St. Francis on Bad Priests

On one occasion, a parishioner brought to the attention of St. Francis a priest involved in a scandalous affair. He asked St. Francis to go and correct the priest. The first thing St. Francis did was to kneel and kiss the hands of the priest. (From the Thirteenth-Century Testimonies #6.) St. Francis was not condoning…

Why Do Franciscans Bless Animals?

The Feast of St. Francis is October 4th! In anticipation of the Feast, the Friars at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley CA blessed the pets of our parishioners. Why do Franciscans Bless Animals? The answer might come from the book of Daniel in the Office of Readings today, the Feast of the…

Francis “Go and Repair My House…”

St. Bonaventure tells us that when Francis first heard the San Damiano Crucifix say to him three times: “Francis go and repair my house which, as you see, is all falling down,” Francis at first responded by “Repairing the material church,” in which the San Damiano Cross was, but in fact the “Principal intention of…

St. Francis Teaches us that Every Day is Christmas!

The early Church recognized that even sinners celebrate birthdays, but only for Saints could we truly celebrate their death, because this was their “birth” to eternal life. Christmas, the birth of Christ, was therefore NOT a major feast of the early Church. However, over the years, the Church did begin to celebrate the Birth of…

A Millionaire who became a Friar

Sunday’s Gospel of Zacchaeus reminded me of the Story of Br. George.  Zacchaeus was a rich man, who gave away much of his money to change his life and follow Christ. He was not only rich but the scriptures tell us he was the “Chief Tax Collector”.  He was a successful business man, like a…