Hello, yes, it’s me. Sorry for the mix up with sending out the wrong days and the other mix ups. It is truly a learning curve.
I would dare say that we all say prayers of petition. We say our novenas for nine days, we say the correct number of prayers, we follow the instructions to a “T”. And at the end of our novena, nothing happens. We are wondering if I may have not said the correct number of Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Be(s). What happened? Why does not God hear me?
In the First Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah put the priests of the god Ba’al to a test. And with all their drum beatings, crying out, and all the other rituals, their god did not answer. Elijah told them “Cry aloud . . .he has gone aside or he is on a journey or perhaps is asleep..”(1Kings 18;27) You might what to read the entire story for yourself.
Thomas Merton tells us today, “Do not be discouraged. The Holy Spirit is not asleep.”
Yes we have our prayers, we have our novena and all the rest. But we have got to remember that our prayers are not magical formulas that deliver what we want when we want it. God knows what we need before we do.
What is needed is faith. Faith that the Father hears our prayers, He knows what we need, He will answer our requests. The answer to our prayers may not always come to us as we would want. But sometimes, as the Scriptures tell us, we sometimes don’t know what is the best answer to our prayer. As I said before, sometimes the best prayers are the ones that go unanswered. Not because God does not care. But rather the Father knows what is best for us. And as any good parent, they ALWAYS know what is best for their little ones.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.
Author: Franciscan
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9/11/2026 FRIDAY OF THE 23RD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
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9/9/2026 OF THE 23RD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Hello,
Well, it looks like we are back in business, for now anyway.
I will be sending you the meditation on the Birth of Mary which was yesterday. I’m sorry that I have not been able to send these thoughts out to you. I just hope that I will be able to get something out for you in the days to come. Just hope this computer, or should I say I am able to learn how this beast works.
In my spare time, I came across the following from Maya Angelou, which I feel attains to me and this new computer. She says, ” Courage is the most important of the virtues because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”That one virtue which I have learned, is patience. I just hope I have enough courage to put this virtue into practice with this computer.
Have a blessed and safe evening.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and the Bros and Srs of theFranciscan House of Prayer. -
8/5/2026 SATURDAY OF THE 22ND ORDINARY TIME.
Greetings, hope all is well.
I am sure we all watch the news on TV, at some part of the day. I know I turn it on when I wake up in the morning not because I’m interested in what is happening, but just to get my head together and I turn off the TV and I am ready to say morning prayer.
Is there any “Good New” out there. All I hear is someone is doing this, another is trying to do that. It seems like we are in a free-for-all.
I came across this quote by St. Vincent de Paul who tells us, “To this end, we should help and support one another and strive for peace and union among ourselves. This is the wine that cheers and strengthens travelers along the narrow path of Jesus Christ. “
Is it wrong to believe we as a country or a world can live together in peace? Do we need to constantly be at each other? I guess that may be too much to hope for. But maybe I can create a peaceful environment around me that others can experience. Maybe if we all try to create an environment around us, one of peace and acceptance, maybe we may be able to live in this little world we have created. Maybe if we can do that, others may see that it is possible to live in an environment of peace and understanding. Just maybe.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osfand theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.
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9/4/2026 FRIDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME. FRIST FRIDAY OF THE SACRED HEART
Greetings. Yes it is Friday and another weekend. For some is a couple of days to relax. But I know after being a priest for some 48 years, weekends were just other work days. I guess I enjoyed it after 48 years. Oh well, happy Friday and a safe and blessed weekend.
The 5th of Sept. falls on the First Friday of the month. The First Friday of any month is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.The symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been a symbol of the loving connection God wishes to have with us. It would seem out of place that God, who created us would wait for us to make a move to accept His love for us and use symbols like the Sacred Heart to get His point across. But, that is what free will is all about. We have the ability to choose and decide on “who and what.”
Pope Francis wrote, “Popular piety highly value symbols, and the Hear of Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy. But it is not an imaginary symbol; it is a real symbol which represents the center, the source from which salvation flowed for all humanity.”
Symbols, if used too often, can and do loose their meaning. Such is the symbol of the HEART. During the month of February we see hearts plastered all over. On store windows, on cards, boxes of candy. And after a while, it is just another February, just another heart.
Maybe, just maybe, we need to take a picture of the Sacred Heart and examine it. What is different from this heart from all the others we have seen? Maybe then we might come to understand what God means when He says to us, “I love you with all my HEART!”Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.
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9/3/2026 THURSDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OR ORDINARY TIME
Good morning, (just hope you get this in the morning.)
I happened to open up one of my older books where I keep my quotes and other little things to send out to you, Today I opened one that goes bace several years and came across the following. So this meditation on my part may be short, but here I am just the messenger.
ON THIS DAY Search out a forgotten friend,Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust.Write a love letter, share treasures,Give a soft answer, encourage youth.Manifest you loyalty in a word or deed.Keep a promise, find the time, fore go a grudge,Forgive an enemy, Listen, Apologize if you were wrong.Try to understand, examine your demands on others,Think first of someone elseAppreciate, be kind, be gentle, laugh a little moreDeserve confidence, take up arms against malice,Decry complacency, express gratitude,Worship you God, gladden the heart of a childTake pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.Speak you love, speak it again, speak it still again,Speak it still once again.(Unknown Author)
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer. -
9/2/2026 WEDNESDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Hello. Well it looks like I have a handle on this new computer. I should keep my mouth shot less something goes bust.I dare say that we all have had some hard days. Some of our making, though we like to think that it someone else’s doing.
