"May our Lord Jesus Christ, who repays most generously, reward your labour.
You must flee from evil, and drive away dangers. We and all our brothers,
although unworthy, pray constantly to God the Father and to his Son Jesus
Christ, as well as to Mary the Virgin Mother, to be with you as you seek the
salvation of your souls and your bodies.
Brothers, I most strongly urge you to work for the salvation of your souls
with prudence and diligence. Death is certain, and life is short and vanishes
like smoke. Therefore you must fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ who so burned with love for us that he came down from heaven to redeem
us. For our sakes he suffered all the agonies of body and mind, and did not
shrink from any torment. He gave us a perfect example of patience and love. For
our part, we too must be patient when things go against us.
Put aside hatred and hostility. See to it that you refrain from harsh words.
But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same
lips that inflicted the wounds. In this way you will show each other mercy and
not keep alive the memories of past wrongs. Remembering grievances works great
damage. It is accompanied by anger, fosters sin, and brings a hatred for
justice. It is a rusty arrow spreading poison in the soul. It destroys virtue
and is a cancer in the mind. It thwarts prayer and mangles the petitions we make
to God. It drives out love and is a nail driven into the soul, an evil that
never sleeps, a sin that never fades away, a kind of daily death.
Be lovers of peace, the most precious treasure that anyone can desire. You
are already aware that our sins drive God to anger,"so you must repent of
them, that God in his mercy may spare you. What men conceal is open to God. Turn
to him with a sincere heart. Live in such a way that you bring upon yourselves
the blessing of God, and that the peace of God our Father may be with you
always."
A reading from the letters of St Francis of Paola, Hermit
(Letter AD 1486)
Lord God, by whom the holy are exalted, and Saint Francis was raised to share
in the glory of the saints, let his prayer and example bring us the reward you
have promised to the humble.
Biography
Born at Paola in Calabria in the year 1416. He founded a congregation of
hermits which was later changed to the Order of Minims and received the approval
of the Holy See in 1506. He died at Tours in France in 1507.
(We make our prayer) through our Lord.
