Saint Felice da Cantalice

The 300° Anniversary of the Canonisation of Saint Felice da Cantalice

The General Minister of the Capuchins, Br. Mauro Johri, recently wrote a letter on the life and significance of Saint Felice da Cantalice. You can find this letter on the website of the Capuchin General Curia here or on Capdox here. For more on Saint Felice on Capdox, here.

New Link update

  On 23 April (2012) I added a link to CAPDOX for the homily notes in Italian on the site of the Congregation for the Clergy. Well, CAPDOX now has a link to the English version of these notes. Under the links tab in the top menu, choose Liturgy and Lectio Divina. Now you'll find there  Congregation for the Clergy - Homily Notes and Congregazione per il Clero-Suggerimenti Omiletici.

New Link

Squirrelled away in a recess of CAPDOX are a few links that I use to prepare for the Sunday Liturgy. (Click on LINKS on the top menu on the home page. Then click on the first option "Liturgy and Lectio Divina" ... and there you are!)
There is a new link there now .... 'Congregation for the Clergy'. When that page opens you will find homily recommendations for the Sunday Mass. I am not sure when the homily appears for the next Sunday. The page is in Italian.
Back on the Liturgy and Lectio Divina list, and immediately below the "Congregation for the Clergy" link, is the link to "Biblia Clerus", also published by the Congregation for the Clergy. With a variety of useful resources, and available in different languages, this site offers a lot to the explorer.

Happy Easter! Buona pasqua!

La morte è stata ingioata per la vittoria! Alleluia!

Per una gioiosa e santa Pasqua!

Death is swallowed up in victory! Alleluia!

Wishing you a happy and holy Easter 2012!

Icon from http://www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it/pls/cci_dioc_new/v3_s2ew_CONSULTAZIONE.mostra_pagina?id_pagina=32754

A spiritual summons to devout meditation on the Passion of Jesus - a spiritual summons to devout meditation on the Passion of Jesus

Brother Patrick Colbourne has recently completed an English translation of the Invito Spirituale composed by the Sixteenth Century Capuchin non-cleric friar Battista of Faenza. (Go to capdox page).
The introduction reads:

Battista da Faenza, who was a member of the Galli Castelli family, was a military officer in localities which were under the control of Francesco della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino, and captain of infantry in the regiment of the brutal mercenary Ramazzotto de’ Ramazzotti. He was a ferocious man of untamed appearance and imposing build, concerning whom Colpetrazzo wrote:” he possessed such severe eyes that when he stared into your face he frightened you”. In fact he was known as “Big Battista from Faenza”. After being converted in Florence by the preaching of Bernardino Occhino, probably in 1537, he exchanged his military uniform for the severe garb of the Capuchin friars choosing to be a penitential lay brother. By means of continual mortification, humility and most severe penance he succeeded in modifying his violent character. The love of the Cross, which became his daily meditation in accord with the ascetical school of the Capuchins, enabled him to overcome all obstacles and transformed him into a new man.

There is a tradition that before he died he wrote a letter to his fellow citizens of Faenza based on his penitential experiences to exhort and encourage them to meditate on the Passion of the Lord every day. This letter has not been preserved. However, biographers within the Order state that it was published in 1775 forty years after his death and was reprinted many times in the eighteenth century. To at least preserve an echo of this tradition which is linked to popular devotion to the most holy Crucifix in the Capuchin friary of Faenza an edition that has come down to us from 1757is reproduced here. Even though the content is not verifiably original in its style it  reflects at least the substance of the message of Brother Battista da Faenza and is the perfect equivalent of the seraphic spirit of the Capuchin Reform in its love for Christ Crucified.


Thank you, Brother Patrick

2011 Christmas Crib, Capuchin Friars, St. Fiacre's Church, Leichhardt, Sydney

This year’s Christmas crib made by the student friars continues the Franciscan tradition. It followed the idea of finding Christ in St Fiacre’s Parish in Leichhardt. It is the Capuchin mindset which emphasises that Christ can be found in any setting. Having the privilege to experience a white Christmas in the northern hemisphere, the students were inspired to bring the same joy to the parish and school with a snow theme. The Nativity scene is made up of all the main features found in St Fiacre’s Parish from the school to the church and even the Friary. Collectively, the students agreed that the garage was to be the setting for the nativity scene because it was the most obscure of places and a building commonly dismissed by all who passes by. It really emphasises the humility of God.


To see photos and read more....

The Circle of Divine Love

A new addition to the CAPDOX site: the first translation of the The Circle of Divine Love composed by Francesco Ripanti da Iesi, who died in 1549. Bro. Patrick Colbourne is the translator. To see this new work, click here..