Based in Kansas City, Bradley DiTeresi maintains a business footprint that extends beyond the local area to include international real estate. An avid reader, Bradley DiTeresi is drawn to the works of the Doctors of the Catholic Church.
As the Franciscan Order’s founder, St. Francis of Assisi was an Italian saint who taught believers to capably weather misfortune and not judge others for their material worth. He also preached the importance of suffering for one’s beliefs if necessary and finding resiliency during times of duress through God’s grace.
These lessons came from St. Francis’ personal struggles, as he spent a year imprisoned after he was captured in battle in Perugia. In ill health, it was only after his father paid a ransom that he was released. However, his travails did not end there as his father violently opposed Francis’ decision not to enter the family business and follow the pathway of Christ. This led to internment in his own home and beatings at the hands of his father.
The lesson that St. Francis took from these trying experiences was that all people encounter suffering as they walk on earth. Such experience is not viewed as proof that God is absent but taken to heart as part of a greater sacrifice. The burden and great redemptive quality of this sacrifice require patience, love, and humility, whatever one’s external circumstances. In setting this foundation, St. Francis took to heart Romans 8:28, “All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
As the Franciscan Order’s founder, St. Francis of Assisi was an Italian saint who taught believers to capably weather misfortune and not judge others for their material worth. He also preached the importance of suffering for one’s beliefs if necessary and finding resiliency during times of duress through God’s grace.
These lessons came from St. Francis’ personal struggles, as he spent a year imprisoned after he was captured in battle in Perugia. In ill health, it was only after his father paid a ransom that he was released. However, his travails did not end there as his father violently opposed Francis’ decision not to enter the family business and follow the pathway of Christ. This led to internment in his own home and beatings at the hands of his father.
The lesson that St. Francis took from these trying experiences was that all people encounter suffering as they walk on earth. Such experience is not viewed as proof that God is absent but taken to heart as part of a greater sacrifice. The burden and great redemptive quality of this sacrifice require patience, love, and humility, whatever one’s external circumstances. In setting this foundation, St. Francis took to heart Romans 8:28, “All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
