Cabanatuan Catholic Educational System

St. Francis of Assisi Diocesan School of Bongabon, Inc.

Recollection Module
Ian Radge C. Melad

Theme: “St. Francis, Model of Simplicity and Man of Action”

Audience: Grade 5 and 4 Students

Date: October 11, 2018

Objectives:
 Participants will have a greater appreciation of the life and mission of St. Francis as the
“Little Poor Man of Assisi.”
 Participants will understand the spiritual discipline of simplicity by developing a sense of
gratitude for everything we have.
 Participants will understand that to become a like St. Francis they must be willing to move
out of their comfort zone so as conversion may happen.

Context:
Reflecting on the life of St. Francis of Assisi one understands his unique ability to become like
Christ by following His lifestyle and apostolate. In this spiritual journey, the participants will
reflect on their lives, share their own experiences and learn more on the spirituality of simplicity
and action. Like St. Francis, it is a call to everyone to live a life of purpose, to prioritize the essential
over the secondary. The participants will reflect on what they consider as essentials in their life.
Young as they are, they will be opened to the realities of their becoming. Who are you amidst all
the roles and tasks given? Simplicity begins with the understanding of one’s purpose that is not
rooted in vanities and pride. In understanding this, the participants will begin to understand that
by knowing who they really are, they become wise stewards of their precious, divinely-gifted time
and resources. It is not the resources that matter but one’s faithfulness to his/her identity, being a
person who is created in the image and likeness of God. Through this, the participants will be
guided to work with St. Francis on rebuilding His Church through the witness of a holy life. We
are all called according to our purpose, but in working we must have the greater understanding to
of God’s love which should be our guiding step.

Time Guide:
8:00am – 9:00am Celebration of the Holy Eucharist
9:30am – 10:00am Health Break
10:00am – 10:30am Settling Down and Introduction
10:30am – 11:00am First Session (Spirituality of Simplicity)
11:00am – 11:15am Activity
11:15am – 11:45am Second Session (Becoming a Man of Action)
11:45am – 12:00pm Closing Activity
12:00pm – 12:15pm Deepening
12:15pm -End-

Handouts and Resources Needed

Handout: Father’s Love Letter
Handout: Parent’s Letter
Sheets of paper
Projector
Laptop
Song: A Gift to You
As the Deer;
O Hesus Hilumin Mo;
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Settling Down
 The students will be invited to stand and pray as we sing and act the song of “A Gift to
You.”
 Let them feel calm and not worry about anything they left at home, their problems,
assignments and requirements.
 The facilitator will lead the students into prayer, thanking God for all the blessings.
 Let them pick-up something that will best describe them.
 One by one the students will introduce themselves using the object that they have.

Introduction
 What is Recollection?
o It is intended to be a personal encounter with God often characterized by
meditation, silence, reflection, and prayer.
o It primarily seeks to renew faith that may have long been practiced but not fully
internalized to bring about the desired positive transformation of every human
being.
o The break provided by the recollections and retreats from regular schoolwork is for
the purpose of detaching the participants from the everyday concerns that even
young children are not exempted from.
o The activity seeks to refocus children in connection with their personal
relationship with, their family, and their friends.

First Session: The Spirituality of Simplicity

Life event:
It was November 1202.
Francis was 20 and the chivalric spirit led him to take part in the war between Assisi and Perugia.
The two armies clashed halfway, near what today is the town of Collestrada.
Perugia (at that time called Peroscia) defeated Assisi and among those taken prisoners there was
also Francis.
His captivity, more than one year long, was not mild.
Francis came home ill and only his mother's loving care and time helped him to get better.
Driven by his own chivalric spirit, Francis followed Gualtiero de Brienne in Southern Italy, but
once arrived to Spoleto he had a vision of God who said him to come back.
In particular God asked him:
"Francis, who do you think it is better to follow? The Master or the servant?" And Francis
answered:
"It is the Master"
"Why then," continued God "do you worry to look for the servant instead of the Master?"
"What is it your pleasure I should do, my Lord?"
"Return to Assisi, This is not your life"
His friends were stunned: Francis came back to Assisi and gave up forever with the military career.

Reflection:
“Return to Assisi, this is not your life.”
 May Natututunan sa Nakaraan
o Before he was St. Francis of Assisi, he was simply Francis Bernadone, a young man
caught up in the spirit of his age and not very concerned with the things of God.
The wealthy son of a cloth merchant, Francis wanted for nothing. In many ways
he was a pampered and spoiled child. He was the leader of a group of rabble-
rousers who indulged in pleasures and donned flamboyant clothing. His earliest
biographer, Thomas of Celano, writes in his First Life that, “until the twenty-
fifth year of his age he miserably squandered and wasted his time.” Celano
states that Francis surpassed all his peers as an instigator of evil deeds and was a
proud young man, given to vanity.
 o Francis would later write of himself simply, “I lived in sin.” We all have a past –
saints included – and very often we are not proud of every aspect of our past.
Certainly, Francis of Assisi would later weep for his unfaithfulness to God, but he
did not remain paralyzed by his guilt. He moved forward and allowed God to
love him despite his sinful past. Each of us must learn to do the same!
o Write a simple letter to your future.
 May Natututunan sa Kahirapan
o Statues of St. Francis are often found in gardens where the concrete saint is gingerly
fingering a stone dove in one hand and a basin of bird-bath-water in the other. Many
movies and books about St. Francis exaggerate his fondness for nature and the
beauty of creation.
o While there is truth in all of this, Francis’ love of creation must not overshadow
his love of the Crucified Christ.
o Francis of Assisi was a man who endured great suffering and hardship. Francis
spent a year in a dark, dank cell in Perugia after being captured in battle.
During this time, he became very ill and was not released until his father paid his
ransom. Later, upon learning of his son’s desire to forsake the family business
and follow Christ, his father beat him and locked him in the family basement.
Later in life, Francis would suffer from a painful eye condition made worse by the
barbaric treatment of the times. If all this was not enough, he would bear the
stigmata, the nail marks of the Crucifixion in his hands and feet.
o Like Francis, we will all encounter suffering in our walk with Christ. We must
never see suffering as a proof of God’s absence. Rather, we must see with St.
Francis of Assisi that God works through our suffering, teaching us to love, to
trust, and to bear our burden with humility and patience.

