Just a word from Monk William,                                                                  I have not forgotten you, brothers and sisters.
You are in my prayers, and I visit the website often for Prayer Requests
and encouragement.
I never miss Brother Juniper.  Great idea that one.
Yours,
William (California)

Comment from The Prayer Foundation ™ : We have not forgotten you, either, we pray daily for all of our monks.  Please continue to keep us and this ministry in your prayers.

What is important is that we center everything on God through worship, that we set aside a daily quiet time, that we continue to grow in Christ and in His Word (Growing In Christ), and that we are ministers of Christ through Christian witness by both God's Word and our Lifestyle.  You seem to be doing well in these areas.

The great idea of having Brother Juniper on our web site was God's.  He recalled to Monk Preston's mind, a Brother Juniper Book that Monk Preston had read when he was 12 years old, and we hunted it down on the Internet.  We now have all of the Brother Juniper cartoons (the books are out of print), and there are enough to post one cartoon weekly (without repeating) for 112 years.  When the Lord gives us more help, we'll post a new one daily (there are enough cartoons for six years, that way).  

The Franciscan Brother and priest, Justin McCarthy (Brother Juniper 's creator) chose Brother Juniper as the name for his character (which was based on himself) because of the original Brother Juniper, one of St. Francis' first disciples.  The original Brother Juniper was always laughing and happy.  One of the other Brothers complained to Francis that Juniper needed to be more serious and reverent.  Francis answered him, "Would that I had a whole Forest of such Junipers!"  Francis always felt that God made each of us an individual, and that each of us has his own unique gifts and ministry from God.  This is one of the things that we heartily agree with Francis on.

Have you ever seen Franco Zeferelli's (Romeo & Juliet, Jesus of Nazareth) movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon?   It is our all-time favorite movie.  We watch it four times a year.  Sometimes when people ask us to explain our ministry, and why we are doing what we are doing, we just tell them to watch this movie, and that no additional explanation will be necessary.

I want to accept Jesus.  I see that picture of Jesus knocking at the door of my heart and it makes me cry.  I just cannot take the next step of acceptance.  I don't know why I cannot open the door.  Pray for me.

Margaret (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Note from The Prayer Foundation ™ : Margaret is referring to the wonderful painting "Heart's Door" by Warner Sallman, posted by permission on our page: Plan of Salvation.  It shows the Lord Jesus knocking on the door of our heart, seeking to come in.  The artist painted the door with no handle on the outside, showing that we must open the door from the inside to receive Christ.  Let us all especially pray for Margaret in this time of the most important decision of her life, one that has consequences for all eternity.