The Perfect Joy of St. Francis

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As I was doing some spiritual reading early this morning, I began to think about this thread and how it must not be left to die in the folds of this sub-forum, for Francis of Assisi is, if not an essential figure in Catholic Tradition, certainly a key figure along with the great Masters of Christian Perfection.

If you have not yet read it, I strongly suggest that you pick up a copy of Such is the Power of Love: Francis of Assisi As Seen by Bonaventure. It is part of Bonaventure’s Summa Teologica. We often think of Summa Teologica being the proprietary title belonging to the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas. However, there are three Summas in Catholic Tradition. The first was written by St. Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church and teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas. The second and most perfect Summa was written by the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas and the third Summa was written by the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure.

What makes St. Bonaventure’s Summa a most interesting read is that he approaches the great themes of theology through the mind, soul, eyes and life of St. Francis of Assisi. The Church not only accepted Bonaventure’s theological treatise, extrapolated from the life of St. Francis, but declared that along with the two previously mentioned bright lights of Catholic Scholastic Tradition, Bonaventure should also hold a place as a teacher of the Church, thus his writings come down to us as those of a Doctor of the Church.

His writings on Francis of Assisi are not meant to serve as purely biographical material or hagiography, nor are they to be interpreted to target only Franciscans, but they are presented to us by the Church as lessons in Catholic Mystical Theology written for the universal Church, for this was Bonaventure’s secondary intent. His primary intent was to preserve the life and teachings of St. Francis as commanded by the General Chapter of the Order.

Herein lays the complement between the Angelic Doctor and the Seraphic Doctor. While the Angelic Doctor presents to us the most valued and perfect lessons in Catholic Systematic Theology, the Seraphic Doctor presents to us the most valued and perfect lessons in Catholic Mystical Theology. It would be from this font of Mystical Theology that future Spiritual Masters would draw water, among them the great Doctors of Carmel, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Teresa’s first inspiration came from a piece of writing by a Franciscan mystic named Francisco de Osuna, who developed Francis’ Theology of Recollection in his great work The Third Spiritual Alphabet. However, Francisco did not draw this work out of nothing, but from his study of Francis through the eyes of Bonaventure.

We’re seeing here how God used Francis of Assisi to set in motion a new direction for Catholic Mysticism, which bore fruit in multiple expressions, most notably through Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Francis de Sales, who himself was a Secular Franciscan and very familiar with the life and spirituality of the Seraphic Father.

Catherine, as we know, was a Lay Dominican, which order was inspired by the Secular Franciscan Order, being the first true religious order for secular men and women. So impressed were the Friar Preachers by the life of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance (SFO) that they acquiesced to the petition of secular men and women who asked them to do for them what Francis had done for his secular followers. They too founded a third order for the laity. Even though the organization and mission of the two orders is different in most respects, the relationship cannot be easily dismissed, for we now that the constitutions of the Dominican Friars specifically mandates them to hold the Franciscan in high esteem, to see no evil in them, to learn from them and to care for them. We also know that all penitential movements prior to Francis of Assisi and even during his time, deteriorated into heresy, except his secular order for Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Francis’ secular order was the only successful model that the Dominicans could use as a point of reference and which Dominic would bless, because of his great love, admiration for and trust in Francis of Assisi.

Two thoughts came to light for me.

First, the great spiritual masters are all interlinked in the one Catholic Spirituality. Even though each of them gives it their personal touch, it still remains the one Catholic Spirituality or Catholic Spiritual Tradition. There are not multiple spiritualities, but one, with multiple emphases and expressions.

Second, God used Francis of Assisi in a way that was so remarkable that it is understandable why he is the most researched and studied saint in the Catholic Church and the spiritual father with the greatest number of followers in history. While he founded only three orders, today there are several hundred secular and religious communities that follow one of his three rules and who trace their origins back to him.

To conclude this post, one would have to say that when God uses a man in a manner that he influences so many lives and uses him to set off a chain of events that would change the face of the Catholic Church forever and inspire movements that would give birth to other spiritual masters, doctors and more saints, such a man should be studied and discussed by any serious student of Traditional Catholic Spirituality. This is only going forward. We can also go backward. We can look at Francis and see in him how he pulls together great spiritual masters such as John the Evangelist, Benedict, Bernard, Basil and Augustine. There are elements of each in the writings, teachings, rules and daily life of Francis of Assisi.

