Living Stones Notes #3

Living Stones Notes #3

My past, O Lord, to your mercy; my present, to your love; my future, to your providence.

. – St. Padre Pio

It was delightful seeing so many able to make our first gathering in six months. Fifteen of us joined together for fellowship, formation, and prayer at the St. Padre Pio Chapel September 13.

Our next gathering at the Chapel will be October 4, from 1-3. We will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis that day.

Remember that for ongoing formation one of the resources we are using is Live Like Francis: Reflections on Franciscan Life in the World  by Jovian Weigel OFM and Leonard Foley OFM. We are asked to read Chapter 2 of the book in preparation for the October 4 gathering..

...

September 13, we renewed our professions. If you were not able to be there, here is renewal pledge we said:

Renewal of profession

MINISTER:

Today with great joy we are celebrating the renewal of our profession in the Secular Franciscan Order.

During the time we have been professed we have made a sincere effort “to make present the charism of our seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church” and to build “a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively.”

Let us, therefore, join in giving thanks and in recommitting to ongoing change of heart.

 

TOGETHER:

   We thank you, Lord, for calling us to the Secular Franciscan Order.

   We ask your pardon for all our shortcomings, weaknesses and transgressions against our commitment to the gospel life and against the Rule.

   We pray that you will allow us to experience once again the fervor and readiness of that first day when we entered the fraternity.

   We renew once again our commitment to the gospel life, according to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, until the end of our days.

   Grant also that we may live in harmony with our brothers and sisters, and may give witness to younger people of the great gift we received from our Franciscan calling to “go forth as witnesses and instruments of the Church’s mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by our life and words.”

 

Amen.

 

MINISTER:

Lord our Lord, Father of all, we thank you for the love and goodwill

that you have shown toward your people.

And so we ask you to help us who today celebrate our profession in the Secular Franciscan Order, and our efforts to fulfil our commitment to the gospel life which we took upon ourselves.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

ALL :Amen.

 

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The region sent out the following “Formation Friday” suggestion for this Thursday:

As members of the Franciscan family, our culture includes important events in the life of our founder. We will celebrate one of these important moments (this week).

 

What do you know about the Stigmata of St. Francis?

·        

+ St. Francis received the Stigmata around the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross in  September of 1224--two years before his death.

+ He was praying on Mt. La Verna preparing for the feast of St. Michael the Archangel.

+ Brother Leo was nearby.

+ While praying, Francis saw a Seraph with six wings. (Seraphs are angels of the highest order who are closest to God and most passionate in praising Him.) Between the wings was the image of a crucified man. When the vision disappeared, Francis was marked with the wounds of Christ. (St. Francis’s encounter with the Seraph and his passion in praising the Father has caused the Franciscan Order to be called the Seraphic Order and Francis our Seraphic Father.)

+ Francis had asked to experience the love Jesus felt for us and also the pain he suffered for us.

+ We celebrate the Feast of the Stigmata on September 17th

+ St. Francis is the first person in recorded Christian history to receive the Stigmata.

O St Francis, stigmatized on La Verna,

the world longs for you,

that icon of the crucified Jesus..

It has need of your heart,

open to God and to others;

of your bare, wounded feet,

of your pierced hands raised in supplication.

It longs for your voice so frail

yet forceful with the power of the Gospel.

Francis, help the people of this age

to recognize the evil of sin

and to seek purification from it in penance.

Help them to become free from the very structures of sin

that oppress today’s society.

Rekindle in the consciousness of those in government

an urgent need for peace between nations and peoples.

Instill in young people your freshness of life

that is capable of withstanding the snares

of the many cultures of death.

To those injured by every type of evil

teach, O Francis, the joy of being able to forgive.

To all those crucified by suffering,

hunger and war,

reopen the doors of hope. Amen.

Pope St, John Paul II (On a visit to Mt. La Verna in 1983)

 

Diane F. Menditto, OFS

Chair, National Formation Commission

Minister, Our Lady of the Angels Region

 

Pax et bonum,

Lee

 

Pax et bonum

Living Stones Notes #1

Living Stones Notes #1

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible;

and suddenly you are doing the impossible. – St. Francis of Assisi.

At our August 29, 2020, meeting of the Council of the Glory of the Most High Fraternity, the suggestion was made that the Minister start sending regular e-mail updates to the Fraternity to keep members connected and up-to-date. This is a first attempt. The format will likely change and evolve. (Feedback is appreciated!)

We are gathering again!

The Council voted to hold our monthly Fraternity gatherings at the St. Padre Pio Chapel, while St. Theodore’s Church is not available. Our gatherings are normally the first Sunday of the month, but since September 6 is a holiday weekend, the Council voted to hold the first gathering this fall on September 13, from 1-3 p.m.

The next two gatherings will be October 4 and November 1.

We will easily be able to social distance. Masks are required in the chapel. 

Let us know if you’re coming September 13 so we will know how many tables to set up. .

The Council also voted to begin using  a new book for ongoing formation, Live Like Francis: Reflections on Franciscan Life in the World  by Jovian Weigel OFM and Leonard Foley OFM. Copies are begin ordered and some will be available.

