Stigmata | AirMaria.com

Sep 17 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: The Stigmatization of Our Holy Father St. Francis

apostolate — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:35:56 +0000

Homily #080917 ( 22min) Play – Today we celebrate that extraordinary event when St. Francis received the Sacred Stigmata – the imprint of the wounds of Christ on his own body.
Ave Maria! +++

The post Sep 17 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: The Stigmatization of Our Holy Father St. Francis first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Stigmata of Our Seraphic Father

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:00:52 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

September 17th: The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

May I never boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through it the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. I bear the brand marks of Jesus in my body. Brothers, may the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. (Galatians 6: 14, 17-18)

From the beginning of his conversion our Seraphic Father Saint Francis had a very great devotion and veneration for Christ crucified and never ceased to preach this devotion till his death. In the year 1224 as he was rapt in deep contemplation on Mt. Alverna, Christ the Lord by a stupendous miracle imprinted the marks of His passion on the saint’s body. Pope Benedict XI permitted the Franciscan Order to celebrate annually on this day the memory of this extraordinary event attested by reliable witnesses.

What many do not think of or know about St. Francis is that he was a radical penitent! Many think of him as just a peaceful nature lover and he did see God’s awesomeness in creation but his spirituality was such that he desired to be a martyr. He went to preach to an islamic Sultan and if he had been martyrded in that attempt that would have pleased him. But he lived his martyrdom another way; he gave himself fully in another way, and ultimately he became so configured to Christ that the Holy Stigmata–the wounds of Christ–were imprinted on his body. St. Francis, pray for us and that we may live also all for Christ.

From the Legenda Minor of St. Bonaventure:

Two years before Francis, the faithful servant of Christ, gave his soul back to God, he was alone on the top of Mt. Alverna. There he had begun a fast of forty days in honor of the archangel Michael and was immersed more deeply than usual in the delights of heavenly contemplation. His soul became aglow with the ardor of fervent longing for heaven as he experienced within himself the operations of grace.

As he was drawn aloft through ardent longing for God one morning near the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, and was praying on the mountainside, he saw what appeared as a seraph with six bright wings gleaming like a fire descending from the heights of heaven. As this figure approached in swift flight and came near the man of God it appeared not only winged but also crucified. The sight of it amazed Francis and his soul experienced joy mingled with pain. He was delighted with the sight of Christ appearing to him so graciously and intimately and yet the awe-inspiring vision of Christ nailed to the cross aroused in his soul a joy of compassionate love.

When the vision vanished after a mysterious and intimate conversation it left Francis aglow with seraphic love in his soul. Externally, however, it left marks on his body like those of the Crucified as if the impression of a seal had been left on heated wag. The figures of the nails appeared immediately on his hands and feet. The heads of the nails were inside his hands but on top of his feet with their points extending through to the opposite side. His right side too showed a blood-red wound as if it had been pierced by a lance, and blood flowed frequently from it. Because of this new and astounding miracle unheard of in times past, Francis came down from the mountain a new man adorned with the sacred stigmata, bearing in his body the image of the Crucified not made by a craftsman in wood or stone , but fashioned in his members by the hand of the living God.

Francis and his followers travelled and preached all over Europe, gaining popularity and followers everywhere. Francis himself preached before the Pope and Cardinals at the Lateran in 1217 and met St. Dominic during that stay in Rome. Lay people were so moved by Francis’ preaching that they came to him pleading to join his order, once an entire congregation implored him en masse. At this point he devised his Third Order, which he intended as a middle state for people who weren’t ready or able to leave all for the cloister.

Many Franciscans also went to preach to the Muslims, Francis himself preached to the sultan as he and his army were faced by crudasers from Europe. Many of the friars who went to Muslim lands were martyred. Francis’ first rule was only approved verbally by Innocent III, and in written form it was overly long and not precise. After some relaxations in the austerity he desired for his friars and imposition of rules by outside or unauthorized people, Francis retired to solitude to entrust an official version of his rule of life to paper. (After he finished a first version it was promptly lost, and Francis was forced to retire again to re-write it.) The rule was pared down from 23 to 12 chapters, and was solemnly approved by Pope Honorius III on November 29, 1223. It was unique up to that time in that it stressed the vow of poverty, which it made absolute, and in the compromise between the secular and religious states in his Third Order.