Just some food for thought and further discussion. Next, I will post a few quotes from Bonaventure’s work.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
 
A couple of things leaped out at me while reading this. First, it shows the long reach that Francis has had in forming the mystical portion of the Faith. We see that he helped shape the theology of arguably one of the greatest mystics the Church has seen (I am, of course, quite biased) in St. Catherine (who is often seen as the Mother of the Dominicans), and one of the greatest masters in apolegetics in Francis de Sales.

The second thing is the history of why/how the Lay Dominicans were founded, and how that relates to the synergy between the Orders. Dominic made his request for an Order first, which gave him a little a bit of a head start. Francis saw/heard what was happening with the Order of Preachers, which probably gave him an idea about what he wanted with his soon-to-be requested Order. A few years later, Dominic is receiving pressure that secular men and women want to follow his way of living and spirituality, and he is wise enough to see that there is a framework that is more perfectly functional, but ideal. He likely saw the successes of the Brothers & Sisters of Penance, and knew that if there were even more laity who would follow the life of an Order the world could be a better place. Changing the world while still living within the world.

Without the Lay Dominicans we would be without St. Catherine, St. Loius de Montfort, and Blessed Pier Frassati. Yet without the Brothers & Sisters of Penance, we may not have Lay Dominicans. Yet without the Dominicans, Francis may have thought that he would have to stretch out his ministry further into areas that would ordinarily be handled by Dominicans.

I look forward to seeing some quotes from St. Bonaventure, Brother JR. I will add his Suma to my ever growing reading list…
 
Melchior said:
A couple of things leaped out at me while reading this. First, it shows the long reach that Francis has had in forming the mystical portion of the Faith. We see that he helped shape the theology of arguably one of the greatest mystics the Church has seen (I am, of course, quite biased) in St. Catherine (who is often seen as the Mother of the Dominicans), and one of the greatest masters in apolegetics in Francis de Sales.

The second thing is the history of why/how the Lay Dominicans were founded, and how that relates to the synergy between the Orders. Dominic made his request for an Order first, which gave him a little a bit of a head start. Francis saw/heard what was happening with the Order of Preachers, which probably gave him an idea about what he wanted with his soon-to-be requested Order. A few years later, Dominic is receiving pressure that secular men and women want to follow his way of living and spirituality, and he is wise enough to see that there is a framework that is more perfectly functional, but ideal. He likely saw the successes of the Brothers & Sisters of Penance, and knew that if there were even more laity who would follow the life of an Order the world could be a better place. Changing the world while still living within the world.

Without the Lay Dominicans we would be without St. Catherine, St. Loius de Montfort, and Blessed Pier Frassati. Yet without the Brothers & Sisters of Penance, we may not have Lay Dominicans. Yet without the Dominicans, Francis may have thought that he would have to stretch out his ministry further into areas that would ordinarily be handled by Dominicans.

I look forward to seeing some quotes from St. Bonaventure, Brother JR. I will add his Suma to my ever growing reading list…
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I will certainly make time to add some things from Bonaventure’s Summa. For the moment, I just wanted to comment that I don’t really know, nor does anyone, how much or how little Francis knew about the Friar Preachers before he met Dominic at the Lateran Council. The friars knew each other long before the two fathers ever met. That’s an interesting little detail of history. The friars hit it off from the beginning, they often traveled together.

We know one this is certain. Francis never wanted to start an order. Dominic had a plan. So, he founded the nuns, then the friars. It was a very locial sequence. The nuns would pray for the preachers who would follow.

Francis, on the other hand, went to Rome to get his rule approved because the Bishop of Assisi insisted that he write a rule and take it to Rome. At the time, the Albigensians were running around spewing heresy. The bishop told Francis that he could protect him from many things except from the the label, “Heretic.” There were so many other groups living lives of penance that had gone south that the bishop was afraid that Francis’ little group would be judged before they left the starting gate.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
PS. The Lay Dominicans have every right to feel a sense of holy pride in St. Catherine of Siena. She’s the only layperson who is a Doctor of the Church. That’s not small contribution to the Catholic Tradition. She rose out of the Dominican laity.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
 
I’m currently reading St. Catherine’s Dialogues. It’s the first book that I decided to read when I decided to join the Lay Dominicans. Everyone associates the Dominicans with the systematic, so I wanted to focus on Dominican mysticism to start with. It’s fantastic in several respects.

