Clare was born in Assisi, Italy in about 1194 into a family of knights and nobles. At the age of eighteen, Clare became the first female follower of Saint Francis when she left her home on Palm Sunday night in 1212 in order to be consecrated as the handmaid of Christ. Saint Francis soon took her to San Damiano where she anchored her whole self for over forty years. Because she remained rooted in one place, she liked to call herself the Little Plant of St. Francis. She was shortly joined by her sister who also had to escape from the family home and then in later years yet another sister and her own mother also joined her in religious life.
Saint Clare was the first woman in history to write a Rule. She took her form of life from Saint Francis who wanted to live the Gospel radically. She also chose to live with the privilege of poverty. This desire to live a rule of total poverty was opposed; it was said that it could not be done, especially by women. All the remaining years of her life she fought to have this privilege in her Rule of Life for her sisters. Only days before her death did the Holy Father finally grant this great wish. She placed her security in the providence of the Father of Mercies and trusted He would take care of her and her sisters through the goodness of the faithful. This has been proved true for over 800 years. (more…)
Fi News #113 – View From Mt. Lafayette (07min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
It took me a long time to get back to finishing this clip, but now it’s finished. I was able to get a lot done while waiting at the airport.
Mount Lafayette is a 5,249-foot (1,600 m) mountain at the northern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It is one of the most popular day-hike destinations in the White Mountain National Forest due to spectacular views at its summit and its location beside Interstate 93. The upper portion of the mountain is located in the alpine zone, an area where only small vegetation exists due to the harsh climate. -Wikipedia
Fi News #91 – F.I. Co Founder Fr. Gabriel Maria Pelletieri (04min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Here Fr. Gabriel is asked, “Why are the Franciscans of the Immaculate switching over to the “Old Rite” in the celebration of Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours?”
Face of Pro-Life #120 – Friar Gabriel Cortes and Corinn Dahm (30min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Friar Gabriel Cortes of the Franciscans of the Immaculate relates his journey in faith that led to his ministry with youth in Australia. He first talks about his early life, how he started to get serious about his faith and his calling to the Franciscans. He mentions the devotion of his parents, the rosary and Eucharistic adoration as factors in his conversion.
St. Francis of Assisi, after spending many nights in prayer on the mountain, offered one final prayer. “My Lord Jesus Christ, I pray You to grant me two graces before I die: the first is that during my life I may feel in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, that pain which You, dear Jesus, sustained in the hour of Your most bitter Passion. The second is that I may feel in my heart, as much as possible, that excessive love with which You, O Son of God, were inflamed in willingly enduring such suffering for us sinners.”
Praying for many hours afterwards, he suddenly saw a Seraph coming down from Heaven with six flaming and glorious wings. It came close to St. Francis so he could see him up close. When the Seraph did this, St. Francis noticed the image of a crucified man. In those moments, he experienced what Christ thought, felt and experienced during the crucifixion and he felt profound grief for His suffering.
And in an instant, the Seraph struck St. Francis and he was immediately imprinted with the stigmata, the wounds of Christ. The light from the vision was said to be so bright that many people saw Mount Alverna aglow most of the night.
Anna Arco visits the thriving Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Cornwall who follow an arduous daily routine of work and prayer
“THEY HOPE TO DRAW OTHERS CLOSER TO HIM.”
A Sister is called to her duties (Photo: Wayne Perry)
Lanherne monastery has always reflected the movements of the wider Church. Celtic monks first established the monastery near Newquay, Cornwall, in the sixth century. Later, the house became the property of the recusant Arundells of Wardour. They continued to have Mass celebrated there during and after the Reformation. In 1794, a group of Carmelite nuns from Antwerp escaping the French Revolution established a Carmel. Today, the brown habits of the Carmel have given way to the distinctive blue and grey habits of the contemplative Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate.
In 2001 the Carmelites found that their community had become too elderly and small to carry on keeping the building and its extensive gardens. But they were reluctant to leave a place so redolent with the prayers of the ages empty. So they approached the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate about taking up where they were leaving off. Several months after the meeting the new community was established.
Members of a new institute founded after the Second Vatican Council in Italy, the Franciscans of the Immaculate have a fourth vow alongside poverty, chastity and obedience. This is the Marian vow of total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Sisters see themselves as the Virgin Mary’s property. The Marian devotion of both St Francis and St Maximilian Kolbe shaped the vision of the founders of the institute. Unusually for Franciscan Sisters, they follow the Rule of the First Order rather than the customary rule of the Third Order Regulars.
