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Good morning to you all. I hope all is well with you.

How many times have you stopped and thought about the fact that we are created by a loving God? If you are like me, life does get in the way of living.

I guess, it is only when we have time put aside, like a Sunday morning when we go to church, or when we get in bed after a long day that we turn our thoughts to the one who made us out His love for us. If we read the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis, we will read just how God called us into being.

But after being created, God breathed His Spirit into us and place us over everything else He created. We of out of all other things that He made, we are the only ones that His Spirit resides within us. We now call it a soul.

St. Teresa of Avila give us this thought today. “Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us.” Reading this, one does not have to wonder why she is a Doctor of the Church. 

I know that I will keep this thought with me today. I hope you will do the same. It is well for us to remember that we ALL are created by the same loving God and therefore, are brothers and sisters. Yep, even the ones we find hard to love. 

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Brothers and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer. 

Greetings. Sorry, this is a little late. My computer has the habit of “eating up” what I wrote earlier this week for today. Where is my pad of paper and my #2 pencil?

To keep this short, I came across this thought from the author and “stay at home mom.” Jenneth Graser. “God is the safe presence behind you as your guide. God is also ahead of you in your future, outside of time and all-knowing, leading you as the shepherd of your heart.”

Many times, we go through our day attending to the tasks and feel we are so alone in our responsibility. The words of Jenneth should give us the security that we are NOT alone. God, our loving Father is ever present in all we encounter throughout the day.  Once again, we have to have FAITH believing that the Father present to give us the strength to do what is ours to do.

Have a blessed and safe day. Remember, you are not alone. We are praying for you, and God is ever present as your support and guide.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Greeting. I don’t know if we still have a three day weekend on Columbus Day or not. Well, if so, enjoy your three day weekend.

This is a day I remember as a kid going to watch a parade and having a cookout if the weather was OK.  As I got older and began to do much more reading, I found myself wondering about the indigenous people that Columbus and his ship mates encountered. I often think of those movies that I watched on Saturday afternoon about, “Cowboys and Indians.” Naturally, the Indians were always the enemies and the Cowboys the heroes. Boy, what we believed just because it was on TV in black and white.

A leader of a small group of Poncha people, named Standing Bear (1829-1908) said. “That hand is not the color of yours, but if you prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel the pain. The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a man.”

This should give us all something to ponder today as we celebrate this day, regardless of what we wish to call it. God made me, He made you and all who came before and will come after. Remember, “God don’t make junk!!” 

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Good morning.

The Gospel reading for today is the story of the ten Lepers. 

In the time of Jesus up to almost the present, leprosy was a dreaded affliction that caused a person to be forced out of his or her society to live a life alone or with others so afflicted.

Our Gospel story revolves around ten such persons afflicted with this disease. The story tells us that these come to Jesus and beg Him that they be cured. He does and tells them to go to show themselves to the priests that they may undergo a ritual of cleansing and so be admitted back into society.

As the story tells us, of the ten only one, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks. Jesus makes the comment, “Jesus says, ‘Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?’

Giving thanks, an act of gratitude is something that we sometimes take for granted. The computer professor and educator, Randy Pausch tells us today, “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things human can do for each other. 

It does not take much to say “thanks” to another. It is a simple recognition of a kindness shown us by another. Yet, how many times have we gone through our day, wrapped up in our own little world?

St. Treasa of Calcutta says that just a simple “thank you” and a smile, can make all the difference to another’s life. To some it may be the only time in that day that someone recognizes them as another and have meaning. It may not mean much to us, but it can mean the world to the other.

Have a blessed and safe Sunday.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Hello, hope all are well.

I am sure that we are familiar with the saint we remember today. Good Pope John was one of the popes who enjoyed being with the people.

There us a little story that after he was elected, there was a group of tourists going through the Vatican. A member of the group got separated from his group and wondered into a room. He had no idea of where he was. All of the sudden, he heard a door open at the other end of the room. Who should walk in but Pope John. The poor guy did not know what to do and started to make excuses. John walks up to him and the tourist just say, “I’m so sorry, but I’m lost.” Pope John just smiled and took him by the arm and said, “So am I.” And they both walked out to the group together.

Pope John tells us today, “Never hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.”

Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the 

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Hello. Well, another week has passed us by. I hope your week was good.

If you are like me, there are times when you would like to have a “Come to Jesus Talk” with someone who may have caused your life to be just a little less than happy.

You might have the idea of punching this person in the nose, or seeing this person humiliated in front of the of the class, or maybe encounter the bully on the playground. But that is just it, we envision these events happening as kids. But this is not to say we would not like something bad to happen to another as we are now adults.

