St. Francis of Assisi - October 21

The Blessing for Brother Leo

"Francis wrote this blessing for his secretary and intimate companion, Brother Leo:

   May the Lord bless you and keep you,
   May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
   May the Lord show you his face and bring you peace (Nm 6:24-26).
   The Lord bless you, Brother 
                                            LeTo

At the top of the piece of parchment Brother Leo himself wrote the following in red ink:

'Two years before his death, from the feast of the Assumption of the Holy virgin Mary until the September feast of St. Michael, Brother Francis kept a Lent in the locale of La Verna in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and of St. Michael.  After the vision and words of the seraph and imprinting of the stigmata of Christ in his body, he made the praises written on the other side of this sheet (written in his own hand)* giving thanks for the grace bestowed on him.'

Below the text of the blessing, Brother Leo wrote, again in red ink:

'With his own hand the blessed Francis wrote this blessing for me, Brother Leo.'

At the bottom of the parchment there is a tau (T) with a skull and Brother Leo's note:

'Likewise with his own hand he made this sign, the tau, and the skull.' *see June 13. "  --Monograph of St. Francis

We can bless others with our words as well as by our actions.  God needs hands, feet, and our words to show His love to His children.