Assisi's Charm Lies in its Beauty & My Friend St. Francis

All my life I have been attracted to St. Francis, for his simple, yet articulate way of preaching the Gospel. He was strange in many ways referring to himself as brother ass, preaching to birds, praising God, for sister death of our bodies. Yet, he really had a grip on how nature and man have been created by God to be in harmony. Back in 2003, Sharon and I had our first opportunity to visit Italy, which took in Rome, Tuscany, Florence and Assisi.

I have to admit, that even though we witnessed some of the most beautiful Cathedrals in Italy, Assisi was more exciting, spiritual, and like being with my friendly saint, all the time I was there. I must return again to spend much more time investigating the life of my friend.

St. Francis has had hundreds of books written about his life and times in the walled community of Assisi that dates back to pre-Roman times, inhabited by the Umbri and then the Romans. He is the patron Saint of Animals and Ecology because of his fondness for the animals, nature, and creation in general. His famous simple statue sits in our Flower garden to remind us that the world is blessed to have such beauty.

Perhaps Saint Francis is not given enough credit and attention on his literary works and his preaching that was so profound in many ways. His writings go right to the heart and bring out the best in those of us who participate in his spiritual works. His fans are not just Catholics, his famous prayer is shared by all. I like one of his quotes that seems to keep me on the straight and narrow. He says: "I have done what is mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours to do"

When I start feeling a little cocky about getting all my duties and goals reached, rather than rest in my laurels, I look at another famous quote by Francis that says: ""Let us begin to do good, for as yet we have done little".

I hope you have some time in the near future to investigate this wonderful saint, you'll be moved by his spirituality, his holiness, and the example he has set for all Christians to live by. His other famous quote is: "Preach the Gospel often, sometimes use words" In other words, do the footwork. May peace be with you and your family, Mike

"Take Courage, It Is I, Do Not Be Afraid" Have Faith!

Jesus said: "Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid" struck me as the key line in today’s Gospel. It drew my attention to two areas that all young or elderly Christians could reflect upon in our journey as we travel through this world.

The Fire within the Night is a song we listened to back when I took a Hebrew Scripture class. In my opinion this would be a great song to play at the Easter Vigil, a celebration of Baptism, Confirmation or possibly a funeral. It reiterates Exodus to include God saving his people, Moses leading the people through the desert, celebration, Gods judgment, Israel’s sins, idols and repentance. It is dark when we sin and light when we are living in Gods presence. Life is tears and laughter, peace and disruption, miracles, visions and dreams. This song is about life, but, more important, it is about afterlife. It‘s telling us not to grow weary with our troubles, God will put us first. Although we live in a sinful world of false gods, idols and dark times the Light will save us if look within. We all have those storms, I hear God best in the calm times of my life.

Jesus also said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" This was another area that made me think of the book written by Richard P. Johnson, PH.D titled The 12 Keys to Spiritual Vitality: Powerful Lessons on Living Agelessly: It lists twelve foundational principles of aging and spirituality.

1) Transform your attitudes about aging,
2) Seek love everywhere,
3) Delight in connectedness,
4) Live in the "Now"
5) Accept your true self,
6) Forgive others and self,
7) Let go of anger and inner turmoil,
8) Give yourself to others,
9) Celebrate your faith,
10) Discover personal meaning in life,
11) Make your feelings work for you, and
12) Achieve balance in your life.

I have no idea why I was thinking of these after reading the Gospel for today, however, now that I’ve written about them, I need to pull the book off the shelve and re-read it and sit back and enjoy the song of life. This would be a great shot in the heart for more faith, don’t you agree?

Have a blessed day, Mike

We Need A Miracle, Or Do We Have One? Yes, You're It!

This last Sunday the Gospel was about the loaves and fishes and how Jesus had the disciples distribute the food among the crowd of 5000 men, plus woman and children. Starting out with just a few fish and a few loaves of bread, it appears we could use a miracle like that today with 26,500-30,000 people die each day due to poverty, curable diseases, and lack of nutrition. According to the Bread for the World Institute 3.5 percent of U.S. households experience hunger, some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day. 9.6 million People, including 3 million children, live in these homes.

Going back to the miracle, you can only imagine how all these people ended up eating and filling more baskets with scrapes after having their fill. It can happen, and it does happen today. Let’s look on a local level for a moment. Many times there is a food drive and special push for the local food bank, or St. Vincent DePaul’s Society, to replenish their shelves so they can handle the extra load of additional people in need. (Like today) All of a sudden those of us who may be more fortunate come through with a check or clean out our cupboards to donate to these worthy causes. The less fortunate are supplied the goods, the shelves end up with more than they had to begin with, and the miracle has happened again, again and again.

The fact of the matter is that we are truly blessed in so many ways. Despite all of the ups and downs locally and nationally, however each of us have a moral obligation to do everything we can for the marginalized in this world. We can count on CRS (Catholic Relief Services) and many other fine Christian Organizations to take our contributions and to be part of the miracle, helping those around the world. On a local level, when we are overwhelmed by negative news of poverty, layoffs, and people losing their homes, we can do as Mother Theresa has indicated, “Your Calcutta is down the street, go love and serve your neighbor, that’s your Calcutta”.
Thank God for the ability to empathize with the pain and suffering of others so we can realize what our purpose in life is. As saint Nike says: Do It Now!