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Lady Jacoba (now Blessed Jacoba) was deeply struck by St. Francis of Assisi and consequently became a Third Order Franciscan. She kindly offered one special luxury to the humble man of Assisi.

Core to the Christian Gospel for Franciscans is the realization that the God of the universe decided to enter into our world, first through creation itself (Gn 1), then through the Incarnation (Jn 1), not because of sin or the ...

Punish me not … for my inadvertent offenses.” —Tb (3:3b) What a great plea from the Old Testament figure, Tobit!

hen we think of love, often the focus is on the love that is projected outward--to a partner, a child, a friend. But when do we stop and focus on ourselves?

Bryan Stevenson, an African-American, Harvard-trained attorney, writes: “The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion… “

When you think of the poor, is it someone unknown to you in a faraway land? That may be true, but that kind of thinking also puts a buffer between ourselves and those in need.