Saint Francis

Not too long ago my husband and I went to an event at a Catholic institution and there was a nun there who gave a brief talk about Saint Francis. It seems like I saw alot of blank stares like people were wondering who is this man Saint Francis. Again her talk was brief and that was just because her time was limited. I am sure she would have told more if she would have had the time.

Now most people have heard of him and most people know he was someone who loved animals and was kind to nature but what alot of people, myself included until just recently, don't know there is more to him than that.

Saint Francis lived from 1182 to 1286 AD.  He was born to a wealthy cloth maker. Now Francis was born while his father was away and his mother had him baptized while his father was gone.  When Pietro Bernadone returned from his trip to find his son had been baptized Giovanni, after John the Baptist, he was furious and renamed him Francesco.  This means Frenchman.

Times were very permissive for Francis. He was well liked and easy to get along with. No one really tried to control him.  He seemed to attract to the wrong type of people. He had a large following of youth. All of which were attracted to evil.

He loved France. He was good at business. He had wealth but wanted more. He wanted to be a knight. His chance came when Assisi went to battle with Perugia.

During the battle many troops were killed. The wealthy were taken prisoner with the possibility of being ransomed. Francis now with the nobility was in a dungeon but later he was ransomed.

As he set off for another battle he had a conversion. He saw a painting of Jesus on the cross.
One day while riding through the countryside, Francis came face to face with a leper. Repelled by the appearance and the smell of the leper, Francis nevertheless jumped down from his horse and kissed the hand of the leper. When his kiss of peace was returned, Francis was filled with joy. As he rode off, he turned around for a last wave, and saw that the leper was gone. He always it was a  test from God...that he had passed.

One day as he passed a ruined church in San Damiono he heard God speak to him to repair his church. Francis thought it meant that particular church. He sold his fathers cloth and used the money to repair the church.  His father was angry and felt this was theft and so took him in front of the Bishop and the whole town and accused him of stealing from him.  The bishop insisted Francis return the money. That is what Francis did, return the money and even the clothes on his back until he was left with nothing but a hair cloth.  After that Francis had nothing but had everything.

He rebuilt the San Damiano church and little by little people began to follow him. He started out with one rule: live by the Gospel.

He also, loved nature. Now many people love nature but Francis had a gift with nature. There is one story where Francis was preaching to the birds in a tree and they all sat still and left only when he told them he could leave. Another story is told of a wolf who would attack the people of the village. Francis talked to the wolf and convinced him to not attack the  people and the people would feed the wolf.

As Francis and his followers went out preaching they would travel in twos as the Gospel  instructs. At first people didn't like these poor men coming around and treated them cruelly. As time went on and people saw that Francis and his followers continued to have joy despite their poverty and cruel treatment people began to welcome them with smiles.

Francis saw his poverty as freedom. No one could steal from him or starve him.

Francis had a meeting with the pope, who just happen to have a dream Francis would help the church.

Once, a very brave move was to visit the sultan of the muslims during the fifth crusade. After listening to Francis the sultan stated he would convert to christianity except they would both be murdered.

Francis' final years were filled with suffering. In his prayers to share in Christ's passion he received the stigmata, the marks of the nails and the lance wound that Christ suffered, in his own body.



As time went on  Francis became ill. When he began to go blind, the pope ordered that his eyes be operated on. This meant cauterizing his face with a hot iron. Francis spoke to "Brother Fire": "Brother Fire, the Most High has made you strong and beautiful and useful. Be courteous to me now in this hour, for I have always loved you, and temper your heat so that I can endure it."  Francis reported that Brother Fire had been so kind that he felt no pain.

After all this with suffering and blindness  he wrote his beautiful Canticle of the Sun that expresses his brotherhood with creation in praising God.



Francis never recovered from this illness. He died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45.

The 13th Day

I recently saw the movie The 13th Day. For most Catholics you know about Our Lady of Fatima.

Some will not as I did not for a long time.

Three children from Fatima, Portugal experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1917.  On October 13, 1917 she performed a great miracle.

Before the apparitions of the Blessed Mother, though, in the spring of 1916 there were  three visitations of the Guardian Angel of Portugal.
The angel appeared three times asking three children to pray.

Do not be afraid. I am the angel of peace. Pray with me.