Activity #1
 Students will reflect on their identity as children of God.
 Students will draw a symbol of what they think as priorities in their lives and share the
reason why.
 While the instrumental music of “As the Deer” is playing, the facilitator will read the
“Father’s Love Letter.”

Second Session: Becoming a Man of Action

Life event:
His friends gradually shut Francis out since they couldn't understand what was happening to him.
His father was distraught because he had his expectations for his eldest son failed.
Another who didn't understand what was happening to Francis was his mother, Lady Pica, but she
went on reassuring him.
So Francis chose the silence and withdrew to meditate in the countries of Assisi, perhaps exactly
in those caves and narrow gorges which are under the Colle dell'Inferno [which in English means
"Hill of the Hell"].
He rather liked also to stop off in the little church of San Damiano, which is only 2 kilometres far
from Assisi.
Here, in a day like any other betwenn 1206 and 1207, the crucifix of this little chapel started talking
to him saying three times:
"Francis, go and repair My house, which you see is falling down"

Reflection:
“Go and repair My house, which you see is falling down.”
 May Natututunan sa Kapwa
o Nobody could ever accuse St. Francis of Assisi of laxity in religious observance.
The man fasted for long periods, slept on the ground with a stone for a pillow and
embraced a rigorous austerity. At the same time, Francis knew there were times
when charity called for a moderation of his rigorous routine. One night, while all
of the friars were sleeping after a day of fasting, a cry broke the night silence. “I
am dying. I am dying,” called one of the friars. Francis, realizing that this man
 was struggling to maintain the fast, insisted that all of the brothers take
something to eat. He did not want this brother marginalized or embarrassed.
o Like St. Francis, we too may have a very certain and clear approach as to how we
are to live and the best course of action to take. Yet, there will arise situations and
circumstances in which the Lord is calling us to look to the needs of another
before our own, to put aside our own desires for the sake of a suffering brother
or sister.
 May Natututunan sa Pag-sunod
o There were periods in the life of Francis when confusion completely clouded the
mind of the saint. At one point, Francis was sure he was called to seek glory in
battle and join the Crusades. After journeying only two days from Assisi in full
armor, Francis received a dream in which God told him to return home. This was
not his path.
o Later, in the crumbling ruins of the church at San Damiano, Francis was praying
before an icon of Christ. Suddenly, he heard a voice: “Francis, rebuild My
Church which is falling into ruin.”
o The young man jumped to his feet and set about collecting large stones to repair
the church. A wiser man looking on might have suggested: “Francis, I don’t quite
think that is what God had in mind.” Indeed, Francis would later understand that
God was calling him to rebuild the church, the people of God, through the
witness of a holy life.
o In our walk with Christ, we too will encounter periods of deep confusion and doubt.
What is God asking of me? What am I to do in this situation? The Lord may feel
far from our prayers for guidance. Like St. Francis, we must take a step forward
in faith, full of goodwill and trusting that the God of love is guiding our steps.

Deepening

 May Natututunan sa Katapangan

o Like every one of us, Francis of Assisi had his weaknesses. There were things and
situations that made St. Francis very uncomfortable.
o For one, Francis had a strong aversion to lepers. The Legend of the Three
Companions states that he “shuddered” at the very sight of them, hiding his eyes
and holding his nose. One day, while riding horseback near Assisi, Francis
encountered his nightmare: a leper was straying on the fringes of the town. Inspired
by the Holy Spirit, Francis dismounted and approached what he so vehemently
detested, a leper. Throwing his arms around the man, Francis embraced him as a
brother. He would later write that at that moment, “what was so bitter was
changed into sweetness.”
o Secondly, Francis did not have the gift of organization or natural leadership.
Suddenly thrust to the head of a rapidly growing order of brothers, Francis must
have felt very ill-equipped. Yet, he made do with what he had, trusting that it
was God’s work and not his own.
o Like St. Francis, God will very often call us out of our comfort zones in life. It is in
such situations, where we feel inept, incompetent, and afraid, that we must rely on
God to do what we cannot. It is outside of our comfort zones that conversion
happens!

Activity #2
 Students will reflect on their identity as children of their parents and for their parents.
 Listen to the video: And Liham ng Isang Magulang
 Ano ang nais mo sa iyong pamilya?
 Ano ang nais mong sabihin sa iyong magulang?
 Sorry and Thank you. Students will be given the time to approach the person to whom they
needed to say sorry and thank you.