Franciscan Spirituality - The Joy of the Cross

Franciscan Spirituality - The joy of the cross
For St Francis, accepting the Cross was the way to be united with Christ's suffering and love.
In St Francis’s mind, suffering with the Lord, is a cause for joy, not sorrow, because with the Lord’s Cross, there is always the Lord’s Resurrection.
St Francis saw suffering and adversity, such as illness or mistreatment, as opportunities to practice perfect joy, mirroring the hardships of Christ. - He perceives the "joy of the cross” as a mean for teaching us that true happiness and spiritual perfection are found in self-sacrificial love and union with God through Christ, rather than in worldly comfort or pleasure.
Join Dr. Mary Allan O.F.S at Sister Eveleen Retreat House to explore the following themes:
-The Meaning of Perfect Joy in the Cross
-The cross as the Path to Happiness
-Following St Francis – adopting a Franciscan lifestyle- his heroic single-mindedness amidst physical and spiritual suffering
- but also recent realisations about St Francis aspects of joy and laughter.
Retreat Leader: Dr. Mary Allan O.F.S