COLETTE, Virgin, Second Order

Colette was born in France in the year 1381. After the death of her parents she distributed all her possessions to the poor, joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and lived for some time as a recluse. Following admission to the Pore Clares, and with permission of the Pope, she brought many monasteries of the Second and First Orders back to the primitive observance of the Franciscan way of life, especially by inculcating poverty and prayer. She died on March 6, 1447

From the common of virgins, 1441

From the spiritual testament of Saint Colette
(E.S.M. Perrin, La belle vie de sainte Colette de Corbie [Paris 1920] 274-277)

Humble obedience is precious in the sight of God

Beloved daughters, understand your vocation well; understand your great dignity and the perfection expected of you. Ignorance is very injurious, knowledge is very useful. Understand, then the way of life you took upon yourself through your vocation under God’s inspiration. Our loving Savior says, No one can come to me unless the Father draws him through inspiration. Blessed is the entry into the fertile field of evangelical perfection; it is nothing less than the renunciation of the world, the flesh, one’s own will. This is what one blessed Jesus born of the virgin says, Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self and take up his cross, without leaving off doing penance for sins committed, so as not to offend God, and also to keep in his grace more easily.

Keep in mind, then beloved daughters, that through no merit of your own have you been called to perfect obedience; therefore obey always and in all things which do not offend God. Jesus became obedient unto death. It is not enough to obey for a time or only in some things; you must obey in everything that is not contrary to God, your souls and the holy Rule. Let us not prefer our own judgments to those of our superiors, for true wisdom is subject to Jesus and his loving virgin Mother.

The truly obedient person simply does what he does for the sake of Gd. He takes account of nothing but genuine obedience and renders obedience reverently as if the directive came from Jesus himself. In this way the command becomes easier from the human viewpoint, and humble obedience is more precious in the sight of God since evil flows from disobedience. One prayer from an obedient person is worth more than a hundred thousand from a disobedient one. If you will obey God he will obey you.

After self-denial our Lord wants us to carry our cross, that is, our vow of holy poverty. The cross is heavy when we want to have something more than the one who carried his cross on his shoulders and deigned to die on it Beloved daughters, following the example of Jesus Christ, of our glorious father Saint Francis and our mother Saint Clare, love this glorious virtue. Be content in your privations so that you may more easily reach the kingdom to which you have been called through the poverty you have promised to boserve. Beloved daughters, live then like truly poor people and remain such till death as our loving Savior did for us on the cross. Since there are few in the world who love this kind of poverty, we have a greater opportunity of loving it second to Lady Holy Obedience which I commend to you most highly.

We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If thorough human weakness we fail, we must always without delay rise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation. Amen.

Proper offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

PETER BAPTIST, PAUL MIKI & COMPANIONS, Martyrs, First and Third Orders

Peter Baptist was born in Spain in the year 1542. After completion of his studies and ordination to the priesthood he west out for the Orient to preach the Gospel. For many years he worked in the Philippine Islands. In the year 1593 he was sent with five other friars to Japan where he labored zealously converting many to the faith, building churches and a hospital. Due to the rise of religious and political controversies in the region Peter Baptist’s apostolic activities were interrupted, and he was arrested. Amid the jeers of the populace he was taken to Nagasaki where he and his companions together with three members of the Society of Jesus and fifteen Franciscan Tertiaries were executed by crucifixion. They achieved the glory of martyrdom on February 5, 1597. (names listed at end of post)
From the common of several martyrs, 1407

From the letters of Saint Peter Baptist of January 4 and February 2, 1597
(Archivio Ibero-Americano 6 [1916] 16-17)

We forfeit our lives for the preaching of the Gospel

Of the friars here six were arrested and kept in prison for several days. With them were three Japanese of the Society of Jesus – one of them professed – and also other Christian faithful. There are twenty of us all together. We are now traveling in this rather cold month of the winter. They are conducting us with cavalry and a strong guard. On some days more than two hundred men were assigned to keep us under guard. In spite of this we have great consolation, and we continue to rejoice in the Lord because according to the sentence pronounced against us we are to be crucified for having preached the law of God contrary to the king’s command. The rest were condemned because they are Christians.


