Secular Franciscans of St. Louis the King Fraternity

Old Mission Santa Barbara statue of St. Francis receiving the stigmata. Photo by Gregg Garrison Four sermons are delivered by St. Serra in Mallorca, Spain in the middle of a devastating famine. Ten thousand people died in St. Serra’s hometown from famine and plague in 1744. Serra’s four sermons from this time of suffering reflect on Psalm 34: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” As of March 28, t he 2020 global death toll is rapidly approaching 30,000 deaths from the Coronavirus, equaling the 1744 loss in life in St. Serra’s lifetime. These sermons — then and now — are inspired by great suffering and speak compassionately to people in the midst of a plague. In these sermons, St. Serra speaks to us of the earthly and divine rungs of the ladder that lead to God. Equal parts of suffering, healing and pardoning lead to “the eternal weight of glory and risen life.” The first rung of the ladder: God is gentle in the sufferings He sends us. Secondly, God is a healer. From the sec...

Father Franklin met with the Secular Franciscans to talk about his calligraphy and how he got started in this art form. Listen to the Podcast Here. Father is going to be giving calligraphy classes to the Third Order Secular Franciscans, and he wanted to first give us the background about how he got started in this art form. Father has created calligraphy cards and books.  Here is a supply list that Father provided to the Secular Franciscans for those who are interested in learning more about calligraphy. Father will be presenting another calligraphy session soon.

Author Mr. Gregory Orfalea sat down with Secular Franciscan Gregg Garrison, Minister of the St. Louis the King Fraternity at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara recently to record this podcast. They discuss, with the St. Louis the King Seculars and two Franciscan Friars, the St. Serra biography written by Mr. Orfalea, “Journey to the Sun”, published by Scribner in 2014 — just a year before Pope Francis’ canonization of St. Serra in 2015. The author and the fraternity have a lively conversation on the Mission system, the Franciscan Friars, Spaniards and indigenous Indians of the Americas in the 16 th to the 19 th centuries.     One recurring theme in their conversation is how the West Coast missionary system historically occurred at the same time as the East Coast colonial system — and how different the two systems were in how the two cultures developed on opposite coasts. The key difference between the Dutch and English colonization of the East Coast ...

Title: The Lessons of St. Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life  by John Michael Talbot and Steve Rabey Book Review by Michele Hoffman What is a secular Franciscan living in the 21st century to do?   We want to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Christ, but such an austere life is not feasible for us. Not even our Franciscan Friars live that life, and although the Poor Clares live on alms and go barefoot, they have a secure roof over their heads and warm beds to sleep in. Hence the question: what are we to do? The reason I chose this book is, because in my many roles as a lay person, mother, wife, member of society, I need to find practical ways to follow my soul's longing to live as Christ means me to live.   St. Francis is my inspiration and this book looks to him for ways to follow him in our modern times. The author takes the qualities that we hold dear and se...

The ubiquitous and beautiful California mustard plant has an unique Franciscan religious story and legacy. Every spring, the hills, valleys and roads between the 21-California Franciscan Missions burst into shocking yellow as each bloom has four distinct petals that forms a cross. Legend has it that 17th and 18th century Franciscan Friars planted these billions of petaled-flowered crosses by scattering seeds along El Camino Real to mark the road and their apostolic trail. Our Franciscan-inspired mustard plants are readily distinguished from other plants because of their cross-shaped blossoms. The most common mustard plant in Southern California is black mustard (Brassica nigra), from which the popular seasoning is derived. In the late winter or early spring, these acres of yellow-blossomed black mustard brighten the state. A native of Europe, black mustard was introduced in California by the Franciscan padres. So when you are next enjoying the bloom of Spring,...

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 Chandl...

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 wri...