Dear Brothers and Sisters in St. Francis and Clare,
This month of October began with the Transitus and feast of St. Francis as well as our Thanksgiving weekend for which we paused to give prayerful gratitude for the Creator’s many blessings and for the graces of this past year. Francis was clearly in tune with this in his Canticle of the Creatures which was written in his final days here on earth:
“Praise be to You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us.
And who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.”
As summer’s fruitfulness wanes and autumn’s brilliant colors carpet our land, we return to our daily routines seeking a deeper sense of the holy in our service and caring for others, and in our relationships with our Maker and our neighbor. We do this with the light of the Gospels and the Holy Spirit to guide us and, if need be, challenge us. We come to understand more clearly God’s care for our Sister, Mother Earth, and through her, us.
Francis was a man of great simplicity and peace; a model of harmony, creative appreciation and love; a man each of us might strive to emulate throughout our brief faith journey here on earth.
Fraternally, Friar Louis Geelan, O.F.M