Under the circumstances, Palou had the right to record the life of his preceptor and superior. All his actions were governed by the ever-present and predominant idea that life is a brief probation, trembling between eternal perdition on one side, and salvation on the other. Earth for its own sake, had no joys for him. His soul did not recognize this life as its home. He turned with dislike from nearly all the sources of pleasure in which the polished society of our age delights.
The conversation of his own sex was not a source of amusement. He was habitually serious. Laughter was inconsistent with the terrible responsibilities of his probationary existence. Not a joke or a jovial action is recorded of him. He delighted in no joyous books.
Art or poetry never served to sharpen his wits, lighten his spirit, or solace his weary moments. The sweet devotional poems of Fray Luis de Leon, and the delicate humor of Cervantes, notwithstanding the perfect piety of both, were equally strange to him.
He knew nothing of the science and philosophy which threw all enlightened nations into fermentation a hundred years ago. The rights of man and the birth of chemistry did not withdraw his fixed gaze from the other world, which formed the constant subject of his contemplation. It was 35 years to the day that he left Cadiz, Spain for the missions of the new world.
Pilgrimage to the Carmel Mission. If you do not receive the bulletin by Sunday, please let us know by: Emailing us at bulletins carmelmission. He was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life. Mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt which they cause in the lives of many people.
Keep moving forward! For him, this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to keep his heart from growing numb, from being anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life.
Today, like him, may we be able to say: Forward! Francis of Assisi. As an academic, he was appointed a lector of philosophy before his ordination to the priesthood. He later received a doctorate in theology from the Lullian University in Palma Mallorca. In , he responded to the call for Franciscan missionaries to the New World, set sail from the Spanish port of Cadiz and joined the missionary college of San Fernando in Mexico.
The Spanish colonial life was restricted to urban centers such as Mexico City but the outlying areas were still uncharted by European colonist, and the Indians were indifferent, reluctant and even hostile towards the Spanish settlements. These unexplored areas were considered missionary territory and this is where Father Serra wanted to go to spread the word of Christ. For several years following his ordination, Serra remained at Palma as both student and teacher.
He received a doctorate in theology in and served as professor of theology at the Franciscan university in Palma from to Then, at the age of 36, Serra joined a group of missionaries setting out for Mexico. Shortly thereafter he volunteered to go to the mission field of Sierra Gorda in northeastern Mexico, where for 8 years he served as preacher and teacher. The Church then ordered Serra to the Franciscan college of San Fernando in Mexico City, and from to he served as home missionary, preached throughout Mexico, and served as a commissioner of the Holy Office, or Inquisition.
He arrived at Loreto in April and immediately set about the task of improving and enlarging the mission establishments. In he volunteered to go to Alta California to establish the first missions there. During the march north Serra suffered from painful bleeding ulcers on his legs and feet, but he refused to turn back. He arrived at San Diego in late June and immediately began construction of the first mission plant.
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