"CUM GRANDE HUMILITATE!"
A special "Thank you!"
Goes out to
John Michael Talbot
for giving us permission
to use his song on our
"Come to the Quiet"
You Tube Video
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Saturday, May 03, 2025

Pray That Pope Francis's Successor Returns To The Apostolic Tradition Of The Faith


My brothers and sisters in Christ, Let us continue to pray for the repose of Pope Francis and hope that the Lord may look mercifully upon his soul. While we may hope he is in heaven, we know that every man will be judged according to his words and deeds, and that Christ judges without prejudice. So let us aid him with our prayers, who is certainly most in need of them. 

At the same time, we should pray that the Lord raise up for a holy pontiff, a kind and loving shepherd who will safeguard and promulgate with fidelity the teaching of the Church and the Apostolic Tradition. In this time of error and confusion, when even many nominal Catholics desire to radically transform Mother Church into something She is not, to teach doctrines completely foreign to the Christian way of life we have enjoyed for the past 2,000 years, we hope and pray for a spiritual father who will conform his life and teaching not after the ever-changing currents of worldly creeds and fashions, but after the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ which is without error and not subject to change. 

During and leading up to the conclave (which will begin May 7th), I hope you will join me in praying and fasting for the Sacred College to select a Pope who will be, above all, faithful to Christ and His Church. To this end, here is Fr. Chad Ripperger’s prayer for the conclave: 

Lord Jesus Christ, by entrusting to St. Peter and his successors the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Thou didst established the office of the papacy. 

Grant to Thy Church, we beseech Thee, a pope who, in his dedication to the Sacred Tradition of the Church, will seek to govern the Church according to the Deposit of Faith and for the salvation of souls. 

Immaculate Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Confessors, we consecrate to thee the conclave and the election of the Holy Father. Blessed Mother, look not upon our sinfulness or upon the infidelity of many Catholics who do not accept the teaching of thy Son, but upon the Church which is the spotless Bride of thy Son, so that we do not get the leader we deserve, but a Holy Father who will guide the Church for the glory and honor of thy Son. 

Amen. 

God bless you all, In Christ, 

Fr. Nick Ward


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Sunday, April 20, 2025

Observing Silence At The Portiuncula Chapel


Photo of the Portiuncula Chapel in Ozark, Ohio
Located at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery
on Ozark Eddy Bridge Road

Saint Francis said to the Lesser Brothers concerning the Portiuncula; "Let them do as the old brothers did. This is already a holy place; they preserved its holiness by praying there continually night and day and by observing silence there constantly. And if they sometimes spoke after the time determined for the beginning of silence it was always to converse about God and the salvation of souls with much uplifting fervor"...

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 9

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Saturday, April 12, 2025

Sister Briege McKenna, OSC



Thank you, my dear Sister Briege! After nearly 20 years of yours and our prayers, our loving God has finally brought them to fruition with the building of the Portiuncula Chapel next to the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio. Now please pray that the evil attacks by the devil against it be dealt with in Jesus' Holy Name. Amen 










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Altissimu, Omnipotente, Bon Signore

 


The Portiuncula is the womb of Saint Francis' charism and his Order, dedicated to Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady, St. Mary of the Angels). Here Francis died on October 3, 1226.

It was at his Baptism, amidst all the splendor and wealth of the Cathedral of San Rufio, that Saint Francis received the Holy Ghost, but it was here in this poor, crumbling, forgotten ruin that he met God face to face.

We have built a replica of the Portiuncula at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Ozark, Ohio




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Thursday, April 10, 2025

Footprints In The Water

 


To say that the road the soul travels to God is through the sea (the Prophet Baruch) and that His footsteps are in the many waters and so unknowable is to say that the way to God is as hidden to the inner senses as would be footprints on the water of the outer senses. The traces God leaves on the souls He wants to bring to Himself are unrecognizable. Secret.


St. John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul


 

Your Cell Will Teach You Everything


 In Scetis, a brother went to see Abba Moses and begged him for a word. The old man said, "Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."


Saying From the Desert Fathers


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Portiuncula Chapel Prayer

 


Lord God, we have set aside the Portiuncula Chapel for an assembly of Your people. We ask Your blessings on this place that it might serve effectively as an area to promote unity, peace and the furthering of Your kingdom. We command in the name of Jesus that all spirits of discord or evil of any sort depart and we ask, O God, that You send Your angels to guard and protect the Portiuncula Chapel and all who participate in the events held here. We pray through the intercession of Holy Mother Mary and the Saints and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen

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The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center
P.O. Box 34
Jerusalem, Ohio 43747

The Portiuncula Chapel is located adjacent to the 
Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery 
on Ozark-Eddy Bridge Road in Ozark, Ohio 









Wear His Crown Of Thorns As A Crown Of Glory!

