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Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 5th, 2015  Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord bless you with His peace!
Divisions within the church. Disagreements about how to worship. Questions about marriage. Sexual temptations and improprieties. Compromise with society’s views. Issues we hear or read about so often, and many others we are aware of, face us every day.
These issues date back years, even to the early Church. Remember the Church in Corinth where St. Paul had spent at least eighteen months after establishing the church there, serving and teaching the people while on his second missionary journey. Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city, an important commercial trade center by the sea. It had a strong reputation, for rampant sexual immorality and loose living. This church of old was having many of the very same troubles we face today. The problems still remain in our world, and always will. People of faith, true believers, just don’t seem to fit well within the opinions of the culture of the “modern world”.
Yet, no matter how convinced we are of what we profess as Christians, we try so hard to “fit in.” We don’t want to look different. We don’t want to be accused of being judgmental or unloving. We want to be “relevant” for today and stay with the times, right? » Click to continue reading “From the Desk of Fr. Francis – September, 2015” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 4th, 2015 
July 2015
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord grant you his peace!
Our relationship with Jesus and living in, with, and for Him each day is a wonderful experience for those who accept it. Why? Because, among other things, the “ordinariness” of our daily routine takes on an “extraordinariness” that fulfills our lives and can become “contagious”. It is up to us to keep the pace of the tempo of life and the flow of God’s gifts moving forward to envelop everyone in our path. We do not have to do hand-stands for God. When the good Lord wants something extraordinary done it is the Lord Himself Who will not only inspire it through the Holy Spirit, but will have us undoubtedly know it is from Him. Let us not forget the words of an insightful elderly friar: The saint shows his face and not his gifts. In other words: Be “ordinary” and leave the “extraordinary” secret and up to God to be manifest. » Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greetings – July, 2015” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on June 1st, 2015 
June, 2015
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, may you enter the loving embrace of the Eternal Father Whose Holy Spirit fills us with Life and Love!
The month dedicated to God’s Love for us in the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the words attributed to our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi: Love is not loved. Love is not loved! One of the main elements of our Franciscan Vocation is our call to be brother and sister to one another… To love one another. We are called to remember, as St. Francis reminds the Family in the First Rule: As a mother loves her child in the flesh, how much more must we love one another in the Spirit? This kind of “love” is not some fuzzy feeling we look for, but a concrete expression that manifests itself in the way we live and treat one another, and all creation. It is expressed in how we view our vocation. Thus it conditions how we understand our relationship with those who have committed themselves with us to the Franciscan charism.
We have promised to live the Gospel life concretely. Most religious communities have based their charism on either some aspect of apostolic life or some spiritual aspect of the life of the early church. As Franciscans we have promised to live the Gospel life. The Gospel life lived by Jesus and His disciples gathered with Him while He still walked among us as a human being. His disciples followed Jesus wherever He went, they listened to His words, they spoke in His name, they even performed miracles in His name. While it took some time, and Jesus’ trust in them and patience with them, they eventually worked at making their human differences not be a stumbling block but a stepping stone for them to strengthen the bond among them. This had become so obvious, that the early church would hear non-Christians say: See how they love one another (cfr. John 13: 35; Tertullian).
There is never a time when we can say that we have “done it all”, and that there is no more for us to learn or do. We are bombarded with information all our lives. How we understand and learn from our experiences will determine how we become and are bettered or worsened. This is how information leads to formation. We process and often are assisted to build on our experiences and knowledge. For this reason the Regional Council, as all of the Councils of the Order at all levels of the various Obediences (I, II, III Regular, Secular) are constantly hammering away at the sisters and brothers of our Franciscan Family to deepen their Franciscan charism by deepening their relationship with God and their greater awareness, understanding, appreciation, and living out of our Franciscan vocation.
Our Regional Ministers together with the Councils that have ministered to our sisters and brothers in their various triennia of service to the O.F.S. Region of St. Katherine Drexel have continually urged all the fraternities to reflect upon our common vocation to the Gospel Life as Franciscans. Unfortunately, too many of our professed sisters and brothers often have a confused understanding of what it means to live our Franciscan life. Some view the Secular Order as a social club, parish society, “happy death” society. Many have acted as though the fraternity was a stepping stone for some sense of personal advancement rather than opportunity for greater service to others. Knowledge of our Franciscan charism is relegated to the obligatory formation period before profession, afterward, there is “no more need for formation”; there is nothing more distant from the truth!
The following are a few comments worthy of reflection, and there are many more that follow from these. These are not personal observations. These comments and/or observations have continually been vocalized because of some basic misconceptions some Franciscans (including to a greater degree our own Seculars) have regarding the sisters and brothers of the Secular Franciscan Order.
∙ The Secular Franciscans do belong to an “Order”.
∙ The Secular Franciscans are an effective branch of the worldwide Franciscan Family.
∙ The Secular Franciscans are expected to recognize all professed members as “family” and even those in process of acceptance as worthy of our love and support.
∙ The Secular Franciscans are not just encouraged but expected to continue their personal and collective formation through prayer, study, sharing, ministries to others, and so forth.
∙ The Secular Franciscans are called to a deeper relationship with God and one another…and so much more.
