St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Feast Day is July 21st
“God is love, and all his operations proceed from love. Once he wills to manifest that goodness by sharing his love outside himself, then the Incarnation becomes the supreme manifestation of his goodness and love and glory. So, Christ was intended before all other creatures and for his own sake. For him all things were created and to him all things must be subject, and God loves all creatures in and because of Christ. Christ is the first-born of every creature, and the whole of humanity as well as the created world finds its foundation and meaning in him. Moreover, this would have been the case even if Adam had not sinned”
(St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Universal Church, Capuchin Educational Conference, Washington, D.C.).
ST. THOMAS MORE, a Third Order Franciscan, wrote this to his daughter Meg shortly before his martyrdom on July 6, 1535. His Feast is celebrated with the English bishop and martyr St. John Fisher on June 22nd.
Although I know well, Margaret, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God, I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me until now and made me content to lose goods, land, and life as well, rather than to swear against my conscience. God’s grace has given the king a gracious frame of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty. In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot, therefore, mistrust the grace of God.
By the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my reward in heaven besides.
I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.
And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall, therefore, with good hope commit myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy.
And, therefore, my own good daughter, do not let you mind be troubled over anything that shall happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be the best.
Homily #100428 (10min) Play – Bl. Lucius (Luchesius) was a Third Order Franciscan who lived in Tuscany in the 1200′s with many similarities to St. Francis in his upbringing. He was reputed to be the very first Third Order Franciscan when St. Francis came to visit him and his wife. Fr. Angelo uses the example of Bl. Luchesius to preach on the need to give God the first fruits of our life.
from the film about
St. Anthony of Padua.
‘Antonio guerriero di Dio’(2006)
Saint Anthony was canonized (declared a saint) less than one year after his death.
There is perhaps no more loved and admired saint in the Catholic Church than Saint Anthony of Padua, a Doctor of the Church. Though his work was in Italy, he was born in Portugal. He first joined the Augustinian Order and then left it and joined the Franciscan Order in 1221, when he was 26 years old. The reason he became a Franciscan was because of the death of the five Franciscan protomartyrs — St. Bernard, St. Peter, St. Otho, St. Accursius, and St. Adjutus — who shed their blood for the Catholic Faith in the year 1220, in Morocco, in North Africa, and whose headless and mutilated bodies had been brought to St. Anthony’s monastery on their way back for burial. St. Anthony became a Franciscan in the hope of shedding his own blood and becoming a martyr. He lived only ten years after joining the Franciscan Order.
The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici, present:
A MARIAN SYMPOSIUM
MARY: COREDEMPTRIX, MEDIATRIX, ADVOCATE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010
9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
La Crosse, Wisconsin
HIS EMINENCE LUIS CARDINAL APONTE MARTINEZ – Archbishop Emeritus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
HIS EXCELLENCY ARCHBISHOP RAYMOND L. BURKE – Prefect, Apostolic Signatura, Rome
MSGR. ARTHUR B. CALKINS – Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mariologist
DR. MARK I. MIRAVALLE – Franciscan University of Steubenville, President of Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici
MC: DREW MARIANI – Journalist and Talk Show Host, Relevant Radio
On our trip for the March for Life in 2009, Father Angelo Mary Geiger, brought us to this beautiful Monastery. It is a must see if you ever visit D.C.. It is the closest place to the Holy Land we have here. The interior along with the grounds of the Monastery are beautiful.
Homily #100116 (05min) Play – St Berard and Companions were the first martyrs in the Franciscan Order when they were killed after having preached to the Mohammedans. Father explains that martyrdom is the ideal in that it is the ultimate sacrifice and so the ultimate love and sanctity. He further explains that we are all called to martyrdom but more to the martyrdom by “slow fire”.
Ave Maria! St Berard and Comp – Mass: EF – Readings: 1st: 1co 4:9-14 – Gsp: mat 10:16-22
Homily #100112 (05min) Play – Today we celebrate the feast of Bl. Oderic of Portunaone who was a Franciscan priest who traveled all the way to China to preach the Gospel in the early 1300′s. Thus he lived the message in the Catechism on Paragraph 74 which teaches that God wants all men to be saved. This underscores today’s Gospel where Our Lord says:
The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest.
Let us remember to pray for more missionary priests to reap this great harvest.
Ave Maria! Bl. Oderic of Portunaone – Mass: EF, – Readings: 1st: 1th 2:2-9 – Gsp: mat 9:35-38
Homily #100111 (03min) Play – St Thomas of Cori was a Franciscan priest who lived in Italy in the 1700′s exemplifying the holy, humble life.
Ave Maria! St Thomas of Cori, Confessor – Mass: EF, Common of a Confessor not a Bishop I, Os Iusti – Readings: 1st: sir 31:8-11 – Gsp: luk 12:35-40
Homily #100107 (06min) Play – The wisdom of God shows forth in a humble uneducated Franciscan brother. Note from the Editor: A few years before St. Charles entered religious life, he made a private vow of chastity in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Did he receive consolations from our Blessed Mother for this…NOT AT ALL…he received what was to help him grow in the virtue chastity…extreme temptations against purity.
Ave Maria! Saint Charles of Sezze – Mass: EF, Common of a Confessor not a Bishop II, Iustus Ut Palma – Readings: 1st: 1co 4:9-14 – Gsp: luk 12:32-34
Homily #091215 (08min) Play – Today is the feast of Our Lady Queen of the Seraphic Order where we Franciscan celebrate Mary as Queen of our order. Fr. Angelo recalls the role that Franciscans played in defending the titles of Our Lady in the Church, including the Immaculate Conception and many other ways that Franciscans honor Our Lady.
Ave Maria! Our Lady Queen of the Seraphic Order – Mass: EF, Egredimini Et – Readings: 1st: sir 24:11–13, 15-19 – Gsp: luk 1:26–33
Homily #091128 (05min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the need to avoid vice and give true worship of God. This is especially important as we approach Advent. Today is the feast day of St. James of the March Franciscan preacher.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
1: Dan 7:15-27
R: Dan 3:82-87
G: Lk 21:34-36
Audio (MP3)
