Podcasts about franciscan

Full Text of ReadingsFourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 70The Saint of the day is Servant of God Brother JuniperServant of God Brother Juniper's Story “Would to God, my brothers, I had a whole forest of such Junipers,” said Francis of this holy friar. We don't know much about Juniper before he joined the friars in 1210. Francis sent him to establish “places” for the friars in Gualdo Tadino and Viterbo. When Saint Clare was dying, Juniper consoled her. He was devoted to the passion of Jesus and was known for his simplicity. Several stories about Juniper in the Little Flowers of St. Francis illustrate his exasperating generosity. Once Juniper was taking care of a sick man who had a craving to eat pig's feet. This helpful friar went to a nearby field, captured a pig and cut off one foot, and then served this meal to the sick man. The owner of the pig was furious and immediately went to Juniper's superior. When Juniper saw his mistake, he apologized profusely. He also ended up talking this angry man into donating the rest of the pig to the friars! Another time Juniper had been commanded to quit giving part of his clothing to the half-naked people he met on the road. Desiring to obey his superior, Juniper once told a man in need that he couldn't give the man his tunic, but he wouldn't prevent the man from taking it either. In time, the friars learned not to leave anything lying around, for Juniper would probably give it away. He died in 1258 and is buried at Ara Coeli Church in Rome. Reflection What can we make of Juniper? He certainly seems to be the first of many Franciscan “characters.” No doubt some of the stories about him have improved considerably in the retelling. Although the stories about Juniper may seem a little quaint, his virtues were not. He was humble because he knew the truth about God, himself, and others. He was patient because he was willing to suffer in his following of Jesus. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time Lectionary: 321The Saint of the day is Saint Angela MericiSaint Angela Merici's story Angela Merici has the double distinction of founding the first of what are now called “secular institutes” and the first teaching order of women in the Church. Born in Desenzano, Italy, she was orphaned in her teens. As a young woman, with her heart centered on Christ, Angela joined the Third Order of St. Francis and embraced austerity. In a visionary experience, she felt called to found a “company” of women. Angela was invited to become a live-in companion for a widow in the nearby town of Brescia. There she became the spiritual advisor of a group of men and women with ideals of spiritual renewal and service to those in need. While on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1524, Angela was struck with blindness. She proceeded to visit the sacred shrines, seeing them with her spirit. On the way back while praying before a crucifix, Angela’s sight was restored. At age 60, Angela and 12 other women began the Company of St. Ursula, named for a patroness of medieval universities and venerated as a leader of women. This constituted a new way of life: single women consecrated to Christ and living in the world rather than in a monastery. With Angela as their “mother and mistress,” Company members did not live in community, wore no special clothing, and made no formal vows. Angela Merici died in Brescia, Italy, in 1540. Clothed in the habit of a Franciscan tertiary, her body was interred in Brescia’s Church of Saint’ Afra. Four years later the Company’s Rule that Angela had composed, prescribing the practices of chastity, poverty and obedience, was approved by the pope. In the early 1600s, Companies that had expanded into France were re-organized into the religious Order of St. Ursula, to teach girls. Angela's words continue to inspire the Ursuline nuns' mission of education, a mission that spread worldwide. The Company of St. Ursula also continued to exist and is federated worldwide today with members in 30 countries. Angela Merici was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807. Reflection As with so many saints, history is mostly concerned with their activities. But deep Christian faith and love sustain one whose courage lasts a lifetime, and who can take bold new steps when human need demands. Saint Angela Merici is a Patron Saint of: Educators/Teachers Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

January 23: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (U.S.A.)1838–1918Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of Hawaiʻi, lepers, outcasts, and sufferers of HIV/AIDSShe learned generosity at home and lived it her whole lifeToday's saint was a model female Franciscan who emulated Saint Francis' heroic example of personally caring for the outcasts of all outcasts—lepers. Saints are not born, of course; they are made. And Saint Marianne Cope came from a specific time, place, and family. She could have developed her abundant talents in many directions and used them for many purposes, but she re-directed what God loaned her to serve Him, His Church, and mankind. The Church, the Franciscans, and Hawaiʻi were the arenas in which this elite spiritual athlete exercised her skills. She was asked for much and gave even more. She became a great woman.Marianne Cope was born in Germany and was brought to New York state by her parents when she was still a baby. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents lived, struggled, and worked for their kids. She saw generosity in action at home every day. She quit school after eighth grade to work in a factory to financially support her ailing father, her mother, and her many siblings. The challenges inherent to immigration, a new culture, illness, a large family, and poverty turned Marianne into a serious, mature woman when she was just a teen. Marianne fulfilled her long-delayed desire to enter religious life in 1862. Once professed, she moved quickly into leadership positions. She taught in German-speaking Catholic grade schools, became a school principal, and was elected by her fellow Franciscans to positions of governance in her Order. She opened the first hospitals in her region of Central New York, dedicating herself and her Order to the time-honored religious vocation of caring for the sick, regardless of their ability to pay for medical services. She was eventually elected Superior General. In her early forties, she was already a woman of wide experience: serious, administratively gifted, spiritually grounded, and of great human virtues. But this was all mere preparation. She now began the second great act of her drama. She went to Hawaiʻi.In 1883 she received a letter from the Bishop of Honolulu begging her, as Superior General, to send sisters to care for lepers in Hawaiʻi. He had written to various other religious Orders without success. Sister Marianne was elated. She responded like the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Here am I; send me!” (Is 6:8). She not only sent six sisters, she sent herself! She planned to one day return to New York but never did. For the next thirty-five years, Sister Marianne Cope became a type of recluse on remote Hawaiʻi, giving herself completely to the will of God.Sister Marianne and her fellow Franciscans managed one hospital, founded another, opened a home for the daughters of lepers, and, after a few years of proving themselves, opened a home for women and girls on the virtually inaccessible island of Molokai. Here her life coincided with the final months of Saint Damien de Veuster. Sister Marianne nursed the future saint in his dying days, assuring him that she and her sisters would continue his work among the lepers. After Father Damien died, the Franciscans, in addition to caring for the leprous girls, now cared for the boys too. A male Congregation eventually relieved them of this apostolate.Sister Marianne Cope lived the last thirty years of her life on Molokai until her death in 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012. She loved the Holy Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Church. And because she loved God first, she loved those whom God loves, her brothers and sisters in Christ. She sacrificed for them, left home and family for them, put her health at risk for them, and became a saint through them.Saint Marianne Cope, help us to be as generous as you were in serving those on the margins, those who need our help, and those who have no one else to assist them. You were a model Franciscan in dying to self. Help us to likewise die so that we might likewise live.

