Fornication

If a friar is tempted and commits fornication, he must be deprived of the habit. By his wickedness he has lost the right to wear it and so he must lay it aside completely and be dismissed from the Order. Then he should do penance for his sins.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE RULE OF 1221
Chapter 13

St. Sylvester's Vision

By divine inspiration, a priest named Sylvester began to reflect on Francis' action, and said to himself: "Am I not a miserable man, old as I am, to be avid for temporal goods, when this young man despises and hates them for love of God?" During the following night in a dream he saw an immense cross reaching to the sky, and its foot was planted in the mouth of Francis, while the arms spread from on end of the world to the other. On awakening, the priest realized and was convinced that blessed Francis was indeed the friend and servant of Jesus Christ and that the form of religion he was introducing would spread over the entire earth. Thus Sylvester was brought to fear God, and he began to do penance while still living in his own house. Before long, however, he entered the fraternity in which he lived perfectly and died gloriously.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 31

Burning Sorrow For The Sins Of Our Enemies

A man loves his enemy when he is not offended by the injury done to himself, but for love of God feels burning sorrow for the sin his enemy has brought on his own soul, and proves his love in a practical way.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE ADMONITIONS
Admonition IX

Nothing Remains Unpunished

Blessed Francis talked with his companion, Angelo Tancredi, one of the first twelve brothers, and said to him: "Why did the devils beat me? Why did they receive permission from the Lord to hurt me?" And he continued his reflection in this manner: "The devils are our Lord's policemen. Just as the podesta sends his policemen to punish a guilty man, so too does the Lord correct and chastise those he loves through his policemen, that is, the devils whom he permits to do this work. It often happens that a religious, even the 'perfect' religious sins through ignorance. Since he is ignorant of his sin, he is chastised by the devil, so that his chastisement may serve as a lesson to him, and he may understand and attentively consider within himself how he has sinned. For to those whom the Lord tenderly loves here on earth, nothing remains unpunished."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 92

Refuse To Be A Thief

Once when he was returning from Sienna, St. Francis met a poor man on the road, and said to his companion, 'We ought to return this cloak to the poor man, whose it is; for we have accepted it as a loan until we should find someone poorer than ourselves.' But knowing how badly the generous Father needed it, his companion protested strongly that he should not neglect himself to provide for someone else. But the Saint said to him, 'I refuse to be a thief, for we should be guilty of theft if we refused to give it to one more poor than ourselves...'

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 30

The Lord Give You Peace!

St. Francis declared that it was the Lord who taught him to greet people with the words: "The Lord give you peace!"

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 26

Our Whole Beings Burning With Love

Francis burned with a love that came from his whole being for the sacrament of the Lord's body, and he was carried away with wonder at the loving condescension and the most loving condescending love shown there.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CLII

Make A Dwelling-Place Within Ourselves

In that love which is God (1 John 4:16), I entreat all my friars, ministers and subjects, to put away every attachment, all care and solicitude, and serve, love, honour, and adore our Lord and God with a pure heart and mind; this is what he seeks above all else. We should make a dwelling-place within ourselves where he can stay.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE RULE OF 1221
Chapter 21

Pontiff Says Contemplatives Give Breath to World

Calls Communities a "Spiritual Lung"

ROME, (Zenit.org).- Contemplative communities are called to be a type of "spiritual lung" for the world, so that spiritual "respiration" is not strangled by the bustle of cities, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today when he visited the Oblate Sisters of Santa Francesca Romana. He stopped at the convent after having visited the headquarters of Rome's civil authorities, where he addressed the mayor and other civil leaders.

Today is the feast day of St. Francesca (1384-1440), whom the Holy Father referred to as "the most Roman of saints."

After spending some time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and in veneration of the saint's body, the Pope addressed the sisters and students that reside at the center.

Referring to his spiritual exercises last week with the members of the Curia, the Holy Father said "he had felt once again how indispensable silence and prayer are."

