Friday, August 1, 2008

Are you going to receive the Portiuncula Indulgence today?

Here is an image of St. Francis' original Portiuncula, or Little Portion which he restored by hand in response to Our Lord telling him to "rebuild my church".
I am going to visit my favorite church in the world, Our Lady of Guadalupe Friary in Griswold, CT. Since it is a Friary and even has a model of a Portiuncula, we will get the Indulgence.
How wonderfully generous Our Lord is, this was my plan to stop there on the way to Morning Star Camp. I am bringing six young ladies with me to share the experience!
from Mary Vitamin email:
The Portiuncula Indulgence refers to the plenary indulgence originally granted by Pope Honorious III at the request of St. Francis to those who visit the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi on August 2nd. This chapel was dear to the heart of Holy Father Saint Francis. (The original small chapel is now enshrined in a large basilica.) The indulgence has been extended to Franciscan churches the world over.
(See the
Catholic Encyclopedia for further reading.)

Father Marion Habig, OFM, explains the history of the Portiuncula indulgence:
“A special impulse led St. Francis on a certain night to go to the chapel. There he saw our Lord and His holy Mother surrounded by a great host of angels. Filled with astonishment and reverence, the saint prostrated himself upon the ground and adored the Divine majesty. Then he heard the voice of our Lord urging him with ineffable tenderness to ask some special favor. Nothing was so near to the heart of Francis as the salvation of souls, and so, after a few moments of reflection, he asked for the grace of a full pardon for all who, being contrite and having confessed their sins, would visit this little sanctuary. Mary cast herself upon her knees before her Divine Son, and repeated the petition of her faithful servant.”
The Franciscan Book of Saints (Franciscan Herald Press:1979), 570.

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