stfranman Compassionate Living, Spirituality/Religion

The Prayer of St Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;  

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.  

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  

Prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi

stfranman Compassionate Living, Ecology/Environment, FSF News/Events, Spirituality/Religion

The Legacy of St Francis

Yes, it is St Francis of Assisi who was chosen to be front-and-center for this new ministry.

Yes, that St Francis.

There are two great urgencies that are at the heart of what the FSF is about.

The first is to make compassion the foundation for all that we do, for all our interactions with our fellows.

And the second is use to treat the Earth, our common home, with wisdom and that same compassion. And to extend this compassion to all of Earth’s inhabitants, not just to the Human species.

With these two urgent priorities in mind, Saint Francis was a most suitable choice as the icon and a wise, compassionate patron for the Fellowship. He was a much-beloved figure in his time.

Francis’ love for animals and for the Earth were noted by his contemporaries and by the leadership of the Church in the 13th Century and are the reasons that he is considered to be a special patron for animals and for the environment.

So it is very fitting to have this well-loved and venerated figure to lead the way, so to speak, for our fledgling Fellowship.

Brother Ben

© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis, Inc.

The Fellowship of St Francis is a new and completely independent ministry and is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

stfranman FSF News/Events

Everything has a beginning

First Day of Spring, 2019

On this day that the FSF becomes fully real–according to the law and regulations of the State of Florida, I mean–it’s a good thing to explain a bit more of the “back story” about the origins of our Fellowship.

To begin this new work has been my vision for the last ten years. But it never seemed like the right time, or that the right elements were in place for it to succeed.

Like Moses in the story found in the third chapter of Exodus, I could think of a hundred reasons why trying to launch a new ministry–especially one that is not in the mold of your typical Church or Fellowship–was a foolish idea. One most certainly doomed to failure.

By the way, I’m not at all trying to say I’m a Moses-like leader; I’m merely saying that the task seemed impossible to me and that my behavior for quite a few years was governed by that reluctance.

And then, around Valentine’s Day, something happened that–although extremely traumatic to me at the time–helped me to see clearly that it was time for me to re-prioritize, let fall away things that were clearly not essential, and really address that meaning-and-purpose stuff that many of us often go to great lengths to avoid.

Well, I certainly had gone to extreme lengths to avoid doing something about beginning a new ministry or Fellowship, even though I had known for years that it was a huge, unfinished task for me.

Not unfinished. Never-begun would be a better way to say that.

And so I ended the foot-dragging. Twelve days ago I completed the necessary docs on-line to make it official and real, coughed up the required fees and got this Fellowship started.

My two fellow-directors and I agreed that today–being the first day of spring–was a very suitable effective date for our enterprise.

Without making too big a deal out of my personal feelings and reactions to getting the FSF started, let me just say that I’ve slept more soundly in the last 12 days than I have in many, many years.

Dragging one’s feet on those meaning-and-purpose issues is never a good thing.

The Fellowship of St Francis is real. And that fills me with joy!

Brother Ben

© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis, Inc.

stfranman Compassionate Living, Humane Treatment of Animals

Co-existing with Wildlife

If you’re wondering how to co-exist with wildlife in a humane way, getting some tips from professionals would most certainly be a good thing.

The information found on this site could be very helpful. Especially if you live in a rural area or even if you have more than a few trees around your home in a mostly suburban location.

There are so many helpful tips on the site for small-ish critters, up to and including deer.

In the part of Florida where I live, bears love to raid trash cans and climb trees in sometimes large and up-scale neighborhoods. It’s become a pretty common thing.

Many people believe that this situation is one reason why the State of Florida green-lighted bear hunting again back in 2015. The hunting resumed the following year.

I am against bear hunting under any conditions but the article accessible from the above link shows that the new regulations here in Florida are very seriously flawed even if you were in favor of the resumption.

If people who live near bear habitats were more bear-savvy, this unfortunate situation could possibly be improved. For tips on co-existing with bears specifically, follow this link.


Brother Ben

stfranman Ecology/Environment, Spirituality/Religion

In Praise of Blossoming Trees

There are few things in Nature as beautiful as a tabebuia tree. The photo here is of one I tended, watered and pruned for nine years. Lovely tree; it was a gift from our next door neighbor.

The fact that a tabebuia only blooms for a few days each spring does not detract from its beauty. It’s a reminder for me that life is fleeting and we blossom for a brief season, then fall away and return to the earth. It is good to have your day in the sun!

Though these lovely trees are barren now, there are some beautiful trees, fairly-common in the Sunshine State, which display their gorgeous, bright-yellow blossoms in summer’s sultry heat! I refer to the yellow poinciana, better known to arborists as the peltophorum.

You might say that the tabebuia and the yellow poinciana are cousins.

I’ve seen more than a few of them around Central Florida in the last three or four summers; they’re quite a spectacle for those of us who crave a little color in the Florida landscape before autumn’s arrival. They seem to blossom from the top down and the blossoms last a good, long while. They can grow up to 50 ft tall; I’ve seen one nearly that size near the entrance to Disney’s Jambo House Resort.

