Lord, that I may be free to live life in goodness, peace, and love.

St. Francis Novena | Day 9: May we be free of all fears and anxieties
Fr. David Kobak, OFM

Let us pray for all those suffering with mental illness and their families.

How often do we find ourselves fretting over the mistakes we have made in the past? Our fears and anxieties in life often seem to take control over us until they leave room for nothing else. The grace and goodness of life appear out of reach. A deep spiritual depression sets in. Feelings of hopelessness and distance from God creep into us. What can we do?

One of my favorite therapists, Dr. Daniel Amen, M.D., calls these feelings ANTS: Automatic Negative Thoughts. Fears and Anxieties have a way of taking over. They appear often and out of nowhere. The key to ridding yourself of them is to recognize them for what they are. When you feel one of these "ANTS" crawling on you, shake it off and squish it. That "ANT" has no right to enter your life. It has no right to "bite you." Yet those ANTS of fears and anxieties are persistent! I find myself "bitten" quite often. It is a never-ending struggle. The key is recognition. Our "guard" should always be on alert, ever vigilant. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is not.

The power of prayer can be miraculous. Open yourself to the healing Grace of the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate this Novena to St. Francis so close to his feast day, pray that through his intercession you may be free of all fears and anxieties. Pray that you can be free at last to live your life in goodness, peace, and love; to live as the Holy Spirit meant you to live. May this novena help us to unburden ourselves and live in the light of Christ.

Fr. David

(Fr. David Kobak, OFM, serves at St. Anthony Shrine in Cincinnati, Ohio.)

https://www.stanthony.org/day-9-fr-david/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,in%20Cincinnati%2C%20Ohio.) 

Lord, help us to prayerfully place our doubts before you.

St. Francis Novena | Day 8: Radical trust in God
Fr. Pat McCloskey, OFM

Pray we are guided by a radical trust in God just like St. Francis.

St. Francis, you had many moments of darkness, but you overcame them through how generously you accepted God's grace in your life. That grace always stretched you in ways you had not anticipated. For example, at one time you might have responded very differently when a friar cried out in the middle of the night, "I'm hungry." Instead of rebuking him, you ordered the other friars to get up and join the two of you in eating so that the hungry friar would not be embarrassed.

Your many hours of prayer in caves and in empty churches were not always moments of consolation. There you learned to accept God's idea of "normal" over the one with which you grew up and considered perfectly obvious. In such moments you learned what deserved to be called "a big deal" instead of situations that you had once described that way.

At one point you realized that the friars needed a type of leadership that you could no longer provide. You led by example, showing that grasping at an office was not what the Gospel requires.

Loving God, in all humility, help us to prayerfully place our doubts before you, asking that you show us the way we should go in whatever affects our family, local community, and the entire world.

Fr. Pat

(Fr. Pat McCloskey, OFM, is the Franciscan Editor for St. Anthony Messenger magazine published by Franciscan Media.)

https://www.stanthony.org/day-8-fr-pat/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,by%20Franciscan%20Media.) 

May I live a Gospel-centered life that deepens while ever growing stronger.

St. Francis Novena | Day 7: Giving up wealth and privilege for the Gospel's sake
Br. Al Mascia, OFM

Please pray for the poor, forgotten, desperate and lonely around the world and in our neighborhoods.

Jesus says in the Gospels that the poor will always be with us. Some have understood this out-of-context statement to mean that addressing human poverty is an exercise in futility; that poverty is somehow part of God's plan. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth! There are over 2,000 references to the poor in the Bible and the vast majority make it abundantly clear that God's plan, if you will, is for us to take care of one another! Some scripture scholars suggest that Jesus might have been quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy at that time, where it says: There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward those who are poor and needy.

Sadly, these past eighteen months have only made matters worse for those already poor, while also adding to their ranks. So many people have lost their jobs, fallen behind on their rent, and fallen into despair. Where I live in Michigan, I've noticed an increased number of individuals holding signs on street corners asking for assistance. One of the friars I live with always keeps a stash of dollar bills in his glove box to give to these brothers and sisters in need, while some of us keep CarePax in our cars, filled with seasonal necessities, to give to them. My mother would never drive past someone asking for help without offering them a CarePax, never!

One of the reasons why I became a Franciscan was because of the example of St. Francis, whose love of Jesus filled him with compassion and mercy of biblical proportions! He never lost sight of the poverty experienced by the infant Jesus and—as an outgrowth of that—came to choose the virtue of voluntary poverty himself, even personifying it as a fair lady!

While all of us have surely suffered in one way or another this past year and a half, the unfortunate reality is that overall suffering has been and remains gravely disproportionate. St. Francis addressed the disproportionate suffering of his time by giving up his life of wealth and privilege to live a Gospel-centered life of caring for the poor and the abandoned. As we approach his feast day, may our desire to live Gospel-centered lives deepen while growing ever stronger.

