Novena to Saint Francis of Assisi day 5
Prayer before the crucifix of San Damiano
Most High glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart.
Give me right faith, sure hope and perfect charity.
Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may fulfill your command.
First life according to Celano, nº77
His spirit of charity was poured out in pious affection, not only on men who suffered need, but also on the mute and gross animals, reptiles, birds and other sensitive and insensitive creatures. But, among all the animals, he loved the lambs with particular affection and predilection, since, by his humility, our Lord Jesus Christ is frequently compared in the Holy Scriptures with the lamb, and because this is his most expressive symbol. For this reason, he loved with more affection and contemplated with greater joy the things in which there was some allegorical similarity of the Son of God. On the way to the Mark of Ancona, after having preached in the city of this name, he marched to Osimo along with Pablo, whom he had appointed minister of all the brothers in that province; in the field he found a shepherd who looked after a flock of goats. Among so many goats there was a little sheep that walked meekly and looked calm. Seeing her, the blessed Francis stopped, wounded in the most alive of his heart, giving a deep sigh, said to the brother who accompanied him: «Can't you see that sheep that walks so meek between goats? So, believe me, I walked, meek and humble, our Lord Jesus Christ among the Pharisees and princes of the priests. For this reason, I beg you, my son, for Christ's sake, that, together with me, you have mercy on that little sheep and that, paying for it for whatever it may be, we will take it out of the goats.
Meditation
The story we have heard reveals Francis' immense love for all the work of God; This love so lived represented in its time something radically surprising and new. It was an experience that communicated man directly with the divine. Francis manages to see, in an amazing way, in all Creation the beauty that God had printed in each space of the universe. For Francis, the entire reality, a participant of identical origin and dignity, was at the same height, all creatures, without distinction, were called sisters, including the leper man in his flesh or in his ideas, the heretic or infidel. This contemplative view of Creation in Francis is a consequence of the dispossession of all thirst for dominion and power. Francisco lives poor and is poor, loves life and everything in life with infinite tenderness. In him there is no space for destruction and exploitation of the work created by God. From a simple and poor heart springs tenderness and sympathy, and through them the presence of God in our midst is contemplated. The world for Francis is a great window where you can observe God.
First life according to Celano, nº77
His spirit of charity was poured out in pious affection, not only on men who suffered need, but also on the mute and gross animals, reptiles, birds and other sensitive and insensitive creatures. But, among all the animals, he loved the lambs with particular affection and predilection, since, by his humility, our Lord Jesus Christ is frequently compared in the Holy Scriptures with the lamb, and because this is his most expressive symbol. For this reason, he loved with more affection and contemplated with greater joy the things in which there was some allegorical similarity of the Son of God. On the way to the Mark of Ancona, after having preached in the city of this name, he marched to Osimo along with Pablo, whom he had appointed minister of all the brothers in that province; in the field he found a shepherd who looked after a flock of goats. Among so many goats there was a little sheep that walked meekly and looked calm. Seeing her, the blessed Francis stopped, wounded in the most alive of his heart, giving a deep sigh, said to the brother who accompanied him: «Can't you see that sheep that walks so meek between goats? So, believe me, I walked, meek and humble, our Lord Jesus Christ among the Pharisees and princes of the priests. For this reason, I beg you, my son, for Christ's sake, that, together with me, you have mercy on that little sheep and that, paying for it for whatever it may be, we will take it out of the goats.
Meditation
The story we have heard reveals Francis' immense love for all the work of God; This love so lived represented in its time something radically surprising and new. It was an experience that communicated man directly with the divine. Francis manages to see, in an amazing way, in all Creation the beauty that God had printed in each space of the universe. For Francis, the entire reality, a participant of identical origin and dignity, was at the same height, all creatures, without distinction, were called sisters, including the leper man in his flesh or in his ideas, the heretic or infidel. This contemplative view of Creation in Francis is a consequence of the dispossession of all thirst for dominion and power. Francisco lives poor and is poor, loves life and everything in life with infinite tenderness. In him there is no space for destruction and exploitation of the work created by God. From a simple and poor heart springs tenderness and sympathy, and through them the presence of God in our midst is contemplated. The world for Francis is a great window where you can observe God.
Amen and amen sis gmorning amen
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