Bloggin’ Friars at franciscans.org

Moving on

FriarMichael — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:31:12 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! We friars do not live permanently in an abbey. We live the religious life in the world. In the Franciscan tradition, we vow “to live in obedience.” Our obedience is the structure that “houses” us and holds us together. This summer, many friars have received new letters of obedience, sending them to serve in new ministries and to live in different places. I have moved to Forestville, MD from Syracuse, NY. After thirteen years of vocation ministry, I am now moving into formation work. As you can read here on the website, Friar Eric de la Peña is one of the new vocation directors for our Order in North America. He will be a tremendous asset to the vocation ministry of our Order. Change is not always easy but is very much a part of our lives as friars. What makes the change easier in the fraternal life is the support and help of the friars. From helping to move luggage out of a car when arriving at a new friary to the warm welcome of the men at the new location or the blessing of friars at the former friary, we know that we are all in this together. We are brothers who want to respond to the needs of the Church by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wherever in the world we go, whatever the ministry we are asked to do, we will always find brothers who will encourage us, support us and help us every step of the way. That is the treasure of this fraternal life. I believe in this Order. I believe in this way of living the Gospel. I know all too well, that I am only able to do this with the help of my brothers. Peace and all good!

RIP dear brother

FriarMichael — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:35:00 +0000

May the Lord give you peace!
A significant part of our life as friars is that we live without anything of our own. We share things in common. At first glance, that refers to material things and financial resources that people give to us out of their generosity. We share everything in common. A significant part of fraternal life is sharing faith which involves talking with one another about how we are experiencing God’s grace working in our lives. Sometimes (like these last few days) our fraternal life involves sharing our grief. Early on Thursday morning (the Feast of St. Bonavenutre) we learned that Brother John-Joseph Dolan died in Rome, Italy. His death was quite unexpected. His death was a tremendous shock for the Order throughout the world. John-Joseph has served as one of our Assistant Generals of the Order since 2001. He was a very fine friar. He lived a simple life and was very committed to prayer and fraternity. He had a constant passion for Franciscan life and the social teaching of the Church. Whenever he spoke to us on a particular theme, we often walked away inspired and encouraged to delve more into our own spiritual tradition. John-Joseph was also great fun. We laughed a lot when we were around him. Since Thursday morning, I have been reflecting on my own feelings of grief as well as my hope of new life in Christ Jesus and the abundance of God’s mercy. I guess for me, I keep thinking of how much John-Joseph taught me. He was never my formation director, but he taught me so much over the years through his formal talks and preaching, through so many conversations over a meal or during a car trip, and by his example. He taught me so much as he taught so many of us. We friars share our grief. At the same time and perhaps more importantly, we share our common faith and hope in Christ risen from the dead. We celebrate the new life that has been won for us by Christ’s cross, death and resurrection, the new life to which we entrust our brother. As men who believe with Francis of Assisi that the Lord gave us brothers it just seems hard to let John-Joseph return home to the Lord. Then we remember that we live without anything of our own. In some ways, our dear brother John-Joseph was never really ours. He belongs to God. He has been God’s precious child all along. He still is God’s precious child. In love, God gave us a wonderful brother. In love, we graciously give him back to God. Thanks John-Joseph for all that you have done for the Lord, the Church and the Order. Thanks John-Joseph for all that you have done for me. Rest in peace dear brother. Rest in the mercy and compassion of God.

Surprise, surprise.

FriarMichael — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:52:54 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! Some things we just cannot make up. This past Saturday, friars and postulants from various parts of Central America, one postulant from Canada, one friar from Poland and nine friars from the United States gathered with the bishop and local church of Alajuela, Costa Rica for the presbyteral ordination of our brother Marco Umaña. One of the nine who came from the United States was our dear 83-year-old Fr. Terry. What made Terry’s presence even more special was that he had served here in Costa Rica as a missionary back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. He was not sure, but he thinks that he had not been back for a visit here in well over thirty years. Needless to say the burden of years had in no way impeded Fr. Terry from having a blast here, reconnecting with people and seeing how the work of the friars has grown in this country. One of the real surprises came on Saturday morning when we arrived at the cathedral in Alajuela for the ordination. As we approached the cathedral, a woman came running over to Fr. Terry with a shout of joy. She threw her arms around Terry to give him a big warm embrace. The rest of her family soon followed, also offering big hugs for Terry. We soon realized that this woman was Marco’s mother, i.e. the mother of the friar about to be ordained. After a bit of commotion and a lot of emotion, we learned years ago, Fr. Terry had presided at the wedding of Marco’s parents and now their son was a friar about to be ordained to the priesthood. What a beautiful surprise. God is so good. The ordination was beautiful. The joy of Franciscan fraternity seemed contagious. We all continue to marvel at the wonderful ways God’s grace continues to work among us. Terry has been a friar for over fifty years and a priest for 48 years. What a blessing to be with a young friar who is just starting out in ministry as well as a senior friar whose many years of service to the Order and the Church has touched the lives of so many people, including the life of a mother whose son was ordained a priest last Saturday. Peace and all good!

