Happy Feast Day St Francis de Sales!

We will spend the day in Adoration praying for all your intentions and ask you to join us in spirit.  

St Francis de Sales, pray for us!

“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself...do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage.” 
― Francis de Sales

Litany of St. Francis de Sales

Lord have mercy on us, Lord have mercy on us
Christ have mercy on us, Christ have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us
Christ hear us, Christ graciously hear us

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us
God the Son, redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us

Saint Francis, admirable Bishop, pray for us
Saint Francis, beloved of God, pray for us
Saint Francis, imitator is Jesus Christ, pray for us
Saint Francis, filled with the gifts of the Lord, pray for us
Saint Francis, favorite of the Mother of God, pray for us
Saint Francis, most devout to the Saints, pray for us
Saint Francis, burning wih love for the Cross of Christ, pray for us
Saint Francis, most closely united to the Divine Will, pray for us
Saint Francis, vessel of election, pray for us
Saint Francis, light of the Church, pray for us
Saint Francis, perfect model of religious, pray for us
Saint Francis, source of wisdom, pray for us
Saint Francis, defender of the Catholic faith, pray for us
Saint Francis, good Shepherd of the people, pray for us
Saint Francis, incomparable preacher, pray for us
Saint Francis, scourge of heresy, pray for us
Saint Francis, salt of the earth, pray for us
Saint Francis, model of justice, pray for us
Saint Francis, mirror of humility, pray for us
Saint Francis, despiser of the world, pray for us
Saint Francis, lover of poverty, pray for us
Saint Francis, type of sweetness, pray for us
Saint Francis, conqueror of carnal passions, pray for us
Saint Francis, terror of devils, pray for us
Saint Francis, merciful prop to penitents, pray for us
Saint Francis, refuge of sinners, pray for us
Saint Francis, providence of the poor, pray for us
Saint Francis, consoler of the afflicted, pray for us
Saint Francis, example of perfection, pray for us
Saint Francis, ark of holiness, pray for us
Saint Francis, imitator of the purity of the Angels, pray for us
Saint Francis, cherub of wisdom, pray for us
Saint Francis, seraph of love, pray for us
Saint Francis, our holy patriarch, pray for us
Saint Francis, our sweet light, pray for us
Saint Francis, our mighty protector, pray for us
Saint Francis, our guide in the ways of God, pray for us
Saint Francis, our refuge, pray for us
Saint Francis, emulator of the Angels, pray for us
Saint Francis, imitator of the Apostles, pray for us
Saint Francis, sharer in the glory of the Martyrs, pray for us
Saint Francis, glory of the holy Confessors, pray for us
Saint Francis, teacher and director of Virgins, pray for us
Saint Francis, glorious fellow citizen of the Saints, pray for us

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us O Lord.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us O Lord.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Pray for us blessed Francis de Sales,
  That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

O God by whose gracious will the Blessed Francis They confessor and bishop, became all things unto all men for the saving of their souls, mercifully grant that being filled with the sweetness of Thy Love, we may, through the guidance of his counsels and the aid of his merits, attain unto the joys of life everlasting. Amen.

O sweetest Father Francis and most humble Mother Jane Francis, be not unmindful of your daughters, but grant us continually your benign assistance.

O Holy Father Francis , beloved of God, pray for us.
O Holy Mother Jane Francis, ardent lover of the interior life, pray for us.

Novena to St. Francis de Sales!!!

Dear Friends,

Thankfully God is outside of time and so I post with confidence in His Mercy as we began our novena to St. Francis de Sales yesterday but I was unable to post..... And so let us being today with double effort to make up for days lost.

St. Francis de Sales had a great devotion to Our Lady and to praying the Memorare.  May I humbly suggest praying this simple prayer as part of your novena?  And of course to unite ourselves to Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

An image of Our Lady before which he
prayed the Memorare

Remember,

O most gracious Virgin Mary,

that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection,

implored thy help or sought thy intercession,

was left unaided. 

Inspired with this confidence,

I fly unto thee,

O Virgin of virgins my Mother;

to thee do I come,

before thee I stand,

sinful and sorrowful;

O Mother of thy Word Incarnate,

despise not my petitions,

but in thy clemency hear and answer me.

Amen.

I leave you with the following quote from our Father founder:

“My God, I marvel that I am still so full of myself after having so often received Communion! O dear Jesus, be the child inside of us, so that we feel within and breathe forth nothing but you. Alas, you are so often within me; why am I so rarely in you? You enter into me; why am I so often outside of you? You are in my very self; why am I not in yours, to find there the great love of yours that transports our hearts?” ― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.

Our title comes from a quote by St. Francis de Sales.  He often speaks of the gentle nature of God and the need we have to rely of Him and always keep up hope.  Now that we are coming to the end of the second week of the New Year, most people are beginning to try to put into practice their New Years resolutions.  It can be a difficult task and one that take a great deal of effort.  We may fall a hundred times before we even take 2 steps in a row!  But....

“God takes pleasure to see you take your little steps; and like a good father who holds his child by the hand, He will accommodate His steps to yours and will be content to go no faster than you. Why do you worry?”― Francis de Sales

Need I say anything more?  Yes, let us together walk with Jesus as we each implement these new ideas and resolutions.  We need Him more than we need anything else, especially when the going gets tough and we see more of the ground than of the sky.  Put out your hand and let Him take it, leading you gently while you get your balance and teach your body, mind, and soul these new skills.

Merry Christmas! Happy Epiphany!

Dear Friends we have only one day left of Christmas!  Most people have long ago taken down the tree and the decorations but here at the monastery we celebrate the full Christmas season.... lasting this year until Today!  so... 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

While we have been busy with all the festivities and celebrations, we have certainly continued to keep all of you in our prayers.  For Christmas we actually have 2 Novenas.. on to being and the other to celebrate.  yes, before Christmas we pray a small prayer in chapel to open our hearts for the coming of our Little King and then... one of my favorite Novenas... we begin our Christmas Novena which is held down in the Novitiate.  In celebration of the infant Christ we join the "infants" of the community at our largest Nativity scene where we have a daily song, prayer, and reading for 9 days (Christmas Eve to New Years Night).  This precious prayer is such a gift as we enter into the sacred space where formation happens and allow the Lord to form us anew, to take us back to those first days of our journey and to again be as little children, marveling at the Infant Christ.