It is appropriate that Rule 3 addressing the changing conditions of our world follows Rule #2. Kathleen Molaro’s article in Voices of Gospel Living last month included a reflection on our Order’s description as an “organic union.”
Let us be aware of this divine activity. Let God’s redeeming presence enter into our thinking and planning. Let us stay awake through the night.
Our King is the Good Shepherd who gathers and holds us together. Our King is the image of the Invisible God who made us to live in the light.
In this issue, five of the 30 regions are highlighted - St. Margaret of Cortona Region, St. Clare Region, Divine Mercy Region, Ohana ‘O Ke Anuenue Region, and St. Francis Region.
Physical death is not to be equated with loss of life. Indeed, it is the door to fuller life.
In the end, despite our unworthiness, Francis recognizes that we, like all the other creatures he mentions, must praise and bless the Lord – but we humans must go further. We need to give thanks, and we need to serve Him humbly.
Franciscans have a long-established custom of referring to “Sister Death.” Yet Francis did not speak of Sister Death in the Canticle. Writing in his Umbrian vernacular, he was quite intentional in naming this sister he was soon to meet: “Laudato si, mi Signore, per sora nostra Morte corporale.” He speaks of Sister Bodily Death.
A proclamation that is received anew in your hearing this morning. Not so much about a church in Rome, but about the Church, our Church, your Church, and the proclamation and witness to the Kingdom of God to this very day.
As a young mom, I often felt overwhelmed with the myriads of daily tasks … everyday responsibilities that seemed to squelch my ability to connect my deepening faith with real life. I felt alone and detached from any understanding of what the priest meant about being Eucharist in the world!
The first time I heard about Father Louis Vitale, OFM, was when he joined the protests at Fort Benning’s infamous School of the Americas.