Franciscan Quote of the Day

We are not here to stay

Lee Potts — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:12:35 +0000

We forget we are not here to stay. The temptation is to turn outward to the world and only trust what we see but we need to turn inward and trust the voice that is trying to speak from within.

~ Fr. Wayne Sattler via Catholic Stand

Tags: Catholic Stand, Cross, Fr Wayne Sattler, joy, living, temptation, trust, world

We preach

Lee Potts — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:19:07 +0000

It seems to me most Christians “preach” one gospel and live another. We preach the Good Samaritan and ignore the poor. We preach the gospel of trust but lock our church doors. We preach the lilies of the field and allocate large amounts of our monthly paychecks to pension and insurance plans. We preach the gospel of peace but plot to destroy our enemies. We preach the gospel of forgiveness but build prisons. We preach the gospel of tolerance but are rigid and judgmental. We preach a gospel of unity but live in ghettos of separateness. We preach the gospel of simplicity but live in mansions. We preach the gospel of service but we want to be served. We preach the gospel of prayer but prefer to be entertained. We preach the gospel of love but easily succumb to hatred.

~ Gerry Straub, “Divisive Times”

Tags: christians, church doors, enemies, forgiveness, Gerry Straub, ghettos, good samaritan, hatred, insurance, lilies of the field, love, mansions, paychecks, Prayer, prisons, Simplicity, tolerance, unity

A ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing

Lee Potts — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:09:18 +0000

Whoever would draw us from humility — no matter under what pretence — is a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing, ready to devour in a moment what has cost us so much time and trouble to obtain.

~ St. Peter of Alcantara

Tags: humility, pretence, sheep, st peter of alcantara, time and trouble, wolf

Yet each time that they are given but one reason to doubt

Lee Potts — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:46:50 +0000

Most people desperately desire to believe that they are part of a great mystery, that Creation is a work of grace and glory, not merely the result of random forces colliding. Yet each time that they are given but one reason to doubt, a worm in the apple of the heart makes them turn away from a thousand proofs of the miraculous, whereupon they have a drunkard’s thirst for cynicism, and they feed upon despair as a starving man upon a loaf of bread.

~ Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas

Tags: dean koontz, despair, doubt, drunkard, grace, great mystery, loaf of bread, odd thomas, worm

Not driven by fear, but drawn by Hope

Lee Potts — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:15:48 +0000

Migration is not an easy or a pleasant thing for a tiny bird to face. It must turn deliberately from solid land, from food, shelter, a certain measure of security, and fly across an ocean unfriendly to its life, destitute of everything it needs. We make much of the heroism and endurance of our airmen and explorers. Perhaps some day men will rival the adventurous hope of the willow wren and the chiff-chaff; an ounce and a half of living courage, launching out with amazing confidence to a prospect of storms, hardship, exhaustion—perhaps starvation and death. Careful minds would hardly think the risk was worth taking. But the tiny bird, before conditions force it—not driven by fear, but drawn by Hope—commits itself with perfect confidence to that infinite ocean of air; where all familiar landmarks will vanish, and if its strength fails it must be lost. And the bird’s hope is justified. There is summer at the other end of the perilous journey. The scrap of valiant life obeys a true instinct, when it launches itself on the air. It is urged from within towards a goal it can attain; and may reckon the suffering of the moment not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed.

~ Evelyn Underhill, The House of the Soul, via Shirt of Flame

Tags: courage, Evelyn Underhill, exhaustion, explorers, infinite ocean, migration, perilous journey, security, shirt of flame, starvation, strength, suffering, willow wren

Our inability to become like a little child

Lee Potts — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 14:47:15 +0000

I realize that no one will believe me, but I have no hesitation about affirming that a serious beginning is made in the spiritual life the moment a man makes a genuine act of humility. So often for most men the early stages of faith, or, in the case of others its development, is blocked, poisoned, distorted, or relegated to an everlasting tomorrow by our inability to become like a little child and to cast ourselves, in the spirit of a child, into the enfolding arms of God’s mystery. We try to show God how clever we are, when no class of men is so abhorrent to the Gospel; we want to lay down conditions to the Eternal and Infinite One, but the Infinite does not respond, and the Eternal allows time to destroy us.

–Carlo Carretto, In Search of the Beyond, via SHIRT OF FLAME

Tags: arms of god, carlo carretto, everlasting tomorrow, genuine act, Gospel, humility, infinite one, mystery, shirt of flame, spirit of a child, spiritual life, stages of faith

Love and with the power of truth

Lee Potts — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:41:22 +0000

When a person truly knows Jesus Christ and believes in him, he experiences his presence in life and the power of his Resurrection and he cannot do anything but communicate this experience. And if this person meets with misunderstanding or adversity, he conducts himself as Jesus did in his Passion: he responds with love and with the power of truth.

~ Pope Francis, April 15, 2013, via Little Portion Hermitage

Tags: Jesus Christ, little portion hermitage, misunderstanding, passion, Pope Francis, presence, resurrection

The more you try to avoid suffering

Lee Potts — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:35:00 +0000

The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt.

~ Thomas Merton, via OH……….. FRANCESCO.

Tags: fear, OH……….. FRANCESCO, suffering, Thomas Merton, torture, truth

Being sent out to the world

Lee Potts — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:34:45 +0000

I find that it is difficult to guide many Secular Franciscans into an active apostolic way of life. They want prayer, even active participation in the liturgy, they want spiritual assistance of the friars. But to convince them that living the Gospel necessarily involves being sent out to the world, and to form them to be publicly apostolic has been my most difficult task.

~ Fr. Carl Schaefer, OFM, “Letter to SFO Holy Name Province on the Occasion of their 1986 Congress” (quoted in Finding Identity as a Secular Franciscan by Edward M. Zablocki, OFS)

Tags: fr carl schaefer ofm, liturgy, Prayer, secular franciscans, SFO, spiritual assistance, way of life, world

In the midst of the world

Lee Potts — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:52:02 +0000

Holiness is not limited to the sanctuary or to moments of private prayer; it is a call to direct our whole heart and life toward God and according to God’s plan for this world. For the laity holiness is achieved in the midst of the world, in family, in community, in friendships, in work, in leisure, in citizenship.

~ United States Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy

Tags: citizenship, economic justice, economy, god, holiness, laity, pastoral letter, private prayer, sanctuary, united states catholic bishops, whole heart, work, world