Manifestations
December 2005      
The Fourth Order of Francis and Clare   home
At the end of a day of work without wages Francis would put out his bowl in a daily reliance on God for his need. How gracious were those who placed in that bowl a crust of bread or more.  He blessed them with these words.

"Peace and all good to you."

Thank you for all your prayer and support throughout this year.
Your contributions made this creative outreach possible.
How beautiful when we come together like this in this dance.
We together are the wild children of that joyful little man from Assisi.

Our Wish for You

May the blessing of light be on you,
 light without and light within.
 May the blessed sunlight shine on you
 so foreigner and friend may warm and delight  
in the great peat fire of you.
 And may light shine out of the two eyes of you,
 like candles set  in the windows of a warm home,
 welcoming wanderers to come out of the storm.
Scottish Blessing of Light

In the spirit of this season we share  the two links below.
 You will see why we recommend them!
Our December Issue follows immediately after these links.

There is an emergency cash flow problem.
This is an gift giving opportunity to support a profound spiritual presence -a model of community in  the San Francisco Tenderloin - a gift of light in a dark and difficult world.

“The horrible experiences during the war and the suffering of everybody on all sides inspired me to do something that would be a living symbol of peace, reconciliation and hope.”
George Mizo, American veteran and founder of the Vietnam Friendship Village Project.

The mission of the Vietnam Friendship Village Project is to cultivate reconciliation and heal the wounds of the Vietnam War by uniting veterans and caring citizens through international cooperation in the building and support of the Village of Friendship, a living symbol of peace.
What's New

Barbara Flaherty
Irish Poet
Gabriel Rosenstock
from the San Francisco Tenderloin
poem by
Kat Sloan-Krieger
Poems by
Yupik Eskimo Poet
Valerie Kameroff
Poem by
Arlene Lidbergh
New Contributing Section
The Stories of Our Lives
Phillip Hodgson
from the UK
Throughout this site we chose to print poems in the voice of Francis from Barbara Flaherty's Holy Madness.  Your  feedback indicates you have enjoyed them. As we prepare for its publication we have chosen to present other poems from the collection. Of these more personal poems  Anthony Christensen OFM states they have,"the sharp sting of an Anne Sexton with the redemptive thrust of William Blake." We agree.
Sweeney in Paperback
By your request we are preparing to publish The Sweeney Lacunae in book form with introduction and notes by Patricia Monaghan.



Star of wonder, Star of light
Star with royal beauty bright,

Guide us to the perfect light.



Quote of the Month

"We have been trained deeply to think of the universe as outside of ourselves, out there. And we have been trained to think of spiritual depths as referring to the human soul. One of our challenges is to think of spiritual depth as referring to the galaxy.

In our modern sensibilities, the idea has been that the universe is empty, and it's neutral and dead. There happens to be this one place where there is life, but all the rest is this vast, meaningless desert.

There is another orientation, of the universe as primary revelation of the divine.

In that case then the vastness of the universe says something about the vastness of the divine, and with that orientation the discovery of these immense distances is the discovery of the splendor out of which we come, rather than an oppressive, meaningless number.

All of this is an attempt to explore this question of tending the holy. Where does the holy reside?

There is so much needless suffering today because of our conviction that the universe is a collection of objects. The way of rejuvenation, regeneration, even salvation is the movement into the realization that the universe is a mutually indwelling communion of subjects."

Brian Swimme, Cosmologist
Islamic Prayer Meditation


by Stan Goff

An Open Letter to GIs in Iraq from a retired Special Forces master sergeant, and the father of an active duty soldier.
Stan Goff is the author of "Hideous Dream: A Soldier's Memoir of the US Invasion of Haiti" (Soft Skull Press, 2000) and of the upcoming book "Full Spectrum Disorder : The Military in the New American Century" (Soft Skull Press, 2003). He is a member of the BRING THEM HOME NOW! coordinating committee.


"I believe combat veterans hold a secret so deep within them that not even they comprehend the power of it's mystery. This great secret cannot be understood by anyone who was not there. And because they do not even know the secret exists, they will never know the strength it imparts to those who do."
R. Peterson
Capt. USMC
5th marines,
Vietnam 1968
Francis' Blessing to Brother Leo was playfully drawn and signed with the Tau symbol Francis used for his signature.


May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
May he show his face to you and be merciful to you.
May he turn his countenance to you and give you his peace.
May the Lord bless you,
 Brother Leo.


Holy Mary,
 Mother of God,
 Pray for us.
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