Those who wish to die for Christ now have a golden opportunity. I think that the faithful of this region would have been greatly consoled if religious of our Order had been here, but they may rest assured that as long as this king rules, men in our habit will not live long in Japan because he will quickly send them to eternal life. May he get us there.

The sentence pronounced against us was written on a sign and carried before us. The sign read that we were condemned to death because we preached the law of Nauan (i.e., the law of Christ) contrary to the command of Taycosama, and would be crucified when we reached Nagasaki. For this we were very happy and consoled in the Lord since we had forfeited our lives to preach his law.

There are six friars here and eighteen Japanese, all condemned to death; some because they are preachers, other because they are Christians. From the Society of Jesus there is a brother, a catechist and a third, a layman. They took us out of the prison and put us on carts. Each had a part of an ear cut off and thus they conducted us through the streets of Miyako with very many people and soldiers following. Then we were again remanded to prison. On the following day, our hands were tied securely behind our backs, as they took us to Osaka while mounted soldiers urged us on.

On still another day they brought us out of prison again, mounted us on horses and conducted us through the streets of the city. We were also taken to Sakai where they did the same thing. On each occasion there was a public proclamation by the town crier. We knew we had been condemned to death but only while in Osaka were we informed that our execution was to take place in Nagasaki.

For the love of God let your charity commend us to God that the sacrifice of our lives may be acceptable in his sight. From what I have heard here I think we will be crucified this coming Friday because it was on a Friday that they cut off a part of each one’s ear at Miyako, an event we accepted as a gift from God. We all ask you then with great fervor to pray for us for the love of God.

Dearest brothers, help us with your prayers that our death may be acceptable to the majesty of God in heaven where, God willing, we hope to go. We will remember you . We have not forgotten your love here. I have loved you and still love you with all my heart. I wish you the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Farewell, dearest brothers, because there is no longer any time to speak to you. Until we meet in heaven. Remember me.


From: Proper Offices of Franciscan saints and blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

Martyrs of Nagasaki (5-II-1597

Franciscan Friars:
San Pedro Bautista Blázquez, superior of the mission (1542-1597)

San Felipe de Jesus or de las Casas (1571-1597)
San Francisco Blanco (1567-1597)
San Francisco or La Parrilla de San Miguel (1543-1597)
San Gonzalo García (1562-1597)
San Martín Aguirre of the Ascension (1567-1597)

Secular Franciscans:
Nagasaki San Antonio (13 years old)
St. Bonaventure of Miyako
St. Cosmas Takeya
Miyako San Francisco Fahelante
Miyako San Francisco Medical
San Gabriel Ize
San Joaquin Sakakibara Osaka
San Juan Kinuyo Miyako
San Leon Kasasumara
San Luis Ibaraki (12 years old)
St. Matthias of Miyako
St. Michael Kozaki, father of St. Thomas Kozaki
San Pablo Ibaraki, Ibaraki uncle of St. Louis
St. Paul Suzuki
Miyako San Pedro Sukejiro
Thomas Idauki Miyako or Ize
St. Thomas Kozaki (14 years), son of St. Michael Kozaki

Jesuits:
Saint Paul Miki, professed priest
San Juan de Goto, catechist
San Diego Kisai, catechist

Admonitions VI – IMITATION OF CHRIST

ADMONITIONS VI – IMITATION OF CHRIST
St. Francis of Assisi
Let all of us, brothers, consider the Good Shepherd Who bore the suffering of the cross to save His sheep. The Lord’s sheep followed Him in tribulation and persecution, in shame and hunger, in weakness and temptation, and in other ways, and for these things they received eternal life from the Lord. Therefore, it is a great shame for us, the servants of God, that the saints have accomplished great things and we want only to receive glory and honor by recounting them. Source: St. Francis of Assisi, The Saint, Early Documents

The Admonitions - XXIV True Love

Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and cannot repay him as when he is well and can repay him.

St. Francis of Assisi

Source: St Francis of Assisi, The Saint, The Early Documents