SAINT FRANCES CABRINI
SAINT FRANCES OF ROME
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES


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SAINT FRANCES CABRINI-
Patron of Immigrants and Religious Foundress/1850-1917/
Feast:Nov.13-#80

fr:Dear Saint,you are an outstanding exampie of how God can do all 
things through 
His willing servants.As you were fond of saying,quoting Saint Paul:
"I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me." 
*The youngest of an exemplary Italian Catholic family,you helped your 
parents until their death.You then began teaching and working with 
orphans.
You dreamed of doing missionary work in China and you founded the 
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart -- 
but you went to the United States instead.

St:God works in wondrous ways.He took a strict disciplinarian and 
autocratic woman like me,one with a narrow outlook and no religious 
experience,and dropped her into the cauldron that was the 
Italian immigrant's lot in America.In the process,His grace helped 
me to correct my faults,to become mellow,open-minded,and tolerant 
toward non-Catholics.
*The more things I saw,the more I had to build schools,hospitals,and 
orphanages.The immigrants were surrounded by evils that have assailed 
others like them over the ages:lack of education,poverty,and ignorance 
of the language,conditions,and customs of their adopted country.
And they were subjected to exploitation and antagonism on the part of 
the native populace.

fr:At first,you regarded your assignment as not hard enough and almost 
refused to go.
But in time you saw that God was putting you in the place where 
you were most needed and for which you were most suited.

St:Once the work got under way,there was no stopping.I journeyed to 
Central America,Argentina,Brazil,France,Spain,and England as well as 
Italy and opened houses there.So many people needed our help and there 
was so much to do.

fr:You had great business acumen,and a practicalknowledge of building 
as well as of hospital and school organization.In time,you also cared for 
others,such as the inmates of Sing Sing prison in New York.

St:But I always had before my eyes the One for Whom I was doing all 
this running around,the One for Whom I was involved in business and 
finance and a thousand details -- Jesus,the Son of God made Man.
I put all my hope in Him and asked His constant help.

pr:0 Jesus,I love You very much.I am being consumed by my love for 
You,so that I am languishing and dying for You.
But despite such intense ardor,
I see and feel that my love a only a pale shadow compared to the flame 
of your love for me.Give me a heart as vast as the universe so that I may 
love You --if not as much as You deserve --at least as much as I can!

fr:Dear Saint,in our day,there are still ghettos-only they harbor other 
"immigrants."
 And all are afflicted by the same problems,and the same temptations 
as those you assisted.*Help these new immigrants to turn to God.
Teach us to look upon them as brothers and sisters in Christ and not 
reject them.
Let us seek them out and help them.

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SAINT FRANCES OF ROME-
Model Wife and Exemplary Religious/1384-1440/
Feast:Mar.9-#48

fr:Dear Saint,you are one of the few women who combined the careers 
of model wife and exemplary Religious during their lifetime.
Although born into a wealthy and noble family,you realized the lack of 
true value in earthly possessions and worldly honors.
*At an early age,you learned to appreciate spiritual values because you 
took the Beatitudes seriously and loved to meditate on Christ -- the Lord 
of heaven and earth 
Who chose to live as a poor Man and remain obedient to His creatures.

St:True,as a child,I have become acquainted with monasteries,
and the life of cloistered Nuns attracted me.So I told my parents that 
I wanted to become a Religious.They did not agree with me and 
I considered it proper to obey their wishes.At the age of thirteen 
I married a nobleman,Lawrence Ponziani.

fr:He must have been a good Christian inas-much as he let you lead 
a very spiritual life.Of course,you also considered it obligatory to 
fulfill your domestic duties.
We are told that in forty years of marriage you and your husband never 
had a quarrel.
*A number of Roman ladies shared your ideal of a life of self-denial and 
good works "in the world," and you organized them into a society.

