​On November 29, we celebrate the many Franciscan saints who followed in the footsteps of St. Francis. It is a special day for all Franciscans to celebrate the feast of ‘All the Saints of the Seraphic Order.’

According to tradition, St. Francis of Assisi prayed the following prayer:
"O Lord Jesus Christ, two favors I beg of you before I die. The first is that I may, as far as it is possible, feel in my soul and in my body the suffering in which you, O gentle Jesus, sustained in your bitter passion. And the second favor is that I, as far as it is possible, may receive in my heart that excessive charity by which you, the Son of God, were inflamed, and which actuated you willingly to suffer so much for us sinners."

In response to his earnest prayer, the Lord appeared in the form of  a seraph, or a six-winged angel (They are usually considered the highest order of angelic beings, immediately above the Cherubim, and their special duty is to love God).

Then Jesus bestowed on St. Francis the wounds of his suffering. St. Francis had been marked with the love of Christ, the stigmata.

St. Francis died two years later in 1226, leaving the world the Franciscan Order, which became synonymous with the Seraphic Order. To this day, seraph wings and seraphs are symbolic of the Franciscan Order.

The final Rule of life for Franciscan friars was also approved on this day in 1223. To commemorate this, and all the saintly examples produced in the Franciscan Order, on this day all the saints of the Seraphic order are remembered at Franciscan churches.

Let us remember all of the Franciscans we have met and how they have influenced our lives.

Eternal God, our maker and redeemer,
grant us, with all the faithful departed,
the sure benefits of your Son's saving passion and glorious resurrection that,
in the last day, when you gather up all things in Christ,
we may with them enjoy the fullness of your promises;
We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
​Amen.

​St. John Capistran (John of Capistrano, (1386-1456,) is a good example of what a strong faith, active involvement in society’s most pressing problems, and skilled communication can achieve. The memory of this Franciscan friar, canonized in 1690, recognized as "Apostle of Europe" (1956) and patron of military chaplains (1984), is celebrated every year on October 23. Yet, some aspects of his multifaceted activity appear less attractive, if not controversial nowadays.

A jurist with an excellent university education in civil and canon law, John joined the Franciscan Order just before he turned 30, late--by the standards of his time--renouncing his promising career as a judge in the city of Perugia (Italy), as also to the prospect of starting a family. In a few years he became one of the most renowned itinerant preachers of the time, working alongside St. Bernardine of Siena in preaching campaigns reaching more and more cities of Italy. Together, they succeeded in what a contemporary humanist described as the "real miracle" of converting the increasingly secularized Renaissance society of their time. Their contemporaries found their words convincing and appealing, and their preaching had numerous positive effects on contemporary society, divided by factionalism and internecine wars. 

As the most preeminent jurist among the Observant Franciscans, John became immediately involved in the attempts to reform the Order, committing himself to writing new regulations and assuming leading institutional roles within the Order, including the Franciscan Third Order religious women, whose institutional foundations he laid. He became a direct collaborator of the Popes already under Martin V and Eugene IV, taking on the role of itinerant inquisitor, a task he carried out in close connection with his preaching, particularly against Franciscan dissidents, but later also against other heretics and infidels who did not recognize the superiority of the Pope, such as the Hussites of Bohemia, or even Jews and anti-unionist Orthodox. 

John was a very prolific writer, with an impressive literary output, including treatises, sermons, and a vast correspondence, that included letters to important figures of the time, such as Popes and cardinals, the emperor, kings, and dukes. A man of strong opinions, sometime overzealous, John was also a fierce polemicist, not only against dissidents against the Papal authority (the nature of which at the time was a debated issue), but also against certain humanists, who did not spare him their criticism.

Had he ended his earthly life in 1451, John would have come down in history as an undoubtedly important figure in Christianity, but he certainly would not have been canonized as a saint. From that year on, his life took on a heroic turn in the eyes of his contemporaries. A "grand tour" of Central Europe led him through what is now Austria, southern Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia, where he died, on October 23, 1456. During those years he succeeded in replicating the successes achieved by Observant preaching in Italy, but also in implanting reformed Franciscans permanently (why his cult is particularly alive in Central Europe). 
While revered by many as a living saint in the last years of life, he acquired even more lasting fame by his role in the defense of Belgrade in the face of an Ottoman army led by the Sultan himself, in June 1456, an achievement considered by many a miracle and a manifestation of God himself in human history (an imprint left by his "finger," as a biographer later wrote). It seemed incredible to contemporaries that the unstoppable power of the Turks, who three years earlier had conquered Constantinople and were marching to the heart of Central Europe, could be stopped by an army not even half as large in numbers. Yet it happened, and when he received the new, Pope Callistus III decreed that it should become a feast day (it was August 6, which became the Feast of the Transfiguration). How this victory was even possible continues to be debated among historians to this day. While some objective arguments are indisputable (as the shrewd defense organized by the brilliant military strategist John Hunyadi or the plague that was ravaging the Ottoman camp), the role of John Capistran remains unquestionable. 

