//Bob Holmes Contemplative Monk//
Beauty, Power, and Wisdom
60 Second Wisdom – Less is More
“Simplicity is good for the soul. We complain about how complicated life has become, but we continue to complicate our lives. The two main ways we complicate our lives is with things and commitments. So much of our anxiety comes from these things and yet we cling to them and multiply them as is they were prizes to be cherished.
Here are seven examples of how less is more:
1. Less television means more time to read.
2. Less comparison means more contentment.
3. Less stuff means more space.
4. Less talking means more listening.
5. Fewer commitments means more time just to be.
6. Less complaining means more gratitude.
7. Less clutter means more clarity.
Less is more means different things to different people. Find out what it means to you, try it, and take note of how it changes your life.”
Life is Messy – The Wisdom of Simplicity
Minute Meditation – The Quiet Joy of Advent
The season of Advent can be overlooked in the run-up to Christmas, but if we take the time to recognize its hum beneath the busyness of shopping, baking, parties, and decorations, we discover the quiet joy it can bring, those moments apart from the giddiness (or the frustration) of December. Even people who work in ministry can get caught up in the preparations for the Advent and Christmas liturgies and lose sight of the deep joy of the season. Advent challenges us to step away from the hectic activity of the world, even if only for a short time each day. Pope Francis is the perfect guide through this season. Not one to shy away from a busy schedule, he has discovered the secret of balancing work with reflection, busyness with quiet contemplation, celebration with solitude, simplicity with the complexities of daily life. And what is at the heart of that secret? Making sure everything is rooted in Christ. The work we do (and the joy it can bring) emerges from a commitment to bringing the gift of God’s love to those we meet.
—from the book The Joy of Advent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis
by Diane M. Houdek
//Franciscan Media//
Saint of the Day – August 18 – Saint Louis of Toulouse
Saint Louis of Toulouse’s Story
When he died at the age of 23, Louis was already a Franciscan, a bishop, and a saint!
Louis’s parents were Charles II of Naples and Sicily, and Mary, daughter of the King of Hungary. Louis was related to Saint Louis IX on his father’s side and to Elizabeth of Hungary on his mother’s side.
Louis showed early signs of attachment to prayer and to the corporal works of mercy. As a child he used to take food from the castle to feed the poor. When he was 14, Louis and two of his brothers were taken as hostages to the king of Aragon’s court as part of a political deal involving Louis’s father. At the court, Louis was tutored by Franciscan friars under whom he made great progress both in his studies and in the spiritual life. Like Saint Francis he developed a special love for those afflicted with leprosy.
While he was still a hostage, Louis decided to renounce his royal title and become a priest. When he was 20, he was allowed to leave the king of Aragon’s court. He renounced his title in favor of his brother Robert and was ordained the next year. Very shortly after, he was appointed bishop of Toulouse, but the pope agreed to Louis’s request to become a Franciscan first.
The Franciscan spirit pervaded Louis. “Jesus Christ is all my riches; he alone is sufficient for me,” Louis kept repeating. Even as a bishop he wore the Franciscan habit and sometimes begged. He assigned a friar to offer him correction—in public if necessary—and the friar did his job.
Louis’s service to the Diocese of Toulouse was richly blessed. In no time he was considered a saint. Louis set aside 75 percent of his income as bishop to feed the poor and maintain churches. Each day he fed 25 poor people at his table.
Louis was canonized in 1317 by Pope John XXII, one of his former teachers. His liturgical feast is celebrated on August 19.
Reflection
When Cardinal Hugolino, the future Pope Gregory IX, suggested to Francis that some of the friars would make fine bishops, Francis protested that they might lose some of their humility and simplicity if appointed to those positions. Those two virtues are needed everywhere in the Church, and Louis shows us how they can be lived out by bishops.
//Franciscan Media//
Do You Want to Fast This Lent?
