But I Have Called You Friends

By Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

“The common denominator for every kind of love there is”: so Mother Mary Francis, p.c.c., says of friendship. In eight simple yet profound reflections, But I Have Called You Friends discourses on Christian friendship, its nature and necessity in every vocation, its challenges and its joys. Originally delivered in the late 1960s and early 1970s to the Poor Clares in Roswell, New Mexico, the benefit of these reflections is by no means limited to that time and place; rather, as stated in the Foreword, their “timeless principles of friendship” will “help anyone who seeks a deepened understanding of the mystery of loving and being loved.”

I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain. (John 15:15-16)

Succinct and inspiring, But I Have Called You Friends is ideal reading for those living or discerning the vocations of marriage, priesthood, or religious life, as well as for all who have heard Christ’s invitation to friendship with him.

* * *

Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., (1921–2006) was abbess of the Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Roswell, New Mexico. Her many books, essays, poems, and plays circulated her contemplative wisdom to a worldwide audience, making her one of the twentieth century’s most popular spiritual authors. Her works include A Right to Be Merry, Come, Lord Jesus, and My Beloved Is Mine.

Paperback & E-book: 124pp.

E-book: Immediately following purchase, an .epub file and a .mobi (Kindle) file are available for download.

ISBN: 978-1685950217