Little Portion Fraternity The Secular Franciscans

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1 Little Portion Fraternity The Secular Franciscans Mar 2015 Newsletter Page 1 March 24 - Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz This humble Capuchin, who could make no progress at school, this "dunce of Cadiz" was later on admired by the world as the savior of the Faith in Spain, as a second Paul, as the apostle of his century. His lineage dated from the Visigoth kings. After he had taken the habit of St. Francis with the Capuchins in Seville, had been ordained to the priesthood, and had prepared himself by a holy life, he was appointed to the task of preaching. Everybody marveled at the singular power and unction of his words, which swayed his audiences and left an impression on their lives. But most astonished of all was the venerable Dominican, Antonio Querero, a fellow student of Didacus, who knew how difficult study had been for him. A child, however, solved the problem one day during a sermon, when he shouted aloud in the church: "Mother, mother, see the dove resting on the shoulder of Father Didacus! I could preach like that too if a dove told me all that I should say!" And there was the secret. Because of his humility and virtue, the Holy Spirit had converted this unlearned man into the most celebrated preacher in Spain. But how Father Didacus prayed before his sermons! How he scourged himself even unto blood, in order to draw down God's mercy upon the people! Once when his superior chided him because of the austerity of his life, the saint replied: "Ah, Father, my sins and the sins of the people compel me to do it. Those who have been charged with the conversion of sinners must remember that the Lord has imposed upon them the sins of all their clients. By means of our penances we should atone for the sins of our fellowmen and thus preserve ourselves and them from eternal death. It would hardly be too much if we shed the last drop of our blood for their conversion." In this disposition he journeyed through all Spain and infused new Catholic life wherever he went. In a very pronounced way he preached the praise of the most Holy Trinity and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. <><><><><><><><> Visit Us We are happy to invite you to our next fraternity meeting on March 8, 2015 at 1:30 pm in the Adult Center Library at SS Peter and Paul Church, 4450 Granite Drive Rocklin, CA (For those in Formation please come at 12:30) Servant Leaders Minister: DOROTHY VOIGT, 4651 Mt. Pleasant, Lincoln, CA 95648, Vice Minister: JOHN SCULLY, 763 Downing Circle, Lincoln, CA 95648, Secretary: DONNA RIETZ, 6133 Rutland Drive, Carmichael, CA 95608, Treasurer: BARBARA LIPIEC, 6506 Cleveland Ct., Rocklin, CA 95765, Formation: JOHN ZIEMIENSKI, 5400 Wildflower Circle, Carmichael, CA 95608,

2 Dec 2014 Page 2 Honors did not escape him. He was appointed extraordinary consultor of the Church, synodal examiner in almost all the Spanish dioceses, honorary canon, and honorary doctor of several universities. He died in 1801, in the 58th year of his highly blessed life, and was beatified by Pope Leo XIII. ON THE NECESSITY OF PENANCE 1. Consider the rigorous penance of Blessed Didacus. We do not need, nor are we permitted to imitate him in it. But it would be well if we strove to cultivate the spirit which prompted him to undertake it. Not without reason does the holy council of Trent explain: "The whole life of a Christian should be one continuous act of penance." We are sinners, and the first requisite of true penance is the acknowledgment and confession of our sinfulness and hearty sorrow for our offenses. -- Do you possess at least this kind of contrition? 2. Consider the admonition of our Lord: "Except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5), that is to say, by sudden death. Our Lord spoke these words after it had been reported to Him that a number of persons had died a sudden death. But who is there who would care to be surprised in his sins by sudden death? Let us, therefore, heed that other word also: "Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Heb 3:8). -- Should you not long ago have followed the call to penance? 3. Consider penance as atonement for the sins of others. What fruitful penance Blessed Didacus took upon himself in order to atone for the sins of the people. Hence, his sermons produced "fruits worthy of penance" (Luke 3:8). He who seriously considers how frequently our good God is offended every day, will count it as a sweet obligation to impose small mortifications upon himself by way of atonement. -- Have you ever thought of doing that? On Fridays? During Lent? During the Ember weeks? PRAYER OF THE CHURCH Oh God, who did endow Thy blessed confessor, Didacus, with the science of the saints and didst work wonders through him for the salvation of his people, grant us through his intercession to think those things that are right and just, so that we may arrive safely at the kingdom of Thy glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. From Our Fraternity From Kathleen Molaro - After the big Franciscan Chapter the two Johns and I attended, there was a 100th Celebration of the Province. It was a beautiful event! I noticed there is also one listed in Sacramento at St. Francis. We are currently getting details on that event and will send out a notice so that you can plan and add it to your calendar. News from the Vatican From the Catholic News Service, By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, VATICAN CITY (CNS) Feb During Lent, pope offers handy tips for preparing for Confession VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Catholics are encouraged to make going to confession a significant part of their lives during Lent, Pope Francis offered some quick tips to help people prepare for the sacrament of penance.