It truly shows that the Holy Spirit was at work with the Franciscans, considering Francis had no plan nor intention of founding an Order. Consider also that Dominic had his thought out and planned, which is indicative of what most people think of when it comes to his Order.
 
I had to do a report on a couple of book reports for one of my classes. With the narrow guidelines I got I found this little scholarly book that I was rather shocked at. It is “The Poverty of Riches: St Francis of Assisi Reconsidered” by Kenneth Baxter Wolf - The good news is that none of the scholarly book reports gave him very good reviews. The bad news is that the whole premise is still that the poverty of the Franciscans is a selfish one where in the early days St Francis receives more from his contact with the lepers than the lepers do from their contact with him. He then goes on to say that because St Francis talks about receiving alms more than giving alms that this type of thing proves it. This same author also has a book out on St Elizabeth of Hungary - I was wondering do you know what his bias is against Lady Poverty if there is one present?
 
Melchior said:
I’m currently reading St. Catherine’s Dialogues. It’s the first book that I decided to read when I decided to join the Lay Dominicans. Everyone associates the Dominicans with the systematic, so I wanted to focus on Dominican mysticism to start with. It’s fantastic in several respects.

It truly shows that the Holy Spirit was at work with the Franciscans, considering Francis had no plan nor intention of founding an Order. Consider also that Dominic had his thought out and planned, which is indicative of what most people think of when it comes to his Order.
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Two things come to mind immediately.

First, Lay Dominicans at that time were part of the Penitential Movement as were the Secular Franciscans. It’s not until much later that the Lay Dominicans get into scholarship. This was because the Lay Dominican Order was built on the skeleton that Francis had created. Here is an important fact. If you’re a good builder, you’re going to take a good thing and make it better. The Franciscan movement would never begrudge the improvements that the Lay Dominicans made to the Penitential Movement. A good Franciscan is happy to see that Francis’ vision is appreciated and helped produce something awesome for the Church. Catherine is the greatest fruit of the growth in the penitential movement.

Second, If we look at the Franciscan and Dominican movements very closely, we see God operating through the heart and mind. The fact that the two movements are inseparable from each other is a visible sign of the unity that should exist between heart and mind in our lives. The Holy Spirit brought these two religious families into existence for the salvation of their members and as a prophetic voice to the whole Church, even those who are not Franciscan and Dominican. Their joint witness is that one must feel and know. One must deal in the concrete and the abstract.
joanofarc2008 said:
I had to do a report on a couple of book reports for one of my classes. With the narrow guidelines I got I found this little scholarly book that I was rather shocked at. It is “The Poverty of Riches: St Francis of Assisi Reconsidered” by Kenneth Baxter Wolf - The good news is that none of the scholarly book reports gave him very good reviews. The bad news is that the whole premise is still that the poverty of the Franciscans is a selfish one where in the early days St Francis receives more from his contact with the lepers than the lepers do from their contact with him. He then goes on to say that because St Francis talks about receiving alms more than giving alms that this type of thing proves it. This same author also has a book out on St Elizabeth of Hungary - I was wondering do you know what his bias is against Lady Poverty if there is one present?
Click to expand...
The problem that people have with Francis and Mother Teresa is that human beings tend to be utilitarian. Something is good if it produces something else or if it gives me what I want. Just look at how Catholics view vocations. If you look around CAF, all you hear about are priests and nuns.

First of all, most Catholics will never get to see a nun, since nuns are cloistered. But most Catholics don’t care about understanding the difference between a nun and a sister. They just want that woman, in her long habit and veil, in front of the classroom educating their children. To heck with what her founder wanted or how the Holy Spirit directed the founder of the religious community. “Those nuns belong in that Catholic school.!!!” Even though the founder said that they were to educate ONLY the poor and your Catholic school is middle class or higher. The idea of a woman living a life of poverty among the poor is lost on people.

