Br. Ricky Kmenlang Mawlong, OFH says, "I am 23 years old. I am from North East India. I am a Roman Catholic and I belong to The Shillong Archdiocese - St. Dominic Savio Church, Mawlai Parish. I am still decerning my Vocation - I want to be a Follower of St. Francis of Assisi. 

• BrRicky@FranciscanHermits.org
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~A Psalm of Uncertainty~

The road behind me
has washed away
in a torrent of hopeful tears.

The road before me,
today a vaporous mystery,
awaits a construction of faith.

On this tiny speck
of solid ground which bears Your Name,
I stand and call to You…

I am relying upon
Your Grace to be greater
than my sorrow and bitterness.

I am relying upon
Your strength to carry me
when I feel weary and worn.

I am relying upon
Your Wisdom to guide me
into tomorrow’s unknown country.

I am relying upon
Your LOVE to lift and lead,
to surround and saturate.

*”I determine amidst all uncertainty always to trust.
I choose to live beyond regret,
and let You recreate my life.”

I trust in You alone
to provide and protect,
to hold and heal,
to inspire and indwell
all the days of my life.

My vow is to You, O Gracious One,
for You have been with me always,
no matter the adversity.

In my loneliest hours,
You are there.
In my darkest moments,
You are the Light of Hope.

You are the Perfect Love
Who casts out all fear.
The tiny speck of solid ground
beneath my feet, supporting,
and never letting me fall.

From the womb
I have known Your Grace,
and my gratitude has been ever present.

You are with me
in my hour of uncertainty,
as I choose the materials
with which to build the road before me.

Help me to choose wisely
and with great love.

May my steps be pleasing to You,
and worthy of the Grace
You shower upon me.

My Heart.
My Home.
My Health.
My Hope.
My Heaven.
My All.
You Are.

​And I am Yours.

​~Sister Brigid Clare
(*quoted prayer verse is from St. Brendan the Navigator)

Br. Lyle Fleury, OFH says he was, "Raised in Vermont by loving grandparents. US Army, Franciscan Order of Friars Minor,YMCA Program director of International Crossroads, Family Business until retirement some 20 years ago. Volunteer work for some 50 years, this was to bring to the human race the works of peace through the arts. Officer in many National and International Orgs. To bring about peace in the world. Pax et Bonum"

• ​BrLyle@FranciscanHermits.org
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Br. Francis John Wulf, OFH says, "I converted to the Catholic Church in 1988. I became a professed Secular Franciscan in April of 1991. I was the Formation Director of St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity of the local Secular Franciscans Order here in Lincoln Nebraska for over 12 years. I took about six years off just to be a member at large. Then 9 years ago I became Minister of the St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity where I was Minister for 6 years. Then I became the Treasurer of the Fraternity for 3 years. I recently stepped down to just be a member at large. My life has be richly blessed as a Franciscan. My vocation as a Franciscan started more of a Hollywood version of St. Francis until I had a chance to work in a homeless shelter/soup kitchen ran by the Sacred Heart Province Franciscans and saw what being a Franciscan was really about. Ever since then I've been lucky to be a member of OFS. I have never looked back. I have a full time job and that is my mission field, I am a Chef/Manager/Educator by trade. In my spare time I love to make blankets, jams/jellies and Rosary's."

• BrFrancisJohn@FranciscanHermits.org
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I open my heart
to pour out
all that does not
serve the Purpose of Love;
every grievance void of Grace,
every pernicious lie
of victimization which denies
the startling Truth of Imago Dei;
Christ within this humble clay.

I open my heart
to invite and receive
The Holy One’s
Blessed, Best Dream for me;
moment by miraculous moment
made into Sweet Reality
by Love’s Hand Guiding,
Love’s Word Speaking,
Love’s Bounty providing,
Love’s Kiss within my soul,
inspiring me to wallow and walk
in Wonder, in Beauty, in Peace,
and in the Consummate Joy
of Knowing and Being Known.

I open my heart
to pour out Presence and Empathy;
to leave a gentle dusting
from the Gifts graciously given me,
to share my little bit
with all the Love I can muster,
and pray my simple spark might
be part of the Ever Growing Light
of Parousia drawing nigh.

I open my heart
to invite and receive Healing
and Wholeness, and Faith
beyond feeling; and Courage
to walk with eyes opened wide
equally in celebration and suffering,
gathering strength sown deep inside,
long recessed and hidden, shy,
vulnerable and doubt-ridden, I
vow in this miraculous moment,
now to start walking in
The Way of the Open Heart.

~Sister Brigid Clare
Photo taken in my childhood church, The Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Baltimore, Maryland, on the 40th anniversary of my First Holy Communion. 

I saw the temples crumble
stones turned to bread
to feed the poor

what once was high now humble
so those with less
are offered more

 saw the sacred vestments 
wrapped round 
a mother's freezing child

and in their warm contentment
saw Bethlehem's Babe
and Mary mild

I saw the fire burning 
the Heart aflame 
that livens all

and in my own 
heart's yearning
heard my Poverello's call~

"Rebuild God's Church,"
is what he said,
"with mortar of Love and stones of Bread".

~Sister Brigid Clare
​(This song came into my heart as I made my way home from Compline this evening. Usually I select an image to accompany my words, but I can find no adequate image for what I saw and felt in my spirit tonight. I will only say what is already known; that God loves us all so deeply, especially "the least of these". Gentle Blessings to All.)

I want my life
to become ruins,
daises to grow
where once floors were swept.

Dear God, dismantle
all the structures –
the walls I built,
closed ideas I kept.

I want the sky
to be my ceiling,
birds to fly through
windows once shut tight.

Remove my heart
from its cold, stone casing –
Expose it to Your
elements and light.

I want my life
to become ruins,
peaceful, open,
welcoming the breeze.

Dear God, tend to
the greening of my spirit –
visit me beneath
the sheltering trees.

​~Sister Brigid Clare

I am but a little one
after Your Heart
wrapped in ribbons
of Your gentle grace
content in every space
Your Presence dwells

in the quiet of
my simple room
my faint heart swells
as prayer pervades
my soul, my song;
a cloud of sweet perfume

all this longing
in my breast
finds its Home and Final Rest
In Your warm and precious Love alone

I am but a little one
grown in the Light of Brother Sun
another foolish heart to call Your Own.

​~Sister Brigid Clare 
Gentle Blessings to All.

Sr. Rosemarie Stevens, OFH says, "My hermit journey began in 1964 with entrance to the Monastery of Poor Clares in Santa Barbara, California. Then continued as co-foundress of a Monastery in Zambia, Africa. From there I received an indult to live as a hermitess and began at St Peter's Abbey in Sask, Canada which had a forest and six hermits and hermitesses from various orders. After a year and a fall and the weather, I returned to California and lived four years with the Camaldolese Hermits in Big Sur. Since then, it has been a rocky road as solitude and silence in California are difficult to come by. Most of the time I have been in the Big Sur area with the Camaldolese Hermitage as my anchor... but at this time am still on the road after a property I had hoped would provide a permanent place 12 miles south came into problems in the Courts. Blessings - Sister Rosemarie"

• ​SrRosemarie@FranciscanHermits.org
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