Pax et bonum,

Lee

True and Perfect Joy

True and Perfect Joy: Franciscans and Suffering

Even in suffering, Francis experienced confidence and joy from:

+ the experience of the fatherhood of God;

+ the invincible faith of rising with Christ to eternal life;

+ the experience of being able to meet and praise the Creator in the universal fraternity of all creatures.

 

(From the FUN Manual “Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order”-Theresa Baker, OFS)

Questions to Ponder  (for discussion)

+What were some of the sufferings St. Francis endured in his lifetime? What
can we learn from his sufferings?

+Would you know how to explain
“Perfect Joy?” (Read about “Perfect Joy” attached or in the Little Flowers.)

+What role does suffering play in our lives?

+How do you view suffering?

+Is suffering a punishment or an opportunity to enter into the sufferings of Christ?

 

 TRUE AND PERFECT JOY

 

https://franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/writings-of-francis/the-undated-writings/true-and-perfect-joy/182-fa-ed-1-page-166

 

 

One day at Saint Mary [of the Angels] blessed Francis called Brother Leo and said: “Brother Leo, write.” ²He responded: “Look, I’m ready!” 3“Write,” he said, “what true joy is.”

⁴“A messenger arrives and says that all the Masters of Paris have entered the Order. Write: this isn’t true joy! ⁵Or, that all the prelates, archbishops and bishops beyond the mountains, as well as the King of France and the King of England [have entered the Order]. Write: this isn’t true joy! 

⁶Again, that my brothers have gone to the non-believers and converted all of them to the faith; again, that I have so much grace from God that I heal the sick and perform many miracles. I tell you true joy doesn’t consist in any of these things.”

⁷“Then what is true joy?”

⁸“I return from Perugia and arrive here in the dead of night. It’s winter time, muddy, and so cold that icicles have formed on the edges of my habit and keep striking my legs and blood flows from such wounds. ⁹Freezing, covered with mud and ice, I come to the gate and, after I’ve knocked and called for some time, a brother comes and asks: ‘Who are you?’ ‘Brother Francis,’ I answer. ¹⁰‘Go away!’ he says. ‘This is not a decent hour to be wandering about! You may not come in!’ ¹¹When I insist, he replies: ‘Go away! You are simple and stupid! Don’t come back to us again! There are many of us here like you—we don’t need you!’ 

¹²I stand again at the door and say: ‘For the love of God, take me in tonight!" ¹³And he replies: ‘I will not! ¹⁴Go to the Crosiers’ place and ask there!’ ¹⁵“I tell you this: If I had patience and did not become upset, true joy, as well as true virtue and the salvation of my soul, would consist in this.”

 

Pax et bonum

Care for creation

Moreover they should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate, which “bear the imprint of the Most High,” and they should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship. - #18 Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order

How do I care for creation?
Am I careful about littering or polluting?
Do I consider the environmental impact of the things I buy?
In what ways do I care for the living things I encounter? 

Pax et bonum

Gathering in Time of Pandemic

 

As Secular Franciscan, we are called to community, but in this time of the coronavirus, gathering to share that community has become difficult.



The Glory of the Most High Fraternity in Rochester N.Y. normally gathers the first Sunday of the month. With the closing of church buildings – we gather at St. Theodore’s Church – and with stay-at-home recommendations in place, we were not able to gather April 5. But we had planned to say The Way of the Cross According to the Method of St. Francis of Assisi, so we contacted the members of the Fraternity and suggested that each of us say it at 1 p.m. (our gathering time) that day.

As the closings continued, we realized we would not be able to gather May 3. Since May is the month of Mary, we had discussed saying the Franciscan Crown Rosary for the regular gathering, so we decided to repeat the April “distance gathering,” substituting the rosary at 1 p.m.

 

 

But then the suggestions was made that those of us who felt comfortable doing so gather to say the rosary at the St. Padre Pio Chapel in the Rochester suburb of Gates. The chapel is a private one, created in 2007 by a family with a devotion to St. Padre Pio. The building is the size of a small church, with plenty of room for people to practice social distancing. It has remained open daily for private devotions throughout the pandemic.

 

 

We therefore proposed to the Fraternity that we all say the Crown Rosary wherever we were most comfortable doing so, but noting that some of us would be at the chapel reciting it. Several of us did gather there May 3 – wearing masks and keeping social distance.

 

 

It was such a wonderful experience that the suggestion was made that we gather at the chapel every Sunday at 1 for the month of May, and invite the rest of the Fraternity who cannot join us to pray the rosary wherever they are. Meanwhile, members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Fraternity from nearby Hilton heard about what we were doing and liked the idea, so we welcomed them to join us.

 

However many of us gather at the chapel, however many of us are saying the rosary at home, we will be united in prayer as a community. And among our prayers is that we will be able to have a regular gathering as soon as the pandemic begins to subside.

Pax et bonum

Epiphany Gathering

We held a small Epiphany Party January 3, at which we collected items for the Focus Pregnancy halp Center.

 

 

And, of course, there was socializing.

Pax et bonum

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year!

Pax et bonum