that makes it an individual. Scotus also developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Duns Scotus was given the scholastic accolade Doctor Subtilis ("the Subtle Doctor") for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

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Inspired By Silence

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One day, Theophilus of holy memory, the bishop of Alexandria, came to Scetis (the Upper Nile of Egypt). And the brothers who gathered said to Abba Pambo, "Say a word to the bishop so his soul may be benefited here." The old hermit replied, "If he is not inspired by my silence, he will not be inspired by my words either."

Saying From the Desert Fathers

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Second Sunday Of Advent

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The Book of the Prophet Isiah

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Consider It Joy When We Are Crushed And Broken

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Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR

Chancellor of the Franciscan University of Steubenville

When Fr. Mike was a guest on my radio talk show, he shared with the audience a word from the Lord that was given to him when his journey had reached bottom, and a word we should all openly embrace within our own hearts whenever we are crushed and broken:

"Now you are broken and helpless. You can't possibly continue as you have in the past. Now I will show you MY ministry, and all you have been doing will be organized around it. You are sufficiently out of the way, with your eyes seeking me, for me to move with MY ministry, unmistakably marked with my character."

Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.

The Truth About Trouble

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Your Cell Will Teach You Everything

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In Scetis, a brother went to see Abba Moses and begged him for a word. The old man said, "Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."

Saying From the Desert Fathers

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God Is Still Homeless

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We build a church to God and He is still homeless because we have built it for ourselves, and our humble God sits on the step outside begging.

Brother Juniper

God's Holy Fool

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Catch The Wind

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A brother came to Abba Poemen and said, "Abba, a variety of thoughts are coming into my mind and I am in danger!" The old man took him out into the air and said, "Open your robe and take hold of the wind." The young brother answered, "No, I cannot do it." The old man said, "If you cannot do it, neither can you prevent those thoughts from entering into your mind. What you should do is stand firm against them."

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

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Scott Hahn Responds To Ralph Martin's "Spiritual Warfare"

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Fatima - An Urgent Warning

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When Temptation Comes

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Dr. Tom Ringenberg during a recent visit to the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio

But as often as you are tempted say with my permission seven Padre Nostro ("Our Father's").

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER LXXXVII


The Our Father in Italian:

Padre nostro, che sei nei cieli!
Sia santificato il tuo nome.
Venga il tuo regno.
Sia fatta la tua volontá.
Come in cielo cosí in terra.
Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano,
E rimetti a noi i nostri debiti,
Come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori.
E non ci indurre in tentazione,
Ma liberaci dal male.
(MATTHEW 6:9-13)

Tuo il regno, Tua la potenza e la gloria nei secoli dei secoli.

Amen.



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The Seraphic Order

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"The prophecies 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. Let us be open to the Spirit's calling of all people into the Seraphic Order of a monasticism of the future!"

John Michael Talbot

HERMITAGE

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