He noted how the convent is located at the heart of the city, saying, "How can we not see in it the symbol of the need to return the spiritual dimension to the center of civil coexistence, to give full meaning to the multiple activities of the human being?"

The Bishop of Rome told the nuns: "Your community, together with the other communities of contemplative life, is called to be a sort of 'spiritual lung' of society, so that the performance, the activism of a city, is not devoid of spiritual 'respiration,' the reference to God and his plan of salvation. [...]

"A singular balance is lived here between religious and secular life, between the life of the world and outside of the world. A model that was not born in a laboratory, but in the concrete experience of a young Roman woman: written -- it could be said -- by God himself in Francesca's extraordinary existence.

"It is no accident that the walls of this environment are decorated with images of her life, demonstrating that the real building that God wishes to construct is the life of the saints."

In this context, the Pope stressed that also today "Rome needs women who are all for God and for their neighbor; women able to recollect themselves and give generous and discreet service; women who are able to obey their pastors, but also able to support and motivate them with their suggestions."

This vocation "is the gift of a maternity that is made one with religious oblation, modeled after Mary," the Pontiff reflected. "Mary's heart is the cloister where the Word continues to speak in silence, and at the same time is the furnace of a charity that leads to courageous gestures, and also to a persevering and hidden generosity."

A Desire For Glory

Let the brothers who are court chaplains take note of this and let them know that they have been drawn before their time from the womb of their mother.

A certain brother, seeing some brothers living at a certain court and attracted by what desire for glory I know not, wanted to become a court chaplain with them. And while he was curious about the court, he one night saw in his sleep such brothers placed outside of the place of the brothers and separated from their companionship. He also saw them eating from a ver foul and unclean pigs' trough, from which they were eating peas mixed with human dung. Seeing this, the brother was greatly astonished and getting up long before daybreak he had no more desire for court.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTERS LXXXIV and LXXXV

Do Not Tear Out The Foundation!

St. Francis did not build a church anew, but he repaired an old one, restored an ancient one. He did not tear out the foundation, but he built upon it, ever reserving to Christ his prerogative, though he was not aware of it, for other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER VIII

Welcome Everyone With Kindness And Holy Affection

St. Francis made three murderous robbers welcome with kindness and holy affection, and he consoled them by telling them many inspiring stories, and gave them back assurance that they would win God's mercy. Moreover he promised them that he would obtain mercy and grace for them from the Lord Jesus. He also taught them how the infinite greatness of divine mercy surpasses all our sins, even if they are boundless, and how, according to the Gospels and St. Paul the Apostle, Christ came into this world in order to redeem sinners.

As a result of these wholesome instructions, the three robbers renounced the world and the devil and his works, and St. Francis received them into the Order, and they remained faithful to him in mind and deed. And they began to do great penance.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Little Flowers of St. Francis - 26

We Are To Act Rather Than Teach

St. Francis said, 'The friars under obedience are much edified when their Ministers and preachers gladly devote their time to prayer, and apply themselves to humble and undistinguished tasks. Unless they do this they cannot admonish other friars without embarrassment, injustice, and self-condemnation; for if we follow Christ's example, we must act rather than teach, and our acting and teaching must go together.'

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 73

Virtue And Vice

Where the is Love and Wisdom,
there is neither Fear nor Ignorance.
Where there is Patience and Humility,
there is neither Anger nor Annoyance.
Where there is Poverty and Joy,
there is neither Cupidity nor 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

What A Priceless Treasure Poverty Is!

A Moslem took pity on some of the friars who had arrived in a pagan country and offered them money for the food they needed, but they refused to accept it. He was amazed, because he could see they were destitute. Then he realized that it was for the love of God that they had become beggars and refused to take money, and he felt so attracted to them that he offered to supply all their needs, as long as he had anything left. What a priceless treasure poverty is! Its extraordinary charm could move even the savage heart of a barbarian to pity and kindness.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IV

Mystic Monk Coffee - Helping the Portiuncula Hermitage and Birthright

The Portiuncula Hermitage is committed to tithing ten percent of their Mystic Monk Coffee Sales Commissions to Birthright (a loving alternative to abortion)!