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

Bret Thoman discusses his early Italian Roots, becoming an Italian language scholar and eventually marrying his Italian wife and living in Italy. St. Francis Pilgrimages is owned and operated by Bret Thoman. Married since 2002, and professed Secular Franciscans (Third Order Franciscans) since 2006, they currently live in Loreto, Italy with their three children.They have organized over 125 pilgrimages and personally journeyed with 1,600 people of more than 20 different nationalities. Destinations include all of Italy, the Holy Land, Spain and Portugal, Medjugorje, Poland, and more. Groups have originated in the US, Canada, Ireland, Guam, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia; they have been large and small and consist of parishes, families, schools, youth groups, retreat centers, secular Franciscan fraternities/ regions, and more.Bret has a master's degree in Italian and a certificate in Franciscan studies. He has worked as a teacher and translator of Italian, as a flight instructor and airline pilot, and has written and translated numerous books. Katia was born in Southern Italy. She lived in Assisi for 7 years where she graduated with a degree in tourism from the University of Perugia and worked in several hotels. In Assisi she developed lifelong friendships with the Franciscan friars and sisters. www.stfrancispilgrimages.comFarmers and Nobles traces the research path of blogger and podcast host Bob Sorrentino. Bob began researching his family roots in 2008 beginning with his great-grandfather's calling card brought from Italy by his paternal grandmother Maria Luigia Piromallo. https://www.italiangenealogy.blog/farmers-and-nobles/Becoming Italian Travel to Italy with Bret Thoman as he narrates his lifelong journey from America's South to Italy. Farmers and Nobles Read about my research story and how to begin your family research.Support the showPurchase my book "Farmers and Nobles" here or at Amazon.

Today, January 18 to January 25 is the Octave of Christian Unity. It finishes with the feast of the conversion of St. Paul on January 25. This Octave was first conceived by Father Paul Watson a Franciscan friar of the Atonement, of Graymoor abbey in 1907. This leads us naturally to pray about the Church in her essence. CCC 760: all that vast array of creation had really one basic purpose: to have a place of communion, brought about by a convocation. Ecclesia means call, vocation, convocation. The world was created for the church, for this assembly. Even for the mystical body of Christ. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

It is the beginning of a new year and a new semester at Franciscan!  Dcn. Bob is excited to be back in the classroom, and Fr. Dave shares about his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 313The Saint of the day is Saint Charles of SezzeSaint Charles of Sezze's Story Charles thought that God was calling him to be a missionary in India, but he never got there. God had something better for this 17th-century successor to Brother Juniper. Born in Sezze, southeast of Rome, Charles was inspired by the lives of Salvator Horta and Paschal Baylon to become a Franciscan; he did that in 1635. Charles tells us in his autobiography, “Our Lord put in my heart a determination to become a lay brother with a great desire to be poor and to beg alms for his love.” Charles served as cook, porter, sacristan, gardener and beggar at various friaries in Italy. In some ways, he was “an accident waiting to happen.” He once started a huge fire in the kitchen when the oil in which he was frying onions burst into flames. One story shows how thoroughly Charles adopted the spirit of Saint Francis. The superior ordered Charles—then porter—to give food only to traveling friars who came to the door. Charles obeyed this direction; simultaneously the alms to the friars decreased. Charles convinced the superior the two facts were related. When the friars resumed giving goods to all who asked at the door, alms to the friars increased also. At the direction of his confessor, Charles wrote his autobiography, The Grandeurs of the Mercies of God. He also wrote several other spiritual books. He made good use of his various spiritual directors throughout the years; they helped him discern which of Charles' ideas or ambitions were from God. Charles himself was sought out for spiritual advice. The dying Pope Clement IX called Charles to his bedside for a blessing. Charles had a firm sense of God's providence. Father Severino Gori has said, “By word and example he recalled in all the need of pursuing only that which is eternal” (Leonard Perotti, St. Charles of Sezze: An Autobiography, page 215). He died at San Francesco a Ripa in Rome and was buried there. Pope John XXIII canonized him in 1959. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Sister Andre Randon, a French nun and the oldest person in the world, died on Tuesday at the age of 118. Randon became the world's oldest person on April 19, 2022, when Kane Tanaka of Japan died at the age of 119. Born in 1904 in Alés, France, Sister Andre converted from Protestantism to Catholicism when she was 19. She joined the Daughters of Charity — founded by Saint Vincent de Paul — in 1944. She took the name Sister Andre in honor of her deceased brother. In 2021 she tested positive for COVID-19. She was isolated from the other residents but displayed no symptoms. For her 115th birthday in 2019, Sister Andre received a card and a blessed rosary from Pope Francis, which she used every day. When she turned 116 in 2020, the Vincentian nun shared her “recipe for a happy life” — prayer and a cup of hot cocoa every day. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253376/oldest-person-in-the-world-french-catholic-nun-sister-andre-dies-at-118 Unidentified individuals on January 15 desecrated the Blessed Sacrament in a Catholic church in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish in the San Rafael del Sur area reported the desecration on its Facebook page January 17. The parish encouraged all the local faithful to “turn to prayer” and announced an act of reparation for the desecration. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253374/blessed-sacrament-desecrated-in-church-in-nicaragua At the end of his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis asked for people to join him in praying for persecuted Christians around the world. The pope said on January 18 that he was praying for Father Isaac Achi, a Catholic priest who died after bandits set fire to his parish rectory in northern Nigeria. Armed bandits attacked the parish residence at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin Koro, Nigeria, at 3 am on Sunday. Another priest at the rectory, Father Collins Omeh, escaped the building but sustained gunshot wounds. The Diocese of Minna has said that Omeh is responding to treatment. The pope's upcoming trip to Africa will provide an opportunity for him to further highlight the ongoing violence against Christians in the region. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253377/pope-francis-prays-for-priest-killed-in-nigeria-asks-for-prayers-for-persecuted-christians Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick is in “significant” mental decline and may not be fit to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, his attorneys say in a new court filing. The legal team for the 92-year-old ex-prelate said it plans to file a motion to dismiss the case. citing a neurological exam. The results show McCarrick to be suffering from “significant neuropsychological deficits” that “appear to have started relatively recently, to be worsening rapidly, and to impair both Mr. McCarrick's cognition and his memory,” according to the court document filed January 13 in Dedham District Court in Massachusetts. A final report is expected within 30 days. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253373/theodore-mccarrick-criminal-sex-abuse-trial-mental-incompetent Today, the Church celebrates Saint Charles of Sezze, a 17th-century Franciscan lay brother known for his holiness, simplicity, and charity. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-charles-of-sezze-416

Sarah (Schriner) Salamida '18 joins us to share about her student athlete experience and how NCAA athletics benefit individual students and the campus at large.  Sarah just completed her 3rd year as Franciscan's Women's Soccer Coach by taking the team to the Conference Finals and being awarded PAC Coach of the Year.

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 311The Saint of the day is Saint Berard and CompanionsSaint Berard and Companions' Story Preaching the gospel is often dangerous work. Leaving one's homeland and adjusting to new cultures, governments and languages is difficult enough; but martyrdom caps all the other sacrifices. In 1219, with the blessing of Saint Francis, Berard left Italy with Peter, Adjute, Accurs, Odo and Vitalis to preach in Morocco. En route in Spain, Vitalis became sick and commanded the other friars to continue their mission without him. They tried preaching in Seville, then in Muslim hands, but made no converts. They went on to Morocco where they preached in the marketplace. The friars were immediately apprehended and ordered to leave the country; they refused. When they began preaching again, an exasperated sultan ordered them executed. After enduring severe beatings and declining various bribes to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, the friars were beheaded by the sultan himself on January 16, 1220. These were the first Franciscan martyrs. When Francis heard of their deaths, he exclaimed, “Now I can truly say that I have five Friars Minor!” Their relics were brought to Portugal where they prompted a young Augustinian canon to join the Franciscans and set off for Morocco the next year. That young man was Anthony of Padua. These five martyrs were canonized in 1481. Reflection The deaths of Berard and his companions sparked a missionary vocation in Anthony of Padua and others. There have been many, many Franciscans who have responded to Francis' challenge. Proclaiming the gospel can be fatal, but that has not stopped the Franciscan men and women who even today risk their lives in many countries throughout the world. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