Count me as one of those Floridians who stays indoors a lot more at this time of year. Day after day of temps in the mid-nineties gets old pretty quick. When I do motor about from place to place here in our subtropical paradise, it’s such a welcome pleasure to be greeted by those lovely yellow blossoms.

Brother Ben

© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis, Inc.

Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile

stfranman Spirituality/Religion

Turn, Turn, Turn

That brief posting entitled Words to Live By from last Sunday evening was based on a passage from the first Chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes.

When my friend first pointed me in the direction of that passage, it also made my mind go back to a ’60s folk song adapted from a well-known part of Chapter 3 from the same Book.

Turn, Turn, Turn is a song all boomers remember from 1965. Although it was written by Pete Seeger, it was the Byrds who had a huge hit with it. The words are taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and had but one phrase added at the end: …a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late!

Here it is in its entirety:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

by Pete Seeger adapted from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

The words offered me no small comfort back many, many years ago when I first heard them. (I was in the 5th grade, if you must know!) And they still do.

This is a most unusual and very precarious Chapter in the history of our Country.

And I assure you it’s a time to heal.

It’s a time to speak.

And it’s a time for Peace.

Brother Ben


© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis, Inc.

stfranman Spirituality/Religion

They say “Prayer Changes Things”

I’m thinking that just about anyone who reads this has heard the aphorism

“Prayer Changes Things”

A few months ago, I drove by a Church in the downtown Orlando area and read this on the sign out front:

“Prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes people and people change things!”

I’m not at all trying to make a commentary on prayer or different ideas about prayer or about spirituality in general. I believe we all can and should create our own spiritual path.

But I found myself in agreement with the idea that brief message contained.

And that’s all the more reason to pray.

Brother Ben

© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis, Inc.

stfranman Spirituality/Religion

It’s Time to Walk the Walk

It’s such an incredible and intensely sad development that Evangelicals in America have separated their belief and their behavior so thoroughly.

They can, and often do, go on and on about what a Christian should believe and say virtually nothing about what a Christian should do.

Their beliefs may be traditional or orthodox as far as that goes but their refusal to follow it up with authentic behavior and actions as modeled by and taught by the man they worship as God perfectly shows how bankrupt their spirituality is.

By the way, I’m am not “traditional” or “orthodox” as seen through the lens of traditional Christianity, but that’s a subject for another day.

This disconnect between what they teach their adherents to believe and what Jesus clearly taught that they should do is very easy to spot.

I think it’s safe to say that that disconnect has been there for anyone to see for quite a while. But today it’s not a separation that can be easily bridged; it’s a great, imposing chasm and the gap grows wider by the day.

When one looks at how so many members of Evangelical Churches go about their everyday lives, the failure to treat all  people with compassion and respect is right out there for anyone to see.

The tepid way that too many Evangelical Churches and their members go about exercising stewardship of the Earth and all of Earth’s inhabitants is also deeply regrettable. So much more can be and ought to be done.

There are many consequences to this failure to “walk the walk” and not just merely “talk the talk”. I think the most serious one is that folks who’ve been attending Evangelical Churches for years are leaving in droves.

This blog posting today is not covering any new ground on this subject. There is no shortage of books, articles and podcast episodes about it. And the exodus has been going on for quite a while.

This entry is part one of a two-part series and I meant it mostly just to set the stage.

But I do want to invite your attention to a recent interview that covers this subject of Evangelicals jumping ship pretty thoroughly. I think Mr McLaren’s insights into what is happening are spot-on. I recommend the piece if you’re trying to keep your eye on this situation.

It’s still true that you can’t put new wine in old vessels. One of the things driving the exodus is that you can’t scare people anymore into believing or walking a spiritual path by threatening them with burning in hell. That’s just not happening, and that’s a good thing.

That specific angle to this situation is also something I will cover in more detail soon.

Blessings to all. I will be checking in again soon.

Brother Ben

© 2019 The Fellowship of St Francis

stfranman Ecology/Environment

The Environment: Good News and Bad News

It may sound like the lead-in to a joke, but that cliche does perfectly sum up where we are right now with the environment. Where we are as far as taking actions which are desperately needed today, to be more precise.

The situation is dire. That’s an understatement. There are thousands of studies and documents to substantiate just how bleak the situation is for our planet.

And here’s another study for good measure.

The good news is that the nascent Sunrise Movement has a huge potential, not only to change the conversation, but to prod us into taking some very, very necessary actions.

Or to slow down all the foot-dragging, at the very least.

The Guardian published an article yesterday to highlight the work being done by this largely youth-led movement; it’s well worth the next few minutes of your time.

The Earth is our common home. She is not dying. She is being killed! We cannot afford to go on with the status quo.

As you no doubt know, there are very committed, well-financed interests which are going all out to muzzle the voices calling for action and to stifle any change.

We’ll always have that to deal with.

But getting more and more committed friends of the Earth on-board for the fight–including the people who are being galvanized by the Sunrise Movement–may at least give the Earth a fighting chance.

Brother Ben

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile