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