A Different Beat

  The Seven Wounds of Francis’ Life and Spirituality Wound of Wealth and Renunciation Francis was born into a wealthy merchant family but renounced his inheritance, stripping himself publicly in Assisi. This wound symbolizes detachment from material security and the embrace of Gospel poverty. Wound of Misunderstanding and Rejection His radical choice led to rejection by family, friends, and townspeople. It reflects the pain of being misunderstood, yet also the freedom to live authentically. Wound of Illness and Weakness Francis suffered from chronic illness, including eye disease and physical frailty. His bodily weakness became a path to humility and reliance on God. Wound of Failure in Mission His attempt to preach to Muslims during the Crusades did not yield conversions. This wound shows the limits of human effort and the importance of witness over success. Wound of Division Among Brothers As the Franciscan movement grew, disputes arose over poverty and g...

  ISAIAH :  He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, Like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.     MARK: Mockery by the Soldiers. The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.     L...

  The “seven wounds” in Franciscan spirituality are not a fixed medieval list but a modern devotional framework that interprets key moments of St. Francis of Assisi’s life as wounds—points of suffering and transformation—that mirror Christ’s own wounds. They highlight how Francis’ journey was marked by trials that became sources of grace and fraternity. The Seven Wounds of Francis’ Life and Spirituality Wound of Wealth and Renunciation Francis was born into a wealthy merchant family but renounced his inheritance, stripping himself publicly in Assisi. This wound symbolizes detachment from material security and the embrace of Gospel poverty. Wound of Misunderstanding and Rejection His radical choice led to rejection by family, friends, and townspeople. It reflects the pain of being misunderstood, yet also the freedom to live authentically. Wound of Illness and Weakness Francis suffered from chronic illness, including eye disease and physical frailty. His bodily weakn...

  St. Maximilian Kolbe's Teaching on Divine Providence! "Above all, avoid sadness and worries, because there is no reason to be sad. Does not Divine Providence govern the world? Can anything happen that God does not know about and does not allow? If, however, He allows it, it is undoubtedly for our good. Hence, your sufferings, which you describe and which are truly unpleasant, should not take away your peace or trouble you. Evil dwells only in the will. If the will wants well, then no matter what happens against that will, it is not responsible for it. Worrying in such cases irritates the nerves even more and contributes to greater disturbances. - So peace, much, very much peace in total dedication to the Will of God, the Will of the Immaculate in everything. Let us not desire to have more time or less, or any other occupation than we have, or any other place than where Divine Providence has placed us." St. Maximilian Kolbe

  Reflections on the Seven Wounds of Christ Sugat ng Paghahampas – Sugat ng Koronang Tinik – Sugat sa Kanang Kamay – Sugat sa Kaliwang Kamay – Sugat sa Kanang Paa – Sugat sa Kaliwang Paa – Sugat sa Tagiliran –   We all have a share of suffering, wounds in our life. Where are our wounds? Why wounds? Fraternal Wounds! Jesus will heal where are wounds are… By his wounds we were healed… A wound not transformed, is a wound transmitted… You have a special wound, only you can bear… Wounds are entrance wounds for the work of the Lord to be done. He transforms everything! From wounds to new LIFE...  The wounds becomes a WOMB, not a TOMB 1. St. Francis of Assisi Parish City of Meycauayan, Bulacan 2. St. Michael the Archangel Parish Marilao, Bulacan 3. Convent Shrine of St. Andrew Kim Taegon Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan 4. Diocesan Shrine of St. Andrew Kim Taegon and Parish of Santo Kristo Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan 5. St. Martin of Tours Parish Bocaue, Bulacan 6...

  The Transitus as the word suggests is an annual commemoration of the passing of Francis from this life to the next. The early Franciscan texts especially the second life of Celano and the Major Legend of Bonaventure were descriptive of the event of what transpired on the fateful evening of the 3 rd of October 1226. As both early sources tell us, the event was an intense experience to the witnesses, among them the first companions of the saint and the Poor Ladies of San Damiano. It was described on the one hand, as a joyful event as St. Francis sings hymn of praise to God and to little sister death even if by now, he is almost blind and in great pain brought about by sickness, long fasts and sleepless hours in prayer. One the other hand, grief is also present among followers of the poverello who truly feels orphaned. Being a father, whose hour of departure is close at hand, he blessed all his sons present and absent while constantly telling them to be faithful to the Holy Roma...

  Death during the Roman Years of the Young Maximilian [ 1]   It was during the years 1918 - 1920 that the Spanish flu pandemic [2] killed millions on its wake.   These years coincided with the last years spent by the young Maximilian as a student at the International Seraphic College, located at Via San Teodoro and in the Gregorian Pontifical University run by the Society of Jesus.   In these academic institutions he obtained his doctorates in philosophy and theology during his seven-year sojourn (1912-1919) in the Eternal City. The young Maximilian’s health condition was frail.   In the summer of 1917, he had his first attack of tuberculosis.   He wrote on the 29 th of January 1919 that he had recovered from the sickness. [3]   Before sending him back to his home province he went to the picturesque Ravello of the province of Naples for recuperation and subsequently to what we may call today a health resort in Zakopane, Poland for the same re...