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Program Summary
St. Francis of Assisi continues to electrify the Church with his words and
deeds. Now, discover St. Francis as a model for modern spirituality in this
powerful retreat.
As you no doubt know, St. Francis lived in the Middle Ages, when great
cathedrals were being built and decorated with fine art, when church leaders
enjoyed wealth and power. Corruption and abuse were part of both civil and
church leadership, and power struggles and warfare overshadowed the basic
needs of people, especially the poor. Francis of Assisi, who would later become
one of the greatest saints in Christianity, was very much a product of this time.
Among all the saints within the Catholic tradition, St. Francis is the most
popular. His simple love and devotion to Christ and his Church make him an
icon for today’s Church. In this retreat, you will encounter St. Francis’s great
love for the Church in spite of all its imperfections. You will be inspired by his
generous response in becoming God’s “instrument of reconciliation” and by his
devotion to living Gospel truths.
B) A prayer that:
1) Enlightens and strengthens
2) Fills us with the graceto act accordingly
1. When you still your life before the Cross, what do your hear God saying to you through the lips of Jesus?
3. What in your life, your family’s life, or place of employment needs to be repaired so to enrich life?
1. Do you find time during the complexity of life to enter into the simplicity of silence, where you can listen
with the ear of your heart to the voice of God?
2. Where is your place of solitude? Do you have a place for solitude, or do you need to find that place in
order to be revitalized in your many responsibilities?
3. What encounters have challenged you with Gospel values, such as the ones found in Matthew 25? How
can you challenge your loved ones with the teaching of Jesus and the Church?
4. Do you dare to embrace others who might be of a different culture, tradition, or different religion? If so,
how has this enriched your life? If not, what prevents you from doing so? Remember that Francis would
call them his brother or sister.
D) Mary:
1) Mother of Jesus
2) Woman of great contemplation
3) From the poverty of the crib to the poverty of the Cross
4) Image of silent love (CC 2724)
1. What seems to be the best format of prayer for yourself and your family as you journey through life?
2. From moments of great joy to those of deepest sorrow, how do you find the strength to carry on without
losing your sense of direction and of hope?
3. What image of God is most helpful to you? How has this image changed over the years?
III. The above litany may be like a wild beast causing a person to live in fear.
A) Addressing the problematic areas of life can be liberating
B) Failure to address such areas of concern might paralyze a person
C) Personal testimony
V. Francis of Assisi
A) Enhanced the dignity of each person that crossed his path
1. What problematic areas in your life cause you to live in fear? Are you able to address these concerns, or
do you need assistance doing so?
2. Using Scripture as a reference, what stories do you find helpful when it comes to confrontation and
healing? Which stories are the most inspiring and hopeful?
3. Are you strong enough to practice “tough love” on your own family members and acquire proper
treatment that will enrich your family life? Do you know where you can go to get the professional help to
enhance your life?
III. Freedom from unhealthy attachments: clothing ourselves with the following:
A) Authentic, true self
B) Acceptance of self and others without criticism
C) Assertiveness
D) Loving and trusting
IV. Self-improvement
A) Putting on the mind of Christ [Saint Paul]
B) Personal testimony
C) Invitation to make radical changes
V. 2006 Survey
A) Question: What is the greatest regret in your life?
B) Response:
1) 68% responded that they didn’t follow their heart’s quest. They were too busy trying to
please people, too concerned about what others thought of them.
2) Many felt as if they were living in fear.
3) Others felt they were not living life to its fullest.
4) Some would do things differently if they could.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
2. What do you need to put on to show that you are truly a follower of Jesus Christ?
3. What regret(s) do you have, if any? What can you do to right the wrong in life?
4. Think of some examples in your own life that have called you to reform your ways. Do you need to
revisit them and/or make further adjustments?
V. Living in joy
A) Living the Gospel brings perfect joy empowered by God’s Spirit.
B) Living a “code” for good moral living
C) 10 simple steps for how to love another and enrich Human Development, by Dr. Fields
[psychologist]
1) Know your gifts and use them to help another reach their full potential
2) Build bridges in your relationships [open door policy]
3) Organize priorities that are most important in your relationships
4) Tell the truth even if it difficult to do so [true intimacy]
5) Give people another chance when they wrong you
6) Embrace and move beyond painful experiences
7) Live with a heart full of gratitude
8) Believe that the gift of faith will assist you
9) Know that God is with you every step of the way [insight/wisdom]
10) Surrender all to God and trust in God at all times
D) Additional Steps:
1) Refuse to pass ill judgement
2) Express disagreements and offer insights
3) Remember “boundaries” and avoid “barriers”
1. Correction is not to be feared but to be seen as an act of love and fostering human growth. In what way do
you correct your love ones? How do they respond? Is it out of fear, or is it out of respect for you? Are you
trying to help them help themselves?