3 Dec 2014 Page 3 After a brief explanation of why people should go to confession -- "because we are all sinners" - - the pope listed 30 key questions to reflect on as part of making an examination of conscience and being able to "confess well." The guide is part of a 28-page booklet in Italian released by the Vatican publishing house. Pope Francis had 50,000 free copies distributed to people attending his Angelus address Feb. 22, the first Sunday of Lent. Titled "Safeguard your heart," the booklet is meant to help the faithful become "courageous" and prepared to battle against evil and choose the good. The booklet contains quick introductions to Catholic basics: it has the text of the Creed, a list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. It explains the seven sacraments and includes Pope Francis' explanation of "lectio divina," a prayerful way of reading Scripture in order to better hear "what the Lord wants to tell us in his word and to let us be transformed by his Spirit." The booklet's title is based on a line from one of the pope's morning Mass homilies in which he said Christians need to guard and protect their hearts, "just as you protect your home -- with a lock." "How often do bad thoughts, bad intentions, jealousy, envy enter?" he asked. "Who opened the door? How did those things get in?" The Oct. 10, 2014, homily, which is excerpted in the booklet, said the best way to guard one's heart is with the daily practice of an "examination of conscience," in which one quietly reviews what bad things one has done and what good things one has failed to do for God, one's neighbor and oneself. The questions include: -- Do I only turn to God when I'm in need? -- Do I take attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation? -- Do I begin and end the day with prayer? -- Am I embarrassed to show that I am a Christian? -- Do I rebel against God's plan? -- Am I envious, hot-tempered, biased? -- Am I honest and fair with everyone or do I fuel the "throwaway culture?" -- In my marital and family relations, do I uphold morality as taught in the Gospels? -- Do I honor and respect my parents? -- Have I refused newly conceived life? Have I snuffed out the gift of life? Have I helped do so? -- Do I respect the environment? -- Am I part worldly and part believer? -- Do I overdo it with eating, drinking, smoking and amusements? -- Am I overly concerned about my physical well-being, my possessions? -- How do I use my time? Am I lazy? -- Do I want to be served? -- Do I dream of revenge, hold grudges? -- Am I meek, humble and a builder of peace?

4 Dec 2014 Page 4 Catholics should go to confession, the pope said, because everyone needs forgiveness for their sins, for the ways "we think and act contrary to the Gospel." "Whoever says he is without sin is a liar or is blind," he wrote. Confession is meant to be a sincere moment of conversion, an occasion to demonstrate trust in God's willingness to forgive his children and to help them back on the path of following Jesus, Pope Francis wrote. Copyright (c) 2015 Catholic News Service/USCCB Center for Action and Contemplation Editor s Note: As part of our act of confession and penance we need to make meditation and prayer part of our lives and Richard Rohr helps us consider how to make it more a part of ourselves Richard Rohr's Meditation: Be Here Now. Wednesday, December 10, 2014 The Great Chain of Being From the Concrete to the Universal Wednesday, February 4, 2015 The contemplative way, and surely the Franciscan way, is to start with the concrete thing in itself. If you start with mere concepts or ideas, you too often stay right there. The heart is not evoked. Instead you must recognize the Presence in one rock, one flower, one lizard, one tree, and then from loving the concrete thing, you build up to loving everything, and everything in between. That's why St. Francis could love God, animals, his enemies, and Brother Sun and Sister Moon, too. How you do anything is how you do everything. In his first Life of St. Francis, Thomas of Celano wrote that Francis would "meditate within himself and draw external things inside and then this would lift his spirit to higher things." This also has the wonderful side effect of making you at home with yourself, because your inside is alive and content. So can you see the full circle flow? God first seems totally beyond and transcendent, fully opposite of (or fully Other than) the outer world of things, nature, animals, and plants. It is the unique capacity of the soul to gather them into one and see them as one. The human soul is the mediation point of all creation. Once this divine flow starts, there is no reason for it to stop, unless we stop paying attention, which unfortunately many people do. To keep paying attention, and remain consciously in the flow is to "pray always." To stop the flow is the core and foundational meaning of sin, much more than the individual doing of "bad" things. Beginning with an early sermon, which was said to be given to a tree full of birds, Francis was always telling creatures that by their very existence they were giving glory to God, so they should just be who they are and do their own unique thing, and that was enough. This undoubtedly allowed Francis to do his own unique thing too (do not understand that in a narcissistic way) and give his one life back to God. What else would God want from us? You cannot give what you are not, nor would God want it. You can only give what you are, warts

5 Dec 2014 Page 5 and all, and it is the very giving back that delights the Creator--not the supposed perfection of the gift. Each creature "Myself it speaks and spells, crying what I do is me: for that I came," Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in "As Kingfishers Catch Fire." At its best, the pure loving consciousness of each individual thing--doing itself--brings us to a rare inner freedom, deep delight, and often a sympathy and solidarity with the "one suffering" of all things; whereas mere abstract or conceptual theories about things will keep you split and apart. Adapted from The Great Chain of Being: Simplifying Our Lives (MP3 download); and In the Footsteps of Francis: Awakening to Creation (CD, MP3 download)