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Francis writes in his Testament:
"We must honor all theologians and those who minister the most holy divine words and regard them as those who minister to us spirit and life."
I want to honor your previous Spiritual Assistant, Fr. Charles, a true theologian and minister of God's Word. As I meet people in the parish they share with me their own experiences of Fr. Charles, who brought a humble spirit and life giving encouragement to all he encountered. I too am grateful for his joyful spirit and sense of fraternity. When Fr. Charles told me that one of my new responsibilities included being Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscans I must admit that I was a bit anxious. Fr. Charles eased my anxiety by telling me of the wonderful, gentle, and hardworking brother and sisters who make up your fraternity. I am honored to be with you and call you my sisters and brothers. I look forward to our meetings together. Please know of my prayers for all of you. I only hope that I too can minister to you a humble and joyful spirit that brings life.
Fr. Andrew
Selections from Little Francis Love Notes
By Erma Recine
The inspiration for Little Francis Love Notes comes from the life of St. Francis and his spirituality. He always made time and effort to see Jesus in everyone and everything. Here are a few pithy examples of how he did so!
So, let us put aside our own agenda for a while and let God's spirit lead us. That is what our Francis did and amazing things happened. So, I invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as our Father Francis did!
I can't fill God's shoes, but I can follow His steps. (I can handle one step at a time.)
I will celebrate that which I like most about myself.(Unless we're happy with who we are, we'll never be happy with what we have.)
I can't remake who I am, but I can strive to be the best that God made me. (If you can't sing hum.)
Even if I had everything in the world that I wanted, where in the world would I put it?
(Lead me not into temptation, I can get there by myself.)
To be more loving takes practice. I need to practice, practice, practice.
Everyday!!! (I can't do everything. But everything I do, I can do it with love.)
Hurtful things wrinkle my heart, but forgiveness puts it back into shape. (Sometimes we need a change of heart.) It's best to try and look at others from the inside out.
(God made everyone's heart the same color.)
Hope you enjoyed the few notes, which I thought you might like. How true we can't fill God's shoes, but we surely can follow His steps.
Closing:
May we all welcome our Lord Jesus and open our hearts to His love. Let us remember that Jesus came to conquer the darkness of sin and led us into the
light of His glorious Kingdom. May we always remember to pray for our priests and for the support of those who strive to fulfill their call to the
priesthood. May our dear Lord God, who enlightens our hearts be with you all. I pray you will be filled with peace, joy and lots of love.
Erma
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Reflection on the Scriptures
“You are precious in my eyes and I love you”
Isaiah 43:1-7
Sometimes it is hard to separate yourself from the world. For the world has a set of its own rules we seem to follow.
What is in.
Who is in.
Who or what is out!
What we should have and what we can not live without.
What is beautiful etc.
When we see with the eyes of the world, we are never good enough. We are never satisfied.We will always be seeking the things to make us feel and look better-perfect.
But when we see with the eyes of God, we see true beauty, perfection. If only we can create that “magic mirror” and have the ability to see what God sees.
It is our faith that helps us! The challenge is not letting the influences of the world infiltrate our minds and heart. When we let our faith lead us in our choices, in our thoughts we truly “reflect” the beauty God has bestowed upon each of us! Because with God we are always in and surely He is one we cannot live without!
If we are true to our faith, the world would have no influence at all!
Frances
Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to all the world.
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice,
Christ our God.
Destroying the curse, He gave blessing; and damning death, He bestowed on us life everlasting.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Destroying the curse, He gave blessing; and damning death, He bestowed on us life everlasting.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Christ our God.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast Day September 8th
The Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least since the 8th Century. The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of only two saints: Saint John the Baptist (June 24), and Mary, Mother of Jesus.
John the Baptist is considered especially sanctified even before his birth. His birth to Elizabeth and Zachariah is foretold in the first chapter of Luke, and it is also recorded (Lk 1:41) that Elizabeth felt the infant John "leap in her womb" when Mary approached her soon after the Annunciation.
The birth of Mary was also miraculous. She was conceived without sin as a special grace because God had selected her to become the mother of His Son (the feast of her Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8). The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, though generally believed throughout the Church for many centuries, was formally declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
The birth of Mary was also miraculous. She was conceived without sin as a special grace because God had selected her to become the mother of His Son (the feast of her Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8). The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, though generally believed throughout the Church for many centuries, was formally declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
There is nothing contained in Scripture about the birth of Mary or her parentage, though Joseph's lineage is given in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The names of Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, appear in the apocryphal "Gospel of James", a book dating from the 2nd Century AD, not part of the authentic canon of Scripture. According to this account, Joachim and Anna were also beyond the years of child-bearing, but prayed and fasted that God would grant their desire for a child.
According to one tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth is the same one in which the Annunciation took place. By another tradition, the Annunciation site is beneath the Crusader church of Saint Anna in Jerusalem, under a 3rd Century oratory known as the "Gate of Mary".
In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and birth of her Divine Son, and give honor to the mother of Our Lord and Savior.
According to one tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth is the same one in which the Annunciation took place. By another tradition, the Annunciation site is beneath the Crusader church of Saint Anna in Jerusalem, under a 3rd Century oratory known as the "Gate of Mary".
In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and birth of her Divine Son, and give honor to the mother of Our Lord and Savior.