2. If you were to create your own ten simple steps of how to love one another and enrich relationships, what
would these steps be for you and your family?
3. How do you prepare yourself for the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Is it an experience of healing and
liberation, or is it fearful? How do you overcome fear so as to enjoy God’s gift of forgiveness in the
Sacrament of Reconciliation?
III. Journeys
A) The journey of faith to knowledge
1) The wisdom of Br. Giles of Assisi
B) The journey marked with the Sign of the Cross
1) The victory of the Cross of Jesus Christ
2) Pope Innocent III: Fourth Lateran Council
(a) The importance of the Cross that brings Joy
(b) Following Him who accepted the Cross with faith and joy
IV. Discipleship
A) Denying self
B) Accepting the Cross
C) Following Christ without reservation
D) Lay down your life as did Christ
E) Life of grace
1. In what way do you advance your knowledge of the Catholic Church? Do you find yourself in light of
these teachings to be a person filled with deep faith and joy?
4. In what way do you spread the faith and the joy of Gospel living to fallen away Catholics and/or to non-
believers?
Conference 8: Contemplation/Action:
Keeping a Healthy Balance in Life
I. God desires His people to live life in a healthy way.
A) A lifelong process
B) Practicing discipline
1) Active lifestyle
2) Moments of quiet contemplation
3) Avoiding “burn-out”
C) Pope Benedict XVI
1) Stress management
2) Balance between work and recreation
D) St. Francis of Assisi
1) Active among people
2) Life of a hermit
E) Example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
1) An hour before the Blessed Sacrament [inner strength]
2) Daily presence among the poorest of the poor [human services]
3) Sacred time versus service time
1. What Scripture passage and/or spiritual writings help you keep your life in balance?
2. Do you maintain a healthy balance between your responsibilities at work and commitments at home? If
not, why not?
3. List three ways that you can improve your life and that of your family, so to enrich your way of living the
Gospel. How will you faithfully carry out your plans?
(b) Hatred
(c) Impurity
(d) Rivalry
(e) Idolatry
(f) Jealousy
(g) Sorcery
(h) Outburst of fury
(i) Envy
(j) Acts of selfishness
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Read Galatians 5 (life in the Spirit). What characteristics best describe your family? Which characteristics
need to be improved?
2. I mention certain tools to help develop and strengthen family life, tools such as evaluation, confrontation
and intervention. How do you use these and other instruments to advance relationships within your family
structure?
3. What are some of the burning desires of your heart that you have for your family? Do you share these
with your family members?
V. Poverty
A) Francis and the Beggar: a story of conversion
B) Beggars of today
1) A burden or a blessing?
2) A means of conversion
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. As you remember the saints of long ago, how can you reflect that same kind of faith they had in God to
those you meet daily?
3. As an individual or as a family, in what ways can you incorporate Matthew 25 as you reach out to the
poorest of the poor in the area where you live?
V. Eucharist
A) The Center of spiritual Life
B) The fullness of faith, hope, and love find their full expression in the Eucharist.
C) God who humbles Himself
D) To be present to believers
1) The bread, blessed and broken: the Body of Jesus
(a) Bread from Heaven
2) The wine, blessed and shared: the Blood of Jesus
3) “Do this in remembrance of me.”
4) Gaze upon Him.
5) Become what you see.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What does it mean to say that Francis didn’t simply pray, but became prayer himself?
2. Are you living a truly prayerful life? If not, how can the example of St. Francis improve your prayer life?
2) “How are we caring for the earth? Are we sharing resources to the best of our ability?”
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What have you done and what can you do to preserve the environment within your own neighborhood?
2. In the Book of Genesis, God gave us the responsibility to care for the earth and its people. How are you
caring for your brothers and sisters? Those within your own family? Those people that you do not know?
3. Do the words of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict have an impact in your life? If so, how do they
challenge you?
Suggested Readings
Bonaventure, The Life of Saint Francis.
Francis of Assisi: Early Documents (New City Press) Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vols. I-III.
Edited by Regis Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, and William Short. (New York: New City Press,
1999-2001).
William J. Short, Poverty and Joy: The Franciscan Tradition (Orbis Books; Darton, Longman & Todd
Publishers).
St. Francis of Assisi, Writings and Early Biographies: English Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St.
Francis, Vol. I, Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1972.
Andre Cirino, O.F.M., The Cross Was the Book: Meditations on St. Francis’ Prayer Before a Crucifix,
Phoenix: Tau Publishing, 2010.
Ilia Delio, O.S.F., Franciscan Prayer, Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004.
Susan Saint Sing, Francis and the San Damiano Cross, Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2006.