St:At one point during the Great Schism(which lasted from 1378 to 1417 
and saw the sad bewildering spectacle of three claimants to the Papacy),
my husband was banished and I had much to suffer.After the Schism 
he returned and recovered his estates.*However,worldly goods held no 
attraction for me.I had the greatest pleasure of being able to found an 
Oblate Congregation,and the Nuns accepted my suggestion that they 
should follow the Rule of Saint Benedict.

fr:After your husband's death,you joined that same Community in 1436 
and became its director and model through your spirit of humility.
The Lord gave you marvelous favors which helped you make progress 
in holiness.
Pope Eugenius IV held you in great veneration and respected your advice.

Ws:you must supply what os lacking in others.It is your vocation to pray 
and do Penance for yourselves and for them.You are the victims chosen 
to assuage the wrath of God;and your tears are the instrument for 
extinguishing this conflagration (the Schism).

fr:Dear Saint,you lived during a time that was even more tumultuous than 
our own as far as religion was concerned.And you knew how to make 
people appreciate the Religious Life even in the cloister.
*Teach us to realize that no time spent with God is ever wasted.
Bring about a rebirth of genuine Religious Life where persons are truly 
consecrated to a life of intimate union with God and vicarious penance 
for sins.

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SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI-
Ardent Lover of God and All His Creatures/1182-1226/
Feast:Oct.4-#37

fr:Dear Saint,you are probably the most popular and universally loved 
Saint.
You were first called John but later called Francis 
(because of your Father's French origin)
 to which was added "of Assisi," your birthplace.
*This was also the place of your death in 1226,which means you were 
then only 44 years old! You have remained very well know to 
non-Catholics and Catholics alike.Some,however,merely connect you 
with birds,to whom it is said you preached one day.

St:I could also have been called "Rich" or "Richard" because my father 
was a wealthy man.But Rich I did not desire to remain 
and I have come to be called "The Poor One." Through God's grace 
and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ("Father of the poor") 
I came to see the foolishness of attachment to and quasi-worship of riches.
*"You can't take it with you" is a popular and very true saying.
A Nun who had taught many wealthy children said one day:"
There is no greater misfortune than to have a fortune." 
Yet with God's help wealthy people can be still detached from their 
wealth and use it to create jobs and give alms.

fr:In a short time,you accomplished unbelievably much--and you did so 
without depending on money.You realized,like Saint Paul,
that you could do everything God wanted you to do in and through Him 
Who strengthened you.What was fundamental in attracting followers 
and converting sinners was your wonderful example as another Christ.

St:In 1210 I had twelve companions,which could make you think of 
Christ's Twelve Apostles.Pope Innocent III gladly approved 
my "congregation" which aimed at taking as its Constitution and Rule the 
Holy Gospel.Humility together with poverty and charity lay at its 
foundation.
So we chose to be called Friars Minor,that is,little brothers.

fr.I note that you never accepted to be ordained a Priest.This too revealed 
your great humility.Neither did you and your Religious brothers remain 
cloistered.
You went out to the ways and byways and like John the Baptizer called 
people to repent for their sins,after fully accepting to believe in 
Jesus Christ and follow in His steps.

St:Avarice is the source of many sins.It is a kind of idolatry.
Out of love for money,Judas fell away.The others,
poor fisherman,remained faithful and won many souls for Christ.

pr:Lord,make me an instrument of Your peace.

*Where there is hatred,let me sow love.
*Where there is injury,let me sow pardon.
*Where there is friction,let me sow union.
*Where there is error,let me sow truth.
*Where there is doubt,let me sow faith.
*Where there is despair,let me sow hope.
*Where there is darkness,let me sow light.
*Where there is sadness,let me sow joy.
*O Divine Master,grant that I may not so much seek.
*to be consoled as to console,
*to be understood as to understand,
*to be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive.
*It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
*It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

fr:Dear Saint,we are also aware of your ardent love for Jesus Crucified 
which found expression even in your wounded body.Inspire Priests,
Religious,and Laity with that same love after your example.
*Make those who accept you as their Father truly represent you in this 
age which is growing increasingly poor in practical love for the 
Son of God,
Who voluntarily chose to become a poor servant for the glory of God 
and the sanctification of souls.