It is at this time that the words of St. Peter should come to mind. “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter3:9)

Being a Christian really puts a crimp in our “got you.” But Jesus did not say it would be easy. But there are times we have to stand up for what we hold true and believe. It is like someone once said, “Pick your battles. You don’t have to show up to very argument your invited to.”

Well anyway, have a good weekend. I hope it will be a restful one.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the 

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.  

Good day to you all.

Given what I sent out yesterday, maybe Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as a solution to the question posed.

We know that the devil, Satan, or whatever name we might give to this spirit, is an element of pure evil that manifests itself in our world every now and then.

It is usually we who become the instruments of this evil which we perpetrate upon one another, whether we like it or not. 

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin gives us something that will help us come to overcome this problems as he tells us, “Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them; for it alone takes them and joins them by which is deepest in themselves.” But here again, we need to trust. This time we are called to trust a stranger and that makes it much more difficult.

Love, as the Beetles sang, is the answer. But love demands trust. And trust is something that does not come easy. Trust is something that takes time to establish the foundation, that is, something to build on.

I would dare to say, that is why faith is so difficult. Faith like love requires trust, and trust takes time. Like any relationship, whether that be in marriage, a vocation, or a religion, trust must be the foundation upon which these are built. 

May you all have a blessed day.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Good morning. I hope your weekend is going well. For us here in So. FL. we are expecting a wet weekend. Well as they say, “In everyone’s life, a little rain must fall/”

Our readings today tell us about faith. I know I have mentioned this several times in my meditations to you. But it is true, Faith is what keeps us united to God.

In the Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. He reminds them that even if their faith is as small as a mustard seed, they would be able to uproot a mulberry tree and plant in the sea.

One of our problems with faith is, I believe, that we what to be in control. Faith asks us to place ourselves in the hands of God and allow him to work his miracles in our lives. It all about letting go. It is all about that God is in control and we do not have to worry about anything. This does not mean that we just sit back and watch the parade go by. We must do what is our to do. As St. Francis told his brothers, ” I have done what is mine to do, May Christ teach you what is yours.”

Let us keep in mind the saying, “Let go and let God.” 

I would ask you to rejoice with us today as our Brother Manfred will be professing his final vows as a Franciscan Friar. WELL, DONE, BROTHER, WELL DONE!!

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer. 

Good morning.

I hope you had a good weekend. Brother Manfred professed is final vows as a Franciscan Friar yesterday. It was a really a wonderful service. 

What moves a person like Manfred or any other person to give themselves over to God, not just for a short period of time or until things get a little rough. But for the rest of their lives????

I don’t know about you, but in my time, I have encountered others who would tell me that they were atheists. They just did not believe in God. I guess I have to accept their belief or lack thereof. I personally, could not imagine living a life without God. But as I accept their decision not to believe, I hope they accept my decision as well.

The businessman Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it by living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Very wise words from a very wise man. But it is said that Mr. Jobs was an atheist. This does not mean that Mr. Jobs was a bad person, one who enjoyed using others for his own purposes. It just means that the gift of faith was not given to him. Why? Only God knows.

But it is said that on his death bed, his last words spoken in the presence of a friend was, “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.”

The noted theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar tells us that at the point of death we have an ultimate choice to make, for God or not. The last words of Steve Jobs may have been made because he said YES to God who may have been after like the “Hound of Heaven” in Francis Thompson’s poem.  

“God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.”  (Wm. Cowper)

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.

Good morning and Happy Feast.

Today we remember our holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi.

There is much to be said for this man who had a real conversion in his life. From the life of a “playboy” to one who in the front of the bishop and half the town, divested himself of his clothes and returned them to his father because he did not to own something that was not his.

Now we must remember that, like many of our saints, there is the truth about their lives, and then there are the stories that were built up around their holiness.

We know that Francis has a major conversion in his life. Poverty became a major part of his “new life in Christ”.  It is said that the only book he would allow in the friaries was a book of the Gospels.

There is much that can be said about this man and those who are influenced by his life. Francis did believe that the actions of his brothers were in fact a way of preaching. In fact, he once said, “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.”

As we remember this saint today, let us remember that he is more than a statue that we place in our gardens. He was a real man who could have anything in life. But he listened to the voice of the Lord who told him, “France, go and rebuild my church as you can see, it is falling into ruin.” And at first Francis thought it was the physical church building that he was in, be the Lord was talking about the Church Universal.  

Francis gives us much to ponder today, too much to mention here. But he truly is one of the great saints of the Church. He stands before us, calling us to follow, that we too may help him rebuild the Church.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the 

Franciscan House of Prayer.