Category Archives: Blog

History of the Third Order of St. Francis

He was under the necessity of repeating the same injunctions in several towns in Tuscany, particularly in Florence, where similar views prevailed, and where they had already commenced building a monastery for females, who were desirous of renouncing the world. While he was yet ruminating on the mode of life he should prescribe for them, […]

St. Anthony of Padua, Confessor, First Order

In the quiet little Franciscan convent at Coimbra he received a friendly reception, and in the very same year his earnest wish to be sent to the missions in Africa was fulfilled. But God had decreed otherwise. St. Anthony scarcely set foot on African soil when he was seized with a grievous illness. Even after […]

St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop and Cardinal, Third Order

However, Cardinal Borromeo, who was then only twenty-two years old, was an exceptional young man, endowed with extraordinary gifts of mind and heart, deeply spiritual, and devoted wholeheartedly to the welfare of the Church. It was due to the young cardinal’s vigorous efforts and leadership that the Council of Trent was re-opened and carried to […]

Why does God allow suffering?

Man can suffer in body or soul or both. The apostles, when they were scourged (Acts 5:41), suffered in body; Judas, when he threw down the pieces of silver in the Temple, suffered in his soul. Holy Job suffered in both. Suffering is either merited or unmerited. The sufferings of the prodigal son were merited, […]

Saint Clare of Assisi, Virgin, Second Order

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, when luxury and sensuality held sway, St. Francis of Assisi made his appearance, giving to men the example of a poor and penitential life. But God wished also to give the vain and pleasure-loving women of that period an example of contempt of the world’s vanities. For this […]

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