Franciscan Spirit Blog

St. Anthony of Padua

St. Anthony, Help Me Find…Beauty

St. Anthony of Padua, that Hammer of Heretics, serves as a model to me that I am to preach against any dualism within myself that blocks an openness to beauty.
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Man swimming in the ocean

Trusting the River: A Meditation on Fear

It can be agonizing to share what is deepest within you but then be met by apathy or rejection.
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Woman smiling | Photo by Parastoo Maleki on Unsplash

Who’s Your Neighbor?

Recently I was standing with my kids in the checkout line at the store when my son, Alex, fixed his eyes on a woman a few lines down, dressed in traditional Muslim attire.
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Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Sisterhood of Saints: Thérèse of Lisieux

When we think of Thérèse, we think of her “Little Way,” the practice of offering up even the most commonplace tasks to God’s glory. But the Little Way came no more easily to its originator than it does to us. She ...
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Sisterhood of Saints: Hildegard of Bingen

Surely you have heard of Hildegard, the medieval mystic, composer, author, poet, and playwright who, in October 2012, became the thirty-fifth Doctor of the Church—and the fourth female Doctor. 
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Sisterhood of Saints: Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Teresa Benedicta of the Cross may be one of the best known Catholic converts of the twentieth century. She was born Edith Stein on Yom Kippur and was raised Jewish, but she abandoned a faith life at an early age. 
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Sisterhood of Saints: Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri, called the “Lily of the Mohawks,” had virtually no traditional family support on her Christian journey. By some reports, her Algonquin mother was a Christian, educated by French missionaries.  However, before her mother, father, or baby brother could have ...
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