Br. Al

(Br. Al Mascia, OFM, lives in the Detroit area. Follow his music ministry at: brotheral.org).

https://www.stanthony.org/day-7-br-al/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,at%3A%20brotheral.org). 

May I throw myself completely into living the gospel without holding back, in complete dependency on God.

St. Francis Novena | Day 6: To serve others, Francis held nothing back
Fr. Bill Farris, OFM

Fill us with your gifts and make us always eager to serve you in faith, hope and love.

"May we be blessed with the desire to give all of our strength and abilities." Today's prayer highlights the complete dedication to God's will that Francis practiced throughout his life. When St. Francis was looking for direction from God, he did a random search through the Gospels for guidance. Here is how the story is told in his biography, The Legend of the Three Companions:

"Once they had finished prayer, blessed Francis took the closed book and, kneeling before the altar, opened it. At its first opening, the Lord's counsel confronted them: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell everything you possess and give to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven (Mk 10:21). When he opened it up the second time, he saw: Take nothing for your journey (Lk 9:3), and at the third opening: If any man wishes to come after me, he must deny himself (Mt 16:24)."

St. Francis knew that he had found what he was looking for. Jesus was challenging him to throw aside all earthly security and to throw himself completely into living the gospel without holding back, in complete dependency on God. He kept this radical trust in God all through his active years.

Toward the end of his life, as the Order grew larger, St. Francis sensed that many of his brothers struggled to keep to this high ideal. He wrote to all the friars and urged them to "hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!" St. Francis passes to us this core lesson that guided his life. It can guide our lives, too.

Fr. Bill

(Fr. Bill Farris, OFM, is the Provincial Vicar of the Province of St. John the Baptist.)

https://www.stanthony.org/day-6-fr-bill/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,John%20the%20Baptist.) 

May my life bear witness to the world of the God's word and God's will.

St. Francis Novena | Day 5: Announce the Good News
Fr. Colin King, OFM

Pray to trust in the Holy Spirit even in the midst of troubled times.

Since February 2020, the entire globe has been crying out in frustration and fear with feelings of tearing at the seams. In moments like these, we can learn the unfortunate lesson that we can only trust in ourselves and cannot trust in anyone or anything else. In this process, we can hoard money and supplies, allowing our greed and selfishness to say, "As long as my family, friends, and I are all safe, that is all that matters." We retreat away from the world and only focus on what we want.

This novena allows us the opportunity to cry out to God in our time of need—to once again discover the radical trust we have in God, even in the midst of such troubled times. We can run from the selfishness and greed that gives us the false sense of security in this world, and move to abandoning everything that stops us from totally abandoning ourselves to God's will.

We do not live, move, and have our being with only ourselves or maybe just a few people whom we like. The Holy Spirit guides us on the paths of life's journey. If we will abandon ourselves to God's will, we have to ask God to reveal that to us. As we prayerfully discern God's will for our lives, it often calls for us to be willing to go out into the world to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed.

Fr. Colin

(Fr. Colin King, OFM, is pastor of St. Julie Parish, Orange Hill and St. Mary Parish, Reunion both in Jamaica. Learn about the various Jamaican ministries at: stanthony.org/jamaica/)"
https://www.stanthony.org/day-5-fr-colin/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,stanthony.org/jamaica/) 

Lord, that I may more deeply appreciate your gift to the world of a common home.

St. Francis Novena | Day 4:  Appreciation of the beauty and harmony in creation
Fr. Al Hirt, OFM

Today let us thank God for the beauty of nature and pray for harmony with all creation

Perhaps more than any other saint through the ages, St. Francis of Assisi is the one who recognized the relationship between us humans and all of creation. We need to live in harmony with our environment. The pope who chose the name "Francis" has been eloquent in lifting up this theme of "our common home."

Many of us have made efforts to recycle, reuse, and repurpose to try to cut down on the amount of waste of our natural resources. In the parish I formerly pastored, we were making efforts to plant only those plants that were native to our area, thus attracting butterflies, bees, and birds. Harmony with all creation! We also invested in solar panels to greatly reduce our dependence on electricity generated by coal and oil, which also saved a lot of money on our annual electric bills!

As storms and fires ravage parts of our world, we see how our disregard for nature comes at a steep price. Let's enjoy all the natural beauty in the world around us and do what we can to keep our environment cleaner.

(Fr. Al Hirt is pastor of St. Francis Seraph Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.)  

https://www.stanthony.org/day-4-fr-al/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,in%20Cincinnati%2C%20Ohio.) 

Lord, teach me to live and share your peaceful presence in the world.

St. Francis Novena | Day 3: Our world needs peace
Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM

Today let us pray for all those suffering from broken relationships and family struggles.