 


by
Fra Chris Dickson, F.L.A.
of the Portiuncula Hermitage


I was in an area of complete and utter darkness. Then a mist appeared, through which two hands appeared that were handing me a crown of thorns.

I took the crown of thorns from the outstretched hands and placed it upon my head. As the crown was being seated upon my head, I prematurely winced, fully expecting searing pain from those thorns to shoot through my head and throughout my entire body.

But instead of pain, a warm and wonderful feeling of joy and peace settled over me. I was being bathed in God’s love.

Simultaneously with the crown of thorns being placed upon my head, a vision appeared before me of a glass mirror “unfurling” like a window shade, even though it was glass.

Jesus then appeared in the glass before me.

I was immediately filled with shame because Jesus had caught me wearing his crown, and I immediately pulled it from my head.

As I did, Jesus disappeared.

I then placed the crown back onto my head.

As I did, the glass unfurled before me, and again Jesus was standing before me.

At that moment, the realization hit me that I was looking into a mirror and seeing my own reflection, and that reflection was my Savior and my Lord! And me! One and the same!

This vision greatly troubled me. After all, who did I think I was, anyway? Was I so vain as to think myself equal to Jesus? God forbid! The vision continued to frighten me long afterwards, fearing that my attitude was obviously not right with God…that is, until I heard these words:

“Do not be afraid to put on my crown of thorns.
It is My crown of glory!
Wear it as I did.
I will bear the pain so that you have none.
Then, and only then, will you see Me in glory.
Then we shall meet face to face.
You in me, and I in you.
People will see me in your image.
Give yourselves to Me fully,
And I will come to you in glory…”


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Wednesday, March 26, 2025

"Rebuild My Church"

 






When Saint Francis heard those words from the mouth of the Lord, speaking through the San Damiano crucifix in a small, dilapidated church, he took them to mean simply rebuilding that little church outside Assisi. It was in the Portiuncula that he founded the Friars Minor; there that he clothed Clare in the religious habit and began the Order of Poor Clares; and there that Francis yearly gathered the friars in chapter to discuss the rule and renew their dedication to the Gospel life. And it was at the Portiuncula where St. Francis died in 1226.

That first tiny Portiuncula, a holy place and the center of St. Francis’ activity, is recreated here on Heavenly Acres, LLC in Ozark, Ohio as a grace-filled haven for quiet meditation and eucharistic adoration. Nestled in a grove of trees opposite Immaculate Conception Cemetery, the Portiuncula beckons visitors  to “come and spend an hour with the Lord” in prayer.

This small chapel completed in on October 4th, 2024, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, like St. Francis’ 13th-century original, has become a place of adoration, conversion, and prayer. The simple beauty of the small stone structure reverberates with the power of the Lord’s presence. The stillness, imbued with the peace of the Lord’s tender concern, draws visitors in and focuses attention on the eucharistic Lord.


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Saturday, March 15, 2025

HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM (FOR THIS IS MY BODY)

 



After pronouncing the words of Consecration, the priest never disjoins his fingers and thumbs, except when he is to take the Host, until after washing his fingers at the ablutions after Communion.


Then came the "Protestant Revolution" called "Vatican II"


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Saturday, February 08, 2025

Pray the Mysteria Gloriosa (Glorious Mysteries) of the Rosary with Cardinal Burke



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Seized With Fear For A Morsel Of Bread

 


Our whole being should be seized with fear, the whole world should tremble and heaven rejoice, when Christ the Son of the Living God is present on the altar in the hands of the priest! What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation!

Saint Francis of Assisi
LETTER TO THE GENERAL CHAPTER


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Inspired By Silence

 




One day, Theophilus of holy memory, the bishop of Alexandria, came to Scetis (the Upper Nile of Egypt). And the brothers who gathered said to Abba Pambo, "Say a word to the bishop so his soul may be benefited here." The old hermit replied, "If he is not inspired by my silence, he will not be inspired by my words either."

Saying From the Desert Fathers


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The Coal Carried By The Seraph Cleansed The Lips Of Isaiah

 




"In the ancient Syriac Church, the rite of Communion distribution was compared to the scene of the purification of the Prophet Isaiah by the seraph In one of his sermons, St. Ephrem puts these words on Christ's lips.

