[CS-FSLUG] NI: On Becoming the Kingdom of God

[Michael Bradley, Jr.]

On Oct 1, 2005, at 6:23 PM, Fred A. Miller wrote:

> From the Old Orthodox Eparchy of Nebraska
>
> During the time of St. Francis, there were two robbers who caused  
> havoc on the
> countryside. When St. Francis was away from his group one day, the two
> robbers appeared. His disciples beat them up and drove them away. When
> Francis returned, his disciples proudly told him what they had  
> done. Instead
> of being pleased . . .


Thanks for the story-reflection on St. Francis -- he's one of my  
favorite Saints!

During the Spring of 20004, I visited an awesome community of  
Franciscans in New York, NY. I spent two weeks sharing their daily  
schedule of prayer, work with the poor, and evangelization. It was  
amazing! The community is young (average age is late 20's), vibrant,  
and wonderfully orthodox (little "o").

They have a strong presence on-line and in various popular media  
(CDs, videos, etc.). Check out their website:


          http://www.franciscanfriars.com/


See these flash-based slideshows for a visual "tour" of their life/work:


          http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/photo_doc/2005/ 
essay.asp?Jaimal_Yogis


          http://www.franciscanfriars.com/frontpagefriars.htm



Although the principal founder of any Franciscan Community is, of  
course, St. Francis of Assisi, this particular "order" of "Capuchin  
friars" was founded by two men -- Fr. Benedict Groeschel and Fr.  
Andrew Apostoli. I had the pleasure of meeting briefly with Fr.  
Apostoli -- he was very warm and left me with a loving, Christ- 
centered, grandfatherly impression.

Both of them appear regularly on EWTN television and radio:


          http://www.ewtn.com/

          watch or listen to EWTN live:  http://www.ewtn.com/ 
audiovideo/index.asp


          Sun. Night Live w/ Fr. Groeschel:  http://www.ewtn.com/tv/ 
prime_sunday.asp

          one of the TV program-series hosted by Fr. Apostoli:   
http://www.ewtn.com/series/2005/word.htm


Through their website, EWTN makes available for download, free of  
charge (though in a proprietary format), the audio portion of almost  
all of the shows they produce -- that's nearly 25 years worth of  
programming! I have found their audio library to be a great resource  
for making inspirational/educational CDs (via an mplayer ".rm" to  
".wav" operation, then burning to disc) which I can listen to in the  
car or give to friends and acquaintances.


          http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/intro.asp


Type "groeschel" or "apostoli" (without quotes) into the "select  
series by keyword(s) search" box, and you'll find some great stuff.

In case you're interested, here a some links to on-line biographies  
of three of the great early Franciscan saints:


          St. Francis of Assisi

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm


          St. Anthony of Padua

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01556a.htm

          his collected sermons:  http://www.franciscan-archive.org/ 
antonius/opera/ant-hd00.html


          St. Bonaventure

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02648c.htm





I hope you all enjoy a blessed Sunday.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Michael Bradley, Jr.

--
[Jesus said] Tell aching mankind to snuggle close
to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it with peace.
+ Diary of Saint Faustina #1074 +

My home on the Net ::
    http://homepage.mac.com/michaelsbradleyjr/

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