True Consequences WebsiteThis episode was written by Jackie Moranty check out here show here. Father Reynaldo and his brothers in the church were at Mass where the service was just ending when a call came into the rectory. Father Gerard Geier answered the call. It was around 8:00 in the evening. The caller was a man who Geier estimated to be in his 30s. He told Father Geier that he needed a priest. His voice was calm and deliberate, and . . . . convincing. Neither Father Geier nor Father Reynaldo had any reason to think that these calls were nefarious in any way.This is part 2 of the Father Rivera Story. The subsequent parts will be longer than the initial two. References: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/4vygvi/the_1982_murder_of_father_reynaldo_rivera_and_the/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65326473/reynaldo-john-riverahttps://billingsgazette.com/father-john-kerrigan/article_e94a7577-c930-5e90-b6d7-fc0d41257014.htmlhttps://www.onlyinyourstate.com/montana/famous-homicides-mt/https://www.scribd.com/listen/podcast/528409147https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=261493https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/4-investigates-the-mysterious-murder-of-father-reynaldo-rivera/https://factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/father-reynaldo-rivera-murder-1982https://podles.org/case-studies/Reynaldo-Rivera-Murder-Case-Study.htmhttps://www.scooterhammond.com/work/unsolvedmysterieshttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1214188665999666https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUoocVhvgJYhttps://www.insidehook.com/article/crime/unholy-mystery-murdered-priestshttps://dbpedia.org/page/1980s_Franciscan_priest_murdershttps://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Father_Reynaldo_Riverahttps://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/clw6ze/two_franciscan_priests_who_had_served_in_new/https://flatheadbeacon.com/2021/03/23/the-vanishing-of-a-priest/https://www.bishop-accountability.org/accused-by-last-name-k/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_Franciscan_priest_murdershttps://aleteia.org/2021/11/14/priests-and-religious-are-in-danger-in-many-parts-of-the-world/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWbRg9fqwIUhttps://www.santafe.org/listing/cathedral-basilica-of-saint-francis-of-assisi/179/http://mallonart.com/painting/santaFe/santaFe/timeline.htmlhttps://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=261493https://peoplepill.com/people/1980s-franciscan-priest-murdershttps://www.kob.com/new-mexico/4-investigates-the-mysterious-murder-of-father-reynaldo-rivera/?utm_source=ourcommunitynow&utm_medium=webhttps://obits.arlingtonparkfuneralhome.com/obituaries/print?o_id=5331420https://www.wondriumdaily.com/francis-of-assisi-and-the-origin-of-the-franciscan-order/https://www.marian.edu/blog/posts/marian-blog/2018/02/02/what-is-a-franciscanhttps://sbfranciscans.org/be-a-friar/formation/stages-of-formation/Newspapers.com:https://www.newspapers.com/image/582099989/?clipping_id=112286994&article=eba1d307-197c-459a-ada9-43a04134f012&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjU4MjA5OTk4OSwiaWF0IjoxNjY3MzQ4NTkzLCJleHAiOjE2Njc0MzQ5OTN9.ANzvsndu-kfkUnehqfCXWWyYyx-61PY0bRQRuM7nj00The rest came from the police reports.

Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, Fr. Emmanuel Mansford, joined the Church of Saint Mary for his talk, "Baptism and Mission.”His talk presents ways to know and develop the gifts we receive during Baptism and Confirmation.Recently selected as a Preacher for the USCCB's National Eucharistic Revival, Fr. Emmanuel serves as the Director of Formation for the Franciscan order and travels across the U.S. as a speaker for Catholic conferences, parishes, and podcasts. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are a religious order who participate in Christ's renewal of all things through prayer, fraternal life, service of the poor, and evangelization. Listen to Fr. Emmanuel Mansford Talk on the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic Podcast here:https://eoc.captivate.fm/listen?fbclid=IwAR0k-klEweMFRuC9Bn5qk-dASYlMypBjvX8xYAo7rQMA3NgxYzPYqTq4a1kYou can learn more about the CFR's and their Community at: https://www.franciscanfriars.com/

Last October the Franciscans announced that, after 800 years of presence in Athlone, they would be departing the town. Now a major volunteer and community effort has allowed the Franciscans a few more months reprieve as the members find new places to live before the site takes up a new use. Sean was joined by Fr Gabriel Kinahan, Guardian of the Franciscan community in Athlone…

Show Notes: Join former Franciscan Community Volunteer Nnedi Anoskie-Ogunu as she shares her learnings of what strengthens her connection with God and others, ranging from the place of welcoming communities to developing an interior spiritual life. For a video version of this episode, see: https://youtu.be/z0QhmFbJ8Ss                                                                                                        From Nnedi's interview: “When I was in Nigeria, I was eager to come to the US because we'd seen all these images about the US and I was excited to experience all of it. But then when I came, it was much different from what I knew. … And then school, I faced some racism from teachers, administration, students. It was a very hard transition. That was rough. You're going through so many internal changes trying to figure out what your feelings are, and everyone is doing the same. So, we're all gonna bump into each other in very unhealthy ways.”   “I've always been drawn to community where I feel welcomed. Of course, when I was growing up in Nigeria, that was not a community that I chose, I was born into it. I was just part of it, right?    And as an adult, you're able to choose where you belong or where you find belonging, and I've been able to do that. And making it part of a spiritual practice was not something that occurred to me until I came to you all in Minnesota. The intentionality behind even our gatherings was something that has stayed with me. And those gatherings are what built our community, right?”   “It's very important for me to feel a sense of community with the people that I work with; the line of work that I'm interested in doing cannot be done without community. I'm very much into social justice, and I think that none of us can survive, can thrive without being, without having belonging anywhere. And part of the work that I do through “Faith and Public Life” is to create spaces and make sure that everyone feels a sense of belonging and not excluded because of things that are out of their control, you know, their skin color, how they pray, things like that.”   “I try to be mindful when I'm in community with other people, that someone may be showing up a certain way in my community, that there are stories there that I may not know.  It's up to us to continue to create safe communities, safe intentional communities, where they can bring their full selves.”   “I had been told almost all my life that I should be a nun. I think it's just because I had spiritual practice; I had a love for God and enjoyed things like that, so to them it meant to be a nun.  And I always wondered why it wasn't enough that I was a lay person, and that my love for God was evident - all of us should be living a life that is evident of our love for God and our love for one another. It gave me the opportunity to come and be with sisters, see what the life was like, and see if there was something that it stirred in me during my time there. And while I was there, I discovered that you all were normal people that loved life, loved one another. I think the first night there we played a game and that was the most peace I felt in a foreign place before, and I knew that I was in a right place. And since then there was such a strong welcoming. I didn't have to explain certain things, even though there were cultural barriers. There was still a willingness and openness to learning about me that felt like this was home, right?”   “For me, when I get to a certain point with my friends, with my relationships, I feel like it's almost transcended friendship, I will call them, I'll call my friends my sisters.  And so since my time with the Sisters of Little Falls, I call you all sisters. Not because of the title, but because I have also taken you as family in a way that I feel like you all have taken me as family.  So you all feel like my sisters and I just, I feel blessed to be part of this community; even though I'm far away, I still feel very much part of it.”   “Names are very, very important to me because mine has been part of my journey. And it's reflected like different stages of my life. When I was in Nigeria, I went by Nnedi. I knew myself as Nnedi. I knew myself as Nnedimma. That was, that was who I was, right. And then when we came to the United States, my parents really wanted me to assimilate. And they didn't want me to have a name that would "other" me further. And I started going by my middle name. So Nnedimma is my first name.  Annunciata is my middle name.  And it's shortened to Ann. … it's been years in the making of me contemplating wanting to change back to Nnedimma. … I truly have shed this skin that Ann was so uncomfortable in, … So now I'm getting to know Nnedima as an adult, as a woman who has really come into her own, also now as a married person.”   “Native American spirituality and Franciscanism have been a huge part of my spiritual life right now. … Franciscan spirituality can be practiced by anyone. … In my quest to be more in tune with Care for Creation, my primary focus is with God's people because I feel if we are good to God's people, and everyone has the things that they need to thrive and there's no exploitation of people, then there will be no exploitation of Mother Earth. “   “Franciscan spirituality is it invites you into the mess, and doesn't just leave you to figure it out, right? It doesn't leave you to struggle alone. It allows you to do it with community that can strengthen you, that can support you, that can love you.”   “In the Bible they refer to iron sharpens iron and I think that is what community is. You sharpen each other to become your fullest selves. And when we do that, I think part of the hardship that we're facing is that we're not living into who God has called us to be. We don't have an interior life that allows us to explore what it is we're meant to do in a safe space and live into it without holding back.”   “What is feeding my soul at this time is getting in touch with myself, with Nnedi, as an emotional person. I think I've struggled with that in the past, being able to express the full range of my emotions without holding myself back. … What that looks like is talking to God through journaling and being in therapy. Those have been key things that is allowing me to practice or to welcome God into my life and recognize that my emotions are also gifts from God, and not see them as a burden. So being able to work through that in therapy and to talk with Emmanuel, reflecting out loud, has been very important to my current experiences of spirituality.”   “I didn't realize this part about my spiritual journey, hoping that by exploring the full range of my emotions, I can become more connected to God. I didn't realize that until I started talking and articulating it and I'm like, yes, that is the hope that I have…that is what I'm pursuing, that connection with God, that connection with myself. I can't be comfortable with the humanness of God if I'm not comfortable with my own humanness.”   [Encouragement to others] “Be patient with yourself. I think sometimes I get so impatient with not seeing the progress that I expect to see at a certain time. There's no formula to this.  We're all stumbling and remembering that we're human. You deserve the grace that you extend to other people. So extend that same grace to yourself. Be patient with yourself and work on loving yourself; part of that is figuring out what makes you happy, what brings you joy, who brings you joy. So leaning into those things will help you remember who you are.”   For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: fslfpodcast@fslf.org.   References added re: strengthening our connection with God: 1 Celano 43: “[Francis], living within himself and walking in the breadth of his heart, prepared in himself a worthy dwelling place of God.”   “Emotional Range and On-Going Conversion: Franciscan Joy,” a talk by Darleen Pryds, PhD. of the Franciscan School of Theology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4etRlkWhlhg . Darleen has also been interviewed on this podcast, and has been a guest host as well. You can find these episodes by typing her name in the search bar of this website.   Accompanying photos:  Nnedi & Emmanuel Anosike-Ogunu, 2022 Nnedi's Grandma Josephine  Nnedi as a Franciscan Community Volunteer out on adventure with her group.                  

There's not just one way of being a Franciscan. Friar Jude Winkler talks about how we can come together in spite of our differences.

Franciscan Friar Father Dan Pattee, TOR joins Dina Marie to discuss the story behind the Franciscan Order's first martyrs: Saint Berard and Companions who were martyred on January 16, 1220. Discover the zeal that nurtured Saint Francis and his friars to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all the nations. For more: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-berard-and-companions/, https://catholicism.org/the-five-protomartyrs-of-the-franciscan-order-1220.html.Subscribe to the Morning Blend on your favorite podcast platform.Find this show on the free Hail Mary Media App, along with a radio live-stream, prayers, news, and more.Look through past episodes or support this podcast.The Morning Blend is a production of Mater Dei Radio in Portland, Oregon.

Hi Friend,Today we start a new mini-series focused on the unsolved murder of Father Reynald Rivera. Father Reynaldo John Rivera answered the phone at St. Francis Cathedral church one night to hear a man on the other end asking him to meet him at a rest stop so he could perform Last Rites on the man's grandfather who had had a heart attack. Father Rivera went to perform the sacrament and was found in the desert shot to death two days later. This murder has remained unsolved for 40 years.CrimeconUK: https://www.crimecon.co.uk/book-now#TICKETS code CONSEQUENCE to save 10% on a ticket. Thanks to Jackie Moranty for writing, researching, and producing this series. Check out her show at https://causeofdeath100secs.net/Today's promo: Music City 911: https://musiccity911.com/https://linktr.ee/trueconsequencesReferences:Father Reynaldo Show Notes:https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/4vygvi/the_1982_murder_of_father_reynaldo_rivera_and_the/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65326473/reynaldo-john-riverahttps://billingsgazette.com/father-john-kerrigan/article_e94a7577-c930-5e90-b6d7-fc0d41257014.htmlhttps://www.onlyinyourstate.com/montana/famous-homicides-mt/https://www.scribd.com/listen/podcast/528409147https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=261493https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/4-investigates-the-mysterious-murder-of-father-reynaldo-rivera/https://factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/father-reynaldo-rivera-murder-1982https://podles.org/case-studies/Reynaldo-Rivera-Murder-Case-Study.htmhttps://www.scooterhammond.com/work/unsolvedmysterieshttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1214188665999666https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUoocVhvgJYhttps://www.insidehook.com/article/crime/unholy-mystery-murdered-priestshttps://dbpedia.org/page/1980s_Franciscan_priest_murdershttps://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Father_Reynaldo_Riverahttps://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/clw6ze/two_franciscan_priests_who_had_served_in_new/https://flatheadbeacon.com/2021/03/23/the-vanishing-of-a-priest/https://www.bishop-accountability.org/accused-by-last-name-k/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_Franciscan_priest_murdershttps://aleteia.org/2021/11/14/priests-and-religious-are-in-danger-in-many-parts-of-the-world/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWbRg9fqwIUhttps://www.santafe.org/listing/cathedral-basilica-of-saint-francis-of-assisi/179/http://mallonart.com/painting/santaFe/santaFe/timeline.htmlhttps://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=261493https://peoplepill.com/people/1980s-franciscan-priest-murdershttps://www.kob.com/new-mexico/4-investigates-the-mysterious-murder-of-father-reynaldo-rivera/?utm_source=ourcommunitynow&utm_medium=webhttps://obits.arlingtonparkfuneralhome.com/obituaries/print?o_id=5331420https://www.wondriumdaily.com/francis-of-assisi-and-the-origin-of-the-franciscan-order/https://www.marian.edu/blog/posts/marian-blog/2018/02/02/what-is-a-franciscanhttps://sbfranciscans.org/be-a-friar/formation/stages-of-formation/https://oxfordre.com/politics/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-811https://socialism.com/fs-article/pope-francis-the-catholic-church-and-argentinas-dirty-war/http://peacehistory-usfp.org/central-america-wars/https://www.churchpop.com/2021/07/28/the-heroic-story-of-oklahoma-farmer-bl-stanley-rother-the-modern-day-martyr-priest/https://www.catholicherald.com/article/national/new-website-tells-story-of-fr-stanley-rother-u-s-priest-to-be-beatified/https://www.npr.org/2019/11/15/779628824/remembering-the-1989-massacre-of-jesuits-in-el-salvadorNewspapers.com:https://www.newspapers.com/image/582099989/?clipping_id=112286994&article=eba1d307-197c-459a-ada9-43a04134f012&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjU4MjA5OTk4OSwiaWF0IjoxNjY3MzQ4NTkzLCJleHAiOjE2Njc0MzQ5OTN9.ANzvsndu-kfkUnehqfCXWWyYyx-61PY0bRQRuM7nj00The rest came from the police reports.

