"CUM GRANDE HUMILITATE!"

"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."

A special "Thank you!"
Goes out to
John Michael Talbot
for giving us permission
to use his song on our
"Come to the Quiet"
You Tube Video
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Saturday, November 16, 2019

A WARNING: If You Return To Your Vomit

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"To the honor and glory of Almighty God, hear the truth I announce to you. If every one of you confesses his sins and brings forth fruits befitting repentance, I give you my word that every pestilence will depart and the Lord, looking kindly upon you, will grant you an increase of temporal goods. But hear this also; again I announce to you that if you are ungrateful for his gifts and return to your vomit, the plague will be renewed, your punishment will be doubled, and even greater wrath will be let loose against you."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
CHAPTER VII



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Brother Ass And St. Francis

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by
JOHN BANISTER TABB


It came to pass
That "Brother Ass"
(As he his Body named,)
Unto the Saint Thus made complaint:
"I am unjustly blamed. "

Whate'er I do,

Like Balaam you
Requite me with a blow,
As for offense
To recompense
An ignominious foe.

"God made us one,
And I have done
No wickedness alone;
Nor can I do
Apart, as you,
An evil all my own.

"If Passion stir,

'Tis you that spur
My frenzy to the goal:

Then be the blame
Where sits the shame,

Upon the goading soul.

"Should one or both

Be blind or loth
Our brotherhood to see,
Remember this,

You needs must miss
Or enter heaven through me."


To this complaint

The lowly saint

In tears replied, "Alas,

If so it be,
God punish me

And bless thee,
Brother Ass."




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Spiritual Revolution

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(Photo taken at the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio)


The desert is a place of spiritual revolution, not of personal retreat. It is a place of inner protest, not outward peace. It is a place of deep encounter, not of superficial escape. It is a place of repentance, not recuperation. Living in the desert does not mean living without people; it means living for God. Antony and the other desert dwellers never forgot this. They never sought to cut off their connections to other people instantly. They sought rather to refine these relationships increasingly.

Of course, the desert was, on a deeper level, always more than simply a place. It was a way. And it was not the desert that made the Desert Fathers and Mothers, any more than it was the lion that made the martyrs.

In the Heart of the Desert
Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis



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"Listen" And "Silent" Are Spelled With The Same Letters

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(Photo taken at 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 with God and to cleanse himself of any dust that may have clung to him for his association with men.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER I



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St. Francis of Assisi Built The Very First Nativity Scene

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What Francis did on the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ near the little town called Greccio in the third year before his glorious death should be especially noted and recalled with reverent memory. In that place there was a certain man named John, of good reputation and an even better life, whom blessed Francis loved with a special love, for in the place where he lived he held a noble and honorable position in as much as he had trampled upon the nobility of his birth and pursued nobility of soul. Blessed Francis sent for this man, as he often did, about fifteen days before the birth of the Lord, and he said to him: "If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed." When the good and faithful man heard these things, he ran with haste and prepared in that place all the things the saint had told him.

...The manger was prepared, the hay had been brought, the ox and the ass were led in. There simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made, as it were, a new Bethlehem.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXX


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Thursday, November 14, 2019

No Need To Comment Any Further...;.

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The Sermon of Francis



by
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Up soared the lark into the air,
A shaft of song, a wing'ed prayer,
As if a soul, released from pain,
Were flying back to heaven again.

Saint Francis heard; it was to him
An emblem of the Seraphim;
The upward motion of the fire,
The light, the heat, the heart's desire.

Around Assisi's convent gate
The birds, God's poor who cannot wait,
From moor and mere and darksome wood
Came flocking for the dole of food.

"O brother birds," Saint Francis said,
"Ye come to me and ask for bread,
But not with bread alone today
Shall ye be fed and sent away.

"Ye shall be fed, ye happy birds,
With manna of celestial words;
Not mine, though mine they seem to be,
Not mine, though they be spoken through me.

"O doubly are ye bound to praise
The great Creator in your lays;
He giveth you your plumes of down,
Your cromson hoods, your cloaks of brown.

"He giveth you your wings to fly
And breathe a purer air on high,
And careth for you everywhere,
Who for yourselves so little care!"

With flutter of swift wings and songs
Together rose the feathered throngs,
And singing scattered far apart;
Deep peace was in St. Francis' heart.

He knew not if the brotherhood
His homily had understood;
He only knew that to one ear
The meaning of his words was clear.