John was not a warrior, he never wore armor (as some later representations portray him), nor touched a sword. Facing the Turks, in Belgrade, he held a staff surmounted by the Franciscan Tau, encouraging the defenders of the citadel to resist through his speech and gestures. He was a model and an inspirer. Many of the defenders of Belgrade were volunteers gathered through his preaching and were particularly attached to him personally and to the crusading spirit he was able to instill in them. He was confident in victory and his confidence was contagious for the other defenders, instilling in them the courage to hold out, even in the most difficult moments. 

The more skeptical might limit his role to the category of psychological factors. Even so, that also remains essential. For some 70 years the Ottoman advance was halted as a result, and John, by choosing to be buried in the nearby convent of Ilok, continued through his incipient cult to foster resistance in the inhabitants of the region. Warrior saints may not be very attractive in our days, but John’s life is still an inspiration for those who defend common ideals, such as freedom or their country. 
​
Dr. Iulian M. Damian
Senior Lecturer at the Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University (Fall 2022)

Celebrate with us the Transitus of St. Francis.
​
“Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, 
from whose embrace no living person can escape. 
Woe to those who die in mortal sin! 
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. 
The second death can do no harm to them.” 
—St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures.

Today, August 11, is the memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin and Foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies of San Damiano, which was changed officially to the Order of Saint Clare by Pope Urban IV in the year 1263, and today these religious sisters are commonly known as the Poor Clares.

She is the patron saint of television (yes, television), laundry, eye diseases and goldsmiths. She was born in 1194 and entered Heavenly Glory in 1253. On September 26, 1255, two years after her earthly death Pope Alexander IV canonized her as a Saint of the Catholic Church. 

This is the Blessing that is attributed to the Franciscan saint. The reason it’s attributed to her is because there is no real historical evidence of her actually saying it, however, within the Poor Clares tradition this blessing plays an important role for they cherish it as a reminder of their great foundress. The blessing is mentioned earliest during the year of 1350, where it was found in a Middle High German translation. This blessing is also very similar to a blessing she wrote to Blessed Agnes of Prague in a letter.

The story follows – As Saint Clare was on her deathbed, she asked that all the Poor Sisters at San Damiano come together once last time with her so she could give them, as well as all the future sisters of the Order, a final blessing…

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He show His face to you and be merciful to you. May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace.

I, Clare, a handmaid of Christ, a little plant of our holy Father Francis, a sister and mother of you and the other Poor Sisters, although unworthy, ask our Lord Jesus Christ through His mercy and through the intercession of His most holy Mother Mary, of Blessed Michael the Archangel and all the holy angels of God, and of all His men and women saints, that the heavenly Father give you and confirm for you this most holy blessing in heaven and on earth. On earth, may He increase [His] grace and virtues among His servants and handmaids of His Church Militant. In heaven, may He exalt and glorify you in His Church Triumphant among all His men and women saints.

I bless you in my life and after my death as much as I can and more than I can with all the blessings with which the Father of mercies has and will have blessed His sons and daughters in heaven and on earth. Amen.

Always be lovers of God and your souls and the souls of your Sisters, and always be eager to observe what you have promised the Lord.

May the Lord be with you always and, wherever you are, may you be with Him always. Amen.

Saint Clare…Pray for Us.

Source:

Francis, Regis J. Armstrong, Ignatius C. Brady, and Clare. Francis and Clare: The Complete Works. New York: Paulist, 1982. Print.

It may be said that humility is the most efficacious remedy for all evil and a most potent antidote to preserve the soul from that death and guilt which leads to everlasting perdition.  And yet it is this virtue which we neglect most of all.

