Solitude and Communion

Laurence Freeman, OSB April 2, 2020

At critical moments in his life, Jesus was in solitude, but was solitary with his close disciples.

Lent with the Saints: Bernardine of Siena

Greg Friedman, OFM April 2, 2020

Bernardine was acknowledged as a great preacher of the era. He had entered the Franciscans at age twenty-two, after spending time nursing plague victims in his hometown of Siena, Italy.

The Spiritual Path Is a Work of Love

Laurence Freeman, OSB April 1, 2020

Raising a family may be exhausting and seem to leave little time for specific “spiritual practice,” but it is all about other-centeredness.

Lent with the Saints: Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Greg Friedman, OFM April 1, 2020

Conventual Franciscan Maximilian Kolbe, imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1941, witnessed many fellow prisoners taken to the gas chambers or killed in other brutal ways.

In, But Not of, the World

Laurence Freeman, OSB March 31, 2020

Perhaps we never truly feel we belong to this world, even if we cling to it, make it serve us, and try to get it to accept us.

Lent with the Saints: Leonard of Port Maurice

Greg Friedman, OFM March 31, 2020

In recent years the Holy Father has led the Way of the Cross during Holy Week at the Colosseum in Rome. This annual custom would have pleased the great Franciscan preacher Leonard of Port Maurice.

Strive for Clarity and Compassion

Laurence Freeman, OSB March 30, 2020

Clarity grows with the spirit of acceptance and the purifying of the mind.

Lent with the Saints: Margaret of Cortona

Greg Friedman, OFM March 30, 2020

St. Margaret of Cortona was a thirteenth-century Italian orphaned at seven. She later lived with a man to whom she bore a son out of wedlock.

A Franciscan Response to COVID-19

Mark Soehner, OFM March 30, 2020

By now, no one needs to tell you about the impact of the pandemic we’re experiencing. There are a great number of inconveniences. There is also a lot of fear and confusion. Social distancing and the rate of change make all of our daily lives more difficult.