November 15, 2024

Dear John,

Peace and good to you! This is the fifth day of our 125k match campaign, which will run through Easter of next year. We have 156 days left! The money for this match will go toward helping Franciscan Media (FM) pivot into its new identity of being faithfully Catholic, authentically Franciscan. Click here to make a donation! More information about this will be shared in future E-newsletters and on our social media channels and website.

Today’s Minute Meditation is an excerpt from Dan Horan’s book Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis. In it, the author reminds us that before we can act lovingly toward one another, we need to see each other in a loving way—with a God’s-eye-view, if you will. The change of heart that leads to seeing people more as God does speaks to our theme of Healing Our Relationship with God and Others.

FM is on a new mission to help adult Catholics rebuild their faith. We want to create innovative and compelling resources that help people change their perceptions of themselves, others, and the world around them—to see God’s presence everywhere! But this can’t happen without your support! If you would like to speak to me directly to find out more about this campaign and how to become a major supporter, please contact me at [email protected].

With profound gratitude,

Deacon Matthew Halbach, PhD
President & Publisher,

Franciscan Media

Saint of the Day for November 15: Albert the Great

(1206 – November 15, 1280)

Listen to Saint Albert the Great’s Story Here

Albert the Great was a 13th-century German Dominican who decisively influenced the Church’s stance toward Aristotelian philosophy brought to Europe by the spread of Islam.

Students of philosophy know him as the master of Thomas Aquinas. Albert’s attempt to understand Aristotle’s writings established the climate in which Thomas Aquinas developed his synthesis of Greek wisdom and Christian theology. But Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest, and diligent scholar.

He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. He was educated in the liberal arts. Despite fierce family opposition, he entered the Dominican novitiate.

His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete. “Our intention,” he said, “is to make all the aforesaid parts of knowledge intelligible to the Latins.”

He achieved his goal while serving as an educator at Paris and Cologne, as Dominican provincial, and even as bishop of Regensburg for a short time. He defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia.

Albert, a Doctor of the Church, is the patron of scientists and philosophers.

Reflection

An information glut faces us Christians today in all branches of learning. One needs only to read current Catholic periodicals to experience the varied reactions to the findings of the social sciences, for example, in regard to Christian institutions, Christian life-styles, and Christian theology. Ultimately, in canonizing Albert, the Church seems to point to his openness to truth, wherever it may be found, as his claim to holiness. His characteristic curiosity prompted Albert to mine deeply for wisdom within a philosophy his Church warmed to with great difficulty.

Saint Albert the Great is a Patron Saint of:

Educators/Teachers
Medical Technicians
Philosophers
Scientists

Love and Love Again

Our dignity rests at the core of who we are. This means, of course, that just as we have to value ourselves, to see ourselves as God does, so too do we have to see that unique value and dignity in others. There is no such thing as a human person without dignity or value in the eyes of God, and therefore that should be the case for us too.

Those whom we find difficult to love are especially challenging to us when we search for all sorts of excuses to hate or dismiss them. Duns Scotus reminds us to see others as God sees them—individually loved into existence. Now this doesn’t mean that they will see themselves in this light, just as we so often don’t see it in ourselves. This is perhaps one significant cause for such hatred and wrongdoing in our world. We easily forget what it means for us to be created in the image and likeness of God.

—from Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis
by Daniel P. Horan

Are you looking for a simple way to have a more meaningful Advent season with your family, youth group, or friends? Look no further!

Join author, Susan Hines-Brigger, and mom, Patty Crawford, on this daily Advent journey.

Trust in God’s Timing

Reflect

Patience is a virtue that allows us to trust in God’s perfect timing. St. Francis demonstrated patience in his mission, trusting that God’s plan would unfold in due course. By cultivating patience, we can navigate life’s challenges with grace and trust in God.

Pray

Patient God,
Grant us the virtue of patience.
Help us to trust in your timing and to wait with hope and faith.
May we, like St. Francis, find peace in the assurance
that you are in control of our lives.
Amen.

Act

Consider areas of your life where you feel impatient. Pray for the grace to wait with trust and hope. Practice patience in your daily interactions, showing kindness and understanding to others.

Today’s Pause+Pray was written by Paul Lipowski. Learn more here!

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