Original Airdate: June 3, 2019Contemporary theologian, mystic and author Father Richard Rohr discusses his new book, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe. A Franciscan friar for more than 40 years and founder of The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Father Rohr shares why he believes the essential function of religion is to radically connect humanity with the world around us and why “Christ” is another name for everything. He also explains true enlightenment as looking out from oneness and how these realizations can transform the way we live in our everyday world.

Full Text of ReadingsChristmas Weekday Lectionary: 206The Saint of the day is Most Holy Name of JesusThe Story of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Although Saint Paul might claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus “that name that is above every name” (see 2:9), this devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns but especially through the preaching of Saint Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan. Bernardine used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or vendettas in Italian city-states. The devotion grew, partly because of Franciscan and Dominican preachers. It spread even more widely after the Jesuits began promoting it in the 16th century. In 1530, Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans. In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church. Reflection Jesus died and rose for the sake of all people. No one can trademark or copyright Jesus' name. Jesus is the Son of God and son of Mary. Everything that exists was created in and through the Son of God (see Colossians 1:15-20). The name of Jesus is debased if any Christian uses it as justification for berating non-Christians. Jesus reminds us that because we are all related to him we are, therefore, all related to one another. Start the new year prayerfully! Subscribe to Pause+Pray! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

January 3: The Most Holy Name of JesusOptional Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhiteNames are powerful, and none is more powerful than JesusMary and Joseph did not sit across from each other at the kitchen table in the evenings debating a name for their child. They didn't flip through the pages of a book of saints or bounce ideas off of their friends and family. The baby's name was chosen for them by God Himself. They were just taking orders. The Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Lk 1:31). And Joseph had a dream in which the angel told him, "...you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). The Gospel of Luke further relates that “After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (Lk 2:21). Jesus was named eight days after Christmas, January 3. The New Testament is filled with incidents where the name of Jesus is invoked to drive out devils, cure illnesses, and perform miracles. The Holy Name is explicitly exalted by Saint Paul: "...at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Phil 2:10). Jesus reinforces the power of His own name in St. John's Gospel: "...if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you" (Jn 16:23).“Jesus” was the given name of the Son of Mary, while “Christ” was a title. “Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Messiah,” meaning the “Anointed One.” “Jesus the Christ” was the original formula for describing the Son of Mary. But over time, “The Christ” became simply “Christ,” as if it were His last name. The name of the God of the Old Testament was holy, not to be written out, nor to be casually spoken. Invoking “Yahweh” could be so egregious a sin as to provoke the tearing of the hearer's shirt in protest and repentance. Jewish law on God's holy name is enshrined in the second commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain.” This commandment prohibited the swearing of false oaths, that is, calling upon God as your witness and then making false statements. The opposite of a solemn oath is invoking the name of God to damn someone or something: a curse—the inversion of a blessing.Saint Bernardine of Siena, an electrifying Franciscan preacher of the early fifteenth century, was the saint who most spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He ingeniously depicted the Holy Name with the well-known monogram “IHS,” derived from the Greek letters forming the word “Jesus.” In the sixteenth century, the Jesuits built on this tradition and utilized the “IHS” to embellish their churches, even making it the emblem of their Society. The mother church of all Jesuit churches, in Rome, is officially named in honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, although its name is commonly shortened to simply “The Jesus.” There is raw power in the name Jesus. It makes polite company cringe. It divides families. It floats across the dinner table, letting everyone know exactly where you stand. A comfortable, vague euphemism like “the man upstairs” or “the big guy” just won't do. “Jesus” does not convey an idea that everyone can interpret as they wish. It's someone's name. And that someone taught, suffered, died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.Some people don't like their names and seek to legally change them or to use a nickname instead. Names convey meanings. “Thor” sounds like a mythical god carrying a hammer, “Vesuvius” sounds like a boiling volcano about to erupt, and a “ziggurat” sounds like a zig-zaggy desert temple. The name “Jesus” sounds like a God-man beyond reproach. A child, when once asked to define love, said that “when someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. Your name is safe in their mouth.” The Holy Name of Jesus should be safe in our mouths even when we're not receiving Holy Communion.Son of Mary, may our same tongues that receive Your Holy Body and Blood prepare themselves for Your visit by saying Your Holy Name with great reverence. And may we not refrain from invoking that same Holy Name in our daily conversations with all whom we meet.

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

Listen to Roots & Graffiti, a podcast about the real, raw Jasper County, Indiana. Topics to be discussed range from project announcements to conversations about rural issues. Join hosts Stephen Eastridge from the Jasper County Economic Development Organization & Brienne Hooker from the Jasper Newton Foundation while they talk with Carlos Vasquez from Franciscan Health Rensselaer.  Together they discuss projects and partnerships with Franciscan and healthcare and services available to the community. Franciscan is investing $28M into the critical access hospital facilities in Rensselaer.  Read more HERE!Listen to the full conversation here in this episode. Roots & Graffiti Email: rootsandgraffiti@jaspercountyin.comFranciscan Health Rensselaerhttps://www.franciscanhealth.org/https://www.franciscanhealth.org/find-a-location/view-all-locations?q=Rensselaer

Join Franciscan Friar Fr. Dan Pattee, TOR as he discusses the Franciscan history behind the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. We also learn of the history behind the Jesus Prayer and the powerful preaching of Franciscan Saint Bernardine of Sienna. For more visit: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6850, http://catholictradition.org/Christ/holy-name.htm.Subscribe to the Morning Blend on your favorite podcast platform.Find this show on the free Hail Mary Media App, along with a radio live-stream, prayers, news, and more.Look through past episodes or support this podcast.The Morning Blend is a production of Mater Dei Radio in Portland, Oregon.

Frank Morano interviews Brother Greg Cellini, a Franciscan Brother and the author of the new book “Transform Yourself – Transform the World: A Franciscan View of Career” about religion during the holiday season, career advice, and his book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

franciscanfriars - YouTube

franciscanfriars - YouTube

franciscanfriars - YouTube

This is the first in a two-part conversation with Craig Westhoff. In this conversation, we hear Craig's story of growing up with a father who was once a Franciscan friar and a mother who was once in a catholic convent. We talk about Craig's journey through new-age spirituality to Christ, His own experience of clinical depression, and how God has used that to lead him into the work that he does with illuminated soul.  Illuminated soul is a place where Craig offers spiritual direction & practical tools for emotional, mental, and spiritual health and well-being. You can find out more about Craig's work on his website.  www.illuminatedsoul.org

