“The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.” (Art. 4, SFO Rule)
A story in The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi has Brother Masseo asking St. Francis, “Say, why it is that all the world comes after you, and everybody desires to see you, and to hear you, and to obey you?” Almost 800 years later…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on October 18, 2009 at 6:12pm —
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“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He then said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, ‘Do yo…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on September 20, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a str…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on September 12, 2009 at 5:52pm —
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When I first started this blog, I was just entering the formation program for the Permanent Diaconate of the Catholic Church. At the time I felt a strong call to be of service to my community and God. I still feel that call, but sometimes the Holy Spirit can lead a person down unknown ways. After going through the evaluation interviews with my wife, I have been asked to take a leave of absence for a year, to spend time in discerning God's will. Needless to say, I am disappointed, and sadden by t…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on September 3, 2009 at 11:06pm —
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"People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, 'Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom God like a child will not enter it.'" (Luke 18: 15-17)
Last Friday, August 14th, 2009, family and friends of Eunice Kennedy Shriver gathered to say farewell…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on August 16, 2009 at 10:30pm —
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Pope Benedict XVI had declared June 2008 to June, 2009, as the Year of St. Paul, supposedly celebrating the 2000th Anniversary of his birth. During that year there have been many articles written about St, Paul, and his impact on Christianity. Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS, is revisiting that celebration by posting an essay on their website by
Allen Dwight Callahan. In it…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on August 8, 2009 at 10:31pm —
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“As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha burdened with much serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.’ The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 29, 2009 at 11:37pm —
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I am counting down the days until August 15th when another scholar is coming up to Northeast Ohio from Jacksonville Florida for a 24 hour meeting with me. We just recently stumbled across each other, and discovered that between us we have over 80 years of trying to figure out what seems, at least in our opinions to have gone wrong in traditional theology, and are on the same track with the question.
A couple of keys for both of us are that the Bible seems to ignore the incident in 40 AD when Ca…
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Added by William (Bill) Mayor on July 25, 2009 at 12:38pm —
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“The Secular Franciscan, committed to following the example and teachings of Christ, must personally and assiduously study the Gospel and Sacred Scripture. “ (Art 9.2.a, General Constitutions of the Secular Franciscan Order)
In the America magazine website’s blog,
The Good Word, there is an entry by John W. Marstens, on reading the Bible. In it, he expresses t…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 24, 2009 at 11:26pm —
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“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ She thought it was the gardener and said to him, ‘Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, ‘Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ‘Ma…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 22, 2009 at 11:18pm —
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July 15th in the Roman Catholic calendar is the feast day of St. Bonaventure. He was born in 1217, in central Italy. Around 1235 or 1236, he entered the University of Paris. While at the University, in 1243, he entered the Franciscan Order. He eventually became a master theologian and headed the Franciscan school at the University of Paris. In 1257, he was elected Minister General of the Franciscan Order. He was both a scholar and a mystic, well known for his writings on spirituality and theo…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 15, 2009 at 10:43pm —
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On July 6, 2009, a group of men and women assembled in the Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bible Society. Michael Paulson, religion reporter for the Boston Globe, has a nice account of that celebration on his Boston.com blog, Articles of Faith.
I want to share my own memories of the MBS. I first encountered the Society back in the ‘80’s. I was working in downtown Boston, and during my lunch breaks, I would…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 7, 2009 at 10:58pm —
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As the rest of the nation must know, New England has had almost constant rain for about a month now. Day after day of cloudy, rainy skies is beginning to wear me down.
Now I commute into Boston, MA, by taking a subway train from Revere, MA. During the trip, I have made it a daily practice to read Scripture on the train, using the suggested readings from the American Bible Society. Yesterday and today, the suggested readings are from the book of Genesis, chapters 6 to 9; the story of Noah and th…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on July 2, 2009 at 10:39pm —
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ROME (CNS) -- Closing the year of St. Paul, Pope Benedict XVI announced that tests done on the presumed tomb of the apostle revealed the presence of bone fragments from a human who lived between the first and second century. "This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," the pope said during an evening prayer service June 28 at Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The basilica has long been held to be the burial sit…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on June 30, 2009 at 10:27pm —
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Gospel message cannot be fully part of people's lives unless it has been faithfully translated into their language and is reflected in their culture, Pope Benedict XVI said. Talking about the life and mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, ninth-century brothers and missionaries, the pope said the two recognized that although the Slavic people of Central Europe had embraced Christianity and were baptized, the people needed to hear the Gospel and praise God in their own la…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on June 18, 2009 at 8:23pm —
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Our June fraternity gathering is taking place on the feast day of our patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua. Reflecting on his life, it suddenly dawned on me that here was a saint for whom nothing went as planned.
Born in the year 1195, in the country of Portugal, with the name of Fernando; at age 15, he joined the Canons of Saint Augustine. He eventually found himself in the Augustinian monastery of Coimbra, ready to commit himself to a life of prayer and study. Then came the day when the bones o…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on June 13, 2009 at 9:42pm —
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"At the time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. so the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, 'It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable me, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the min…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on June 9, 2009 at 10:32pm —
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“And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matt. 18: 5-6, NAB)
On May 20, 2009, an investigative commission, created by the Irish government, issued a report on child abuse in Church sponsored institutions. It covered a period from 1930 to about 1990. (…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on May 25, 2009 at 10:01pm —
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“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!”
Pope Benedict XVI has completed his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, pundits and analysts will be pouring over his statements, pulling the words apart. His every gesture and action will be examined, and each side will put their particular spin on it. Bottom line, he called for all sides to…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on May 16, 2009 at 11:49pm —
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“If your enemy be hungry, give him food to eat, if he be thirsty, give him to drink.” (Proverbs 25: 21)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matt 5: 43 – 44)
“Then, stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. The…
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Added by Jonathan F. Jones on May 7, 2009 at 6:22am —
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My October Column for Lay Franciscan Fraternity Newsletter
Ongoing studies
