Secular Franciscans of St. Louis the King Fraternity

Was there disagreement among our Founding Fathers about opening their Continental Congress with prayer?  Yes, says historian Ron Zell.  In an interesting and informative presentation to the OFS at our March meeting, Mr. Zell presented the text of a letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail.  In the letter, Adams tells about the debate going on to decide whether or not to open with prayer at the Continental Congress.   You can see the letter in the two slides below.  (Mr. Zell has generously shared these slides from his presentation on faith in the early colonies up through the Constitutional Congress in 1787. Click on the slides to see them full size.) Below is a continuation of Adams's letter to his wife, Abigail. Prayer to open the Congress was approved. On the left is the Psalm read by a Reverend to the Continental Congress. The painting below is of the Reverend praying at the congress. The painting is by Howard Chandler Christy.  Thirteen

Francis and Clare:   The Complete Works Francis of Assisi, Author, Clare of Assisi, Author, Translation and Introduction by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M CAP., and Ignatius C. Brady, O.F.M., Preface by John Vaughn, O.F.M. By Kimberly McCarthy TITLE & CITATION:  Francis of Assisi (author), Clare of Assisi (author), Armstrong, R. J., O.F.M. Cap.(translator), Brady, I. C., O.F.M. (translator), Vaughn,J.,O.F.M.(preface author)  Francis and Clare The Complete Works . New York: Paulist Press, 1982. 256 pages. Available in softcover ($22.95). AUTHOR:   Francis of Assisi, author, Clare of Assisi, author, Preface by John Vaughn, O.F.M., Translation by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., and Ignatius C. Brady, O.F.M. BOOK REVIEW:   by Kimberly McCarthy The complete written works of St. Francis (c. 1182 - 1226) and St. Clare (c. 1193 - 1253) fill just 184 pages of this paperback book. The editors of Francis and Clare: The Complete Works write, “The relatively few pieces tha