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A Thief Climbs A Ladder To Rob And Steal

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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

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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Who did Gary Varvel do best, me or Vice President Mike Pence?

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Footprints In The Water

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To say that the road the soul travels to God is through the sea (the Prophet Baruch) and that His footsteps are in the many waters and so unknowable is to say that the way to God is as hidden to the inner senses as would be footprints on the water of the outer senses. The traces God leaves on the souls He wants to bring to Himself are unrecognizable. Secret.

St. John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul
Night of the Spirit

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We Are Mirrors For Those Living In The World

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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 their turn will be mirrors and examples for those living in the world.

Saint Clare of Assisi
The Testament of St. Clare - 6

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"My God And My All!"

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Looking up to heaven and raising his hands, he prayed with intense fervor and devotion, saying: "My God and my all!" And he sobbed out those words with so many tears and kept repeating them with such devout persistence that until matins he said nothing but "My God and my all!"

Saint Francis of Assisi
Little Flowers of St. Francis - 2 

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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

With How Great Reverence Christ Is To Be Received

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"Many run to sundry places to visit the relics of saints, and are astonished to hear their wonderful works; they behold the noble church buildings and kiss their sacred bones, wrapt up in silk and gold. And behold I have Thee here present on the altar, my God, the Saint of saints, the Creator of men, and the Lord of angels...But here, in the Sacrament of the Altar, Thou art wholly present, my God, the man Christ Jesus; where also the fruit of eternal salvation is plentifully reaped, as often as Thou art worthily and devoutly received."

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Thomas A' Kempis


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Saturday, November 09, 2019

No Long Winded Sermons: St. Francis of Assisi

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"St. Francis was convinced that leading sinners to conversion was more acceptable to the merciful Father than any sacrifice, particularly if it was done in a spirit of perfect charity, more by example than by preaching, more by fervent prayer than by long-winded sermons."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
Chapter VIII



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The Suffering And Death Of A Worldly Cleric


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At one time, when St. Francis of Assisi lay ill in the bishops' palace in Rieti, Italy, a certain cleric, a dissolute and worldly man, was struck ill and lay in bed in immense suffering. He instructed others to carry him on a gurney before St. Francis and tearfully begged Francis to bless him with the sign of the cross. Francis said to the cleric, "Since you lived in the past according to the desires of the flesh, not according to to the judgments of God, why should I sign you with the sign of the cross?" Francis continued, "I sign you in the name of Christ; but know that you will suffer worse things if after you are delivered to return to your vomit." Francis again continued, "Because of the sin of ingratitude worse things than the first are inflicted." After Francis had made the sign of the cross over the cleric, the man arose completely healed, and broke out into praise, proclaiming, "I am freed!" However, the bones in his loins popped and crackled like sticks of dry wood being broken by hand.

After a short time, the cleric gave his body again to impurity. Then one evening after dining with another of his fellow clerics and slept there that night, all of a sudden the roof of the house collapsed on top of them. Everyone escaped the house but the wretched cleric who was cut in half.

Saint Francis of Asasisi
Celano, Second Life




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Praise of Sister Death: Thirty Second Sunday Of Ordinary Time

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Blessed Francis, despite the overpowering burden of his sickness, praised the Lord in a great joyful outburst of body and soul, saying to his companion: "Since I must soon die, have Brother Angelo and Brother Leo come and praise our Sister Death for me." Both arrived, and, forcing back their tears, sang the Canticle of Brother Sun and of other creatures, which the saint had composed during his sickness for the glory of God and for the consolation of his soul and of that of the others. Before the last strophe, they added a few verses on our Sister Death to his canticle:

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,

From whose embrace no mortal can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Happy those She finds doing your will!

The second death can do no harm to them.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 100


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Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Lay The Axe To The Root!

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"But let us lay the axe to the root, that, being purged from passions, we may possess a quiet mind."

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Thomas A' Kempis

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Gossipers Have No Time For God



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If we would simply withdraw ourselves from unnecessary chatter and lazy idleness with those around us, as listening to idle talk, news reports and poking our noses into other people's business, then we would be able to find sufficient time to concentrate more fully in meditating on holy things that are pleasing to God (as well as to our neighbors.)

Saint Francis of Assisi took said it best when he said, "Blessed that religious who finds all his joy and happiness in the words and deeds of our Lord and uses them to make people love God gladly. Woe to the religious who amuses himself with silly gossip, trying to make people laugh."

