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Are you restless or hungry for more in your life? Are you seeking wisdom or looking for inspiration? The gospel gave guidance to Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi as they followed the footprints of Jesus some 800 years ago. The witness of their lives and values continue to inspire those of us on a spiritual journey today. Join Sister Michelle L’Allier and her guests for a time of shared reflection and conversation.

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Feb 2, 2021

Join our guest, Father Joe Herzing, as he ponders the gift and call for us to be sisters and brothers, the invitation to simple living, and the beauty of Saints Francis and Clare living the Gospel and mirroring to us Jesus’ message of freedom and wholeness of life.

 

Father Joe says: “To simply live with people in some joy, in some real sharing of brotherhood and sisterhood is a beautiful blessing. In that, I try to not have too much stuff, to live a life where there is greater freedom for prayer, greater freedom for love, greater freedom to serve.”

 

“(Saint) Francis, a person of means, decided not to be a person of means in order to share the life of others. Who do we want to have as part of our life in our brother, sister relationships?... I think Francis definitely shapes a way of looking for the dispossessed in the world. I try to make that a mark of my preaching and of my way of life. I feel that whomever we're trying to relate with, that we have the hope of a true brother and sister relationship with them, even with people outside the Christian community.”

 

“I am struck by the beauty of the words of Pope Francis' Fratelli Tutti and the brotherhood and sisterhood of all humankind....Saint Francis and Pope Francis continue to give me hope and enliven me in ministry, even in a world where seemingly you have to be strong and almost angry in order to make your mark. Francis gives us this great opposite of that, counter to the dominant culture, mirroring Jesus' message to us for freedom and for wholeness of life. It truly is the Gospel. It points out a part of the Gospel that we seem to be losing.”

 

References:

Saint Dominic:  Get to know Dominic, a contemporary of St. Francis, https://www.dominicancenter.org/feast-of-saint-dominic-2/.

Dominicans: The Dominican Order has four branches, https://domlife.org/BeingDominican/WhoWeAre/BeingDominicanIndex.htm.

 

NET / National Evangelization Team: for further information, see https://netusa.org/.

 

Story of Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio: Read in The Deeds of Blessed Francis & His Companions XXIII, FA:ED, vol. 3, pp. 482-485 at: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-prophet/the-deeds-of-blessed-francis-and-his-companions-1328-1337/2386-fa-ed-3-page-485. A contemporary exploration of this story in light of care of creation: Befriending the Wolf: Blessing all God’s Creation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNHbgnAdaVk.

 

Assisi, Italy: Saints Francis and Clare’s home town https://sacredsites.com/europe/italy/assisi.html.

 

Franciscan University of Steubenville, formerly the College of Steubenville https://franciscan.edu/about/.

 

Saint Clare: a short biography about Saint Clare https://stclare.ca/patron-saints/st-clare/.

 

George Floyd: The May 25, 2020 death at the hands of police of this African American man prompted protests in Minneapolis and beyond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd.

 

Saint Francis’ visit to the Sultan: a 2016 film based on the true story of Saint Francis and Sultan al Kamil’s encounter during the 5th Crusade https://www.sultanandthesaintfilm.com/about-the-film/ (available on Amazon Prime). See also Show Notes from Episodes 6 and 9.

 

Francesco: Hermano del Universo / Francis: Brother of the Universe: read about this Marvel Comic book superhero initiative that has reached over 15 million readers in eight languages:  https://hnp.org/last-marvel-st-francis-comic-books-available/. No longer in print, although used copies may be available.

 

Fratelli Tutti, by Pope Francis, 1-2: Fr Joe quoted from this document: “Saint Francis expressed the essence of a fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate, and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives....this saint of fraternal love, simplicity and joy,...fraternity and social friendship.” See:  http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.  

 

Pope Francis’ New Year’s Eve text: see article with excerpts at: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/12/pope-indirectly-sends-new-years-message-of-hope-amid-crisis/.