He knelt, bending his forehead to the ground. With a supernatural impulse we did the same, repeating the words we heard him say:
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You.
After repeating this prayer three times the angel rose and said to us:
Pray in this way. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are ready to listen to you.

The angel appeared again asking them to pray and then a third time he inspired them with the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist and strengthened them with the Bread of Angels.

The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin went from May 13, 1917 to October 13, 1917.

I want a chapel built here in my honor. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day.
The war will end soon, and the soldiers will return to their homes.I am the Lady of the Rosary.
The children told her, "I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant them? "


"Some I shall grant, and others I must deny. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended! "


The children asked, "And is that all you have to ask?"
There is nothing more.


The war she was talking about was World War I.  She also in one of her appearances told them if people did not amend their ways a worse war would break out, and Russia would spread its communist errors.

One more thing, amongst others, is, she showed them a vision of @#!*% .

This movie is great. I highly recommend it. Alot of the scenes are real from the actual event.

On October 13th when she performed the miracle of the sun there were thousands of people there.  Many with cameras, many just eye witnesses. The sun danced and then appeared as if it was going to crash to earth. 

This was an awesome event in our history and this movie is a great portrayal of that event.

Here is one newspaper article written by someone who was there that day.

 O Seculo (a pro-government, anti-clerical, Lisbon paper):

From the road, where the vehicles were parked and where hundreds of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. It might have been an eclipse which was taking place. But at that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: "A miracle! A miracle!
Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws---the sun "danced" according to the typical expression of the people.
Standing at the step of an omnibus was an old man. With his face turned to the sun, he recited the Credo in a loud voice. I asked who he was and was told Senhor Joao da Cunha Vasconcelos. I saw him afterwards going up to those around him who still had their hats on, and vehemently imploring them to uncover before such an extraordinary demonstration of the existence of God.
Identical scenes were repeated elsewhere, and in one place a woman cried out: "How terrible! There are even men who do not uncover before such a stupendous miracle!"
People then began to ask each other what they had seen. The great majority admitted to having seen the trembling and the dancing of the sun; others affirmed that they saw the face of the Blessed Virgin; others, again, swore that the sun whirled on itself like a giant Catherine wheel and that it lowered itself to the earth as if to burn it in its rays. Some said they saw it change colors successively....

Here is a link to read many other eyewitness reports and then go see the movie.   http://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/October.htm

Book review: Break-In at the Basilica

My son and I have enjoyed two books as of lately in a series of three.  The first one is called Lost in St. Peter's Tomb.  The second book is titled Break-In at the Basilica. The third, which we haven't read yet is titled Curse of the Coins.

The stories center around two young children. A brother and a sister whose parents travel frequently. The third person the story centers on is Sister Philomena.

Sister Philomena is a nun in a convent in Grottaferrata, Italy, which is near Rome. Few people realize she is a special investigative agent to the Pope. The young girl and boy are her niece and nephew and when their parents travel, they send the children to stay with her at the convent. This seems quite dull to them at first, especially Riley. He doesn't see how spending any time in a convent can be fun for a boy.

In the first book they are looking for  a mysterious intruder in the Apostolic Palace, they end up led astray by a white cat and end up in St. Peter's tomb. They help to recover the missing relics of St. Peter, all the while learning about St. Peter's life and learn about the Vatican and Italian lifestyles, as well as famous places and works of art.  Very interesting.

The second book starts out similar. They are sent to spend time with Sister Philomena, their aunt. When a break in occurs at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. They again find themselves in the center of action, helping  Sister Philomena search for clues.  They explore the basilica, study its frescos, sneak into the tomb of Saint Francis, wander through Assisi, at find themselves at the little church of San Damiano.  In the story they spot a wolf, hear its howl or feel its presence. What is the meaning of the wolf. What is it trying to tell them? Woven into this story  are the personal stories of Saint Francis and Saint Clare and the sights and sounds of Assisi.



We enjoyed both of these books. They are very interesting and move quickly.  I am very excited to get the next books in the series. This book, too, sounds very interesting. They are in search of the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. Franciscan monks of Jerusalem sent the coins to the Vatican Museums for authentication and safekeeping - but then they disappeared!

I read, also, there is a fourth book coming. Sister of Siena.

Here is a link for more information:   http://www.auntdeesattic.com/index.html

I love the reading aloud part of homeschooling. It is my favorite part. It is amazing what I learn, too.