HYMN from the Office of Readings

The mysteries of Jesus’ passion Shone forth on Mount Alverna’s height,

Where rays of merciful redemption Diffused their gentle saving light,

As Francis, rapt in contemplation, The Cross embraced throughout the night.

His fervent prayer in lone seclusion, His spirit soared to God on high;

The thought of Christ’s most bitter passion Evoked from him a painful sigh;

His urge to share Christ’s crucifixion Engulfed his soul in ecstasy.

Then, lo, there came the King from heaven In garb of Seraphim arrayed.

His form, in angel wings enfolded, A kindly countenance displayed;

But then the Cross that bore his members His bitter sufferings portrayed.

The servant gazed upon his Savior, Once suffering, now glorified;

The light and splendor of the Father, But now so lowly, gentle, tried.

He understood the mystic message To no mere human words allied.

The mountain peak burst forth in splendor, As neighbors wondered down below;

The heart of Francis throbbed intensely With flames of love for Christ aglow;

And presently upon his body Christ’s passion wounds began to show.

Unto the Crucified be glory, Who takes away our guilt and sin.

Him Francis greatly loved and honored, In cross and suffering made akin,

And through his grace the world despising The crown of glory strove to win.

Text taken from: Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours. September 17 – Feast of the Stigmata of our holy father Francis

The post Stigmata of Our Seraphic Father first appeared on AirMaria.com.

September 23rd: Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:29 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations encore

St. Padre Pio: PRAY, HOPE, AND DON’T WORRY!

Padre Pio’s Prayer After Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You;

You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength,

that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and alway be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You,

a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes,

death, judgment and eternity approaches.

It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that,

I need You.

It is getting late and death approaches,

I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.

O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,

so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,

the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death,

I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for,

Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit,

because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth

and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.

Amen.

I have often raised my hand in the silence of the night and in my solitary cell, blessing you all and presenting you to Jesus and to our father, St. Francis of Assisi.

+++

O Jesus, impart to me also that same strength, when my weak nature foreseeing future evils rebels, so that like Thou, I may accept with serene peace and tranquility all the pains and distress which I may meet on this earth of exile. I unite all to Thy merits, to Thy pains, Thy expiations, Thy tears, that I may cooperate with Thee for my salvation and flee from sin, which was the sole cause of making Thee sweat blood and which led Thee to death. Destroy in me everything that does not please Thee, and with the sacred fire of Thy love write Thy sufferings into my heart. Hold me so closely to Thee, with a bond so tight and so sweet, that I shall never again abandon Thee in Thy Sufferings. May I be able to rest on Thy Heart to obtain comfort in the sufferings of life. May my spirit have no other desire but to live at Thy side in the Garden and unite itself to the pains of Thy Heart. May my soul be inebriated with Thy Blood and feed itself with the bread of Thy sufferings. Amen.

The prayer that Padre Pio preferred was the Holy Rosary. He loved it and recited it so that he could be called a “saint of the Rosary.” If one did not see Padre Pio at the altar or in the confessional, it was likely one would see him holding and praying his Rosary. From the time he was a boy he loved the Rosary. His first visit to a Marian shrine was the visit he paid to the shrine of the Madonna of the Rosary of Pompei.

From the time the Madonna appeared at Fatima as the Madonna of the Rosary and urged the Rosary as a powerful prayer for winning every blessing and banishing every evil, Padre Pio adopted the Rosary as the prayer he said ceaselessly and tirelessly day after day. He said, “If the Holy Virgin has urged the Rosary wherever she has appeared in her (recent) visions, doesn’t it seem that we have a special motive for praying it?”

The more the number of his spiritual children grew and spread out, the more he increased the Rosaries he would recite. It was with the Rosary that he banished sickness and obtained graces. He reached the point of reciting, in the course of a day, an inconceivable number of Rosaries. He spoke of the fact a number of times different people.

These facts bear out principally two things: first, that Padre Pio prayed uninterruptedly, having that mystical gift that some great Saints have had of prayer even while asleep or doing other things; second, it s evident that this uninterrupted prayer was something all Marian, as it all consisted of Rosaries. Here is something he said that eloquently preaches excellency of the Rosary: “I wish days had forty-eight hours so that we could double our Rosaries!”

Needless to say that the whole array of gifts and miracles that Padre Pio used for souls came about through the Rosary. His power to draw sinners and stray souls who came from everywhere was the fruit of his Rosaries. All his projects and enlightened counsels and his victories over sin were linked with the power of the Rosary. Ceaselessly praying the Rosary, he also upheld the truth that Mary is Mediatrix of all graces of which St. Bernard said, “The Lord gives nothing but what passes through the hands of the Queen of Heaven.”