It is not unusual to find ourselves in situations where someone has said or done something unkind or seemingly unfair to us. We take offense. We feel angry. Maybe we feel insulted, judged, presumed upon, or mistreated. Sometimes the hurt is intentional (but often not), but the feelings still come. Often the first response is to retaliate, or at least to return some measure of what was given to us. It is almost automatic. I have been there, and I imagine you have been as well.

In those situations, I try to remember what my mom taught me about "counting to 10" and "walking in another's shoes for a bit," or at least to take a few moments to breathe and calm down. I try to remember the Prayer of St. Francis that I have often prayed, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace," and I tell St. Francis and the Lord that I need that grace right now! I try to remember how Jesus was before his accusers.

I often think that Jesus and Francis had big hearts—hearts that had the power to transform. They were able to receive what might be dark and ugly, take it into their heart, and there it was transformed—by God's grace—so that what they gave back brought light and beauty, so different from what they received. I often pray, "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto yours." The world is filled with enough pain and sorrow; I hope not to contribute more. I don't often perfectly succeed, but every little bit of peaceful presence helps.

Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM

(Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM, is the pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield, Michigan.)

https://www.stanthony.org/day-3-fr-jeff/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,in%20Southfield%2C%20Michigan.) 

Lord, stoke in me the passion to tell the world of your love.

St. Francis Novena | Day Two: Evangelization
By Br. Al Mascia, OFM 

Evangelization is a Franciscan priority because it was a priority for St. Francis. And it was a priority because he had encountered Jesus and just couldn't keep that to himself. You see, for Francis, everything always harkened back to Jesus and his holy Gospel. But what is evangelization?

Well, all we have to do is look at the life of Francis himself to find out. For him, sharing the good news of Jesus was inescapable. He had encountered Jesus, truth itself, in his dreams, visions, and listening prayer. He could no more deny or escape sharing that good news than he could breathing in order to stay alive. Once he had accepted the Gospel as his way of life—and Jesus as his model—everything changed. What had been bitter became sweet. And, as we know, there was absolutely no keeping that a secret!

People had to be pretty shocked the day he took off his clothes in the town square to publicly announce his conversion. There's a phrase attributed to Francis which certainly rings true when applied to his life. It's become a kind of Franciscan motto, and one of my favorites. Legend has it that Francis once told a brother to go and proclaim the Gospel using words only when necessary. You see, the very life of Francis preached, evangelized, challenged, and evoked. He was so convinced of God's love that he saw everybody else as God's beloved—even those his society considered an enemy, like Sultan Malek al-Kamil, whom he met with during the fifth Crusade. So compelling was the way Francis lived his life—simply living the truth of God's love—that he attracted thousands of other people to follow his example. This includes me—hundreds of years later!

One of the reasons why I wanted to take part in this novena is because of how worried I am that our society is promoting the antithesis of Franciscan evangelization. Instead of helping people recognize God's love, as Francis did, it seems that people are being demonized by one another instead. And that's not right. Remember, Francis evangelized by attraction!

Let Us Pray

Loving God: You are powerful and great, yet merciful and loving. Thank you for giving us the example of St. Francis, who was able to closely model his life after that of Jesus. Give us the strength to do so ourselves. Help us to remind our sisters and brothers that we're all made in your image and likeness, and therefore worthy of kindness, dignity, and respect.

(Br. Al Mascia, OFM, hosts The Friar Place on his website brotheral.org/thefriarplace.)"

https://www.stanthony.org/st-francis-novena-day-2/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena,brotheral.org/thefriarplace.) 

Lord, that I may truly empty myself for the sake of benefit to others.

St. Francis Novena | Day One: The Incarnation
By Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM

Christianity is the only religion which proclaims that God became a human being. This is unique and central to Christian understanding. St. Francis was fascinated by what we have come to call the Incarnation.

As we pray in the Angelus: "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." The Creator became a creature in Jesus of Nazareth. Wow!

St. Francis understood this as an act of humility and was particularly awed by the thought that God was so humble. Moved by a great love, God was willing to do this for us. God was willing to "let go," or as St. Paul said in Philippians, not cling to his divinity, but emptied himself, becoming one with us, even unto sharing death. For Francis, that takes humility. Ponder that for a moment! When Francis understood what God was doing in Jesus, he wanted to do the same thing. So he started to live a life of humility, simplicity, of not clinging, not possessing—a life of poverty. He gave away his possessions, even the fine clothes he was wearing. He wanted to be poor and humble, just as God was poor and humble in giving us Jesus.

St. Francis also saw this dynamic manifested in the birth of Jesus—being born in a poor and humble stable. In order to show others the humility of God, he dramatized the Nativity with what became our tradition of Christmas crèches, but he wanted us to notice the simplicity. Francis saw the humility of God in the Eucharist and was awed that Jesus was willing to "hide" under the form of bread. He saw it clearly in the cross, where Jesus gave his life for us.