Second, don’t even talk about religious brothers. They’re almost useless, because they can’t celebrate mass or hear confessions. If we can have a few to run the local Catholic High School, that would be good. Those brothers like the Franciscans of the Renewal, who walk the streets and sleep on the floor are not useful. The other ones, like the Franciscans of the Eternal Word who take care of technology, finances and even run the theology department at EWTN, they’re not too useful either. The Cistercian brother who is in a cloister, living in poverty, totally submissive to his abbot, and lays down his life on the cross for the salvation of the world, is never considered. Francis’ brothers, brought the word “brotherhood” back into fashion, in a world that was in conflict. If there is a brotherhood, then there must be a common origin, which is God the Father.

Given these scenarios, Francis is a sign of contradiction. He is and those like him, are not “productive”. Observe the quotation marks. These were people who begged along with the poor. These were people who saw Christ Crucified in the sick and the suffering and spent time with them. These are people who find Christ’s poverty and Christ’s passion in the poverty and passion of the world. As they work to relieve it, they give new meaning to it.

While it’s not true that Francis took more than he gave, the utilitarian mind does not see what he gave. In fact, he gave to the Church the largest and most diverse religious family in the Church’s history. Through this family he built great hospitals, universities, schools, parishes, soup kitchens, shelters for the homeless, centers for interfaith dialogue and he brought down the feudal world. When the number of Secular Franciscans surpassed the 100,000 mark and they refused to take part in wars or pledge allegiance to any king or any flag, because Francis prohibited it, the feudal Lords lost their armies. They had no other choice but to talk about peace. But to see what men and women like Francis contribute by their embrace of poverty, one has to be long-sighted.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
 
JReducation said:
Two things come to mind immediately.

First, Lay Dominicans at that time were part of the Penitential Movement as were the Secular Franciscans. It’s not until much later that the Lay Dominicans get into scholarship. This was because the Lay Dominican Order was built on the skeleton that Francis had created. Here is an important fact. If you’re a good builder, you’re going to take a good thing and make it better. The Franciscan movement would never begrudge the improvements that the Lay Dominicans made to the Penitential Movement. A good Franciscan is happy to see that Francis’ vision is appreciated and helped produce something awesome for the Church. Catherine is the greatest fruit of the growth in the penitential movement.

Second, If we look at the Franciscan and Dominican movements very closely, we see God operating through the heart and mind. The fact that the two movements are inseparable from each other is a visible sign of the unity that should exist between heart and mind in our lives. The Holy Spirit brought these two religious families into existence for the salvation of their members and as a prophetic voice to the whole Church, even those who are not Franciscan and Dominican. Their joint witness is that one must feel and know. One must deal in the concrete and the abstract.

The problem that people have with Francis and Mother Teresa is that human beings tend to be utilitarian. Something is good if it produces something else or if it gives me what I want. Just look at how Catholics view vocations. If you look around CAF, all you hear about are priests and nuns.

First of all, most Catholics will never get to see a nun, since nuns are cloistered. But most Catholics don’t care about understanding the difference between a nun and a sister. They just want that woman, in her long habit and veil, in front of the classroom educating their children. To heck with what her founder wanted or how the Holy Spirit directed the founder of the religious community. “Those nuns belong in that Catholic school.!!!” Even though the founder said that they were to educate ONLY the poor and your Catholic school is middle class or higher. The idea of a woman living a life of poverty among the poor is lost on people.

Second, don’t even talk about religious brothers. They’re almost useless, because they can’t celebrate mass or hear confessions. If we can have a few to run the local Catholic High School, that would be good. Those brothers like the Franciscans of the Renewal, who walk the streets and sleep on the floor are not useful. The other ones, like the Franciscans of the Eternal Word who take care of technology, finances and even run the theology department at EWTN, they’re not too useful either. The Cistercian brother who is in a cloister, living in poverty, totally submissive to his abbot, and lays down his life on the cross for the salvation of the world, is never considered. Francis’ brothers, brought the word “brotherhood” back into fashion, in a world that was in conflict. If there is a brotherhood, then there must be a common origin, which is God the Father.

Given these scenarios, Francis is a sign of contradiction. He is and those like him, are not “productive”. Observe the quotation marks. These were people who begged along with the poor. These were people who saw Christ Crucified in the sick and the suffering and spent time with them. These are people who find Christ’s poverty and Christ’s passion in the poverty and passion of the world. As they work to relieve it, they give new meaning to it.

