In my life up to that point, I had not really internalized what appeared so obvious to St. Francis. When we gaze at the night sky and marvel at the self-evident hand of an amazing God, we are more than spectators. As we work in the name of Jesus, His co-eternal Son, to bring peace and justice and human dignity to this temporal world, we take our place in the great dance.
In confessing Jesus’ identity, Peter confessed his own. The Lord wanted nothing less from Peter than perfect conformity with Himself: “Another will bind you (as they did Me) and take you where you would not go.”
For Francis, the Eucharist is the primary way in which he sees Christ’s continuing Incarnation in the world, the complete self-emptying of Christ.
When I think about these events, I remember the amazing natural wonder of the eclipse and seeing the sun’s corona, but each one of these events was a time of human togetherness and shared experience. ... I think St. Francis would approve the idea of praising the glory of God’s creation with family, friends, and anyone else in the vicinity!
The first time I was introduced to the “Canticle of the Creatures,” I was easily captivated by its seemingly all-encompassing spirit of joy and praise of our good God. Without knowing Francis’ story well nor the context of this canticle’s writing, I imagined him frolicking through a vast field of flowers on a bright summer’s day, without a care in the world. Yes, a moment when the true blessings of the Lord can be so obvious, even to the most tepid of believers. What was this setting of inspiration? What treasure could so captivate St. Francis?
“Fear and honor, praise and consecrate, thank and adore the omnipotent Lord God in the Trinity and in the Unity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, creator of all things.” (From the Earlier Rule)
St. Margaret of Cortona Region of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) is eagerly preparing to welcome brothers and sisters from across the country Sept. 9-13, for the upcoming National Chapter gathering.
When we walk by the Spirit we will be kind and good, we grow gentle and faithful. We experience incomparable peace, a joy the world cannot give.
A common statement that we have all probably heard is, “The United States is a melting pot.” But that doesn’t really seem right if you think of what a melting pot does and what its contents looks like. A melting pot melts down everything in it into one single entity. I picture a glutinous unicolored mass. Not an attractive site at all.
The 2026 Chapter of Mats is canceled, but there is another way to gather as Secular Franciscans. Plan on attending the Quinquennial in 2026.