St. Louis, King of France

Let's begin in the name of the Father in the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for.

“I believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth.”

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven and he seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. By kingdom come by will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stare, daily bread and fruit, give us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation. To deliver us from evil, amen.

You know, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our thumb on women, blessed is a fruit of I womb Jesus.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.”

You know, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed,

our thumb on women, blessed is a fruit of I womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. You know, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our thumb on women, blessed is a fruit of I womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now in the verse shall be, world without end, amen.

Our first mystery, Saint Louis, King of France, lived between 1214 and 1270. He was a husband, a father of 11 children, with whom he was intimately involved in raising,

while he governed Europe's most powerful kingdom,

“administering justice, restraining corrupt officials,”

settling disputes among rulers, defeating rebellions, and securing peace with England. He built Saint Chapelle, the holy chapel, to house Christ's crown of thorns, which expressed his conviction that Christ,

not royal power, was the true center of his kingdom. He was friends with Thomas Aquinas, with whom he sought counsel. He founded hospitals, fed the poor, and even led two crusades.

Yet, amid all of it, his priority was spending time with God in prayer every day. How did he do that? Louis lived by a plan of life, a solid structure that enabled him

to live a well-ordered and balanced life. He began every morning with meditation, and a concrete resolution. He attended Mass every day, examined his conscience each evening,

and went to confession every week. So his life wasn't ruled by busyness or distraction, but guided by a solid plan. In an age addicted to busyness, entertainment, and distraction, Louis shows us that holiness begins with a plan.

We too need a plan of life, a rule of life, to keep our eyes fixed on heaven, while fulfilling our duties on earth. If you need a plan of life, listen to our rosary on a recipe of life,

or just read the transcript, and then create your own. Our father, who are to heaven, howl it would be your name, that kingdom come, that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If us stay, our daily bread,

and forgive us, our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil eye men. Hail Mary, full of grace,

to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee,

bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men.

bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Hail Mary, full of grace, to Lord is with thee, bless it our Thalman, women bless it is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, they men. Forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy.

Our second mystery, Lewis ruled from a palace, but he lived like a servant.

Each day he personally gave food, clothing, and money to the poor, and he often fed more than a hundred beggars from his own table, and men knelt to wash their feet. He founded a hospital for 300 blind men, and homes for orphans, the sick, and the abandoned. He washed the wounds of lepers, and secretly served the sick at Roya Mount Abbey. Because he believed he was serving Christ hidden in their suffering.

He didn't delegate mercy. Now, most of our loved ones are not starving for food, but they are starving for friendship with God, and friendship with each other.

What should we do? Three things. First, pray and sacrifice for the conversion with intentionality, confidence and persistence.

Second, remove whatever in us keeps them from seeing Christ, whether that be our pride or anger, our opinionatedness, our self-absorption, or harshness, or hypocrisy, and third, build a bridge of friendship.

“Do good things together. Invite them for a walk, share a meal, work on a project, be curious, ask what matters to them, and listen patiently.”

And then when the moment is right, invite them to pray, to pray the rosary with you, to go to confession, to attend mass, to enter the church. God, place specific people in your life for a reason, you cannot delegate this. Get close, become involved, and love them gently toward heaven. Our Father who works in heaven, hollow would be your name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are blessed to stay our daily bread, and give us our trespasses as we give those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil amen.

We are married full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen.

Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen.”

Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowen in the hour of our death amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Oh, my Jesus.

Forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell.

“Lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy.”

Our third mystery, the Muslim caliph, al Hakim, destroyed the Church of the Holy Seplicer,

and violently persecuted Christians. His actions shocked Europe and helped spark the crusading movement. Jerusalem was lost to Saladin in 1187. Briefly recovered and then violently captured again in 1244. Christians in the Holy Land appealed for help and so King Lewis answered the call.

And he led two crusades to reclaim the Holy Land for Christ. Both ended in failure. In 1249, he captured Damiatta and Egypt, but chaos and disease devastated his army, and he was taken prisoner.

Yet even in captivity, his Muslim captors knelt before him recognizing his holiness.

“Released for ransom, he was allowed to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem,”

praying at the few sites still accessible. Our father, who art in heaven, would be your name. That kingdom come by will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Your vests are daily bread and for you vests are trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil amen. Every full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

Your Mary, full of grace to Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

For give us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,

“lead all souls to have been especially those most in need of thy mercy.”

Our fourth mystery.

When Lewis returned from his first crusade, he wasn't defeated.

He was awakened. He had gone to fight for Christ with armies and strategy, but everything unraveled, his men died, his mission collapsed, and he was humiliated. The campaign ended not in glory, but in emptiness.

And in that emptiness, Lewis saw the world for what a truly is, fleeting, fragile, unable to satisfy the soul. Earthly victories, even in the name of God, can become idols. Strength fails, wealth vanishes, relationships fade.

But one thing remains, union with God.

“Lewis fought for the Holy Land, but now he sought to become a holy land,”

a soul hungry for God alone. He withdrew from courtly life. He fasted, prayed. He dressed simply in brave silence and lived like a monk with a crown. He was no longer preparing for a campaign. He was preparing for heaven, and so must we,

as our world-beat responsibilities lesson. When our children are grown, when retirement comes, when life quits down, we are not being sideline.

We are invited by God to spend more time with him and grow in holiness.

Don't waste this precious time on news and shows. Lewis' final years were his ascent. Let's make ours the same.

“Let us set out on the ascent to God through a deeper life of prayer.”

Our father, Warton heaven, howl it would be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, and earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stare, daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, to live rest from evil amen.

Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen.

Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen. Thy will marry full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed with our thumb, and women bless it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnowing at the hour of our death, amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. All my Jesus. Forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fifth mystery, in 1270 he launched one final crusade to Tunis, where he fell ill and died.

To the world, two failed crusades sure looked like everything had gone wrong, but in God's eyes it was just the opposite.

In the darkness, Lewis was being emptied, so God could fill him with himself.

“What King Lewis wanted most was transforming union with Christ, but that union could only happen when this soul is emptied of everything less.”

Now, every person, you and I, we have two or three good things we actually want more than God. Things we think make up our identity and self-worth.

Things we think we must have for happiness and security.

And attachment to these things, no matter how good, prevent God from filling and transforming our soul completely.

“This is why God allows the dark night, why he allows good things to be stripped away.”

And that dark night might take the form of a difficult marriage, a chronic health problem. Some failure in business were just simply retirement, or the loss of a spouse or loved one. Whatever form the dark night takes, God is not punishing you. God is flooding in and pushing created things out, making room for himself.

“So, what personal resolutions do we draw from the life of St. Louis, King of France?”

Consider three. Create your own plan or recipe of life so that your life isn't ruled by business and distraction. And make the resolution to form a small group of family and friends with whom you spend time regularly to help them to heaven.

Or finally, consider the circumstances God has allowed in your life as his way of inviting you to a deep friendship and intimacy with him.

Our father, who art in heaven, would be your name. But to the rest from evil, amen. The full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us and earth in the hour of our death, amen. Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us and earth in the hour of our death, amen. The Omery, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus. The Omery, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us and earth in the hour of our death, amen. The Omery, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. The Omery, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, our Thalman, women blessed, he's a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit, amen.

I think I get overwhelmed so quickly and that's not to say I should be doing as much as he did or that we should respond to that kind of example by getting really busy. But I think it's beautiful what you described how he put God at the center of his kingdom and his work because it's so easy and we see it. You can't really even talk about France without seeing how power can be corrupted and that specific throne can be corrupted. But when God is at the center of it, it's not stressful, it's not corruptive, it's just a tool for the good of others and for God's mission and you can see any part of your life through that lens like he did.

“Not about your productivity, it's just about looking at the gift you've been given and knowing that although you're responsible for it and you need to honor the gifts and the time and the life God has given you.”

He's also going to make it possible. So direct it towards him and ask him to take care of it as well. Yeah, and really you could boil down the secret of St. Louis to three things I think.

First, he made daily meditation and a resolution the most important thing.

Everything flowed from that. Secondly, in order to do that, he lived by a rule of life, a plan of life. So that he wasn't ruled by busyness and distraction and third, he served others directly through. He served others directly and we should serve others directly through French. Yeah, we can very easily be too detached from the fruits of our labor and that includes friendship or I mean quite literally the fruits of our service.

“I think a lot of people work in jobs where they don't see how others are benefited by them and that's really disheartening.”

But to see the people that you care about and to care for them.

Exactly. It feels itself and that fits into the rule of life and to the prayer life. So get to know the people in your life. Find out what they really need. And then help them.

I had so much, I have to tell you, it on Sunday, I found out what everyone liked to eat. Then I went to the store, I prepared the meal, I cooked the meal, we had great conversation, then I cleaned up. And when everyone was left, I thought that was fantastic. How wonderful to serve them and the friendship that results. All the practical thoughts kind of get in the way of that.

“I've definitely had thoughts recently where I'm like, Oh, should I do a random act?”

Should I just go pick up food for someone I know or get them something that they like and then I'm like, Oh, they can handle themselves. It doesn't matter that much. But remembering that it's not about we're all capable of feeding ourselves on Sundays. We're all capable of doing so much and it's hard then to recognize the need, but the need is for friendship. Yes.

The need is not, oh, they can't do it themselves often. It's just, they need to know that I care enough to do it. Yeah. And that I'm thinking of them and those actions count towards so much. Yeah.

I hope you know how much we appreciate our family dinner. But you're right. Why do we do all this for relations? Because we're God built this for relationship with him and with each other. But it's a form of service.

I think not that you shouldn't also be serving people who are truly in need of the physical goods because that should also be part of your life.

But some of it is you serve just for the sake of building a really well-founded spiritual friendship that says, "I'm willing to sacrifice for you."

Yeah. Because you develop when you do that, but also that other person has that example, the development, the relationship itself develops. So who, maybe another resolution, look at the people in your life already.

“Do you, two things, do you know them well enough to know what they need and then anticipate and do it?”

They'll be surprised.

The first step is usually just to learn.

Yeah. And then invite them to do something good together. Why? For the sake of friendship.

Just for the sake of friendship.

I almost, that week that I spontaneously made all my friends' food, I almost thought, "Oh, but they're all such good planners. They've already made dinner. They've already planned ahead. They've probably already have their food planned out for the week."

“And I really shouldn't even bother making anyone food.”

But I heard from multiple people as funny as this is that they were actively making dinner when they heard that I was going to cook. They put their dinner away and they came over because they wanted friendship. They wanted friendship. Everybody wants friendship. Somebody has to take the initiative.

That's the bottom line.

“Everybody, nobody in the world wants to be lonely.”

And if King Louis could serve people in that sense because he could have just delegated it like you said, "But that doesn't help on the spiritual level on the loneliness level of meeting those people of seeing them and actually seeing your impact and the importance of it." Yeah. It's part of what made him such a great king to meet them one-on-one, to meet them in person, to do it himself. It's why I say, "Cook for someone. Don't just buy them a meal as nice as that as well."

And eat it with them. And this is our mission, friendship with Jesus, friendship with others. Well, thanks for the conversation. Thank you. And let's be apostles of friendship, good conversation, and the rosary.

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