Chapter of Mats

Peace and Good!
A blessed event with 2000 Franciscans gathered (about 1800 officially). A time of prayer and fraternal joy. And pasta. God bless!

Today You Must Rejoice in the Lord!

LAETARE SUNDAY is perhaps the most “Franciscan” day of the year. After all, Francis’ call was to a life of penitence, yet in the midst of that life he always stressed the importance of Joy (Laetitia). And this is a Sunday, on which we remember the resurrection even as we look at the Crucified One. So let us rejoice, do penance, and believe in the power of God! Amen.

Lent: What God Does

Peace and Good! It's mid-Lent, and I know I have left this blog bereft for a while. And that will continue, but if God wills soon I will be able to write again. But as Lent goes by, I think of what Francis said: Brothers, let us begin anew. For up to now we've done nothing. No, we never do anything. But Gods does a LOT. And Lent is a time to remember, recognize, and rejoice in that. God bless you all!

The End is Near!

Peace! As we come to Advent, just this thought. “The end is near” can mean different things. It can mean that the termination of things is coming, i.e., the second coming of Christ. In this regard, I think it’s safest to recall what Jesus said, “You do not know the time nor the hour.” Predicting the end of the world is tricky business, and unhelpful. Jesus will come when He decides. So we just need to listen to him, and be ready each and every day.
“The end is near” can mean something else. An “end” is also a goal. So, if we remember that Jesus is our goal (right now), then we can take comfort in the thought that the end is always near. A thought, I hope, to help Advent be a time of joy and renewed commitment for all of us.
The END is near, in our hearts and in our minds.
God bless!

Peace!

Pax et Bonum! Just to let anyone who still follows this that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. But life has been busy and I ask your prayers.
I will continue these musings as time allows and God wills!
Just a reminder: 1209 is the 800th anniversary of the first approval of the Order of Friars Minor by Pope Innocent III.
God bless!

Not Supposed to Happen

Peace and Good!
In the Gospel today all sorts of things that aren't supposed to happen do happen:
Jesus delays going to see Lazarus
"Doubting" Thomas expresses willingness to die with him
Martha is the one who goes to see Jesus and professes a deep faith
Jesus weeps...

But more than anything:

Lazarus, who has been dead four days, walks out of the tomb.

That's not supposed to happen.

But it does, because of the power of God's love and mercy.

With those who came out to console Martha and Mary, may we be led by this to believe in Him.

God bless you all!

Water from the Rock

Peace and Good!
If Jesus had told some of his disciples that he would be proclaiming the good news to a Samaritan woman, they might have told him that it would be like trying to get water from a rock! Which, of course, is what God told Moses to do. Lent is a time to marvel at what can do, what God has done and continues to do in this world. After all, if you had told the people of Assisi that young son of Pietro Bernardone was going to become a great saint, leaving behind his wealth and search for fame, they would have thought it was crazy. But God didn't.
God bless you!