Years ago I wrote reflections on the Admonitions of St. Francis of Assisi. They are listed below. But I would recommend a new book, edited by Br. Casey Cole OFM, which contains a reflection on each admonition. The book, Sine Proprio: the Franciscan Art of Living Freely, is available on Amazon. Each chapter was written by one of the Friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province. Your truly contributed the chapter on Admonition 22: “On Corrections”
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Admonitions of St. Francis
Read more: Admonitions of St. FrancisIn the medieval world, an “admonition” was more than a warning. It was the practical application in life of a biblical passage. In his time, St Francis of Assisi left 28 admonitions for his brother friars, passages of Scripture and Francis’ own reflection upon them. These admonitions were found in five 13th-century manuscripts that were…
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St Francis – Admonition 2
Read more: St Francis – Admonition 2Franciscans take three vows: poverty, chastity, and obedience. It is sometimes said that Obedience is the one the creeps up on you. When one spends a lifetime working to become an individuated person with a good sense of self and one’s worth, setting aside “self will” does not come naturally. Francis understood the balance of…
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St Francis – Admonition 3
Read more: St Francis – Admonition 3When one considers the writings of Francis of Assisi (not writings about Francis), the topic about which he most often writes, mentions, or points to is obedience. Too often this word in heard as “do what you are told” and there is an element of that in Francis’ writings. But there is always more. Francis…
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St Francis – Admonition 4
Read more: St Francis – Admonition 4On Francis’ death bed he asked that the Johannine passage (John 13:1-17) of the Last Supper be read. It is the passage in which Jesus washes the feet of the disciples as a demonstration of how followers are to go about the world. Francis understands that the human enterprise needs and seeks its own organization,…
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Admonition 5
Read more: Admonition 5I think anyone who is involved in pastoral ministry or ministries of service – inside or outside the home – knows that there days that are less rewarding than others – and days when you wondered why you got out of bed. There are those days when we tried to bring to bear some of…
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Admonition Seven
Read more: Admonition SevenYears ago I was invited to lunch with the teaching staff at a seminary in Kenya. I walked in on the middle of a good-natured debate. On one side were the two scripture scholars – on the other side of the debate was the entire remainder of the staff. The proposition was whether studying Scripture…
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Admonition Eight
Read more: Admonition EightSomeone once described the décor in my room in the friary as a wonderful example of “early American randomness.” Random? Really? I suspect they really meant chaos in the mathematical sense – because there is always an order present – even if it is not readily apparent. One of my friar brothers, in his life…
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Admonition Nine
Read more: Admonition NineIt is said that we do not read Scripture, but that Scripture reads us. “Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4). It is in the same way…
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Admoniton Ten
Read more: Admoniton TenEvery four years our neighbors and friends are suddenly vexed and overcome by the spirit of confusion, delusion, and irrationality. We simply cannot understand how they so abruptly lose their good common sense. Can’t they see that we hold the clear and sure vision of exactly who is deserving of our vote and that our…
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