About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

Francis of Assisi – “And the Lord gave me brothers…”

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Friar Musings

It is later in the autumn of 1206 that with his decision to “leave the world” Francis began to be aware of the powerful Divine Presence in his life through, his work among the lepers near Assisi, and his habit of taking refuge in churches for prayer and rebuilding the structures. At San Damiano he encountered the consoling presence of the Savior who had suffered and died for him. It was a presence he soon came to recognize in other church: “And the Lord granted me such faith in churches that I would pray simply and say: We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all you churches throughout the world, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.” (Testament 4-7). Francis was at the beginnings of an inner peace. Continue reading →

Creativity and Time

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Friar Musings

Francis of Assisi: A Period of Crisis – Embracing the Leper

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Friar Musings

There are three events that seem to highlight the “period of crisis” in Francis life during the period from late 1205 until the summer of 1206:

Francis’ experiences at the abandoned San Damiano chapel – especially his prayers before the cross
Francis’ “leaving the world” as he turns away from his family towards the Church and an unknown path with God.
Francis and the leper (or lepers)

There is no consensus on the order of the events – and there is some question about later embellishments of the event – and even questions about whether some accounts indicating a single event is actually a compilation of a series of experiences. But then the 13^th century writers were not trying to capture “history” they were trying to tell their understanding of the “meaning” of the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Continue reading →

Admonition Twenty-Three

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Friar Musings

“Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance” (St. Augustine, Letter 18). At the root of Francis of Assisi’s on-going conversion was the movement towards a fuller realization of humility in his own life: from son of a privileged, wealthy merchant to a lesser brother following the footsteps of Christ. From one well-dressed and flamboyant as a young man to one who asked to be laid naked upon the ground at the time of his death. From one hiding from God, to one laid bare, knowing that what he was before God he was that and nothing more. Along the way he discovered and lived all the other virtues. Continue reading →

Admonition Twenty-Two

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Friar Musings

“You are so judgmental!” That is one way to respond to someone offering some fraternal correction. Here’s another: “Who do you think you are?” Or how about, “You are you to admonish me, when….?” Not one of our more spiritual moments. Yet fraternal correction is listed among the spiritual works of Mercy (CCC 2247). St. Thomas Aquinas lists it in the Summa as a work of Charity: “fraternal correction properly so called, is directed to the amendment of the sinner. Now to do away with anyone’s evil is the same as to procure his good: and to procure a person’s good is an act of charity, whereby we wish and do our friend well” (II, IIae, 33.1). Continue reading →

Francis of Assisi: A Period of Crisis – “Leaving the World”

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Friar Musings

St Francis of Assisi – Cimbue

“When I was in sin…. I delay a little and left the world.” (Testament of St Francis 1-2)

In the previous article about this period of Francis’ life we highlighted his experiences at the abandoned San Damiano chapel – especially his prayers before the cross – and how they seemed to lead Francis from a burdened and directionless existence to the first steps on the path of conversion. In this same time period we also have the moment when Francis chose to “leave the world.” The order of the events in late 1205 and early 1206 are not clear and are the content of some debate within the Franciscan world. In other words, did Francis choose to “leave the world” and then have the San Damiano experience or vice-versa? When did his famous encounter with the leper occur with respect to these events (the topic of the next article)? Hard to say, so I will simply tell the stories as best I can. Continue reading →

Admonition Twenty-One

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Friar Musings

We all have moments when we can truly be described as fiddling, foolish, unimportant, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, or in other words, frivolous. Perhaps it is the way we take a break from the serious and demanding parts of our own lives. We seek a pause in life. And so from time to time we value the people in our lives that can provide that temporary comic relief. The royal courts of England employed court jesters for just such a task, but once the jester was done, the royal court returned to its business. Jesters disappeared when the Puritan Oliver Cromwell, no frivolity in that one, banned them in 1653. Continue reading →

Admonition Twenty

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Friar Musings

I mean, really… who doesn’t love a morsel of gossip? Gossip has a place in the world, right? Who doesn’t love to walk into a room, filled with laughter, have everyone catch sight of us, hear the laughter suddenly stop, and then watch the group disperse? OK, that is not so great, but how bad can gossip be? Romans 1:29 gives us an idea of the companions of gossip: “every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite.” Gossip is next on the list. Continue reading →

Francis of Assisi: A Period of Crisis – San Damiano

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Friar Musings

Francis of Assisi by Cimbue

In the previous article we had left Francis in the spring of 1205, in his early 20’s, just released from a year as a prisoner of war, suffering severe physical effects and psychological burdens, that to the modern mind, fit the description of PTSD. He returned with compromised health, face drawn and sallow, digestion impaired, and was plagued with bouts of recurring fever. When he was out of bed he was listless and kept to the house. A biography written within two years of Francis’ death (by Thomas of Celano, 1C) records Francis’ convalescence from his imprisonment in Perugia as follows: “When he had recovered a little, he began to walk about through the house with the support of a cane… [and] one day, he went outside and began to gaze upon the surrounding countryside. But the beauty of the fields, the delight of the vineyards and whatever else was beautiful to see, could offer him no delight at all [and he] considered those who loved these things quite foolish.” (1C4) Continue reading →

Admonition Nineteen