A festive episode featuring the Wexford Carols sung by the beautiful voice of Caitriona O'Leary. The carols came out of the persecution of Catholics in Wexford in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge and Father William Devereux. Caitriona takes Matthew Bannister to the Franciscan church where Bishop Waddinge is buried and to St Aidan's Cathedral in Enniscorthy where the area's most famous carol was collected. We also meet the retired fisherman Dixie Devereux whose father sang the carols every Christmas for 62 years – and who is now passing on the tradition to his own son. A fascinating story with gorgeous music creating an atmospheric, seasonal experience. --- Delve deeper into the Folk on Foot world and keep us on the road by becoming a Patron—sign up at patreon.com/folkonfoot. You can choose your level and get great rewards, ranging from a stylish Folk on Foot badge to access to our amazing and ever expanding Folk on Foot on Film video archive of more than 150 unique performances filmed on our travels. Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about The Wexford Carols at https://thewexfordcarols.com/

Join Jamie Deering as she shares stories and considers with curiosity what it is to be present to oneself and others as we allow God to flow through us in the midst of different ways of thinking, seeing and being in the world. For a video version of this episode, see: https://youtu.be/PZ9MDBvRbe8   From Jamie's interview: “One of the first and primary ways that God grabbed a hold of me and that I knew the presence of God in me and in the world, was through music. When I was four years old, I began piano lessons and when I was in elementary school, there was a choir and I was so excited to be part of this, creating music with our bodies and with our souls, which has felt to me like a special portal, a special pathway to God. … The thread of music through my entire life is what has anchored me in knowing and experiencing God's presence.”   “It was so important for me as my kids were growing up to be sure that they had this experience of the diversity of humankind and the diversity of thought and movement and ideas. … It was such a blessing and gift to be exposed to different ways of thinking, different ways of being in the world. I served in the Peace Corps, as you know, and lived in Macedonia for a little under two years. That plus my experiences in a variety of churches throughout my formative spiritual formation years was understanding the power of a community to form, to be so influential, in how our worldview, I'll stick with me, how my worldview was formed.”   “Recently a friend of mine distinguished for me this word, interdependence, and we've been having conversations. We come from different cultures and so I've been curious about, again, the formation of this person coming, growing up in a different culture. And my growing up in the American culture, in sort of a spirit of independence; this other culture was a spirit of interdependence. I've been learning more about what that is and connecting that to all the experiences that I've had; they have been helpful in pointing me to what it means to be interdependent and communal in thinking.”   “There are some things in contemplation we can do to set down striving; this concept of being with our thoughts then gets integrated in somatic presence with being in our bodies, being in my body. What is my body experiencing right now? Because our bodies live in present time. And so to the degree that I can be in my body, I can be present in present time. So there's that sense of being with. Then in spiritual direction, being with another, companioning another. Again, it's so important for me to be able to know what it is that's going on in me, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, so that I can hold space. So I can offer that space to another person for them to be with whatever is going on in them.”   “Haecceitas … this notion that we are all uniquely gifted by God for work here on earth for God. Presence in God through us, manifesting God through us in the world. I feel this mysterious, mystical, and special gift that my gifts now are partnered so beautifully with the Franciscan Sisters, and what might God be bringing into the world through us.”   “There's an expression in contemplative prayer of the wellspring of love, the wellspring of God; that is probably the primary image that I use when I'm leading contemplation, because the wellspring is always available to us. Always. We just sit by the wellspring, contemplating the wellspring, being with the wellspring of love.”   “Living life from a place of curiosity - I find that to be very Franciscan. And expanding beyond that, the spiritual journey, to live from curiosity. To be listeners seeking to understand another, is also very Franciscan, rather than be understood. …The wellspring cultivates curiosity and the ability to be with another and hold space for another's essence, to see another in their essence.”   For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: fslfpodcast@fslf.org.   References: Saint Francis, The Praises of God: https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=180   Peace Corps, Macedonia: https://www.peacecorps.gov/north-macedonia/   Contemplative Practice: see Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation: https://shalem.org/   Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Coaching: see Jamie's website: https://soulisticcoach.com/   Haecceitas: a Franciscan term coined by John Duns Scotus re: the unique value, dignity, ‘thisness', of every person and everything; two references: https://cac.org/irreplaceable-thisness-2018-03-18/ , and https://www.ssfamericas.org/post/a-hagiography-of-blessed-john-duns-scotus     Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota: https://www.fslf.org/ Franciscan Programs Ministry, including Engaging Franciscan Spirituality course: https://www.fslf.org/pages/Franciscan-Programs-Ministry   Third Order Regular Rule, reference to admonishing with compassion: If discord caused by word or deed should occur among them, they should immediately (Mt. 18:35) and humbly ask forgiveness of one another even before offering their gift of prayer before the Lord (cf. Mt 5:24).And if anyone seriously neglects the form of life all profess, the minister, or others who may know of it, are to admonish that person. Those giving the admonition should neither embarrass nor speak evil of the other, but show great kindness. Let all be careful of self-righteousness, which causes anger and annoyance because of another's sin. These in oneself or in another hinder living lovingly.   Sheffield train station fountain in England, image of the Trinity as fountain fullness of God; see photo below, see a YouTube of the fountain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RPXt-MvN0Q      

Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265-1308), the Franciscan friar known as the "Subtle Doctor", is one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages, yet over the centuries he has fallen into disrepute, or at least neglect, by comparison with the "Angelic Doctor", St. Thomas Aquinas. Interest in Scotus has revived somewhat in part due to his beatification by Pope St. John Paul II, who called him the "defender of the Immaculate Conception" and "minstrel of the Incarnation". Indeed, Scotus's greatest legacy is his argument for Mary's having been conceived without original sin, a controversial position at the time, yet vindicated centuries later when this was proclaimed a dogma by Pope Bl. Pius IX. This is good enough reason to get to know Scotus, even if he ultimately takes a back seat to Aquinas. Thomas Ward, author of Ordered by Love: An Introduction to John Duns Scotus, joins the podcast to discuss aspects of Scotus's thought, and his context in the early history of the Franciscan order. Thomas Ward, Ordered by Love https://angelicopress.org/ordered-by-love-thomas-ward This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio  

A chalice secretly used by Franciscan monks during the Cromwellian invasion has been returned to a parish in Leitrim almost 400 years after it was crafted. Sean was joined by the man who tracked it down, historian and priest Monsignor Liam Kelly... Image: Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Lectionary: 690AThe Saint of the day is Our Lady of GuadalupeThe Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story. A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady. Juan was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared, and within it stood an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared. Eventually the bishop told Juan to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan's uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan, assured him that his uncle would recover, and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma. On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop's presence, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. On the tilma where the roses had been appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac. Reflection Mary's appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the indigenous population. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. In these days when we hear so much about God's preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God's love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of: The AmericasMexico Click here for more on Our Lady of Guadalupe! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Richard Rohr preaches on the book of Acts and Christ's call to be present and heal the suffering in the world.  Richard Rohr is an author and Franciscan priest.  This FULLER curated series features lectures, speeches, and sermons from across Fuller's history, drawn from our archives in celebration of Fuller's 75th anniversary.

Richard Rohr discusses historical developments within the Protestant and Catholic churches, the limitations that come with black-and-white thinking, and how contemplative practice helps to expand our faith.  Richard Rohr is an author and Franciscan priest.  This FULLER curated series features lectures, speeches, and sermons from across Fuller's history, drawn from our archives in celebration of Fuller's 75th anniversary.