We are told over and over again in our Scripture and prayers that the Lord is always there to help. The funny thing is that the Lord never forces Himself upon us, but is always there to catch us should we stubble or fall if we call out His Name. (I know because being on a walker, when I get up from a chair I say “Angels of God, come to my aid.” So far it has worked.)
I came across this quote, though I don’t know who wrote it. But who ever it was, they were right on the money. “When you are going through hard times remember that the teacher is always quiet during a test.”
Let our faith in the Father always be our strength and His presence will always give us the courage to move on. Remember it is in the SILENCE of our hearts that the Father speaks the loudest.Tomorrow we remember one of the early popes of our church. St. Gregory lived between 540? to 604)
An Anglican historian wrote, “It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages with the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy, the real father is Gregory the Great.” It is good for us to remember that Church and State were one.
These were not “good” times for either the state or the church. Society was in an uproar, invasion of barbaric tribes were always possible and the Church was righting the middle of it all.
Gregory once wrote, “If he work of God could be comprehended by reason, t would no longer be wonderful, and faith would have no merit if reason provided proof.” It is important to remember that in these days, theology was still being developed, and everyone who was anyone, had their own concept of what God should be.
St. Augustine (354-430) picks up the theme when he tells us, “If you comprehend (or understand) it, it is not God.”
We are told the even when we stand in the presence of God and see Him face to face, we will never fully know Him as God is always evolving. And so, we can ever fully understand God. But that in NO way diminishes His love for each one of us.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer. -
9/1/2026 TUESDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OR ORDINARY TIME.
Greetings, hope all goes well.
My last few meditations have been on Hope. I really don’t know why I am focusing in on this virtue but for some reason I have been praying and meditating about it for the last week or so.
“HOPE”, we use this word in so many ways that it sometimes loses its meaning. “I HOPE” we have a nice day for our outing,” “ I HOPE you will feel better soon,” “I HOPE that I will have time to see that show soon. “I HOPE that my medical test come out OK.” You get the picture.
The preacher N.T Wright tells us, “The resurrection of Jesus is not simply the basis for Christian hope, it redefines the future towards which hope looks.”
Hope is that virtue that gives us the ability to take that step forward towards the unknown of tomorrow. Our faith in our God gives us that strength, that HOPE, that we will not be alone as we walk into what might seem to be a very dark and scary place.
We as adults, just like when we were little kids, are in some way afraid of the dark. But we hold the candle of HOPE before us as we step into that darkness and that one little candle gives us enough light to dispel that darkness, Maybe not enough to light up the entire room, but enough to give us the courage to take that next step. As the motto of the CHRISTOPHERS tells us, “It is better to light one candle than to course the darkness/“
Peace and All Good,
Fr. Vinnie, osf and the
Bros and Srs of the
Franciscan House of Prayer. -
8/31/2026 MONDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Hello. Hope your weekend has gone well.
Well here we are at the end of another month. The Fall is just about here and we will once again enter a time when the Mother Earth will take her rest. Winter, in most parts of the world will be somewhat cold and bleak, but Mother Earth is taking her rest. Before we know it she will awaken and life will spring forth as it has since the time when God looked upon His creation and said, “It is good, it is very good.”
As has been said, “Hope springs eternal. . .” One sleep past and we shall see the earth come forth in all her beauty, once again.
Someone once wrote, “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage to those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
As we enter this new month, as we move forward into a new season, let us know that we are not alone. Our Father holds our hand and walks beside us as any good father would when he take his child into the newness of life.
Peace and All Good,
Fr. Vinnie, osf and the
Bros and Srs of the
Franciscan House of Prayer -
8/30/2026 22ND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
Hello and happy Sunday. Yes these weeks are going by so quickly. Sept. is just around the corner. Time goes by so quickly when one is having fun. Oh, are we having fun yet?
Our Gospel from Matthew begins with Jesus telling his disciples that in a short while He will be going up to Jerusalem to face His death.
Like any of us when someone we love says that they are going to die or that they may have a life ending disease our first response is “Oh, God forbid!” And, as we hear, Peter is the one who say “God forbid , Lord. No such thing should ever happen to you”. And we who the end of the story, know that what Jesus said to his disciples came to pass.
One would think that the Christian life would be one of joy, peace, and a whole lot of fun. But the truth is that, as Jesus tells us if we are to follow Him, we must take us our Cross and follow Him.
St. Francis de Sales tells us this, “Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception and consent to His will joyfully. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him in word and deed. Walk very simply with your Cross of the Lord and be at peace for yourself.
Though we sometimes feel we need to say on Mt. Calvary at the foot of the Cross because that is where we feel God would want us to be. But we need to turn around and look down the hill to the empty tomb. That is where the peace and joy of the Christian life gets is life and our ability to carry the cross with joy., Remember, the Cross is a means to an end, and not an end in itself.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer. -
8/29/2026 PASSION OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Hello.
Today we remember when the cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist gave his life to appease the revengeful heat of his wife and her daughter Solome. For the dance to please her stepfather, he promised anything she asked for. At the urgings of her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.
One commentator wrote, “Each of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John, and yet all of cos are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world, we are called to be disciples of Christ . . .”
John stands before us as one of the great prophets. He prepared the people to hear the word that Jesus was about announce to them. As he told them over and over, “I am not the Messiah, but the one who is coming after me is greater than I.”
As said above. We may never be asked to give our lives for our faith. But we are asked to live out our faith everyday of our lives by loving one another as Jesus loves us.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and the Bros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.