Needless to say Padre Pio used to urge people with all his zeal to pray the Rosary. He gave away countless Rosaries. Someone asked him one day what the inheritance would be that he would leave his spiritual children. He answered at once, “The Rosary”. Someone else asked him what prayer to choose for use throughout one’s life. He promptly replied, “ The Rosary.”

Shortly before his death, some of his spiritual children asked him for some words of wisdom. He answered, “Love the Madonna and make her loved by others. Always pray the Rosary”. Day and night Padre Pio used to entrust to the Madonna his spiritual children and his Home for the Relief of Suffering.

He counted frequent confession important for himself and for others. He made his own confession at least every week, and often several times a week, without counting those periods when he went to confession every day to whatever priest was at hand. As for others, he wanted weekly confession to serve as a golden rule of the Christian life. Even during the years when great throngs were coming to him, he never wanted his spiritual children to stay away from confession more than ten days.

Once a spiritual daughter carelessly let a month pass without coming to confession. When she came to Padre Pio and told him that she had not gone to confession for a month, she received a severe rebuke from him, “Oh, how neglectful! That you would not yet understand the value of confession and what you lost by neglecting this sacrament!”

For Padre Pio was convinced that confession is a powerful means not only for removing sins, but also for increasing divine grace. He taught that an atom of grace is worth more than the whole created universe.

(excerpts from Padre Pio of Pietrelcina by Fr. Stefano Manelli, F.I. )

“A thousand years of glory in palaces of men cannot be worth the sweetness of one hour spent before the tabernacle.”

–Padre Pio would describe himself as just a ‘friar who prays’.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina was born Francesco Forgione in 1887. He entered the Franciscan Capuchin Order at age 15 as Brother Pio. He was ordained on August 10, 1910. While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata on September 20, 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed. His obedience to superiors was heroic. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. He became very well known during his lifetime and people would wait for days to have the opportunity to confess to him. Many miracles were associated with his intercession during his lifetime and among the supernatural gifts he had was the gift of bilocation. He had a great love for the Mother of God and prayed the rosary continually. He founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year. He died in 1968 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

The post September 23rd: Padre Pio of Pietrelcina first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Our Seraphic Holy Father Francis

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:00:17 +0000

October 4th: St. Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, has been called “the most beautiful image of Jesus that has ever been in the Catholic Church.” He built the first Christmas crib in 1223. His great devotion was to the sorrows of Jesus. Jesus put the imprint of His wounded hands and feet and side upon Saint Francis’ body in the year. 1224. Saint Francis died in 1226 when he was only forty-four years old.

The Canticle of the Sun

by Francis of Assisi

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.

FROM THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI _________________________________________________________________

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR, AND OF MARY HIS VIRGIN MOTHER. IN THIS BOOK ARE CONTAINED CERTAIN LITTLE FLOWERS – TO WIT, MIRACLES AND PIOUS EXAMPLES OF THE GLORIOUS SERVANT OF CHRIST ST FRANCIS, AND OF SOME OF HIS HOLY COMPANIONS; TO THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.

CHAPTER VIII

HOW ST FRANCIS, WALKING ONE DAY WITH BROTHER LEO,
EXPLAINED TO HIM WHAT THINGS ARE PERFECT JOY

One day in winter, as St Francis was going with Brother Leo from Perugia to St Mary of the Angels, and was suffering greatly from the cold, he called to Brother Leo, who was walking on before him, and said to him: “Brother Leo, if it were to please God that the Friars Minor should give, in all lands, a great example of holiness and edification, write down, and note carefully, that this would not be perfect joy.”

A little further on, St Francis called to him a second time: “O Brother Leo, if the Friars Minor were to make the lame to walk, if they should make straight the crooked, chase away demons, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, and, what is even a far greater work, if they should raise the dead after four days, write that this would not be perfect joy.”

Shortly after, he cried out again: “O Brother Leo, if the Friars Minor knew all languages; if they were versed in all science; if they could explain all Scripture; if they had the gift of prophecy, and could reveal, not only all future things, but likewise the secrets of all consciences and all souls, write that this would not be perfect joy.”