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe (U.S.A.) 1531 Feast; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of the Americas A miracle hangs, frozen in time, in Mexico City The humble Indian Juan Diego and his wife, Maria Lucia, had accepted baptism from the Franciscan missionaries laboring in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the greatest city of Spain's most impressive colony, the future Mexico. After his wife died in 1529, Juan moved to the home of his Christian uncle, Juan Bernardino, on the outskirts of Mexico City. On Saturday, December 9, 1531, Juan Diego arose very early to walk to Mass. It was a quiet, peaceful morning. As he walked by the base of a hill called Tepeyac, Juan heard the gentle singing of many birds. He looked up. On the top of the hill was a radiant white cloud encircling a beautiful young woman. Juan was confused. Was this a dream? Then the gentle, bird-like singing ceased, and the mysterious young woman spoke directly to him: “Juanito, Juan Dieguito!...I am the perfect and always Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God.” Mary went on to say many beautiful things to Juan, concluding with her desire that a church be built in her honor on that very hill of Tepeyac. The Virgin Mary, a faithful Catholic, placed herself under obedience to the local bishop. She would not build the shrine herself or work directly with the nearby faithful. She required the bishop's cooperation and support, and so told Juan, “...go now to the bishop in Mexico City and tell him that I am sending you to make known to him the great desire that I have to see a church dedicated to me built here.” There followed meetings with the good but incredulous Bishop Zumárraga, more brief apparitions, and more drama until matters culminated on Tuesday, December 12, 1531. Juan was waiting patiently in the Bishop's parlour for hours. The Bishop's aids wished he would just go away. But Juan carried a secret gift for the Bishop in his coarse poncho. It was stuffed full of fragrant Castilian roses. Juan had gathered them from Tepeyac despite the cold December weather. Mary had told Juan to present the roses to the Bishop as a sign. After a long wait, Juan was finally brought into the presence of His Excellency. He recounted his conversations with Mary and then proudly unfurled his poncho. The fresh and dewy roses fell gracefully to the floor. Juan was content. But there was a gift within the gift. There was more than gorgeous roses. Everyone in the room fell to their knees in wonder. Juan was the last to see it. A gentle image of the Virgin Mary was impressed on Juan's poncho. Could it be? Who could have possibly… It was a miracle! The Bishop immediately took possession of the poncho and placed it in his private chapel. Events now moved quickly. The miraculous image was put in the Cathedral. It was then brought in holy procession to a quickly built shrine on Tepeyac. Then there were more and more miracles. Then there were more and more pilgrims. Mary is the woman who, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, spoke with Juan on the Hill of Tepeyac. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the woman whose image is impressed upon Juan's poncho. And it is that very same poncho which hangs to this day in the shrine built for and at the request of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The miracle first unfurled in the Bishop's office in 1531 has been frozen in time. It is perpetually 1531 in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Everyone who gazes on the image stands in the shoes of Bishop Zumárraga. The image teems with mysterious symbols and meanings. The wholesale conversion of the tribes of old Mexico, a missionary effort that until 1531 had been a struggle, was directly attributable to Mary's miraculous intercession. It was the greatest and most rapid conversion of a people in the history of the Church. It is Mary to whom we turn on this feast. She made herself a humble, indigenous, local, expectant mother to bring a good but pagan people into the embrace of her Son and His Holy Church. She models the precious gift of life and the costs required to protect it from harm. Our Lady of Guadalupe, your miraculous image was made possible because of the humble cooperation of Saint Juan Diego. May our work in the mission fields of everyday life be as fruitful as your own. May we cooperate with you just as Juan did.

Friends of the Rosary: Today we remember Juan Diego, the Mexican saint who received a visit from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Cuautlitlán, today part of Mexico City. When he was 50 years old he was baptized by a Franciscan priest, Fr. Peter da Gand, one of the first Franciscan missionaries. On December 9, 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him. Our Lady asked him to go to the Bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The Bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. On December 12, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was wintertime, he found roses blooming. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who carefully placed them on his mantle and told him to take them to the Bishop as "proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac. Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a small hut near the chapel where the miraculous image was placed for veneration. Here he cared for the church and the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus. Much deeper than the exterior grace of having been chosen as Our Lady's messenger, Juan Diego received the grace of interior enlightenment and from that moment, he began a life dedicated to prayer and the practice of virtue and boundless love of God and neighbor. He died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified on May 6, 1990, by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City. The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! St. Juan Diego, Pray for Us! + Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • December 9, 2021, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

December 9: Saint Juan Diego, Hermit 1474–1548 Optional Memorial; Liturgical color: white Patron Saint of indigenous people Mary said to Juan: "Am I not here, I who am your mother?" Good things happen to those who go to daily Mass. A very good thing happened to today's saint on his long trek to daily Mass, something so extraordinary that it permanently altered a continent. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (the “Talking Eagle”) was born near present-day Mexico City in the pre-Colombian Aztec Empire, though he belonged to the Chichimec, not the Aztec, people. At the age of fifty, Juan received baptism from a Franciscan priest, about five years after those path-breaking missionaries had first walked barefoot from coastal Veracruz into the Aztec heartland. Juan must have quickly fell in love with his newfound faith, because he visited God as one visits a sturdy friend, more than just once a week. On Saturday, December 9, 1531, Juan was walking to Mass and crossed over a small hill called Tepeyac. A mysterious woman appeared to him speaking Nahuatl, the local language. The woman quickly identified herself as the “Ever-Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the true God” and asked Juan to approach the Bishop to petition that a shrine be built in her honor on that very hill. So the humble Juan went and knocked on the door of one of the most powerful men in the new Spanish dominion. The Bishop was solicitous but cautious and requested a sign to buttress Juan's credibility and his request. A series of events then transpired which culminated on Tuesday, December 12. On that day, Juan presented the Bishop with flowers, carefully cradled in his poncho, which Mary had directed him to collect. When Juan unfurled his poncho in the Bishop's presence, everyone saw then what everyone sees now in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City—the young, pregnant Mary of Tepeyac emblazoned, in full color, on Juan's coarse poncho. An early document holds that, after 1531, Juan Diego, whose wife had died by then, spent the rest of his days living the life of a hermit near the chapel on Tepeyac housing the miraculous image. Juan likely welcomed the first waves of pilgrims who visited the primitive shrine to pay homage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is difficult to imagine anyone returning to his or her everyday existence after seeing, hearing, and conversing with God, Mary, or a saint. Some experiences are “before” and “after” events, their profundity divides life into halves or portions: a divorce, a dreadful medical diagnosis,  a financial collapse, a child's death, a crippling accident, or, on the positive side and much more rarely, a divine locution, an apparition, or an unmistakable spiritual intervention, all divert the straight line of a life's graph. The days between December 9 and the vigil of December 12 are a kind of Mexican Triduum, when that nation celebrates founding events which have nothing to do with legal documents. Nation-building requires more than just a constitution or the winning of a key battle. Building an enduring people requires a shared language, a common history, an undivided religious outlook, and a unity of cultural expression. If there is a source of Mexican unity, it is found in the vision of the humble servant Saint Juan Diego. Millions of pilgrims endlessly process, day after day, year after year, century after century, before the miraculous image in the most visited Marian shrine in the world. These citizens don't go to Mexico's national archives to search for words on a faded parchment, but to a shrine to gaze in wonder at a young woman imprinted vividly on rough cactus fibers. The faithful arrive on pilgrimage, often on foot, to bow their heads, to light a candle, and to pray before the permanent miracle that is a simple Indian's gift to the Church. They come to visit a person, not an idea, because a person can absorb our love and love us back. Saint Juan Diego, we ask your humble intercession in heaven to assist all those who doubt the power of God and His saints. May your example of fidelity and service inspire us to holiness as much as your miraculous tilma.

