The Feast of St Francis of Assisi

October 4, 2011:

Today's readings are all about love; love of Jesus and Jesus' precious love for us. In today's Gospel we see how Mary had this deep devotion for Jesus; a love that God is asking us all to have for Him - A love that explodes from the heart and soul, but yet peaceful.

It is so important to attain that peacefulness every day; for us to close our eyes and just be with Jesus. Be in His presence.

And today is the feast of a saint who loved Jesus dearly, and the world that God made – St Francis of Assisi. He never, for a moment, took his eyes off of Jesus.

He literally gave up every material possession he owned to surrender himself completely to our Lord. He was so kind and gentle; a true servant of Jesus that, even the animals could feel his love.

So what is Love?

As St Paul tells us" Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated. It is not rude, it does not seek its own interest, it is not quick-tempered. It does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong doings. It bears all things, endures all things.

If you were to ask Mary and St Francis what is the power of Love, they would probably tell you that Love never fails. So extend your hand to all those you meet today and tell them from the bottom of your heart "May God bless you with His Love".

The Duty of the Apostolate

 

O Jesus, You have accepted me as a member of Your Msystical Body, grant that I may not be in it as a stranger, but that I may work for the good of all my brethren.

St Theresa of the Child Jesus said, "How happy I would be if, at the hour of my death, I could have a single soul to offer You! There would be a soul snatched from the fire of hell to bless You for all eternity"

St. Louis Grignion de Monfort tells us that true devotion to Mary is something holy. It leads a soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary.
St. Bridget has said that the demons are ever anxious in their pursuit of souls. However, they quickly abandon their prey at the sole name of Mary.

When I was a child in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, Mrs. Brown would shuffle down the street towards St. Bernard’s church, wearing an old bandana, moccasins and a shabby grey shawl. She never missed church regardless of the weather. On really cold days she may wear two shawls for warmth., but she was a widow and so poor – really had nothing. We all referred to her as the crazy lady not out of any disrespect, but because she’d be mumbling words and bobbing her head every once in a while, going down the street. Little did we know at the time she was saying the rosary and bowing her head at the name of Jesus.
On one extremely cold snowy day in February, the crazy lady was headed to daily mass coughing violently and wearing only one shawl. She was cold and she was shivering.
A Jewish man at the corner candy store came out and wrapped an old jacket around her. He said “Keep it and stay warm. She smiled, thanked him and headed across the street to church. What a beautiful thing that man did and how happy it made her. What so ever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto Me.
She wore that jacket for most of that winter and seemed pretty proud of it.
On another cold day in March, the crazy lady was again headed to church clutching her jacket, when out of the same corner candy store came running a little girl chasing her puppy that just broke loose.
Mrs. Brown tried to comfort the little girl by putting her hand on the girl’s head, who was now crying and cold and was determined to find her dog. So, yes, the crazy lady took her jacket off and put in on the little girl and said stay warm and God bless you. With only her shawl and bandana, went across the street to church.

I was naked and you clothed me.

There was a beautiful quote by St Lawrence of Brindisi, whose feast day was yesterday, regarding trusting in our Lord. "Mary put her faith in the Angel of God - and the world was saved."

True Devotion to Mary

To you, Dear Blessed Mother, these pages will be dedicated. I ask for your guidance, direction and your intercession, in my earthly journey. With your help, bring us so much closer to our Lord Jesus.

I have, a few years ago, consecrated myself to Mary by following St. Louis Marie de Monfort's "True Devotion to Mary". My prayers and ambitions are that more people will consider consecrating their life to our beautiful Mother in Heaven.