Month: August 2014

Cricket and Jerry Aull, members of the OFS Saint Francis, joined the Cabrini Region in today’s feast of La Portiuncula. The theme, Following Francis:
Being the Merciful and Joyful Presence of God.

What follows are notes on the presentations led by Cricket Aull with a little music (amazing voice!) by Jerry Aull. Unfortunately, he had to leave to another engagement:

We are all called to live a life of simplicity, purity, and obedience in the footsteps of Saint Francis.

Simplicity is key. How much do things get in the way of living the merciful presence of God?

Purity. How are we to practice purity, especially interiorly? Detaching ourselves of earthly things to make us more aware of God’s presence.

Obedience. Do we try not to avoid burdensome things? Things that will help us stay humble? Francis and his brothers embraced them with joy because they knew it would draw them closer to Christ.

We make promises to live simply (clearing the path so that God can dwell in us). We make promises to live purely (clearing the path for God’s presence in us). We make promises to live in obedience (so that we embrace that which brings us closer to God).

Jerry–A challenge to cyberfast (advice from Ilia Delio. I, of course, was taking notes and tweeting)! Are we accustomed to doing all the talking when we are in the presence of God? Are we learning to discern the still small voice yearning to guide us?

Cricket continued: The three loves: Love to be emptied of self, love of purity, love of service. What gets in the way of us having a merciful heart? Think of the word “stop”:
S: surrender to God in all He is doing.
T: Trust in God and Turn everything into a reflection of God’s presence in us.
O: Obey? Observe? Offer? Openness? Omnipotence? Outpouring? Other?
P: Prayer with Thanksgiving. Peace. Praise. Presence. Perseverance.

Part II

What gets in the way of our joy? What do we need to do differently? Strive towards the beauty of God. Sufferings, sisters, called them Francis. He bore them joyfully and thanked God for everything. What are three characteristics of Francis that are most appealing and effective in the world? Which ones do we need to work on as followers of Francis? If Francis came to visit your family, what would he appreciate the most?

The story of the small piece of the Eucharist and hearing in her prayer, Am I not fully present in the smallest piece of the Eucharist? Yes. Then be fully present in the smallest things that you do.

Check their website for more details: The Aull’s

“I became the prayer he could not say”….