"The coal carried [by the seraph] cleansed the lips of Isaiah. It is I Who, carried now to you by means of bread, have sanctified you. The tongs which the Prophet saw and which the coal was taken from the altar, were the figure of Me in the great Sacrament. Isaiah saw Me, as you see Me now extending My right hand and carrying to your mouths the living Bread. The tongs are My right hand. I take the place of the seraph. The coal is My Body. All of you are Isaiah."


DOMINUS EST - It is the Lord!

by

The Most Reverend

ATHANASIUS SCHNEIDER


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Saturday, February 01, 2025

Exorcism Prayer For The Portiuncula Chapel

 


Lord God we have set aside the Portiuncula Chapel for an assembly of Your people. We ask Your blessings on this place that it might serve affectively as an area to promote unity, peace and the furthering of Your kingdom. We command in the name of Jesus for all spirits of discord or evil of any sort to depart and we ask, O God, that You send Your angels to guard and protect the Portiuncula Chapel and all who participate in the events held here. We pray through the intercession of Holy Mother Mary and the Saints and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Christ is the Lord and Savior of the Earth and there is no other

 


Dear Parishioners,

 I trust you are enjoying these balmy temperatures. Nice to have a break from the single digits. 

This Sunday also happens to be the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Jesus is presented to God His Father in the Temple, and Simon the prophet declares Jesus to be “A light of revelation to the Gentiles and the Glory of your people Israel.” 

What was once shown in the homage of the magi from the East is now proclaimed by the prophet in the temple: Jesus is the savior of all peoples, men and women, rich and poor, Jew and gentile. The end of the 40-day Christmas cycle ends on a note which resonates with what Christmas had been teaching us, that Christ is the Lord and Savior of the earth, and there is no other. 

Like the sword of sorrow which Simeon predicted would pierce Mary’s Immaculate Heart, this truth of who Jesus is should pierce us also to the very core of our being. It is a joyful but also a painful thing; to admit that Jesus is Lord of our lives is something which fulfills us but also calls us to suffer. We must die to ourselves in order to acknowledge that we are not our own masters, or the masters of our own fates. Jesus is our Lord and master. Only through Jesus can we have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus can show us the way to true peace and fulfillment and everlasting joy in Heaven. 

May Christ, the light of the world, continue to enlighten our minds and hearts with the joy and peace of God who has come into the world to save us from our sins and lead us to everlasting life. God bless you all, 

In Christ, 

Fr. Nick Ward

Pastor of the Immaculate Conception in Ozark, Ohio


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Saturday, December 21, 2024

Merry Christmas From The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage And Retreat Center!

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It has taken us nearly 20 years to complete our building of the Portiuncula Chapel, but to quote Jesus' last word from the cross  "τετέλεσται" (tetelestai), “It is finished” (John 19:30).


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Friday, December 20, 2024

The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center Fundraiser



We at the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center in Jerusalem, Ohio are raising funds through Go Fund Me to continue having "Come To The Quiet" retreats while reaching out to those less fortunate in Appalachia.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-portiuncula-franciscan-hermitage-and-retreat-center

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Friday, December 13, 2024

Franciscan Spirituality

The Franciscan Lay Apostolate Follows The Original Rule of St. Francis of Assisi dated 1221 A.D.

 


Here begins the Rule of the Continent Brothers and Sisters: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The memorial of what is proposed for the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, living in their own homes, begun in the year of our Lord 1221, is as follows. 

CHAPTER I: DAILY LIFE 

1. The men belonging to this brotherhood shall dress in humble, undyed cloth, the price of which is not to exceed six Ravenna soldi[2] an ell[3], unless for evident and necessary cause a temporary dispensation be given. And breadth and thinness of the cloth are to be considered in said price. 

2. They shall wear their outer garments and furred coats without open throat, sewed shut or uncut but certainly laced up, not open as secular people wear them; and they shall wear their sleeves closed. 

3. The sisters in turn shall wear an outer garment and tunic made of cloth of the same price and humble quality; or at least they are to have with the outer garment a white or black underwrap or petticoat, or an ample linen gown without gathers[4], the price of an ell of which is not to exceed twelve Pisa denars.[5] As to this price, however, and the fur cloaks they wear a dispensation may be given according to the estate of the woman and the custom of the place. They are not to wear silken or dyed veils and ribbons. 

