The Portiuncula Franciscan Chapel, located adjacent to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio (Diocese of Steubenville) is humbly committed to imitating the Gospel life of Christ, and observing the Sacraments. Placing ourselves under strict and holy obedience to Father Nick Ward, we follow the Medieval Penitential First Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis, dated 1221 A.D.
The Lord himself has not only placed us as examples and mirrors to others, but also for our own sisters whom the Lord has called to our way of life, so that they in their turn will be mirrors and examples to those living in the world.
Saint Francis was very happy that this place had been given to the brothers because the church bore the name of the Mother of Christ, because it was very poor, and also because of its name of Portiuncula. The fact that it was called the church of the Portiuncula was indeed a presage that it would become the mother and head of the Order of the poor lesser brothers. The church had been given the name Portiuncula because the aforesaid place where the church had been built had already been called Portiuncula for a very long time.
We should be worshiping God through His creation, rather than worshiping creation!
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All those are damned who see the sacrament of the Body of Christ which is consecrated on the altar in the form of bread and wine by the words of our Lord in the hands of the priest, and do not see or believe in spirit and in God that this is really the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Most High himself who told us, 'This is my Body and Blood of the new covenant' (Mark 14: 22-24), and, 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting' (John 6:55).
While St. Francis fasted from food a lot, he also had a great love for a particular kind of almond cookie in Italy. And on his death bed he asked to have these cookies. Here is a recipe for those cookies. Make a batch and celebrate St. Francis of Assisi:
Mostaccioli - An Italian Almond Pastry
1 pound blanched almonds
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon, or 1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Approximately 1 cup of flour
Chop the almonds very fine or coarsely grind in a blender.
In a bowl combine the nuts, honey, cinnamon, and egg whites. Mix thoroughly. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a thick paste. On a lightly floured surface, knead the paste until smooth and stiff. Roll out to about 1/4 inch. Cut into diamond shapes, about 2 1/2 inches long. Place the diamonds on a lightly buttered and floured baking sheet. Let dry for 1 to 2 hours.
Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for 20-30 minutes or until set. Do not let brown.
Yield: about 3 dozen
Starting now, the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center will be serving these at our "Come to the Quiet" Retreats in Jesusalem.
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"Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring suffering, insults, humiliations, and hardships for the love of Christ. For as they are not ours but God's, as the Apostle says: 'What have you that you have not received?'"
As a sign of holy poverty and humility, blessed Francis decreed that the churches of the friars were to be small and their houses to be built with only wood and clay. For he wanted the friary of St. Mary of the Portiuncula to be a pattern especially for buildings constructed of wood and clay, so that it might be a permanent memorial for all friars, present and to come, since it was the first and chief house of the whole Order.
But blessed Francis had it to be written in his Testament: "Friars are to beware of accepting churches, houses, and all other places built for them unless they conform to holy poverty; and they are always to lodge in them as pilgrims and strangers."
Wherever we are, wherever we go, we bring our cell with us. Our brother body is our Cell and our soul is the hermit living in that cell in order to pray to God and meditate. If our soul does not live in peace and solitude within its cell, of what avail is it to live in a man-made cell?
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The Portiuncula Chapel is having an open house this coming Monday, August 11th (the Feast Day of St. Clare of Assisi) from 10:00 to 2:00 located next to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio
Pace e' Bene! (Peace and All Good)
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When one honors someone and gives a feast, one offers bread and wine, which is equivalent to a lavish meal, a banquet. Sirach counts among the essentials of life wheat, flour, and blood of the grape along with milk and honey, oil and salt, and these are meant for a life that is not simply survival (39:26)…. Wine is a pleasure, a “perk” that we add to food. Wine is also simple and noble, and can be full of meaning. As a pleasure, it represents the useless aspect of life, [which] can be more important than the useful. So wine represents the poetry alongside the prose. It is like color compared with a world of black and white. It is like music compared with sounds and noises. It is like dancing compared with walking. It is playing compared with working. It is art and craft compared to simple technique. It is the humorous as opposed to the serious: What is the life of those who have no wine, for wine was created at the beginning to make us glad? (Sir 31:27). Wine is joy: Their heart shall be glad, as if drunk with wine (Zec 10:7); You make the food of the earth grow, and wine to gladden the human heart (Ps 104:14-15); Joy of the heart and joy of the soul is wine drunk duly and in moderation (Sir 31:28); Wine and music gladden the heart, but more again does love make it glad (Sir 40:20).
The last text suggests that wine is friendship and love. A new friend is like a new wine, when it is aged you will drink it with pleasure (Sir 9:10)…. Because it signifies love and has the color of blood, it also represents sacrifice [and is] suggestive of the mysterious relationship that exists in human beings between love and sacrifice. Love is not authentic if it refuses self-sacrifice. A sacrifice has no value unless it is born of love. Because wine is also gladness it reveals to us the joy and satisfaction of self-sacrifice for love. It is a paradox that human beings can delight in that for which they suffer, but love resolves the paradox. Wine is joy, it is sacrifice, it is love; it is the joy of sacrifice out of love. Finally, wine derives from the transformation of sweetness into alcohol or spirit. It enters our bloodstream as a new spirit or feeling, as a dynamism that liberates and encourages, as long as we take it in moderation. All this is the meaning of wine…. God accepts the wine [we offer] and transforms it into the glorified blood of his Son…. He let himself be trampled on and crushed. He shed all his blood out of love.
Father Luis Alonso Schoekel, s.j
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Father Schoekel († 1998) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and Scripture scholar. / From Celebrating the Eucharist: Biblical Meditations. Translated by John Deehan & Patrick Fitzgerald-Lombard. Copyright © 1988 by Luis Alonso Schoekel, The Society of St. Paul, ST PAULS/Alba House, Staten Island, NY. www.stpauls.us. Used with permission.