Give and serve in love

FriarMichael — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:11:13 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! My family is celebrating the high school graduation of my nephew. On the evening before the commencement ceremony, we all attended the school’s baccalaureate in a beautiful gothic chapel on the school campus. The ecumenical service for the diverse student body included readings from the Song of Songs, the gospel of Matthew, Psalm 117 as well as a poem by a Sufi poet. The speaker admonished the graduates to live life passionately and gratefully without giving in to complacency and boredom. At the very end of the service, the presider told the congregation that there would be ushers at the doors of the chapel accepting monetary offerings for two foster children in foreign countries that the chapel sponsors. His final instruction was, “Please give what you are called to give.” Of course he was referring to giving a financial donation to the cause of these two children. Still, the words of his instruction will not leave me. As these and other graduates commence on the life journey ahead of them, as people discern what God is asking of them, as men and women embrace their baptismal commitment to serve, each and everyone needs to give what we are called to give. That involves a lot more than giving money. In these weeks since I returned from my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I have been reflecting a great deal about that experience. How could I not? Having been to those holy places, I now read the Bible with a whole new lens. In every place that we visited on our sojourn in the Holy Land, I was reminded that it is all about service to the Lord. Mary and Elizabeth, Simon Peter and Andrew, Mary Magdalene, Martha and her sister Mary, Lazarus and so many more were all called to serve. John 13 gives us one of the many beautiful examples of service in the Bible. From my whole pilgrimage experience, a few words from Isaiah 49 have stayed with me these weeks. I have read Isaiah 49 many times before. The beauty of reading a living text such as the Word of God is that different parts of the Bible touch our hearts at different times in different ways. Isaiah writes, “And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant . . . (Is. 49:5). The Lord formed me in the womb to be his servant. Everyone is made to serve. I have sometimes mentioned in this blog that we are “wired for God.” Our life is an ongoing journey for communion with God. In the same way we are wired for service. We are made to be servants of the Lord and servants of one another. That is not something we may or may not choose to do. Service of the Lord and one another is part of the very fabric of who we are. God has formed us in the womb to be his servants. God continues to call us to give ourselves as servants. In The Life of St. Catherine the Great, her confessor Raymond of Capua writes of how the Lord spoke to Catherine about the commandments to love God and to love neighbor. The Lord spoke to Catherine and said, “”I want you to fulfill these two commandments (love God and love neighbor). You must walk, in fact with both feet, not one, and with two wings fly to heaven.” Give what you are called to give in love of God and love of neighbor. Serve as you are made to serve. In marriage, in religious life, on your college campus, as an ordained minister, in your neighborhood, give what you are called to give. Serve as you are made to serve. Walk with both feet and with both wings fly to heaven. Peace and all good!

Praying in the Holy Land

FriarMichael — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:57:55 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! Get ready for this. I am here praying for you at the top of the Mount of Beatitudes above the Sea of Galilee in Israel. I am here on pilgrimage with forty people through the Franciscan Pilgrimage Program in the USA. To say that these days have been extraordinary seems like such an understatement. This is wonderful. This is such a graced moment in my life. Thank you friars for this opportunity. I am trying to figure out how to share it with people. Yesterday, I spent a great deal of time in prayer in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. In the basilica, is the house of Mary where the angel came to her and told her of her vocation to be the mother of the Savior. This morning I was in Capernaum at the excavation site of the house of Peter where Jesus cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Also in Capernaum, I was at the ruins of a fourth century synagogue built on the site of the synagogue where Jesus preached. These are just some of the places we have visited in these days. These are places where people (like Mary, Peter, the disciples, etc.) heard the Lord’s call and followed. Sometimes I worry that we may think that somehow it was all so easy for them. I don’t think it was. They may have at times been unsure of themselves or afraid. Maybe they did not understand. Maybe they thought “why me?” Still they trusted the Lord. Even if it was difficult, they followed anyway and grew in love with the Lord. “Do not be afraid” were the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:30) and the words of Jesus to Peter (Luke 5:10). Being in these holy places I keep thinking about our vocation to holiness. These days of prayer and pilgrimage make me want to be more holy. They make me want to be a better friar. At Cana yesterday, the married people in our group renewed their wedding vows, thanking God for the gift of married love with a desire to be better spouses. It was extraordinary. The generous invitation of the Lord to enter into a deeper relationship with Him is called holiness. To live in holiness is to put oneself at the service of others, like Mary did, like Peter did, like so many other saints and disciples have done over the centuries since those first days that Jesus preached in Capernaum and walked along the Sea of Galilee. So as you discern your vocation, do not be afraid. And remember, there is a friar here in the Holy Land praying for you right now as you discern God’s will. Peace and all good!