After proceding a few steps farther, he cried out again with a loud voice: “O Brother Leo, thou little lamb of God! if the Friars Minor could speak with the tongues of angels; if they could explain the course of the stars; if they knew the virtues of all plants; if all the treasures of the earth were revealed to them; if they were acquainted with the various qualities of all birds, of all fish, of all animals, of men, of trees, of stones, of roots, and of waters – write that this would not be perfect joy.”

Shortly after, he cried out again: “O Brother Leo, if the Friars Minor had the gift of preaching so as to convert all infidels to the faith of Christ, write that this would not be perfect joy.” Now when this manner of discourse had lasted for the space of two miles, Brother Leo wondered much within himself; and, questioning the saint, he said: “Father, I pray thee teach me wherein is perfect joy.”

St Francis answered: “If, when we shall arrive at St Mary of the Angels, all drenched with rain and trembling with cold, all covered with mud and exhausted from hunger; if, when we knock at the convent-gate, the porter should come angrily and ask us who we are; if, after we have told him, `We are two of the brethren’, he should answer angrily, `What ye say is not the truth; ye are but two impostors going about to deceive the world, and take away the alms of the poor; begone I say’; if then he refuse to open to us, and leave us outside, exposed to the snow and rain, suffering from cold and hunger till nightfall – then, if we accept such injustice, such cruelty and such contempt with patience, without being ruffled and without murmuring, believing with humility and charity that the porter really knows us, and that it is God who maketh him to speak thus against us, write down, O Brother Leo, that this is perfect joy.

And if we knock again, and the porter come out in anger to drive us away with oaths and blows, as if we were vile impostors, saying, `Begone, miserable robbers! To the hospital, for here you shall neither eat nor sleep!’ – and if we accept all this with patience, with joy, and with charity, O Brother Leo, write that this indeed is perfect joy.

And if, urged by cold and hunger, we knock again, calling to the porter and entreating him with many tears to open to us and give us shelter, for the love of God, and if he come out more angry than before, exclaiming, `These are but importunate rascals, I will deal with them as they deserve’; and taking a knotted stick, he seize us by the hood, throwing us on the ground, rolling us in the snow, and shall beat and wound us with the knots in the stick – if we bear all these injuries with patience and joy, thinking of the sufferings of our Blessed Lord, which we would share out of love for him, write, O Brother Leo, that here, finally, is perfect joy.

And now, brother, listen to the conclusion. Above all the graces and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ grants to his friends, is the grace of overcoming oneself, and accepting willingly, out of love for Christ, all suffering, injury, discomfort and contempt; for in all other gifts of God we cannot glory, seeing they proceed not from ourselves but from God, according to the words of the Apostle, `What hast thou that thou hast not received from God? and if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?’ But in the cross of tribulation and affliction we may glory, because, as the Apostle says again, `I will not glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Amen.”

The Blessing of St. Francis

May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
may the Lord show his face to you
and have compassion on you!
May he turn his face to you
and give you peace!

Amen.

HAIL, O LADY
Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church
and the one chosen by the
most holy Father in heaven
whom He consecrated
with His most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is
the fullness of grace and every good

Hail His Palace!
Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Home!
Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant!
Hail His Mother!

And (hail) all you holy virtues which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit

are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that from their faithless state

you may make them faithful to God.

AMEN

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX
St. Francis of Assisi

We adore you,
Lord Jesus Christ,
here and in all your
churches in the whole world,
and we bless you,
because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.

Lord God:
you alone are holy,
you who work wonders!

You are strong, you are great,
you are the Most High,
you are the almighty King,
you, holy Father, King of heaven and earth.

Lord God: you are Three and you are One,
you are goodness, all goodness,
you are the highest Good,
Lord God, living and true.

You are love and charity, you are wisdom,
you are humility, you are patience,
you are beauty, you are sweetness,
you are safety, you are rest, you are joy,
you are our hope
and our delight,
you are justice, you are moderation
you are all our wealth
and riches overflowing.

You are beauty, you are gentleness,
you are our shelter, our guard
and our defender,
you are strength, you are refreshment,
you are our hope.
you are our faith.
you are our love,
you are our complete consolation,
you are our life everlasting,
great and wonderful Lord,
all powerful God, merciful Savior!

Amen.

The Exhortation to the Praises of God

Let the whole of humanity tremble,

the whole world shake and the heavens exult when

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God

is present on the altar in the hands of a priest!

O admirable heights and sublime lowliness!
O sublime humility! O humble sublimity!

That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God,

so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides

Himself under the little form of bread!

Look at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him!

