Thought for the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi OFM (1181/2–1226)
Dear friends, Francis was a great Saint and a joyful man. His simplicity, his humility, his faith, his love for Christ, his goodness towards every man and every woman, brought him gladness in every circumstance. Indeed, there subsists an intimate and indissoluble relationship between holiness and joy. A French writer once wrote that there is only one sorrow in the world – not to be saints, that is, not to be near to God. Looking at the testimony of St Francis, we understand that this is the secret of true happiness: -to become saints, close to God!
May the Virgin, so tenderly loved by Francis, obtain this gift for us. Let us entrust ourselves to her with the words of the Poverello of Assisi himself:
“Blessed Virgin Mary, no one like you among women has ever been born in the world, daughter and handmaid of the Most High King and heavenly Father, Mother of our Most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us… to your most blessed and beloved Son, Lord and Master”
(Francesco di Assisi, Scritti, 163)….Excerpt from Pope Benedict XV’s Catechesis on St Francis – General Audience, 27 January 2010
Blessed Virgin, Holy Mother, Pray for us!
St Francis of Assisi, Pray for us!
St Francis leaves us with his blessing:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you
and give you peace.
AnaStpaul 
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