Join Franciscan Friar Fr. Dan Pattee, TOR as he explores the Immaculate Conception through a Franciscan lens. Fr. Dan discusses the beauty of the Solemnity we celebrate on December 8th as well as talks about the season of Advent as we prepare for the coming of Christmas. Fr. Dan is a Franciscan Friar with the Third Order Regular. For more info: https://franciscanstor.org/, https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/advent, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/teachings/immaculate-conception-222Subscribe to the Morning Blend on your favorite podcast platform.Find this show on the free Hail Mary Media App, along with a radio live-stream, prayers, news, and more.Look through past episodes or support this podcast.The Morning Blend is a production of Mater Dei Radio in Portland, Oregon.

In this episode, we return to New Mexico and look at the ambitious mission-building program of the Franciscans in the Pueblos of New Mexico during the long seventy years between the founding of Santa Fe in 1610 and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Among other moments, we recount the revolt at the Jemez Pueblo in 1623. The Franciscan project, in the end, involved a huge network of missions, much of it built quite voluntarily by Indian converts. It was, in some respects, a European-Indian society quite different from that evolving in Virginia, Massachusetts, and even Florida. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode John L. Kessell, Pueblos, Spaniards, and the Kingdom of New Mexico Herbert E. Bolton, The Spanish Borderlands: A Chronicle of Old Florida and the Southwest Andrew L. Knaut, The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 Matthew J. Barbour, "The Jemez Revolt of 1623" Matthew Liebmann, "At the Mouth of the Wolf: The Archeology of Seventeenth-Century Franciscans in the Jemez Valley of New Mexico"

In this episode of Latter-day Contemplation, Christopher and Riley were joined by Jana Johnson Spangler to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Franciscan friar, Richard Rohr.  Father Rohr, as an ecumenical teacher, speaker, and author is largely responsible for the modern resurgence in popularity of contemplative practices.  He has successfully brought together teachers from many Christian denominations into The Living School, teaching perennial truths about the universal nature of the Christ, our mutual, inborn dwelling with God the creator of all flesh, and the brotherhood of man.  His message of inner and relational peace has drawn a following of millions.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, bishop of Wa, Ghana, died in Rome on Sunday evening at the age of 63. The cardinal had been hospitalized for heart problems after arriving in Rome in late August and was therefore unable to attend the Vatican ceremony at which he was elevated to the College of Cardinals August 27. Baawobr, a member of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, commonly known as the “White Fathers,” was known in Ghana for his charity and for his care for people with mental disabilities in a country where the stigmatization of mental illness is still high. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252922/new-cardinal-from-ghana-with-heart-problems-dies-at-63 Pope Francis has spoken out against violence in the Holy Land after one teenager died in a blast in Jerusalem and another teenager died in armed clashes in Palestine last week. A 16-year-old Israeli boy was killed, and at least 14 people were injured, after two bombs exploded at bus stops on the outskirts of Jerusalem November 23. Israeli authorities said the attacks appear to have been carried out by Palestinian militants, Reuters reported. Late on Tuesday, November 22, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes in the city of Nablus in the Israeli occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials. Pope Francis said he is following with concern the “increase in violence and clashes” between Israel and Palestine, and called the twin blasts in Jerusalem “cowardly attacks.” He urged prayers for the victims and their families. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252921/violence-kills-the-future-pope-francis-condemns-israeli-palestinian-conflict-after-2-boys-die The Vatican said on Saturday that Chinese authorities had violated the terms stipulated in its provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops. A statement released on November 26 said that “the Holy See noted with surprise and regret” that Bishop John Peng Weizhao had been installed as an “auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese that is not recognized by the Vatican. The Vatican statement also noted reports that “prolonged and heavy pressure from local authorities” preceded the installation. The boundaries of the “Diocese of Jiangxi” were drawn by Chinese authorities without Vatican approval. The government-approved Catholic association said Peng swore an oath at the installation ceremony to “guide Catholicism to adapt to socialist society” and contribute to the “dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” The installation ceremony took place one month after the Vatican renewed its deal with Beijing on the appointment of Catholic bishops for an additional two years. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252919/vatican-says-china-violated-terms-of-agreement-with-bishop-installation https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252924/analysis-is-the-vatican-s-deal-with-china-at-stake Today, the Church celebrates Saint Catherine Labouré, the humble member of the Daughters of Charity to whom Mary appeared, requesting that the Miraculous Medal be stamped so that all who wear it would receive great graces. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-catherine-laboure-401 The Church also celebrates Saint James of the Marches, a Franciscan priest in the 15th century who was known as an eloquent preacher. According to legend, he brought 50,000 heretics into the Church and led 200,000 nonbelievers to baptism. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-james-of-the-marches-67

The  homily of Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM, at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. Videos of the full Mass are collected at the Basilica's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N-NkNQk-zQ2xAS86FCxoQ

Michael and John are joined by Brother Charbel from the Capuchin Friars. Brother Charbel talks about his conversion to Catholicism and his time of religious life. (Editor's note: while Michael and John were diligent in recording early in the month, the editor... not so much.)

We have three guests today, an editor and two contributors of When There Are Nine, a poetry anthology in tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Rebecca Evans, one of the anthology's editors, is a Jewish poet, memoirist, radio show cohost, writing instructor, war veteran, and mother. Carla Schick is a Queer activist for liberation and education as well as a lover of jazz and language. Harrison Solow is an award-winning author, university lecturer, Hollywood adviser, and former Franciscan nun. Both Schick and Solow contributed poems to the anthology. We're so thrilled to speak to this diverse and incredibly accomplished group of women today on Episode Seven of Season Four. All three share and discuss poetry from the anthology. We also talk about the ongoing struggle for equal rights, using words to paint our pictures, living and creating in the midst of terrible grief, and collecting poems both timely and timeless.

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Lectionary: 500All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint Elizabeth of HungaryIn her short life, Elizabeth manifested such great love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order. The daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth chose a life of penance and asceticism when a life of leisure and luxury could easily have been hers. This choice endeared her in the hearts of the common people throughout Europe. At the age of 14, Elizabeth was married to Louis of Thuringia, whom she deeply loved. She bore three children. Under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan friar, she led a life of prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor and sick. Seeking to become one with the poor, she wore simple clothing. Daily she would take bread to hundreds of the poorest in the land who came to her gate. After six years of marriage, her husband died in the Crusades, and Elizabeth was grief-stricken. Her husband's family looked upon her as squandering the royal purse, and mistreated her, finally throwing her out of the palace. The return of her husband's allies from the Crusades resulted in her being reinstated, since her son was legal heir to the throne. In 1228, Elizabeth joined the Secular Franciscan Order, spending the remaining few years of her life caring for the poor in a hospital which she founded in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Elizabeth's health declined, and she died before her 24th birthday in 1231. Her great popularity resulted in her canonization four years later. Reflection Elizabeth understood well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper: The Christian must be one who serves the humblest needs of others, even if one serves from an exalted position. Of royal blood, Elizabeth could have lorded it over her subjects. Yet she served them with such a loving heart that her brief life won for her a special place in the hearts of many. Elizabeth is also an example to us in her following the guidance of a spiritual director. Growth in the spiritual life is a difficult process. We can play games very easily if we don't have someone to challenge us. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary is the Patron Saint of: Bakers Catholic Charities Secular Franciscan Order Get to know these 14 holy women! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media