Chris Dickson

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Tuesday, November 05, 2019

An Admonition

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"In truth, sublime words make not a man holy and just: but a virtuous like maketh him dear to God. I would rather feel compunction, than know its definition."

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Thomas A' Kempis

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Shepherds Don't Make Sheep, Sheep Make Sheep!






All one has to do is see what Kanye West's followers are doing. Now that Kanye has become a staunch Christian and has released his new Christian Album, thousands of young people have given their lives over to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. 

You don't have to have an appreciation of his music in order to have an appreciation of his message and see the good that he is doing in people's lives.

I only wish more of our pastors could get half as fired up with the Holy Spirit and begin leading our youth to Christ as Kanye West is doing.

Pace e Bene, Kanye!

Chris Dickson

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Sunday, November 03, 2019

Do You Want Peace And Joy In Your Life?



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"For the Kingdom of God is peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, which is not given to the wicked. "(Romans 14:17)

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Thomas A' Kempis

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Justice And Mercy


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"The selfish, the petty, the cowardly are easily and accurately ranked inferior to the generous, the great souled, the recklessly gallant whose love does not count dollars, hours, sufferings, nor even life itself. In God, we see a love that measures up to the infinite lovableness of divinity, a love worthy of God...."

THE WAY OF LIFE
Confraternity of the Precious Blood

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PRAEPARATIO DONORUM


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Benedictus es, Domine, Deus universi,
quia de tua largitate accepimus panem,
quem tibi offerimus,
fructum terrae et operis manuum hominum:
ex quo nobis fiet panis vitae

Benedictus Deus in saecula.

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31st Week Of Ordinary Time: The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what is lost




Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel." In the Church's preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of a new life. (CCC1427)

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Wednesday, August 08, 2018

BEGGING FOR STONES FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST !!!!



The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center​ spent this past week digging up the old foundations of my Great-Great-Great Grandfather Johnny Burkhard's old Barn, Garage, Chicken Coops, Tobacco House, and my Great-Uncles house foundation to come up with the stones to build our little Adoration Chapel. We still need an additional 100 stones and are asking our Monroe County, Ohio neighbors to drop off any extra cut sand stones they may have lying around their homes onto the property adjacent to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery on Ozark-Eddy Bridge Road .....

Around my Great Uncle Dutch Martin's homestead...




Clearing next to the cemetery to pour the footer.




Remnants of the old garage where we found around 20 cut sand stones.



Remnants of the old barn where we found nearly 40 cut sand stones.



We piled around 200 stones in the field next to the house while we searched for more.




Our biggest surprise was the number of giant cut stones we found in the old Tobacco House!





Once again, adding to the pile getting ready to run  them to the building site.






Spreading the stones out so the Stone Mason's can see them all and decide which one's should go where.






After we realized we were probably around 200 stones short to complete a 20' X 20' chapel, down the bulldozer went into the basement of Uncle Dutch's foundation to dig up all the field stones in the foundation so that we can mix both the cut sand stones and the field stones together to make it look beautiful!

We are begging the good people of Monroe County, Ohio who may have one or two cut stones on their property to please drop them off in the pile of stones next to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio so that we can complete our project. 

Thank you and may God bless you all !!!!

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Chris Dickson, Servant General of the Franciscan Lay Apostolate in Jerusalem, Ohio

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Fra Chris Dickson, F.L.A.
Servant General 
Franciscan Lay Apostolate

I want to take this opportunity to thank my friend, Russ Pulliam, who first introduced me to Gary Varvel almost 20 years ago in the offices of the Indianapolis Star. Russ is the Grandson of Eugene C. Pulliam of the Pulliam Newspaper Empire and the maternal Grandfather of Vice President Dan Quayle. all of whom are devout Christian men of faith.

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Wednesday, May 03, 2017

A Very Kind And Generous Benefactor Has Just Gifted The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center The Blueprints For Our Adoration Chapel

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A very special "Thank You!" goes out to Mr. Jack Schaffer and the St. Francis of Assisi Portiuncula at St. Alphonsus Campus in Norwalk, Ohio, for donating these blueprints so that we can begin duplicating this Chapel on the grounds of the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center in Jerusalem, Ohio.

We can't begin to thank you enough for your kind generosity. 

God bless you all and Pace e Bene!

Fra Chris Dickson, FLA
Servant General
Franciscan Lay Apostolate

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