While it’s not true that Francis took more than he gave, the utilitarian mind does not see what he gave. In fact, he gave to the Church the largest and most diverse religious family in the Church’s history. Through this family he built great hospitals, universities, schools, parishes, soup kitchens, shelters for the homeless, centers for interfaith dialogue and he brought down the feudal world. When the number of Secular Franciscans surpassed the 100,000 mark and they refused to take part in wars or pledge allegiance to any king or any flag, because Francis prohibited it, the feudal Lords lost their armies. They had no other choice but to talk about peace. But to see what men and women like Francis contribute by their embrace of poverty, one has to be long-sighted.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
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Thank you - that is what I was trying to sum up - would you mind if I used your statement - proper references of course since you are well educated in your own right? BTW - which advanced degree did you end up earning?
 
joanofarc2008 said:
Thank you - that is what I was trying to sum up - would you mind if I used your statement - proper references of course since you are well educated in your own right? BTW - which advanced degree did you end up earning?
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You can use it. It’s not real scholarly. It’s just some random thoughts from one who can barely read and write.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
 
JReducation said:
Two things come to mind immediately.

First, Lay Dominicans at that time were part of the Penitential Movement as were the Secular Franciscans. It’s not until much later that the Lay Dominicans get into scholarship. This was because the Lay Dominican Order was built on the skeleton that Francis had created. Here is an important fact. If you’re a good builder, you’re going to take a good thing and make it better. The Franciscan movement would never begrudge the improvements that the Lay Dominicans made to the Penitential Movement. A good Franciscan is happy to see that Francis’ vision is appreciated and helped produce something awesome for the Church. Catherine is the greatest fruit of the growth in the penitential movement.

Second, If we look at the Franciscan and Dominican movements very closely, we see God operating through the heart and mind. The fact that the two movements are inseparable from each other is a visible sign of the unity that should exist between heart and mind in our lives. The Holy Spirit brought these two religious families into existence for the salvation of their members and as a prophetic voice to the whole Church, even those who are not Franciscan and Dominican. Their joint witness is that one must feel and know. One must deal in the concrete and the abstract.

The problem that people have with Francis and Mother Teresa is that human beings tend to be utilitarian. Something is good if it produces something else or if it gives me what I want. Just look at how Catholics view vocations. If you look around CAF, all you hear about are priests and nuns.

First of all, most Catholics will never get to see a nun, since nuns are cloistered. But most Catholics don’t care about understanding the difference between a nun and a sister. They just want that woman, in her long habit and veil, in front of the classroom educating their children. To heck with what her founder wanted or how the Holy Spirit directed the founder of the religious community. “Those nuns belong in that Catholic school.!!!” Even though the founder said that they were to educate ONLY the poor and your Catholic school is middle class or higher. The idea of a woman living a life of poverty among the poor is lost on people.

Second, don’t even talk about religious brothers. They’re almost useless, because they can’t celebrate mass or hear confessions. If we can have a few to run the local Catholic High School, that would be good. Those brothers like the Franciscans of the Renewal, who walk the streets and sleep on the floor are not useful. The other ones, like the Franciscans of the Eternal Word who take care of technology, finances and even run the theology department at EWTN, they’re not too useful either. The Cistercian brother who is in a cloister, living in poverty, totally submissive to his abbot, and lays down his life on the cross for the salvation of the world, is never considered. Francis’ brothers, brought the word “brotherhood” back into fashion, in a world that was in conflict. If there is a brotherhood, then there must be a common origin, which is God the Father.

Given these scenarios, Francis is a sign of contradiction. He is and those like him, are not “productive”. Observe the quotation marks. These were people who begged along with the poor. These were people who saw Christ Crucified in the sick and the suffering and spent time with them. These are people who find Christ’s poverty and Christ’s passion in the poverty and passion of the world. As they work to relieve it, they give new meaning to it.