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SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO-Religious Founder and Devotee of 
the Blessed Sacrament/1563-1608/Feast:June 4-#58

fr:Dear Saint,you are a perfect example of how God makes His will 
known to us by means of seeming misfortunes and apparent accidents 
as well as the daily circumstances of life.
You knew how to read the signs of God everywhere.
*You were also the originator of Perpetual Adoration of the 
Blessed Sacrament by stipulating in your Rule that members of the 
Congregation spend an hour a day before the Blessed Sacrament in rotation.

St:You are right.A mistaken diagnosis of leprosy and imminent death 
changed the course of my life in the Kingdom of Naples.
I vowed to work for God if spared,and on getting well I became a Priest,
working with prisoners and condemned criminals.
*Then a chance reception of a letter addressed to a relative who had the 
same first name(Ascanio) put me in touch with the persons who became 
co-founders with me of the Congregation of Regular Clerics Minor.

fr:It was on the occasion of your Religious Profession that you chose to 
be called Francis.
Two years later you became the Superior of the Congregation and then 
travelled especially in Spain where you established several 
Religious Houses.
*You suffered many great hardships.But like your patron,
Francis of Assisi,you rejoiced because you were thus walking in the 
steps of your Divine Master,Who chose to live in poverty.

St:Meditating on the sufferings of our Crucified Lord is a source of great 
inspiration for us,and I learned to live not only in the spirit of poverty 
but in actual poverty.
*In Rome I lived in a hospice for poor people and associated with a leper.
Association with suffering people becomes a spiritual exercise 
and is a source of great joy,when we learn to see Christ in them.

pr:Let us go! Let us go!To heavenl

fr:Dear Saint,you died at a relatively early age(forty-four) but you had 
done much.
Teach us to see the signs of God in every event of life.
Instill in us a love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and help us to see 
Him in our neighbor,especially the poorest of all.
Pray that we may be inspired by your spirit and therefore also by the 
Holy Spirit,"Father of the poor."

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SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES-
Outstanding Doctor of the Spiritual Life/1567-1622/
Feast:Jan.24-#60

fr:Dear Saint,you are best known for your practice of the virtue of 
meekness and for yom sound advice for the spiritual life.
You were a Christian humanist,adapting the genuine good of the 
Renaissance to the Christian way of life.
*Your classic book Introduction to the Devout Life shows how all 
Christians call live their Faith in the world and attain true devotion.
It is filled with common sense in applying truly Catholic principles.

St:I was fortunate in being born to a devout Catholic family and 
receiving a good religious education.By the time I graduated with 
degrees in law and theology I knew I was called to the Priesthood.
*Armed with love for Christ and His teaching,I tried to practice 
Christlike meekness and patience as I sought to bring back many 
Calvinists to the true Faith.For I believed that"we can catch more flies 
with a spoonful of honey than with barrels of vinegar."

fr:After you were made Bishop of Geneva,you continued your 
self-sacrificing work and manifested your love for Mary by founding 
the Congregation of the Visitation Sisters of Our Lady.
*As our Lord loved Martha and Mary,so did you have a spiritual 
friendship with Sister Jane Frances de Chantal.

St:You have clearly recalled some facts regarding my life and works.
You did not mention how for many years I fought against the tendency 
to yield to anger,Also,of course,it was by the grace of 
God that I was able to do some good.
*I have come to realize how extremely kind God is toward those 
who totally abandon themselves to His Fatherly love.When we thus 
give up everything,God takes up everything and guides us in all things.

pr:God,I vow and consecrate to You all that is in me:my memory 
and my actions to God the Father;my understanding and my words to 
God the Son;my will and my thoughts to God the Holy Spirit;my heart 
and my body,my tongue,my senses,and all my sorrows to the 
Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ,Who was content to be betrayed into the 
hands of wicked men and to suffer the torment of the Cross.

fr:Dear Saint,we have great need today of your virtues and your spiritual 
advice.
There is so much self-reliance and so much anger and violence toward 
one another.
*Teach us to put our trust in God and practice the virtue of meekness 
toward others.
Help us to call upon Mary our Advocate with the same devotion that 
you did throughout life.

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