Find what you’re looking for
I have often reflected on this prayer, which—as Franciscan scholars attest—is indeed a prayer composed by St. Francis himself. And each time I pray it, I am more and more convinced that it reveals the authentic heart of St. Francis.
Work is an essential part of the human vocation, part of what it means to be incarnated with material needs in a material world.
Was Blessed Luke Belludi just at the right place at the right time, or was there something more at work in his happening to meet Saint Anthony and become his protégé? We would all agree that this is how the Lord works─through convenient happenstances.
Conflicts in the Christian community are occasioned by the love of the world, which involves enmity with God. In addition, these conflicts are bound up with the failure to pray properly.
There’s a wonderful upside to such disciplined vigilance: the possibility of becoming true craftsmen and craftswomen of the time we’re given.
There’s something attractive about Lent beginning in the middle of an ordinary week, catching us in the midst of our daily occupations and asking us to take time out to find God there.
When Francis of Assisi was blind, ill, and on his deathbed, he wrote his famous “Canticle of the Creatures.” What if we allowed the Incarnation to stir our hearts as it did for Francis, even when we feel lost or frail?
This week’s readings, says Father Greg Friedman, can be a good tool to help you plan your upcoming Lenten practices.
Without knowing a whole lot about Saint Polycarp, he has entered into the life of the Church because he was a martyr–a witness to the faith with his life. That level of testimony to the faith is notable.
Be creative in what you choose as external Lenten practices, but be certain they lead you to conversion in speech and action from a renewing heart.