Mystic Monk Coffee is roasted by the Carmelite Monks, a Roman Catholic monastery in the silence and solitude of the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming. The monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God. The monastery is inundated with young men who seek to leave everything to pray for the world, in a tradition at least a thousand years old. It is the monks’ great joy and privilege to share the fruit of their life with you in every cup of Mystic Monk Coffee.

What is the Carmelite Monks' goals in roasting Mystic Monk Coffee? They hope that this new monastic industry will help them to establish their Catholic monastery in the mountains of Wyoming. Catholics everywhere love coffee and why not buy their coffee from Catholic monks who are laboring to take vocations?

Every Catholic monastery has its own manual labor, a way to support itself by its own hands. Then it usually sells what it makes as its monastery gift item. Coffee is unique in that Catholics everywhere drink coffee daily. So this is a monastery gift for every day of the year. Catholics should find this as another way to integrate the church into their daily lives, through Catholic coffee. Every morning as they sip their coffee, why not think of the church and say a morning offering to Christ?

Mystic Monk Coffee is pleased to offer the socially conscious consumer a coffee that respects the value of every human life and the right and dignity of every person, especially the unborn. Fair Trade Organic is a decision to act with social justice.

The monastic life is one of ordered perfection, which you will taste in every bag of Mystic Monk Coffee. Passionate about perfection, no challenge is too great for Br. Java and the monks, if it will result in a Mystic Monk brew suited for the most discriminating coffee drinker. The Carmelite monks have mastered the ancient art of roasting coffee, laboring with steadfast determination to make each cup of coffee simply superb. Taste the monastic perfection in each brew, which makes all the difference.


The Portiuncula Hermitage is committed to tithing ten percent of their Mystic Monk Coffee Sales Commissions to Birthright (a loving alternative to abortion)!

Please remember to keep the pre-born in your prayers!

To order direct, simply click on the Mystic Monk Coffee Icon on the Left Side of this Page:

Rejoice In Being Despised, Reviled and Called Ignorant

Blessed the one who has no more regard for himself when people praise him and make much of him than when they despise and revile him and say he is ignorant. What a man is before God, that he is and no more.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE ADMONITIONS
Admonition XX

The Truth Spoken By A Few Is Not Believed

St. Francis experienced that it is a great evil to make known all things to every one, and that he cannot be a spiritual man whose secrets are not more perfect and more numerous than the things that can be read on his face and completely understood by men. For he had found some who outwardly agreed with him but inwardly disagreed with him, who applauded him to his face, but ridiculed him behind his back, who acquired credit for themselves, but made the upright suspect of him. For wickedness often tries to blacken purity, and because of a lie that is familiar to many, the truth spoken by a few is not believed.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER III

Make No Excuses

Blessed the religious who is in no hurry to make excuses, but accepts the embarrassment and blame for some fault he did not commit.

Saint Francis of Assisi
The Admonitions
Admonition XXIII

Rebuke Evil

St. Francis denounced evil wherever he found it, and made no effort to palliate it; from him a life of sin met with outspoken rebuke, not support.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER XII

Admonition XX

What a man is before God, that he is and no more.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE ADMONITIONS

Longing For Martyrdom

In the fervor of his love, St. Francis felt inspired to imitate the glorious victory of the martyrs in whom the fire of love could not be extinguished or their courage broken. Inflamed with that perfect love "which drives out all fear" (1 John 4:18), he longed to offer himself as a living victim to God by the sword of martyrdom; in this way he would repay Christ for his love in dying for us and inspire others to love God.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IX

Living In Peace With Prelates And Clerics

St. Francis always soght permission of the local bishops because the good of souls, which the brothers wish to achieve among the people, will be greater if, living in peace with prelates and clerics, they win the people and the clergy over to God rather than if they were to convert only the people to the scandal of the clergy.

Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, to Receive Pro Fidelitate et Vertute Award

Father Scanlan to Receive Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award



STEUBENVILLE, OH—In celebration of his love for the Church and his commitment to religious life, Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, chancellor of Franciscan University of Steubenville, will receive the 2009 Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award from the Institute on Religious Life. This annual award, to be presented on April 18, honors those "who manifest a strong love for the Church and a zealous commitment to the consecrated
life."

Father Scanlan graduated from Harvard Law School in 1956. It was during this time in his life that he experienced God’s presence during a walk in the woods and an interior voice asking, "Will you give me your whole life?"

After completing law school and serving as Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force he answered God’s invitation and entered the Franciscan Third Order Regular in 1957. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964.

After serving his religious order in various assignments, he accepted the office of president at the College of Steubenville, Ohio, in 1974.

As president, Father Scanlan spearheaded a spiritual revolution that led the University out of the moral chaos of the sixties and seventies and back from the brink of bankruptcy to financial stability.

During his tenure Franciscan University gained national recognition for its fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, infusion of Catholic values into the academic and residence life programs, and its commitment to excellence in education. In 2000, after serving 26 years as president, he was named chancellor of the University.

In selecting Father Scanlan for the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award, the Institute on Religious Life states that "one of his greatest accomplishments has been helping to form the hearts, minds, and souls of thousands of young people to live their baptismal commitment and to serve the Lord in their God-given vocation. Through his efforts in renewing Catholic education and providing spiritual nourishment, many young men and women have responded to Christ’s call to the priesthood and the consecrated life, as well as to Christian marriage and ministry within the Church."

Father Scanlan will receive the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award during the national meeting of the Institute on Religious Life at a dinner on Saturday, April 18, at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, in Mundelein, Illinois. Following the dinner, Father Michael will give an address: "Walking in the Spirit: Discovering God’s Purpose and Plan."

For more information, go to www.religiouslife.com or call 877-267-1195. The mail registration deadline is March 31.

"Radical Sabbatical" at the Portiuncula Hermitage June 5th,6th,7th

Those who live the life of Mary are to have a seperate enclosure
and each should have a place to himself, so that they are not forced to live or sleep together. At sunset they should say Compline of the day. They must be careful to keep silence and say their office, rising at Matins. Their first care should be to seek God and his justice (Luke 12:31). Prime and Terce should be said at the proper time, and after Terce the silence ends and they can speak and go to their mothers.

Saint Francis of Assisi
RELIGIOUS LIFE IN HERMITAGES

Renounce Self

We are bound to order our lives according to the precepts and counsels of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so we must renounce self and bring our lower nature into subjection under the yoke of obedience; this is what we have all promised God. However, no one can be bound to obey another in anything that is sinful or criminal.

Saint Francis of Assisi
LETTER TO ALL THE FAITHFUL

First Draw From Secret Prayers

"The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons; he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold." St. Francis said this is an office to be revered and that those who administer it should be revered by all. "These," he said, "are the life of the body; they are the attackers of the devils; they are the light of the world."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER CXXII

No Pets Allowed

The friars, both clerics and lay brothers, whether travelling about the country or attached to a certain place, are forbidden to have animals of any kind, either in their own keeping or in the keeping of others, or in any other way.

Saint Francis of Assisi
THE RULE OF 1221
Chapter 15

A Joyful Face Has A Greater Influence On People

By a joyful face, therefore, St. Francis understood fervour, thoughtfulness, and the disposition and preparation of mind and body to a ready undertaking of every good work; for this fervour and rediness often have a greater influence on people than by the good deed itself.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Mirror of Perfection - 96

Going Through The World As Pilgrims And Strangers

At the end of the chapter St. Francis blessed all the friars and assigned to each his province; he gave permission to preach to anyone who had the spirit of God and the necessary eolquence, whether cleric or brother. When all present had received his blessing, in great joy of spirit they started on their way through the world as pilgrims and strangers, taking nothing with them for the journey except their office book.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of the Three Companions - 59