O my Soul, God, who Himself desires thine eternal salvation, desires also that thou shouldst acquire it through humility.  “And humility goeth before glory” (Prov. 15:33).  Therefore, bow down and adore His sovereign Will.  When we say the “Our Father,” let us meditate upon that petition, in which we ask that the Will of God may be done, and let us apply that prayer to our own needs: O my God, since Thou desirest that I should be humble, “Thy Wil be done.”  Thy Will is done in Heaven by all those blessed spirits who worship Thee with profound humility; may Thy Will be done by me also!  “Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.” 

And in the same way, let us apply the last petition to ourselves also, saying: “And deliver us from evil,” praying God to deliver us and preserve us from pride, which is the worst of all evils, if indeed it may not be called the greatest of all sins.  For St. Augustine, inquiring into which sin King David desired most to be delivered from when he said, “I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin,” (Ps. 18:14), answers that this sin was pride, for pride is the greatest of all sins because it is the chief of all sins and the cause and origin of them all: “This I take to be pride, which is the chief and cause of every sin.”

We may say that one of the principal causes of our lack of humility is that we forget too readily the sins we have committed.  We only think of our sins when we are preparing for Confession, and even then we only think of our sins in order to sum up their kind and number, in order to make a valid Confession, but we hardly ever stop to consider their gravity, enormity and malice.  And even if we do bestow some slight thought on them, it is only in order to flatter ourselves that our sorrow is sufficient for the validity of our Confession; and what is still more amazing is that we are hardly out of the confessional when the remembrance of all our sins vanishes, and even the greatest sinner lives in a state of absolute peace, as if he had always led the most innocent of lives. 

O miserable state!  We always retain a vivid remembrance of those insults when we receive from our fellow-men, thereby fostering our resentment; but we do not bear in remembrance those insults which we have offered to God, thereby becoming humble and exhorting ourselves to repentance.  What wonder that we do not become humble, if we remain oblivious to these urgent motives for humility!

Let us remember our sins, not in order that they should make us overscrupulous, but in order to live in due humility.  It is for that same reason that Jeremias the prophet said that he who does not do penance does not practice humility, because “There is none that doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done?” (Jer. 8:6).  If we thought well over this – “What have I done?”  What have I done in sinning?  What have I done in offending God?  Our hearts would certainly be far more contrite and humble.  But few think of this.

We call upon the heavens to be astonished at us: “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this” (Jer. 2:12).  If a nobleman is insulted in some public resort by a low-born menial, the offense is considered great, and an adequate punishment is demanded for such an outrage; and yet it is only a man who has been insulted by another man, a worm that is offended by another worm, nothingness offended by nothingness.  But that this worm, this nothingness, should insult the Divine Majesty of God apparently causes no dismay.  “Be astonished, O ye heavens,” but at least let us be ashamed and humble ourselves for our insensate hardness of heart. 

There are two special virtues which the Son of God wished to teach us and recommended us most earnestly to practice – humility and brotherly love.  And it is precisely against these two virtues that the devil wages war the most.  But it is enough that he should succeed in conquering humility for love to be overcome at the same time, because as St. Augustine says: “You cannot attain to charity except through humility.” 

Pride is always ready to take offense, and with this disposition to resent slights and injuries, how is it possible to live in charity?  When we find two persons who are prone to disagree and to whom reconciliation is difficult, we cannot be far wrong in concluding that both are full of pride.  Therefore, it is obvious that charity cannot exist without humility. 

It is for this reason that St. Paul, after having exhorted Christians to brotherly love, advises them at the same time to be humble: “But in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves,” (Phil. 2:3), for well he knew that brotherly love cannot endure without humility.  For where pride exists, there will also arise contentions, quarreling and strife: “Among the proud there are always contentions” (Prov. 13:10). 

Let us accept the apostolic admonition, and do not let us blame others for their pride when they cause us displeasure, but rather blame ourselves for not knowing how to bear that displeasure with humility.  Let us begin by acquiring that patient humility ourselves which we desire so much to see in others, remembering that it is not through the patience and humility of others that we shall be saved, but by our own. 

This article is taken from a chapter in Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo which is available from TAN Books. 

From Friend Marinex,

​Attached are a couple of pictures from my parish's blessing of a walking bridge last Sunday. The bridge connects our community garden to the rest our backyard and the Tamarack Swamp behind it. The bridge itself was an Eagle Scout project that was done as one element of our Green Team's wider efforts to clear out invasive species and restore the natural ecosystem on our property.