While it’s not true that Francis took more than he gave, the utilitarian mind does not see what he gave. In fact, he gave to the Church the largest and most diverse religious family in the Church’s history. Through this family he built great hospitals, universities, schools, parishes, soup kitchens, shelters for the homeless, centers for interfaith dialogue and he brought down the feudal world. When the number of Secular Franciscans surpassed the 100,000 mark and they refused to take part in wars or pledge allegiance to any king or any flag, because Francis prohibited it, the feudal Lords lost their armies. They had no other choice but to talk about peace. But to see what men and women like Francis contribute by their embrace of poverty, one has to be long-sighted.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
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Love this post Br.Jay…sort of brings to mind in Advent that Baby Jesus in a manger was probably seen by lots as useless…same thing for babies in utero right now…
 
rainbow1 said:
Love this post Br.Jay…sort of brings to mind in Advent that Baby Jesus in a manger was probably seen by lots as useless…same thing for babies in utero right now…
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Herod didn’t have any use for him. He sentenced the poor kid to death.

I believe that this is the message that Francis of Assisi contributed to Catholic tradition. In a rather strange way, he brings to the forefront pro-life thinking. I say “rather strange way”, because in his mind, terms such as “pro-life” and “culture of death” did not exist.

However, the reality did exist. He knew about war and death. He was a soldier and a prisoner of war.

He also knew what it meant to be voiceless. The poor and the lepers of his time had no voice. Women had no voice. Observe how he counters this situation. It’s fascinating to see how God works.

He moves in with those who had no voice. He lived among the lepers, the peasants and the beggars. He gave them a title of honor. He called them, “Our Christian Brothers.” Why? In them he saw that side of Christ that the world rejected, as you so aptly point out.

He comes to the realization that in his world, Christ had lost his voice. Men were more interested in their possessions, their titles, and their power than in the Gospel. He does not set out to tell people how horribly they were acting. On the contrary, he set out to tell people how much God loved them and how they should return God’s love for the sake of justice. A line that he repeated in many of his sermons was, “Love is not loved.”

In addition, he bring the Church back to the Trinity. All of creation is part of one brotherhood, the animate and the inanimate, the human and the lower beasts. Why? Because everything in creation flows from the hand of the Father. Everything in creation was given by the Father to the Son, who is the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. We share in Christ’s sonship through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are meant to live within the Trinity as one mind and one body. Everything that is around is was given to us to remind us of out eternal destiny.

If we read his Canticle Brother Sun, it’s a theological treatise on life. He goes on to show us that everything in life reflects a divine attribute. If we pay attention, we will learn something about God. Therefore, there is nothing useless or non-productive in life. Everything serves the Trinity.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF :christmastree1:
 
Last night Father was speaking in his homily about a non-Catholics diatribe against Mary in a college class. He said that he had told her that Mary was our Mediator to Christ. He had further gone on to explain how it is difficult to look at the Sun very long - which when we look at Christ we are gazing upon the Son. However, we can stare at the Moon all night. I spent a good portion of last night before bed meditating on the Canticle. How beautiful you should mention it today.
 
joanofarc2008 said:
Last night Father was speaking in his homily about a non-Catholics diatribe against Mary in a college class. He said that he had told her that Mary was our Mediator to Christ. He had further gone on to explain how it is difficult to look at the Sun very long - which when we look at Christ we are gazing upon the Son. However, we can stare at the Moon all night. I spent a good portion of last night before bed meditating on the Canticle. How beautiful you should mention it today.
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Awesome! 😃 Our Lord is so Good!
 
joanofarc2008 said:
Last night Father was speaking in his homily about a non-Catholics diatribe against Mary in a college class. He said that he had told her that Mary was our Mediator to Christ. He had further gone on to explain how it is difficult to look at the Sun very long - which when we look at Christ we are gazing upon the Son. However, we can stare at the Moon all night. I spent a good portion of last night before bed meditating on the Canticle. How beautiful you should mention it today.
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rainbow1 said:
Awesome! 😃 Our Lord is so Good!
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**The Canticle of the Sun
by Francis of Assisi

First theological statement: All of creation speaks to us about the Creator

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Second Theological Statement: lays out Francis’ anthropology – man’s purpose and end

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.**

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
JReducation said:
Second, don’t even talk about religious brothers. They’re almost useless, because they can’t celebrate mass or hear confessions. If we can have a few to run the local Catholic High School, that would be good. Those brothers like the Franciscans of the Renewal, who walk the streets and sleep on the floor are not useful. The other ones, like the Franciscans of the Eternal Word who take care of technology, finances and even run the theology department at EWTN, they’re not too useful either. The Cistercian brother who is in a cloister, living in poverty, totally submissive to his abbot, and lays down his life on the cross for the salvation of the world, is never considered. Francis’ brothers, brought the word “brotherhood” back into fashion, in a world that was in conflict. If there is a brotherhood, then there must be a common origin, which is God the Father.