 4. And both the brothers and the sisters shall have their fur garments of lamb's wool only. They are permitted to have leather purses and belts sewed in simple fashion without silken thread, and no other kind. Also other vain adornments they shall lay aside at the bidding of the Visitor. 

 5. They are not to go to unseemly parties or to shows or dances. They shall not donate to actors[6], and shall forbid their household to donate. 

CHAPTER II: ABSTINENCE 

6. All are to abstain from meat save on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, except on account of illness or weakness, for three days at blood-letting, in traveling, or on account of a specially high feast intervening, namely, the Nativity for three days, New Year's, Epiphany, the Pasch of the Resurrection for three days, Assumption of the glorious Virgin Mary, the solemnity of All Saints and of St. Martin[7]. On the other days, when there is no fasting, they may eat cheese and eggs. But when they are with religious in their convent homes, they have leave to eat what is served to them. And except for the feeble, the ailing, and those traveling, let them be content with dinner and supper. Let the healthy be temperate in eating and drinking. 

7. Before their dinner and supper let them say the Lord's prayer once, likewise after their meal, and let them give thanks to God. Otherwise let them say three Our Fathers. 

CHAPTER III: FASTING 

8. From the Pasch of the Resurrection to the feast of All Saints they are to fast on Fridays. From the feast of All Saints until Easter they are to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, but still observing the other fasts enjoined in general by the Church. 

9. They are to fast daily, except on account of infirmity or any other need, throughout the fast of St. Martin from after said day until Christmas, and throughout the greater fast from Carnival Sunday[8] until Easter. 

10. Sisters who are pregnant are free to refrain until their purification from the corporal observances except those regarding their dress and prayers. 

11. Those engaged in fatiguing work shall be allowed to take food three times a day from the Pasch of the Resurrection until the Dedication feast of St. Michael[9]. And when they work for others it will be allowed them to eat everything served to them, except on Fridays and on the fasts enjoined in general by the Church. CHAPTER IV: PRAYER 

12. All are daily to say the seven canonical Hours, that is: Matins[10], Prime[11], Terce[12], Sext[13], None[14], Vespers[15], and Compline[16]. The clerics are to say them after the manner of the clergy. Those who know the Psalter are to say the Deus in nomine tuo (Psalm 54) and the Beati Immaculati (Psalm 119) up to the Legem pone (Verse 33) for Prime, and the other psalms of the Hours, with the Glory Be to the Father; but when they do not attend church, they are to say for Matins the psalms the Church says or any eighteen psalms; or at least to say the Our Father as do the unlettered at any of the Hours. The others say twelve Our Fathers for Matins and for every one of the other Hours seven Our Fathers with the Glory Be to the Father after each one. And those who know the Creed and the Miserere mei Deus (Ps. 51) should say it at Prime and Compline. If they do not say that at the Hours indicated, they shall say three Our Fathers. 

13. The sick are not to say the Hours unless they wish. 

14. All are to go to Matins in the fast of St. Martin and in the great fast, unless inconvenience for persons or affairs should threaten. 

CHAPTER V: THE SACRAMENTS, OTHER MATTERS 

15. They are to make a confession of their sins three times a year and to receive Communion at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. They are to be reconciled with their neighbors and to restore what belongs to others. They are to make up for past tithes and pay future tithes. 

16. They are not to take up lethal weapons, or bear them about, against anybody. 

17. All are to refrain from formal oaths unless where necessity compels, in the cases excepted by the Sovereign Pontiff in his indult, that is, for peace, for the Faith, under calumny, and in bearing witness. 

18. Also in their ordinary conversations they will do their best to avoid oaths. And should anyone have sworn thoughtlessly through a slip of the tongue, as happens where there is much talking, he should the evening of the same day, when he is obliged to think over what he has done, say three Our Fathers in amends of such oaths. Let each member fortify his household to serve God. 

CHAPTER VI: SPECIAL MASS AND MEETING EACH MONTH

19. All the brothers and sisters of every city and place are to foregather every month at the time the ministers see fit, in a church which the ministers will make known, and there assist at Divine Services. 

20. And every member is to give the treasurer one ordinary denar[17]. The treasurer is to collect this money and distribute it on the advice of the ministers among the poor brothers and sisters, especially the sick and those who may have nothing for their funeral services, and thereupon among the poor; and they are to offer something of the money to the aforesaid church. 

