Franciscan Footprints

 Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  It is a day holy mother Church invites us to meditate on Mary’s Fiat, on God’s goodness to us, and on Jesus Christ our Lord to name but a few. That is what came to mind this morning during meditation.  Where would we be without Mary’s fiat? Without God’s loving kindness in coming to us in human form? Do I echo Mary’s fiat in my own life? Let it be done to me according to thy word…

Let us pray that our holy Mother Mary will help us surrender our will to the Father’s will.

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Collect :Solemnity of the Annunciation

Let us pray,
 God Our Father, Your Word became Man and was born of the Virgin Mary.
May we become more like Jesus Christ, whom we acknowledge as our Redeemer, God and man.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

 Our Holy Father spoke on the vocation to the prieshood in this Angelus message. It’s well worth the read. Here is the link to the full text on Zenit.

St. Peter Canisius(1521-1597)

Saint Peter Canisius was born in 1521 and died in 1597. He was a Jesuit priest and was declared a Doctor of the Church and is known as the second Apostle of Germany. He and Father Lejay were commissioned to write a Catechism and due to the death of Father Lejay, St. Peter Canisius finished writing the Catechism in 1555. A biography is available at Saints and Angels Online.

Today is the feast day of our Sister, Sister M. Canisia, OSF. Please join us in praying for her today.

God bless all who will read this.
Sister M. Veronica, OSF

Oh Mary concieved without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory.

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Collect: Lord, fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the glory of his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Today is also our Sister, Sister M. Noreen’s feast day. Please join us in prayer for her and her intentions today. On a Sister’s feast day & birthday our communities’ custom is to each offer one day of prayers, works, joys, & sufferings for the Sister; it is called a “Franciscan day”.

Sister Noreen, may our Lord grant you every grace and consolation on this your feast day. Our prayers are with you!

Blessings on all who read this!
Sister M. Veronica, OSF

Today is the Memorial of Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska, the apostle of the Divine Mercy. To me she stands out because of her simplicity & humility. She had only three years of education & was given the most lowliest assignments in the convent; as cook, gardener and porter. Here is a short biography of her by Pope John Paul II. A good in-depth biography is entitled “The Life of Faustina Kowalska: The Authorized Biography” by Sister Sophia Michalenko. Also her Diary is available which great to use for meditation.

Today is also our Sister, Sister Mary Faustina’s feast day. Please join us in praying for Sister and her intentions today. Below is a picture of Sister Faustina.

Today is the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. It begun in Spain during the 16th century. It was adopted by the universal Church in the year 1670. What a beautiful teaching of the Church that we each have a guardian angel who is with us from birth to death. St. Bernard of Clairvaux preached a rousing sermon on the guardian angels. Here is an excerpt:

“In this, therefore, brethren, let us affectionately love His angels as one day our future co-heirs; meanwhile, however, as counselors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. Why should we fear under such guardians? Those who keep us in all our ways can neither be overcome nor be deceived, much less deceive. They are faithful; they are prudent; they are powerful; why do we tremble? Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them, and in the protection of the God of heaven let us abide. As often, therefore, as a most serious temptation is perceived to weigh upon you and an excessive trial is threatening, call to your guard, your leader, your helper in your needs, in your tribulation; cry to him and say: “Lord, save us; we perish!” ”

Today is also our Sister, Sister M. Angelita’s feast day. Please join us in praying for her and her intentions. Below you will find her picture.

 Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day (or night), be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
~Prayer Source: Enchiridion of Indulgences , June 29, 1968

Saint Martha is the sister of Mary of Bethany and of Lazarus.  We read about her and her sister in the Gospel of Luke. Here is the Gospel Reading of today: (courtesy of the USCCB website)

Luke 10:38-42 (New American Bible Translation)

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. 
 She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to
him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord,
do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell
her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are
anxious and worried about many things.There is need of only one thing.  Mary
has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
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During meditation and as we remembered St. Martha in the Liturgy this morning I was reflecting on what it means to be a “Martha” and a “Mary” in the context of my vocation to an active religious community within the Church.  While it is true that the active aspect of our apostolate is important, and one in which we devote a great deal of time to, it is not the only aspect of our religious life. We are called first to be another ”Mary”. This time spent in meditation and spiritual reading is so important to our lives as active religious that for most Sisters, the early morning is the time they set aside to be with Jesus.  As religious, we are called to bring others to Christ, and to bring Christ to others.  In Pope John Paul II’s “Vita Consecrata” he states, “In every age consecrated men and women must continue to be images of Christ the Lord, fostering through prayer a profound communion of mind with him (cf. Phil. 2:5-11), so that their whole lives may be penetrated by an apostolic spirit and their apostolic work with contemplation.[18]“  In short, we must ask ourselves, if we do not know Christ, how can we bring Him to others? We must first get to know Him through study of the Sacred Scriptures, spiritual reading, and meditation so that we can share His love with the world. Religious life is first and foremost a being, then in our active apostolate we minister to His children by doing those corporeal works of mercy.

Here is an excerpt from our Constitutions:
Our apostolic life flows from our life of prayer.  It is one that changes work into prayer, and prayer becomes the very heartbeat of our life.  Conscious that our apostolate bears fruit only to the degree that we are united to Christ, we permeate our entire apostolic activity with a religious spirit and fill our religious life with apostolic love.  Only when our life is rooted in faith, hope, and charity, can we bring Christ to others. (Paragraph 110)

Sister M. Veronica, OSF

**Image courtesy of Wikipedia**

Saint Sharbel was born in Biqa-Kafra, Lebanon to poor Maronite parents.  He entered the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya at the age of 23 and was ordained to the priesthood six years later. Later in his monastic life he lived a solitary life as a hermit.  Wikipedia has a nice biographical article, check it out.

Saint Sharbel Makhlouf, pray for us!

Saint Bridget was born to a noble family in the year 1303 in the province of Uppland in the country of Sweden.  She was married at the age of 13 to Ulf Gudmarsson.  The marriage was blessed with 8 children. When St. Bridget became a widow she devoted her life to God by becoming a Third Order Franciscan, then sometime later founded her own order, The Order of St. Savior, or the Brigittines. She was canonized by Pope Boniface IX on Octiber 7, 1391. To read more about her, click here.

Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us!