Today the Franciscan family all over the world will celebrate with devotion and piety the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi. A feast which calls to dwell and meditate on the precious gift that Our Lord Jesus Christ showered upon Francis, as a mark of his deep relationship with the lord. It is a spiritual moment in the life of Francis and the Order. The feast invites us to reflect on our relationship with the Lord which needs to be based on prayer and commitment. He received the sacred marks of Christ to confirm him to the Life of Christ. He longed to do, speak and live like Christ and here on Mount La Verna that became a spiritual reality and an experience that made Francis be a true follower of Him. It is not just an external conformation or attachment to the Person of Christ but the internal conforming of his life to Christ. In prayer and reflection, he encountered the Lord of his life and allowed him to be transformed internally which brought about a lot of graces and blessings for him and the Order.
I have been a number of times to that impressive and mind-blowing beautiful La Verna. A holy place for all generations and it was so even during the time of Francis and that is one of the reasons he traveled to La Verna, definitely the Lord drew him there. The Chapel of the stigmata is a silent witness to the event that took place many centuries ago. The friars faithfully gather in the afternoon to commemorate the event by praying in the spot where Francis received the stigmata. Francis always found time to pray all alone and in his prayer he fought and argued with the Lord, he would sob and cry often during his intense moments of prayer. 
The feast of today invites to face the challenge of finding time for ourselves to pray and spend moments of silence with the Lord who is present everywhere if we believe. The Lord calls us amidst this pandemic of Covid- 19 to devote some time to silent and meditative prayer to nourish ourselves so that we may overcome the fear and be like Christ, that we may ask the Lord to give us the grace to his mind and attitude in today’s trouble world. We have many challenges before us and we are finding and searching answers to all these troubling situations, let us ask the Lord to inspire us with the His Life and life of Francis to face this grave situation. We have the same opportunities available that St. Francis did to be nourished and to conform our thoughts, our ways and our attitude to Jesus.
This year we have five new Candidates for an Orientation course at Osmanabad Friary. I took them along with me to Osmanabad.....the Fraternity warmly welcomed all of them.
It is Monsoon and Nature is wearing a green look ....beautiful sight all over
Our Geese and duck here in Fatima Friary....
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