Today the Church honors and remembers St. Francis of Assisi who was born in 1182 and died on this day in 1226. He was born to a wealthy family, and Francis was a man of the world, a soldier, until his conversion. Francis took literally Christ’s words to sell all that he had, give it to the poor and to come and follow Jesus. He did exactly that. Francis was a humble man who had an affinity to the poor. He shunned fame and riches. Here is a portion of one of Francis’ letters:
O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers, saying: “Our Father, who are in heaven,” since we must always pray and never grow slack.
Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to very human being for God's sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father's children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray: Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace gladly to renounce the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Dear all, Karen Lehr is having a birthday, and she wants to give thanks for all of those special people in her life, and the only way to do that is to have them there. So here are the details, the celebration will be in Sutton Hall at St. Augustine’s on Saturday, 12 October at 5 p.m. Please RSVP to penny.joann@yahoo.com.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially T.J. Carol, Gladys and those suffering from addictions of various sorts.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
The 5th Annual Art Show at St. Augustine is open! Invite your friends and get the word out. The show is only 1 week this year from the 28th of September to 6 October, and we’ll have extended hours on the 6th since it is Artwalk night.”
Blessing of the Animals on Saturday, 5 October at 11 a.m. Bring your cats, dogs, birds, lizards, fleas, or whichever of God’s creatures are a part of your home to be blessed.
The BBQ at Grace is back! After being interrupted by Ike, the tradition is back again. Saturday, 12 October 2013 from 11-3. There will be a silent auction with all sorts of wonderful items including James Avery jewelry and a bird watching cruise. Come and support our brothers and sisters at Grace Episcopal Church.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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