Franciscan Spirituality

The Latin word novena means “nine.” Novenas are a form of prayer in which a person, individually or with a group, prays for some special intention for nine days.

It is common for religious people to attribute natural disasters as a punishment by God for sins. If that’s true, then God’s aim is off target because it’s usually the innocent who suffer rather than the guilty.

In our society, it seems that everything has to be bigger or the greatest. “More is more,” as they say. But the truth is this: size is not really that important.

The Gospels are full of moments in which people met Jesus, often in very difficult circumstances, and years later, the significance of their meeting produced marvelous fruit.