The fact that, during his lifetime, Saint Francis of Assisi (1182 – 1226) enjoyed a deeply personal connection to all aspects of creation has been documented thoroughly over the eight centuries since his death. Stories and legends abound surrounding his interactions with elements of the natural world and creatures of all kinds.
Category Archives: Living on Grace
The Family of Thérèse of Lisieux: Holiness and Challenges at Home
Saint Therese of Lisieux is one of the most beloved of God’s closest friends. Affectionately known as the Little Flower, her holiness of life attained global renown very quickly in the aftermath of her untimely death in 1897. For one who lived only 24 years, the final nine as a cloistered Carmelite nun, her speedy impact on the world was nothing short of phenomenal.
St. Therese: Patron Saint of the Bullied?
St. Therese at the age of 8
The glorious Therese of Lisieux is known as the patron saint of missionaries, priests, florists and pilots, but because of her own sad experiences in the schoolyard at the Abbey in Lisieux, she richly deserves another title – Patron Saint of the Bullied.
Temptation: The Ordinary Ways the Devil Attacks Us
Temptation is the devil’s ordinary mode of action (see 1 John 3:8– 10). Satan is the tempter (1 Thess. 3:5), and just as he incited the Fall, he still directly influences us to reject grace and commit sin. Temptation is common to all.
A Pink Slip with a Silver Lining
I was not a good candidate for being a homeschool mom. I felt underqualified, overcommitted, and feared I would be walking in unknown territory. Thankfully, I was never asked to do so. Until…
St. Monica: Carrying the Family Cross
The canonized women who are mothers add to our altars a special kind of incense – a two-fold fragrance of motherhood, both natural and spiritual. The very definition of their sainthood reveals that the life of the soul was sacrosanct to them and that while they nurtured the physical life of their children, it was eternal life which they desired to impart above all. Read the rest…
Masses for the living, too!
by Susan Tassone
Is a Mass offered for one who is still living more powerful than a Mass celebrated for that person after he or she has died? I often wondered about that, so I wrote to Father Edward McNamara, a noted professor of liturgy, at the Regina Apostolorum University in Rome. This is how he responded to my inquiry:
Saint Clare of Assisi: Gaze Ever Focused on Jesus
August 11th marks the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi (1194-1253), a woman of outstanding virtue such that she was canonized only two years after her death. Her name is forever linked with that of the man she called “our Blessed Father Francis,” the beloved saint of Assisi who paved the way for Clare and her Sisters.
Facing the Mountain
I will never forget the word my prayer partner, Judy, spoke to me just before we uprooted our lives to retire in Florida. “Are you going to leave your children and your friends and move all the way to Florida?” These words came from the heart of God and from the knowledge of being a friend who knew me like a sister. We had been daily prayer partners for almost thirty years. Those words took root in my soul.
The Portiuncula Indulgence: Gift of Jesus, Gift of Francis
Painting of the vision of St. Francis in the Portiuncula – Bartolome Esteban Murello (1617-1682)
Legends abound surrounding the life and times of Francis, the saintly little poor man of Assisi (1182 – 1226): his affinity for all of nature, preaching to the birds, taming the ravenous wolf, recreating the Christmas crèche, receiving the sacred stigmata. What is not so well known is the role Saint Francis played in the bestowal of an amazing gift from a gracious God to His creatures.
