Novena to Saint Francis of Assisi day 7
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, nº 21-22
Meanwhile, the saint of God, changed his outer dress and restored the aforementioned church [that of St. Damien], marched to another place near the city of Assisi; there he laid hands on the rebuilding of another very deteriorated and semi-ruined church [that of San Pedro] ... From there he went to another place called Porciuncula, where there was a church dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mother of God, built in distant times and now abandoned, without anyone taking care of her. When the man of God contemplated her in such a state, moved with compassion, because her heart was boiling in devotion to the mother of all goodness, she decided to stay there. When he finished repairing the church, he was already in the third year of his conversion. In this period of his life he wore a hermit-like habit, fastened on a leash; He carried a cane in his hand, and his feet shod. But one day the Gospel was read in this church that tells how the Lord had sent his disciples to preach; present there the saint of God, did not fully understand the evangelical words; After the Mass, he humbly asked the priest to explain the gospel. As the priest was explaining everything neatly, when Francisco heard that the disciples of Christ should not possess gold or silver or money; or carry saddlebags, bags, bread or canes; neither to have footwear, nor two robes, but to preach the kingdom of God and penance, instantly, jumping with joy, full of the Spirit of the Lord, exclaimed: «This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what in the most intimate of the heart I yearn to put into practice ». Overflowing with joy, the Holy Father immediately rushes to fulfill the healthy doctrine he has just heard; he admits no delay in beginning to devote what he has heard with devotion ...
Meditation
A characteristic that makes Francis an ecumenical man is his relationship with the word of God. From the encounter with the Gospel springs the choice of his life and the life of his brothers. For the life of the Franciscan brothers is a life "according to the Holy Gospel", as the blated rule points out: The rule and life of the Friars Minor is this, namely, to keep the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, without self and in chastity. The interpretation of the word of God in San Francisco is clear and linear: "the letter kills, the Spirit gives Life" (Adm. 7); The interpretative principle of Francisco is not of erudition, but of conversion, it is total promptness to act with the purpose of giving glory to God at all times. For Francisco, charity, the content of the word of God, is worth more than reading, so he does not hesitate to give the text of the New Testament to a person in need (LP56). His profound wisdom and experiential reading of the word of God preserves him not only from an ad litteram interpretation, but also from a pure literal observance: having always sought the message of the spirit was for him a source of creativity and prophetic gestures, of relaxation , of dialogue, of conciliation. And it is precisely the listening of the only word of God that accompanies the Christian Churches on a slow road to unity. The way in which we Franciscans have a particular and rooted vocation in the life of Francisco. (The ecumenical vocation of the Franciscan. Volume 2.p.127).
First life according to Celano, nº 21-22
Meanwhile, the saint of God, changed his outer dress and restored the aforementioned church [that of St. Damien], marched to another place near the city of Assisi; there he laid hands on the rebuilding of another very deteriorated and semi-ruined church [that of San Pedro] ... From there he went to another place called Porciuncula, where there was a church dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mother of God, built in distant times and now abandoned, without anyone taking care of her. When the man of God contemplated her in such a state, moved with compassion, because her heart was boiling in devotion to the mother of all goodness, she decided to stay there. When he finished repairing the church, he was already in the third year of his conversion. In this period of his life he wore a hermit-like habit, fastened on a leash; He carried a cane in his hand, and his feet shod. But one day the Gospel was read in this church that tells how the Lord had sent his disciples to preach; present there the saint of God, did not fully understand the evangelical words; After the Mass, he humbly asked the priest to explain the gospel. As the priest was explaining everything neatly, when Francisco heard that the disciples of Christ should not possess gold or silver or money; or carry saddlebags, bags, bread or canes; neither to have footwear, nor two robes, but to preach the kingdom of God and penance, instantly, jumping with joy, full of the Spirit of the Lord, exclaimed: «This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what in the most intimate of the heart I yearn to put into practice ». Overflowing with joy, the Holy Father immediately rushes to fulfill the healthy doctrine he has just heard; he admits no delay in beginning to devote what he has heard with devotion ...
Meditation
A characteristic that makes Francis an ecumenical man is his relationship with the word of God. From the encounter with the Gospel springs the choice of his life and the life of his brothers. For the life of the Franciscan brothers is a life "according to the Holy Gospel", as the blated rule points out: The rule and life of the Friars Minor is this, namely, to keep the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, without self and in chastity. The interpretation of the word of God in San Francisco is clear and linear: "the letter kills, the Spirit gives Life" (Adm. 7); The interpretative principle of Francisco is not of erudition, but of conversion, it is total promptness to act with the purpose of giving glory to God at all times. For Francisco, charity, the content of the word of God, is worth more than reading, so he does not hesitate to give the text of the New Testament to a person in need (LP56). His profound wisdom and experiential reading of the word of God preserves him not only from an ad litteram interpretation, but also from a pure literal observance: having always sought the message of the spirit was for him a source of creativity and prophetic gestures, of relaxation , of dialogue, of conciliation. And it is precisely the listening of the only word of God that accompanies the Christian Churches on a slow road to unity. The way in which we Franciscans have a particular and rooted vocation in the life of Francisco. (The ecumenical vocation of the Franciscan. Volume 2.p.127).
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