Humble yourselves as well, that you may be exalted by Him.

Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves

so that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally.

THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The post Our Seraphic Holy Father Francis first appeared on AirMaria.com.

St. Pio

Carol Girard — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:14:10 +0000

Padre Pio, an Italian monk from an obscure town,changed the lives of Catholics around the world by his prayers, …

catholicnewsagency — March 02, 2010 — Padre Pio, an Italian monk from an obscure town,changed the lives of Catholics around the world by his prayers, his holy example, and his spiritual advice. Over 500,000 people were present in St. Peter’s Square for his canonization, and people have called this simple monk the holiest man of the 20th Century. He was the first priest to recieve the Stigmata, and one of the few saints gifted with bilocation.

Category: News & Politics

Tags:

Saint catholic Padre Pio Pietrelcina Italy Monk Franciscan Stigmata

The post St. Pio first appeared on AirMaria.com.

He became as a Living Crucifix

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:00:33 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

September 17th: The Stigmata of St. Francis

“Take up your cross,” the Savior said,
“If you would my disciple be;
Forsake the past, and come this day,
And humbly follow after me.”

Take up your cross; let not its weight
Pervade your soul with vain alarm;
His strength shall bear your spirit up,
Sustain your heart, and nerve your arm.

Take up your cross, nor heed the shame,
Nor let your foolish heart rebel;
For you the Lord endured the cross
To save your soul from death and hell.

Take up your cross and follow Christ,
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only those who bear the cross
May hope to wear a golden crown.

By: Charles W. Everest

The post He became as a Living Crucifix first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Sep 23 – Homily – Fr Dominic: Padre Pio Saint of Modern Miracles

apostolate — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:56:26 +0000

Homily #110923 ( 07min) Play – Today is the Feast of St. Pio, affectionately known as Padre Pio, a modern miracle worker who had the stigmata of Our Lord’s wounds imprinted visibly on his flesh. He was spiritual director of Fr. Stefano Manelli, our founder, and his entire family.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Pio of Pietrelcina – Feast – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: exo 32:7-14
2nd: gal 6:14-18
Gsp: joh 19:25-37

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Sep 23 – Homily – Fr Dominic: Padre Pio Saint of Modern Miracles first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Sep 17 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Stigmata of St. Francis, The Marian Vow

apostolate — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:48:16 +0000

Homily #120917 ( 05min) Play– On this feast of the Stigmata of Our Holy Father St. Francis, Fr. Ignatius explains the “seal of approval” Our Lord gave to St. Francis of His own sacred wounds. Father also relates the three vows of the consecrated religious to three golden nails which nail us to the Cross, and how the fourth Marian vow is like a diamond tipped spear which pierces the side of each Franciscan of the Immaculate, conforming us to the poor and crucified Jesus. Ave Maria!

Mass: Stigmata of our Holy Father Francis – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: gal 6:14-18
Resp: gal 2:16, 20
Gsp: luk 9:23-26

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Sep 17 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Stigmata of St. Francis, The Marian Vow first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Sep 24 – Homily – Fr George: St. Pio, Becoming a Spiritual Fighter

apostolate — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:30:57 +0000

Homily #120924 ( 12min) Play– On this feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (September 23), one of the beloved patrons of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, Fr. George recounts some of the gifts God bestowed on the world renowned, stigmatized priest, such as miraculous cures, bi-locating, the reading of souls, spending 15 hours in the confessional, saying over a hundred Rosaries a day, and having an extraordinary devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Father encourages us to listen carefully to his words and to imitate him in becoming spiritual fighters.

Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Pio of Pietrelcina – Feast – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: exo 32:7-14
2nd: gal 6:14-18
Gsp: joh 19:25-37

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Sep 24 – Homily – Fr George: St. Pio, Becoming a Spiritual Fighter first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Jul 10 – Homily – Fr Joachim: St. Veronica Giuliani

apostolate — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 11:19:03 +0000

Homily #130710b ( 08min) Play – Fr. Joachim on the life of St. Veronica Giuliani a Capuchin Nun, her great humility, obedience and poverty and the many mystical phenomena she experienced, including the stigmata.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Veronica Giuliani – Form: OF
Readings: Wednesday 14th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: gen 41:55-57, 42:5-7, 17-24
Resp: psa 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19
Gsp: mat 10:1-7

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Jul 10 – Homily – Fr Joachim: St. Veronica Giuliani first appeared on AirMaria.com.