February 28, 2024

Hello John,

Lent is a time of grace and renewal; a time to grow in our relationship with God. It is also a time to express our gratitude for the gifts we have received and to share them generously with others. That is why I am inviting you to start or increase your sustaining gift to Franciscan Media.

Your monthly donation will help create and distribute quality content that reflects the values and vision of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, peace, and the poor. Will you start or increase a sustaining gift this Lent and partner with us in this vital ministry? Click here to donate.

Abundant blessings, 

Christopher Meyer
Director of Development 

Saint of the Day for February 28: Blessed Daniel Brottier

(September 7, 1876 – February 28, 1936)

Blessed Daniel Brottier’s Story

Daniel spent most of his life in the trenches—one way or another.

Born in France in 1876, Daniel was ordained in 1899 and began a teaching career. That didn’t satisfy him long. He wanted to use his zeal for the gospel far beyond the classroom. He joined the missionary Congregation of the Holy Spirit, which sent him to Senegal, West Africa. After eight years there, his health was suffering. He was forced to return to France, where he helped raise funds for the construction of a new cathedral in Senegal.

At the outbreak of World War I, Daniel became a volunteer chaplain and spent four years at the front. He did not shrink from his duties. Indeed, he risked his life time and again in ministering to the suffering and dying. It was miraculous that he did not suffer a single wound during his 52 months in the heart of battle.

After the war he was invited to help establish a project for orphaned and abandoned children in a Paris suburb. He spent the final 13 years of his life there. He died in 1936 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Paris only 48 years later.

Reflection

Blessed Daniel might be called “Teflon Dan” since nothing seemed to harm him while in the midst of war. God intended to use him in some pretty wonderful ways for the good of the Church and he willingly served. He is a good example for all of us.

In need of spiritual motivation this Lent?

Books such as Wandering and Welcome and Pause+Pray can kickstart your prayer life!

Saint Be Praised!

The saints and blesseds are special signs of God’s activity. Their surrender to God’s love was so generous an approach that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy, and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ.

Each of us is a saint in the making. For our holiness is the same as theirs—God’s holiness. Their lives were indeed conditioned by the culture and history of their own day; their expression of holiness is partly different from what it would be in the twenty-first century. But the essence is the same: They received God’s gift with joy. They call to us to do likewise.

—from the book Saint of the Day: The Definitive Guide to the Saintsby Franciscan Media

We are excited to share this newly released version of

From Wild Man to Wise Man!

This classic from Richard Rohr explores male spirituality but offers Franciscan-inspired wisdom that applies to every reader!

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