Given these scenarios, Francis is a sign of contradiction. He is and those like him, are not “productive”. Observe the quotation marks. These were people who begged along with the poor. These were people who saw Christ Crucified in the sick and the suffering and spent time with them. These are people who find Christ’s poverty and Christ’s passion in the poverty and passion of the world. As they work to relieve it, they give new meaning to it.
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To me it is a reflection of how some don’t understand the shared nature of Christ’s Body, that one person’s suffering can be redemptive for all of creation and how one person’s merits can be added to the treasury and applied as needed for God’s glory and the salvation of Christ Body.

I’m not trying to make a comment on the current state of catechsis, or any other statement of any such kind. That’s a whole differnt discussion. But the fact that a cloistered monk on an island off the coast of Ireland in the 1400’s who prayed eight hours each day for fifty years can have a direct impact on my life and on my salvation in 21st century suburban Amarica is almost lost.

Was it John Paul II who called monks and nuns, or was it all consecrated religious, the “Lungs of Christianity?” I wonder how many wars were prevented by their prayers. I wonder how many people were let out of purgatory because of one act of kindness, offered to God the Father in the name of Christ by Mother Theresa or one act of obedience to an abbot by some unknown monk somewhere, or by the lady who put two coins - everything she had - into the temple treasury.

Maybe we have just been distracted by the guy on the radio who talks about “Rugged American Individualism”? I don’t know why it is. But I think we have gotten away, to a certain extent, at least here in America, from Paul’s teaching about building up what is lacking in Christ’s body. Even our attitude about the sacraments and the Mass are not immune.

-Tim-
 
JReducation said:
In addition, he bring the Church back to the Trinity. All of creation is part of one brotherhood, the animate and the inanimate, the human and the lower beasts. Why? Because everything in creation flows from the hand of the Father. Everything in creation was given by the Father to the Son, who is the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. We share in Christ’s sonship through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are meant to live within the Trinity as one mind and one body. Everything that is around is was given to us to remind us of out eternal destiny…
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When I was thinking about poverty the other day, I thought that maybe this was the other reason for it (besides the literal exhortation to it). Human beings are more than they appear, and whether they are technically less or more as the world sees them is really immaterial. This is perhaps what Francis saw in the famous story of St. Francis and the leper. He very simply saw him through the poverty and the disease. He saw his brother in the order of creation. Is that anywhere near right or is that over-thinking it?

I know the modern world has trouble thinking about poverty and deprivation, to the point where we either try to edit it out of the picture, or objectivize and politicize it to make ourselves feel better. I’m not talking about either. I’m talking about a realization that humans are made on a pattern that’s not dependent on what they own or how big and powerful they are. Human-being-ness transcends all that; all that is just circumstance that comes from having to eat etc run amok. The real reason that human beings are important is because they are created as humans by God, in his image, and therefore are related to each other and even to Him. And at the same time, human beings are in a sort of substantial union with all of creation, because they are part of creation. Is that (at least part of) what St. Francis saw?
 
I know St. Francis was also astonished & overwhelmed by the realization that the omnipotent eternal God and Lord of all creation would humble himself to enter the material world as a helpless infant born poor and rejected, only in order to save us. That is the ultimate cosmic act of humility and poverty. All of this was huge for St. Francis, I think. Perhaps he thought “just who do I think I am anyway!?”

[And I believe he set up the first nativity scene, if I remember right.]
 
iloveangels said:
When I was thinking about poverty the other day, I thought that maybe this was the other reason for it (besides the literal exhortation to it). Human beings are more than they appear, and whether they are technically less or more as the world sees them is really immaterial. This is perhaps what Francis saw in the famous story of St. Francis and the leper. He very simply saw him through the poverty and the disease. He saw his brother in the order of creation. Is that anywhere near right or is that over-thinking it?
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