Franciscan Spirit

donation box filled with clothes

The Spirituality of Subtraction

St. Francis lived the spirituality of subtraction. He let go not only of his property, but also of his status, his pride, his ambition, his ego, and his need to be right.

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Richard Rohr on Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton is still having an effect on Christian thought, says Richard Rohr, a longtime admirer.
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Young kid laughing | Photo by Sane Sodbayar on Unsplash

The Importance of Laughter

Given the year we've had, finding reasons to be joyful is a challenge. ​​​​​​​But the Bible reminds us that laughter is good for our bodies and our souls.
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Lent with St. Francis: ‘Let Us Begin Again’

Easter is a beginning, not an ending. And this Easter story from Thomas of Celano reminds us that for Francis, the challenge to remain true to the Gospel was one that needed to be renewed again and again.
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Lent with St. Francis: Dead to Sin

As we come now to the celebration of Easter, we recall that one of the hallmarks of Francis’s life was a deep joy in the love of Christ and the glories of creation.
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Lent with St. Francis: ‘By Your Holy Cross’

For St. Francis, meditating on the Passion was not some medieval exercise in masochism but a means of uniting himself completely to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, a way of living so thoroughly into the mystery of Christ ...
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Lent with St. Francis: Eucharist

St. Francis was absolutely devoted to the Eucharist. It’s one of the reasons he was so concerned about rebuilding and cleaning local churches, making them suitable homes for the Eucharist.
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