Franciscan Quote of the Day

Francis echoed the theme of humility at every opportunity because it was in this way that Christ served his brothers and sisters, and it was in this way that Francis desired to serve.

~Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith by Daniel Horan OFM

Our souls are like wood: the more they imbibe the oil of submission and humility the more they are set on fire with divine love.

~St. Clare of Montefalco

Francis embodies the Gospel journey from violence to nonviolence, wealth to poverty, power to powerlessness, selfishness to selfless service, pride to humility, indifference to love, cruelty to compassion, vengeance to forgiveness, revenge to reconciliation, war to peace, killing enemies to loving enemies. More than any other Christian, he epitomizes discipleship to Jesus. His witness continues to shine throughout the world.

~John Dear, You Will Be My Witnesses Saints, Prophets, and Martyrs, via Catholic Peace Fellowship

It was because Francis saw the humility and poverty of Christ, this pattern of living without grasping, so clearly expressed in the Eucharist that he had such a great veneration of it and urged his brothers to hold it in the same veneration. The Eucharist was, if you like, the symbol of so much of what he held to be at the heart of the Gospel. And the Eucharist lies at the heart of Franciscan spirituality still for the same reasons. It puts us in touch with the living Christ as nothing else can do. In the Eucharist we see expressed Christ’s pattern of living through dying, a pattern that we are also called to make our own. And as we do that we are following Christ after the example of St Francis in a particularly powerful way.

~Gordon Plumb, St. Francis of Assisi and Eucharistic Adoration

Every year God offers us this great season of humility as a chance to remember who we are as believers, reflect soberly on our actions and refocus ourselves on the source of our hope, the only real hope of a bloody and despairing world:  Jesus Christ.  We do this through prayer, silence, the sacrament of penance, seeking out and reconciling with those whom we’ve hurt, forgiving those who’ve hurt us, generosity to the poor, and fasting, not just from food, but from all those many things that distract us from the God who made and loves us.

~Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., Preparing for the journey of Lent, 2013 via Catholic Philly

Christ’s perfect humility was rooted in His complete confidence in God’s love and perfect plan. God’s perfect plan for our redemption gives us, in turn, the courage to trust Him. That trust is the basis upon which we strive for humility.

If we were all able to be as humble and obedient as Christ, the world would be a very different place. When we are open to God, we are open to grace and the Holy Spirit. We are open to accept God’s guidance in learning from our mistakes and fulfilling the potential for which He created us. We leave behind pride and open the way for joy, generosity, love, and all the other fruits of the Spirit. Those gifts can change not only our own lives, but the lives of everyone we know.

~The Power of Humility, Christopher News Notes

The humility and gratitude that arise from acknowledging God as the source of all good gifts should lead us to freely share those gifts with others. Hoarding our talents, resources, and power for our own good or glory is an injustice. Francis calls us to use our gifts wisely, serving God and others through good works.

~Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith by Daniel Horan OFM

Because he lived in such a perfect state of humble existence among his sisters and brothers, Jesus was able to meet those he encountered as they were and treat them with the inherent dignity rightly deserved by virtue of their humanity. For Francis, this became a major component of his way of life and remains a characteristic of Franciscan ministry today.

~Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith by Daniel Horan OFM

The point of the Third Order is to accept with humility the task of one’s secular profession and its requirements, wherever one happens to be, while directing one’s whole life to that deep interior communion with Christ that Francis showed us.

–Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Volume 1 via Saint Clare of Assisi Fraternity’s Website.

The world calls for and expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and humility… Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile.

~Pope Paul VI via Little Portion Hermitage

This spirit of humility acts as the foundation for all subsequent characteristics that compose a Franciscan approach to ministry. Francis was less concerned about what someone did in the world than about how someone did it. Here we see the saint’s admiration for the humility of Christ emerge as part of the centerpiece of his spirituality; to be a Franciscan is to live the Gospel by following in the footprints of Jesus Christ.

~Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith by Daniel Horan OFM

Do you want to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will piece the clouds? Begin by laying the foundation of humility!

~St. Augustine via The Hammock Papers

The man who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks in different languages. These different languages are different ways of witnessing to Christ, such as humility, poverty, patience, and obedience; we speak in those languages when we reveal in ourselves these virtues to others.

~St. Anthony (via Beauty for Ashes)

Humility and simplicity belong together; Where we have no wish to compete with our neighbour; Where we can be open and helpful; Where we can comfort the distressed, And encourage those who are left behind. Humility is what Peter called; “The imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit”. (1 Peter 3:4)

~Third Order, Society of Saint Francis, Lenten  Reflection Day 23

The alarming, effervescent, energizing, and contagious freedom of the saints flows from their having learned this lesson. They no longer gauge their actions or decisions by what other people will think of them. And so they don’t live in fear, instability, and hesitancy. Rather, they have discovered that God’s love for them is as firm as the mountains (as the Psalms tell us). They don’t need to earn it; they just humbly accept it. And once they do, it propels them to echo and reflect it spontaneously and joyfully, regardless of the consequences.

~Fr John Bartunek, LC, STL, “A Question about the Litany of Humility in Lent – How can I be freed from the desire of being loved?”

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.

~St. Francis of Assisi, Admonition 27

Then the holy lover of complete humility went to the lepers and lived with them, serving them most diligently for God’s sake; and washing all foulness from them, he wiped away also the corruption of the ulcers, just as he said in his Testament: “When I was in sins, it seemed extremely bitter to me to look at lepers, and the Lord himself led me among them and I practiced mercy with them.”

~Thomas of Celano, First Life of Saint Francis

Tomorrow is World Leprosy Day. You can learn more about this important effort to increase awareness about this terrible disease at their website: http://www.worldleprosydayusa.org/.