I owe much to the Franciscan family. One priest of that family was the best boss I've ever had: Thomas Russman, PhD and OFM Cap. Another, Fr. John Frambes, was my spiritual director for over a year before his departure from where I was then living. His friend Fr. Louis Canino, whom I count as a friend too, runs the Franciscan Prayer Center in Stoneville, North Carolina, which I have both utilized and contributed to. And Fr. Benedict Groeschel, who once heard my confession, has benefitted countless American Catholics with his books, talks, and prayers. Thank you, gentleman, for carrying on your founder's legacy.Those of you who don't know much about this saint could benefit from reading the account at Catholic Online. In the meantime, please pray with him:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, let me bring pardon; where there is doubt, faith; despair, hope; darkness, light; and sadness, joy.
Lord, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