Franciscans have a little memory aid to help us remember these core experiences, which illustrates the humility of the Incarnation: "Crib, Cross, Chalice." Because of the Incarnation, the whole created world has been made holy. It is good, a gift to be cared for. We don't cling to things, but to God's word. We don't possess things or make them our own. We receive them gratefully, use them, and share them with the poor. But they are not ours.

Francis' life paints a living picture of what was going on in God when he gave us Jesus. God did not "hold back anything of himself but gave himself totally" to us in Jesus. Francis gives us a dynamic to live by. We, too, strive to not hold onto anything of ourselves, but give ourselves away in love. So how do I look upon my possessions? Are they just mine or are they gifts to share? Can I let go and trust in the goodness of God?

(Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM, is the pastor of Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield, Michigan.)

  
https://www.stanthony.org/st-francis-novena-day-1/#:~:text=St.%20Francis%20Novena%20%7C%20Day,Transfiguration%20in%20Southfield%2C%20Michigan.) 

Lord, teach me to persevere in faithfulness to You.

We brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out of it

This is what you are to teach the brothers to believe and persuade them to do. Anyone who teaches anything different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit – with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. 

All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making a profit. 

Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who are content with what they have. 

We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that. 

People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and destruction. 

'The love of money is the root of all evils' and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds.

    

But, as a man dedicated to God, you must avoid all that. You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. 

Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses.   -30-

1 Timothy 6:2-12

I thank you, Lord, that I have found you; I want to know you more and to love you more.

"We have come to know and to believe
  in the love God has for us.
  God is love,
  and whoever remains in love
  remains in God and God in him." 

1 John 4:16

Teach me, Lord, to love all as you love us.

Right conduct toward one's neighbors

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Revere your mother and father, and keep my sabbaths. I, the Lord, am your God.

"Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I, the Lord, am your God.

"When you sacrifice your peace offering to the Lord, if you wish it to be acceptable, it must be eaten on the very day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned up in the fire. If any of it is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will be unacceptable as refuse; whoever eats of it then shall pay the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the Lord. Such a one shall be cut off from his people.

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain. Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the Lord, am your God.

"You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord.

"You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.

"You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. You shall not go about spreading slander among your kinsmen; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake. I am the Lord.

"You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

"Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the Lord, am your God.

"Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old: thus shall you fear your God. I am the Lord.

"When an alien resides with you in your land, do not molest him. You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the Lord, am your God.

"Do not act dishonestly in using measures of length or weight or capacity. You shall have a true scale and true weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

"Be careful, then, to observe all my statutes and decrees. I am the Lord."

From the book of Leviticus 19:1-18, 31-37

Office of READINGS, First reading on 210316, BL04D3

RESPONSORY
Galatians 5:14, 13; John 13:34

All God's commands are summed up in one:
love your neighbor as yourself.
– Love one another as I have loved you.

I give you a new commandment:
– Love one another as I have loved you.

Lord, let me love the poor as you love them.

"No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than that which is lavished on his poor. Where he finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognizes the reflection of his own fatherly care. "

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope

(Sermo 10 in Quadragesima, 3-5: PL 54, 299-301)

Office of Readings, Reading 2 on 210316, BL04

Lord, that I may embrace your gift of my salvation.

Father, precious in your sight is the death of the saints,
but precious above all
is the love with which Christ suffered to redeem us.

In this life we fill up in our own flesh
what it is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ;
accept this as our sacrifice of praise,
and we shall even now taste the joy of the new Jerusalem.

~Psalm Prayer after Psalm 116:10-19

From First Vespers of Sunday, BL03D1 210307

_______________________
Ant. 2 - I will offer a sacrifice of praise and call upon the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116:10-19
Thanksgiving in the Temple

I trusted, even when I said: 
"I am sorely afflicted,"
and when I said in my alarm: 
"No man can be trusted."

How can I repay the Lord 
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise; 
I will call on the Lord's name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil 
before all his people
O precious in the eyes of the Lord 
is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; 
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: 
I will call on the Lord's name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil 
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord, 
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and will be for ever. Amen.

--30--

Lord, help me to always be faithful to you.

You have seen for yourselves
how I bore you up on eagle wings
and brought you here to myself.

Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, 
a holy nation.  (Exodus 19:4-6)

~ Reading at Lauds BL02D2 210301

Teach me your kindness, Lord.

"Never let evil talk pass your lips;
say only the good things men need to hear,
things that will really help them.

Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit
with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption.

Get rid of all bitterness,
all passion and anger,
harsh words,
slander, and malice of every kind.

In place of these,
be kind to one another,
      compassionate, and mutually forgiving,
just as God has forgiven you in Christ. 
 

Ephesians 4:29-32