Welcome To The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage And Retreat Center in Ozark, Ohio

Welcome to the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center located adjacent to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio

T

 

Before It's Too Late!

T

 

Gossipers Are "Biting Fleas"

 

Hating detractors deeply and more than any other kind of wicked men, Francis said that they carried poison on their tongues and infected others with their poison. Gossipers, therefore, those biting fleas, he avoided when they were speaking, and he averted his ears, as we ourselves have seen, lest they be defiled by hearing such things.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CXXXVIII

T

We Are In Exile

 

St. Francis felt like an exile, as long as he remained in this earthly life separated from God, and at the same time, his love of Christ had left him insensible to all earthly desires. Therefore, he tried to keep his spirit in the presence of God, by praying to him without intermission, so that he might not be without some comfort from his Beloved. Whether he 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.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IV

T

We Ought To Be Ashamed Of Ourselves

 

Look at the Good Shepherd, my brothers. To save his sheep he endured the agony of the cross. They followed him in trials and persecutions, in ignominy, hunger, and thirst, in humiliations and temptations, and so on. And for this God rewarded them with eternal life. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves; the saints endured all that, but we who are servants of God try to win honor and glory by recounting and making known what they have done.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE ADMONITIONS
Admonition VI

T

Appearing Ignorant And Of No Account

 

"Do not be afraid to preach repentance even though we appear ignorant and of no account. Put your trust in God who overcame the world; hope steadfastly in him who, by the Holy Spirit, speaks through you to exhort all to be converted to him and to observe his commandments."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions
CHAPTER X

T

Cleansing Ourselves Daily

 

In his present state of weakness man is incapable of imitating the crucified Lamb of God perfectly and avoiding all the stains of sin. And so Francis taught his friars by his own example that those who are trying to be perfect must cleanse themselves daily with tears of contrition.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER V

T

Devotion To Prayer

 

Francis regarded it as a serious fault if his mind wandered or was full of empty imaginings, when he was trying to pray. Whenever it happened, he confessed it without delay and atoned for his fault immediately. This careful attention had become a habit with him, so that he very seldom suffered troublesome distractions of this kind.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER X

T

To Those Who Are Poor And Despised:

 

God, the supreme Teacher, usually reveals his mysteries to the simple, to those who are poor and despised.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER XI

T

Parresia: A Quality Of A Monk To Perform Miracles

Athanasius comments: "For Anthony did not heal by issuing commands, but by praying and calling upon the name of Christ, so that it was evident to everyone that it was not he who did this, but the Lord manifesting his compassion to men and, through Anthony, was healing those who suffered." (Matthew 17:19 and John 16:23-24)

Vita Antonii 83-84

T

The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

Our Lord Jesus told his disciples, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. If you had known me, you would also have known my Father. And henceforth you do know him, and you have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known me? Philip, he who sees me sees also the Father (John 13: 6-9).

...It is the Most High himself who has 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).

Saint Francis of Assisi

THE ADMONITIONS

Admonition I

T

St. Bonaventure Sermon of October 4th, 1255

 

The Lord was pleased to endorse and to confirm the teaching and Rule of St. Francis, not only by miraculous signs, but also by the marks of his own stigmata, so that no true believer could possibly question them on external or internal evidence. And in his goodness God was pleased to affix his own seal to the Rule and teaching of St. Francis, who would never have presumed to teach or write anything other than what he received from the Lord. As he himself testifies, it was God who revealed to him the entire Rule.

Saint Francis of Assisi

St. Bonaventure's Sermon of October 4th, 1255

T

Let Humanity Kneel In Fear!

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

T

Keeping Silence At The Portiuncula

 

Photo of the Altar at the Portiuncula Chapel adjacent to the 

Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio

Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio

Saint Francis said to the Lesser Brothers concerning the Portiuncula; "Let them do as the old brothers did. This is already a holy place; they preserved its holiness by praying there continually night and day and by observing silence there constantly. And if they sometimes spoke after the time determined for the beginning of silence it was always to converse about God and the salvation of souls with much uplifting fervor"...

Saint Francis of Assisi

Legend of Perugia - 9

T

Observe The Gospel And The Rule

Photo of the Original Rule of St. Francis of Assisi dated 1221 A.D.

Francis admonished the brothers faithfully to observe the holy Gospel and the Rule to which they had bound themselves; to bear themselves reverently and devoutly towards the services of the Church and all ecclesiastical observances; to hear Mass and adore the Body of the Lord with devotion and worship.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Legend of the Three Companions

T

A Quiet And Secret Place Of Solitude

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

T

The Blessed Sacrament

 

Every day He humbles Himself just as He did when He came from His heavenly throne (Wisdom 18:15) into the Virgin's womb; every day He comes to us and lets us see Him in abjection, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the Altar.

Saint Francis of Assisi

The Admonitions

Admonition I

T

We, Wretched Creatures, Enjoy So Many Luxuries!

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 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?'

Saint Francis of Assisi

Mirror of Perfection - 21

T

We Are To Be Mirrors For Others

 

For the Lord himself has not only placed us as examples and mirrors for others, but also for our own sisters whom the Lord has called to our way of life, so that they in turn will be mirrors and examples to those living in the world.

St. Clare of Assisi

The Testament of St. Clare - 6

T

Welcome, My Sister Death

 

St. Francis 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."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CLXIII

T

Prayers At The Portiuncula

 

All are daily to say the seven canonical Hours, that is, Matins, Prime, Terce, Sext, Vespers, and Compline. The clerics are to say them after the manner of the clergy. Those who know the Psalter are to say the Deus ion nomine tuo and the Beati immaculati up to the Legem pone for Prime, and the other psalms of the Hours, with the Glory be to the Father.