Holy Saturday Prayer

FriarMichael — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:07:53 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! Last evening at he Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, the priest in his homily challenged us to place ourselves before the mystery of the cross. He had an interesting insight of how often we can domesticate the cross, decorate the cross, and underestimate the depth of its meaning. I remember a theology teacher telling us some years ago that in the time of Jesus a person who hung on a cross was considered damned by the people and damned by God. There was no hope for a man on a cross. In such a place of terrible suffering, desperation and perceived hopelessness, God saved the world. In the place of such evil, love triumphed. As a I continue to reflect on last evening’s homily, I find myself drawn to Bonaventure once again and his challenge to us to embrace the crucified love revealed on the cross. In a sermon given on the Solemnity of St. Francis (October 4, 1262), Bonaventure said the following:

“How is it that we, wretched as we are, have such cold hearts that we are not prepared to endure anything for our Lord’s sake? Our hearts neither burn nor glow with love. Ardent love is a quality of the heart and the stronger this love burns in a person’s heart, the more heroic and virtuous his deeds. Do you desire to imprint Christ crucified on your heart? Do you long to be transformed into him to the point where your heart is aflame with love? Just as iron when heated to the point where it becomes molten can take the imprint of any mark or sign, so a heart burning fervently with love of Christ crucified can receive the imprint of the Crucified Lord himself or his cross. Such a loving heart is carried over to the Crucified Lord himself or transformed into him. That is what happened to St. Francis . . . The cross or sign of the cross imprinted on his body symbolized his love of Christ crucified and by the flame of that love he was totally transformed into Christ.”

May the love of God revealed in Christ crucified transform us into Christ so that we can be mirrors of His love in our broken world. This is my prayer for you and with you on this Holy Saturday. Peace and all good!

Good Friday

FriarMichael — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:32:58 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! I went with the friars to Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper last evening. The liturgy was beautiful with great music, lots of singing, fine preaching and a very prayerful atmosphere. The silence before the Blessed Sacrament was profound. This morning, we friars and postulants prayed Office of Readings together, had common meditation and then chanted Morning Prayer. We have some quiet time in the friary now. We are going to the Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for Stations of the Cross this afternoon. It is back to Holy Trinity for the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion this evening. I am spending a lot of time this week praying over Luke’s Passion account (Luke 22-23) and John’s Passion account (John 13-19). In these holiest of days, I find great strength in a prayer that St. Bonaventure offers us in his work, The Tree of Life. This prayer of Bonaventure is my prayer with you and for you on this Good Friday.
“See, now my soul, how he who is God blessed above all things, is totally submerged in the waters of suffering from the sole of the foot to the top of the head. In order that he might draw you out totally from these sufferings, the waters have come up to his soul. For crowned with thorns he was ordered to bend his back under the burden of the cross and to bear his own ignominy. Led to the place of execution, he was stripped of his garments so that he seemed to be a leper from the bruises and cuts in his flesh that were visible over his back and sides from the blows of the scourges. And then transfixed with nails, he appeared to you as your beloved cut through with wound upon wound in order to heal you. Who will grant me that my request should come about and that God will give me what I long for, that having been totally transpierced in both mind and flesh, I may be fixed with my beloved to the yoke of the cross?”

Holy Week 2010

FriarMichael — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:56:14 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! As these days of Lent draw to a close, the Paschal Triduum begins this evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. In this journey of Holy Week, news outlets throughout the world carry stories of shameful abuse in the Church and the inadequate response to such abuse on the part of some in Church leadership. In recent days, many of our bishops have called once again for a time of healing and purification within the Catholic Church. These are difficult days for the Church. The early part of the 13^th century were difficult days for the Church, days during which Francis of Assisi heeded the Lord’s call to “rebuild the Church which was falling into ruin.” Difficult days are hard, but not any less grace-filled. “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2). In this time of trial, God is with us. God weeps with the victims of abuse. God calls perpetrators to repentance. God draws the Church into a process of purification, renewal and compassionate service. God requires authenticity and integrity in each and every part of the Church. May God have mercy on us. During the Mass of Passion Sunday, some words from the gospel reading jumped out at me and have remained a part of my daily prayer during these holy days. In last Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22: 31-32). In this difficult time, I pray my faith does not fail. I pray your faith does not fail either. Whatever the heartache, whatever the sin, whatever the hurt, whatever the wrong perpetrated against you or perpetrated by you, whatever the doubt, whatever the fear, whatever the anger, whatever the disappointment, whatever is going on in your life right now, as brothers in sisters in the Lord may we turn back to the God who is LOVE and strengthen one another in faith. That first Holy Week was a time of turmoil for Jesus and His disciples. In many ways, Holy Week 2010 is a time of turmoil as well. Through it all and in faith, each of us is called to strengthen one another in the sure and certain hope that God does not abandon God’s people. God loves God’s people. God chooses to save God’s people. The image of Christ crucified shows us the extreme of God’s love for us. “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Please, please, as we gaze on the cross during this Paschal Triduum and forever, may each and every one of us strengthen one another in the faith that God proves His love for us. Peace and all good!

