Franciscan Spirit Blog

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Carlo Acutis and the Gift of Presence

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Often attributed to John Lennon, this quote from American journalist Allen Saunders speaks to me especially this week of April 21, 2025, as I write this piece...
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Richard Rohr on Sacred Violence

Both René Girard and Gil Bailie have taught us that the most effective and common way to turn social hatred into social harmony is via a scapegoat.
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Catholics and Politics

If we want candidates of integrity, shouldn’t we be persons of integrity, too?
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Homeless sign | Photo by Timur Weber

Homeless Like Me

She had taken me for a homeless woman, and she was afraid of homeless people like me.
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Pray on the Way: A Pilgrimage Story

I went through Italy last summer. Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs took our group to places associated with Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Pope John XXIII.
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Statue of St. Anthony and Jeuss | Photo by Wolfgang Krzemien

Franciscan Inspirations: Memories of Padua

As the feast of Saint Anthony (June 13) draws near, my memories go back to Padua where I spent several days in 2014.
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People gather for Midnight Mass

A Short Christmas Prayer

The prayers of the new translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition have been in use for several weeks now.
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