Minute Meditations – Franciscan Media

Beggar, Mystic, Man of God

Murray Bodo, OFM — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

Francis had noticed that when he went begging, few people looked into his eyes. They seemed to avoid eye contact, either from fear or contempt. There were, of course, the few bright-eyed, open people whose eyes were surely the lamps of their whole selves radiating love and goodness and trust. It was marvelous how people became who they really were once you reached out your hand to them in the gesture of the beggar. Even the insight into people he had gained in his father’s shop paled when compared to what he learned begging in the streets of Assisi. So often the veneer of respectability would be sloughed off and something like a monster would emerge, cursing and destroying you with the venom of words and gestures. It was an experience only beggars understood.

From these harrowing experiences Francis determined to be always on the outside what he was on the inside. He knew that some of the brothers felt he overdid this obsession with sincerity, but Francis feared duplicity and hypocrisy more than anything. It was against hypocrisy that Jesus had railed again and again in the Gospels, and Francis was sure Jesus would never speak harshly against anything unless it spoiled the human heart and made the Holy Spirit’s entry there impossible.

—from the book Francis: The Journey and the Dream
by Murray Bodo, OFM

Love Must Expand

Leonard Foley, OFM — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

Love simply must expand, radiating its light and warmth in all directions. The happier we are, the more we want to tell others, to share our happiness with them. God, who is Love itself, also wanted to share goodness with others. God was not forced to share this goodness; God wanted to! God wanted to be our Father, to give us divine life, goodness, and happiness.

The greatest thing God could give us was life—not only human life but a sharing in his own life. This mystery is called grace. Grace affects us at the very roots of our being. We are as new as the day we were first created. Yet the newness is not something added on top of what we already are. It soaks our nature, permeates our being—if we let it. This means that the very power whereby God loves is our power. The very wisdom and intelligence with which God loves is ours. The very giving and going out, the generosity and feeling is all ours, for what is in God is in us, not by some kind of distant imitation but by our participation in God’s own life.

—from the book Live Like Francis: Reflections on Franciscan Life in the World
by Leonard Foley, OFM

God’s Light

Maureen O'Brien — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

David wrote half of the psalms, and his poems are often inclusive of the challenges of the physical body: being sick, getting wounded, aging. “Yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy, when I pleaded with you for help” (Ps 31:23).

Take a moment today and reflect on how God’s light has been there for you or your loved ones during these times of distress.

—from Franciscan Media’s “Seven Days with the Psalms“
by Maureen O’Brien

Spend a Moment with the Psalms

Maureen O'Brien — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

The psalms overflow with lines and repeated words that nourish us: unfailing love, steadfast, refuge. Solace can be found in so many words. Such as: “Blessed be the Lord who worked a miracle of unfailing love for me” (Ps 31:21).

Today, find a quiet spot and spend time with the psalms. With a pencil or sticky notes, freely mark words or lines that speak to you.

—from Franciscan Media’s “Seven Days with the Psalms“
by Maureen O’Brien

Bring Your Sorrows to God

Maureen O'Brien — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

The psalms repeatedly encourage us to tell the truth of how hard life can be. “How long Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day?” (Ps 13:1-3).

Can you bring your deepest sorrow directly to God today? See if, after doing so, your heart can now pivot and be filled with peace.

—from Franciscan Media’s “Seven Days with the Psalms“
by Maureen O’Brien

Refuge in Psalm 91

Maureen O'Brien — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:30:00 +0000

Sometimes, in the challenges of our lives, we can feel far from God’s help. The images in these lines can help us remember God’s nearness: “He will shelter you with his pinions, and under his wings you may take refuge; his faithfulness is a protecting shield” (Ps 91:4).

Take some time today to recognize the ways that God is alongside you—never missing a step—and that you can trust God completely.

—from Franciscan Media’s “Seven Days with the Psalms“
by Maureen O’Brien