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
December 15th: Feast of Our Lady, Queen of the Seraphic Order
Saint Francis’ Greetings to the Blessed Virgin:
Hail, Lady and Queen, holy Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin who became the Church,
chosen by the Father in heaven,
consecrated by His beloved Son
and His Spirit, the Comforter:
in you was and remains,
the whole fullness of grace
and everything that is good.
Hail, His palace,
Hail, His tabernacle,
Hail, His dwelling,
Hail, His robe,
Hail, His handmaid,
Hail, His mother!
O holy Mother,
sweet and fair to see,
for us beseech the King,
your dearest Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
to death for us delivered:
that in His pitying clemency,
and by virtue of His most holy incarnation
and bitter death,
He may pardon our sins.
Holy Virgin Mary,
among all the women of the world,
there is none like you.
You are the daughter and handmaid of the most high King,
Father of heaven.
You are the Mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ.
You are the bride of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us, with St. Michael the archangel,
and all the powers of heaven
and all the saints,
to your most holy and beloved Son, our Lord and Master, Amen.
St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663) Feast Day September 18th
St. Joseph was not considered too bright. He knew a great deal of suffering because of this. But his love for God, his love for the Blessed Mother and for holy things was extraordinary. This love was so great that it would often send him into an ecstasy that caused levitation. And it is said that, in spite of all his efforts, he could only manage to memorize a small portion of the Scripture he was required to know. But God has a way of doing things and this was the exact passage he was examined on. He became a most holy priest of God. St. Joseph is a patron for those taking examinations and also for pilots because of his levitations.
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Prayers to St. Joseph of Cupertino for Success in Examinations
First Prayer
O Great St. Joseph of Cupertino who while on earth did obtain from God the grace to be asked at your examination only the questions you knew, obtain for me a like favor in the examinations for which I am now preparing. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked. Through Christ our Lord.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, Pray for us. Amen.
Second Prayer
O St. Joseph of Cupertino who by your prayer obtained from God to be asked at your examination, the only preposition you knew, grant that I may like you succeed in the (here mention the name of examination eg. History) examination. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked.
O St. Joseph of Cupertino pray for me; O Holy Ghost enlighten me; Our Lady of Good Studies pray for me; Sacred Head of Jesus the Seat of divine wisdom, enlighten me. Amen
–Saint Maximilian Kolbe in his last letter to his mother.
St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) Priest and Martyr
Patron of the Franciscans of the Immaculate
St. Maximilian wrote: To bring about the purpose of the M.I. (Militia Immaculatae) as soon as possible, to conquer for the Immaculate the entire world and every single soul that now lives or will live till the end of the world, and through her to win them for the Sacred Heart of Jesus! In addition, we are to be watchful lest anyone remove the Immaculate’s standard from a soul; but rather to deepen constantly in souls their love for the Immaculate, to tighten the bond of love between them and her, so that they may become one with her, so that she herself may live and love and act in them and through them. Just as she belongs to Jesus and to God, so every soul will belong to Jesus and to God through her and in her in a much more perfect manner than would be possible by not going through her or without her, if, indeed, that were possible. Then souls will love the Sacred Heart of Jesus as they have never loved him up to now, because like her they will plunge more deeply than ever into the mysteries of love: the cross and the Eucharist. The love of God will be enkindled in the world through her, will set it on fire, and there will take place the “assumption” of souls through love.
The incredible story of a Franciscan friar past the age of 50 and with a bad leg established the California missions:
Miquel Joseph Serra was born and baptized on November 24, 1713 in the small town of Petra on the island of Mallorca, Spain. At the age of fifteen, Serra left home to enter the Franciscan University in nearby Palma to study philosophy. When Serra was seventeen, he decided to join the Franciscan Order.
Mission Down Under #6 – Divine Mercy Procession 2009 (7min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Fr. Joseph Michael went on this 50km procession from St. Michael’s Cathedral in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Marian Hills, Tarcutta, NSW. He was the chaplain (and cameraman) to this group of approximately 70 Catholics of various ages. The journey was spread over the course of several days, camping along the way.
In an audience at Castel Gondolfo Pope Benedict XVI addresses the Franciscans who have just celebrated the 800th Anniversary for the approval of their Rule.
Audio (MP3)
A Sister is called to her duties (Photo: Wayne Perry)