Saint Francis of Assisi

FIRST RULE OF THE THIRD ORDER

Chapter IV

T

Intoxicated By Love And Compassion For Christ

 

Intoxicated by love and compassion for Christ, blessed Francis sometimes used to act in ways like these. For the sweetest of spiritual melodies would often well up within him and found expression in French melodies, and the murmurs of God's voice, heard by him alone, would joyfully pour forth in the French tongue. Sometimes he would pick up a stick from the ground, and laying it on his left arm, he would draw another stick across it with his right hand like a bow, as though he were playing a viol or some other instrument; and he would imitate the movements of a musician and sing in French to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 93

T

The Vow Of Obedience

 

A friar is not bound to obey if a minister commands anything that is contrary to our life or his own conscience, because there can be no obligation to obey if it means committing sin.

Saint Francis of Assisi

THE RULE OF 1221

Chapter 4

T

Fr. Stan Fortuna (Fanciscan Monk) at Franciscan University of Steubenville Youth Conference

T

The Early Portiuncula Skete

 

"Francis went to a place called the Portiuncula, where there stood a church of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God that had been built in ancient times, but was now deserted and cared for by no one. When the holy man of God saw how it was thus in ruins, he was moved with pity, because he burned with devotion toward the mother of all good; and he began to live there in great zeal."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
Chapter IX

Welcome to the Portiuncula Chapel, adjacent to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio where we completed our tiny little chapel on October 4th, 2024, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.

T

The Canticle of Brother Sun

 

Francis began THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN in the summer of 1225, at a time indeed when he was deep in suffering, but when he had already attained the mystical heights in his experience on Mount La Verna. But the joy he had experienced in that great privilege was tempered by the thought of how many men were greatly offending their Creator by misusing the creature world God had given them. "For His praise," he said, "I want to compose a new hymn about the Lord's creatures, of which we make daily use, without which we cannot live, and with which the human race greatly offends its Creator."

The first part of the Canticle, up to the verses about pardon and peace, he composed in the garden of the Poor Clare's convent at San Damiano, where he lay sick and in intense suffering for six or seven weeks. He then composed a melody for it and frequently urged his brothers to sing it when they were out preaching. The second part, consisting of the next two verses about pardon and peace, he composed a short time later in an effort to restore peace between the quarreling parties in a dispute between the civil and religious authorities of Assisi. The final verses about Sister Death Francis added shortly before his own death, after Brother Leo and Brother Angelo had sung the Canticle at his request. Celano adds that his last words were: "Welcome, my Sister Death."

St. Francis of Assisi
Omnibus of Sources

il Cantico delle Creature
(The Canticle of the Creatures - St. Francis of Assisi)

by
Angelo Branduardi

Lyrics

A te solo Buon Signore
Si confanno gloria e onore
A Te ogni laude et benedizione
A Te solo si confanno
Che laltissimo Tu sei
E nullomo degno e
Te mentovare.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Con le Tue creature
Specialmente Frate Sole
E la sua luce.
Tu ci illumini di lui
Che e bellezza e splendore
Di Te Altissimo Signore
Porta il segno.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorelle Luna e Stelle
Che Tu in cielo le hai formate
Chiare e belle.
Si laudato per Frate Vento
Aria, nuvole e maltempo
Che alle Tue creature dan sostentamento.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorella nostra Acqua
Ella e casta, molto utile
E preziosa.
Si laudato per Frate Foco
Che ci illumina la notte
Ed e bello, giocondo
E robusto e forte.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la nostra Madre Terra
Ella e che ci sostenta
E ci governa
Si laudato Mio Signore
Vari frutti lei produce
Molti fiori coloriti
E verde lerba.
Si laudato per coloro
Che perdonano per il Tuo amore
Sopportando infermite
E tribolazione
E beati sian coloro
Che cammineranno in pace
Che da Te Buon Signore
Avran corona.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la Morte Corporale
Che da lei nesun che vive
Pue scappare
E beati saran quelli
nella Tua volonte
che Sorella Morte
non gli fare male

T

A Thief Plunders The Riches Of Heaven

 

A thief climbs a ladder to break into the vault where treasures are stored. The soul, too, ascends the secret contemplation to plunder the riches of heaven.

Dark Night of the Soul
St. John of the Cross
Chapter 18

T

What God Achieves Is Not By Human Accomplishment

 

Saint Francis was the humblest of men and thought of himself as the lowest, most contemptible of sinners. In prayer he would implore, "Lord, why have you laid this burden on me? Why have you made a simple, unlettered, wretched creature like me the head of this Order?" And the Lord would reply, "I have placed a man like you over this Order to show that what I achieve in you is of my grace and not a human accomplishment."

Saint Bonaventure
Sermon of October 4, 1262

T

We Must Primarily Concern Ourselves With The Salvation Of Souls

 

Deep concern within the Franciscan Order today is that we are becoming far less concerned about winning souls to Christ than we are of pushing Social Engineering, Climate Change and New Age Rieke

"They then began to long miserably for the fleshpots of Egypt, which they had left behind; and what they had once despised with a generous heart, they now shamefully wanted. They were sad in walking in the way of the commandments of God, and they were arid of heart in following his injunctions...Gaiety filled their countenance; their gait was without modesty; their garments were soft and delicate, carefully cut, and even more carefully sewn...they had no care for spiritual exercises, no interest in the salvation of souls."


St. Francis of Assisi
Sacrum Commercium
CHAPTER IV:47
Lady Poverty Continues to Speak

T

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

 

The Chapel at Mogliano, Italy

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 grandur which he felt in his soul.

St. Francis of Assisi
Little Flowers of St. Francis - 53

T