21. And, if it be convenient at the time, they are to have some religious who is informed in the words of God to exhort them and strengthen them to persevere in their penance and in performing the works of mercy. And except for the officers, they are to remain quiet during the Mass and sermon, intent on the Office, on prayer, and on the sermon. 

CHAPTER VII: VISITING THE SICK, BURYING THE DEAD 

22. Whenever any brother or sister happens to fall ill, the ministers, if the patient let them know of it, shall in person or through others visit the patient once a week, and remind him of penance; and if they find it expedient, they are to supply him from the common fund with what he may need for the body. 

23. And if the ailing person depart from this life, it is to be published to the brothers and sisters who may be present in the city or place, so that they may gather for the funeral; and they are not to leave until the Mass has been celebrated and the body consigned to burial. Thereupon each member within eight days of the demise shall say for the soul of the deceased: a Mass, if he is a priest; fifty psalms, if he understands the Psalter, or if not, then fifty Our Fathers with the Requiem aeternam[18] at the end of each. 

24. In addition, every year, for the welfare of the brothers and sisters living and dead, each priest is to say three Masses, each member knowing the Psalter is to recite it, and the rest shall say one hundred Our Fathers with the Requiem aeternam at the end of each. 

25. All who have the right are to make their last will and make disposition of their goods within three months after their profession, lest anyone of them die intestate. 

26. As regards making peace among the brothers and sisters or non-members at odds, let what the ministers find proper be done; even, if it be expedient, upon consultation with the Lord Bishop. 

27. If contrary to their right and privileges trouble is made for the brothers and sisters by the mayors and governors of the places where they live, the ministers of the place shall do what they shall find expedient on the advice of the Lord Bishop. 

28. Let each member accept and faithfully exercise the ministry of other offices imposed on him, although anyone may retire from office after a year. 

29. When anybody wishes to enter this brotherhood, the ministers shall carefully inquire into his standing and occupation, and they shall explain to him the obligations of the brotherhood, especially that of restoring what belongs to others. And it he is content with it, let him be vested according to the prescribed way, and he must make satisfaction for his debts, paying money according to what pledged provision is given. They are to reconcile themselves with their neighbors and to pay up their tithes. 

30. After these particulars are complied with, when the year is up and he seems suitable to them, let him on the advice of some discreet brothers be received on this condition: that he promise he will all the time of his life observe everything here written, or to be written or abated on the advice of the brothers, unless on occasion there be a valid dispensation by the ministers; and that he will, when called upon by the ministers, render satisfaction as the Visitor shall ordain if he have done anything contrary to this condition. And this promise is to be put in writing then and there by a public notary. Even so nobody is to be received otherwise, unless in consideration of the estate and rank of the person it shall seem advisable to the ministers. 

31. No one is to depart from this brotherhood and from what is contained herein, except to enter a religious Order. 

32. No heretic or person in bad repute for heresy is to be received. If he is under suspicion of it, he may be admitted if otherwise fit, upon being cleared before the bishop. 

33. Married women are not to be received except with the consent and leave of their husbands. 

34. Brothers and sisters ejected form the brotherhood as incorrigible are not to be received in it again except it please the saner portion of the brothers. 

CHAPTER VIII: CORRECTION, DISPENSATION, OFFICERS 

35. The ministers of any city or place shall report public faults of the brothers and sisters to the Visitor for punishment. And if anyone proves incorrigible, after consultation with some of the discreet brothers he should be denounced to the Visitor, to be expelled by him from the brotherhood, and thereupon it should be published in the meeting. Moreover, if it is a brother, he should be denounced to the mayor or the governor. 

36. If anyone learns that a scandal is occurring relative to brothers and sisters, he shall report it to the ministers and shall have opportunity to report it to the Visitor. He need not be held to report it in the case of husband against wife. 

37. The Visitor has the power to dispense all the brothers and sisters in any of these points if he finds it advisable. 

38. When the year has passed, the ministers with the counsel of the brothers are to elect two other ministers; and a faithful treasurer, who is to provide for the need of the brothers and sisters and other poor; and messengers who at the command of the ministers are to publish what is said and done by the fraternity.

 39. In all the above mentioned points no one is to be obligated under guilt, but under penalty; yet so that if after being admonished twice by the ministers he should fail to discharge the penalty imposed or to be imposed on him by the Visitor, he shall be obligated under guilt as contumacious. 

HERE ENDS THE RULE OF THE CONTINENT. 

Author: Cardinal Hugolino dei Conti dei Segni who wrote this Rule at the request of St. Francis of Assisi, 1221


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