Inspiration

FriarMichael — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:47:27 +0000

Thirty years ago today, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist in the chapel of the Divine Providence Hospital in San Salvador. I was a junior in high school then. At that time, I did not know who Oscar Romero was or where to find El Salvador on the map. I certainly do now. For these thirty years, Archbishop Romero has inspired me in many ways. His witness, his writings, and his commitment to the poor continue to enrich my life and the lives of so many in the Church and the world. I have prayed at his tomb. I have seen first-hand the fruit of his labors in the local church of San Salvador. He continues to make me want to be a better Christian, a better friar, a better priest, and a better servant of the poor. A few weeks before his death, in a phone interview with a Guatemalan journalist, Archbishop Romero said: “Martyrdom is a grace of God that I do not believe I deserve. But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life, let my blood be a seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality. Let my death, if it is accepted by God, be for my people’s liberation and as a witness of hope in the future. You may say, if they succeed in killing me, that I pardon and bless those who do it. Would, indeed, that they might be convinced that they will waste their time. A bishop will die, but God’s church, which is the people, will never perish.” While few experience the grace of martyrdom, all of us can experience the grace of being called into a deeper relationship with the Lord. Such a relationship is the ground of our hope. For me, being a friar is a grace that I do not deserve, but the way the Lord has called me to serve. I am certain that the prayers of Francis and Clare and Oscar Romero sustain me in this sometimes challenging and always joyful life. Our saints and our heroes inspire us with the hope that God will accomplish in us the great things that God has accomplished in them. I am inspired by heroic saintly people. Who inspires you? How? When? Why? Pray for us, Oscar Romero. Monseñor Romero, ruega por nosotros.

Lenten Journey

FriarMichael — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:25:22 +0000

May the Lord give you peace! During this journey of Lent, we the Church accompany the elect in these last stages of their journey towards the sacraments of initiation. We are also accompanying candidates for full communion in their preparation to enter the Catholic Church. At the same time of year, men asking to enter our Order are in their application process. During this season of Lent, the elect, the candidates for full communion, applicants to our Order and indeed all of us are deepening our commitment to live the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean for those of us who serve the Lord and the Church as Conventual Franciscan Friars? The opening of the Rule of St. Francis reads, “The Rule and Life of the Lesser Brothers is this: to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without anything of one’s own and in chastity.” In the power of the Holy Spirit, we want to live the gospel in a deepening way that witnesses to the power of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ. In describing the gospel life for Franciscans, Regis Armstrong, OFM Cap. writes: “It was a life open unceasingly to the gospel word of God that the Lord is continually scattering on the landscape of our hearts. It is a life dependent on the heart. If those hearts belong to people who are penitent, poor and pulsing in prayer, then God’s word is heard in ways different from the hard-hearted, affluent, and indifferent. It is heard as decisive, determining and definitive.” To live the gospel is to live a life that follows the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Sister Ilia Delio notes: “. . . that evangelical life is centered neither on work nor ministry but on how we experience the presence of God through Christ. The foundation of evangelical life is the human person and the sharing among persons of the experience of Christ. The experience of God in the flesh emphasizes being a ‘person in relationship,’ that is, a brother or sister.” Franciscans do not have a specific work or ministry, but we do have a common life of fraternity. In our relationships with one another, with all of God’s children and with all of creation we grow in our relationship with God. Accompanying the elect during these days of Lent reminds each member of the Church of our commitment to Christ and our embrace of God’s love. Their desire to be Catholic Christians reminds us of our deepening desire to serve the Lord and the world as Catholic Christians. Accompanying men who want to join our Order this year, reminds each friar of our commitment to Christ, to one another in this fraternity and to the world as brothers to all of God’s children and all of God’s creation. Thanks for the reminder. Peace and all good!

P.S. To read more from the works cited above, check out Regis Armstrong, OFM Cap. “’If My Words Remain in You . . . ‘: Foundations of the Evangelical Life,” in Francis of Assisi: History, Hagiography and Hermeneutics in the Early Documents, ed. Jay M. Hammond, (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2004), page 78.
Ilia Delio, Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2007), page xiv.