In view of the above statements and so many more we have heard concerning our Franciscan vocation, please consider the following paragraphs. They are taken from the Minister General of the Capuchin Franciscan Family (though other Ministers have written similar words to their respective obediences), and our Holy Father Pope Francis, and are offered for your reflection. Where necessary for the sake of adaptability and better understanding of their reference to our Franciscan Secular Family, some words or small phrases have been adapted. The essence of the two messages is the same; the words were adapted to our Secular Franciscan reflection.
I ask that the sisters and brothers of our Secular Franciscan Family take time out of each day to read and reflect upon the Rule and Constitutions of the Order, as well as the writings that speak of our life. The responsibility of this ongoing formation process is not left solely to the elected leaders of the Region and local ministers, but it is also the personal responsibility of each sister and brother. When you gather together for your monthly meeting, talk, dialogue, and discuss points of our Franciscan charism or teachings of the Magisterium. During the days between meetings, be excited about who we are and seek to deepen your awareness and love for the Order. Your identity and sense of belonging can be a valuable topic for discussion and dialogue in the ever present duty we have for continuing our formation, not necessarily as students in a classroom as much as sisters and brothers in a family whose roots, ancestors, hopes, fears, goals, visions are an exciting incentive that urges you to build on the information you receive and grow in the formation of your Franciscan Character.
- What, in your opinion, are the elements that make up our Franciscan identity that have the greatest priority in the current situation of our Order, in your personal life, and in the social and cultural environment in which you live? How does it affect you? How do you affect the world around you? What makes you say this?
- Regarding the sense of belonging, what are the greatest difficulties you experience in believing and feeling a sense of belonging to a “family”, the Franciscan Family? If you experience no difficulties, why? Does your biological family encourage and support you? Are family and friends a reason or an excuse for not fully living, every day, your commitment to our charism as seculars? Is there a spirit of transparency, based on trust, among the sisters and brothers? Are there other areas that affect a sense of belonging that you believe must be addressed in your own life and/or in that of your fraternity?
- What are the most important things that need to be done in your fraternity to reinforce your identity as Secular Franciscans and the sense of belonging to the Order?
Having read the above, take time, please, to reflect on the words that Pope Francis addressed to the Conference of Superiors on November 29, 2013. Let us challenge ourselves, without fear, to convert our attitudes, our mentality, and our affections to Him who, by letting us share in the charism of St. Francis, has prepared for us a path of holiness that if traveled, will bring our existence to its fulfillment.
“Wake up world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world. We are speaking of an eschatological gaze of values of the Kingdom incarnate here, on this earth. It is about leaving everything to follow the Lord. You must be true witnesses of a different way of behaving. But in life it is with difficulty that everything becomes clear, precise, and precisely drawn. Life is complex, made of grace and sin. We all err and must recognize our weakness. A religious (also a Secular Franciscan) that recognizes himself (or herself) as weak and a sinner does not contradict the witness he/she is called to give, but rather reinforces it, and this does good for all. What I expect then is witness, I want … this special witness” (Pope Francis with the Superiors General, 4 January 2014).
We speak of our Franciscan charism as being a call to the Gospel Life. The Gospel Life is one lived in proximity to others and with others and for others. Like any life, it is prone to change and challenges. The only way we can grow through the gifted experience of our Franciscan vocation is by loving it enough to live it each day with an open heart and mind.
In the spirit of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi, let us take that first step on our daily pilgrim journey. As Saint Francis said to his first followers as he lay dying, I have done my part, now you must do yours . We are our St. Francis’ “backup plan”. He expects us to continue the mission to continue to make the Gospel come alive in the world. As we move forward on our pilgrim journey, we will touch the lives of many according to how we live our own. May our Heavenly Mother Mary accompany us on this journey. May She lead all people to Our Lord Jesus Christ Her Son. With Mary as “pilgrim mother” on the journey with us, let us live and accept the challenge to join the band of Gospel pilgrims who journey through life to Life.
May God bless you; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi watch over each one of you, his Spiritual Children, with loving care. In the Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I pray that Jesus bestow on all of you and your loved ones…
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on May 2nd, 2015  Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord grant you His Peace, the Life-giving Gift of the Holy Spirit
The world is ever going through its millennial “growing pains”. We have been facing a tragic reality for a number of months. Extremists in the name of God are killing hundreds of our sisters and brothers in Christ, because they are of Christ. Talks, sanctions, military threats, open combat are only a few of the tactics employed to defuse and destroy the “enemy at the gates”. Have we forgotten that God must be a part of our response to evil that attacks us? Have we forgotten that Mary has and is still offering us a Plan from Heaven to win this and other battles that aim at destroying all we hold dear and in Whom and which we believe.
For centuries the great saints have taught us of the almighty intercession of Mary. Accepting us as Her children at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, she intercedes for us and accompanies us. She has promised so many times that her Immaculate Heart will ultimately win out and Jesus will again reign in our troubled world. Why are we so hesitant to publicly acclaim our Mother consecrating ourselves to her and universally implore her Son to come to our aide? The prayer we so often pray calling to mind the Incarnation of Jesus and Mary’s willingness to cooperate with the Will of the Father has been the “spiritual weapon” prayed by saints and sinners, Catholics and even non-Catholics. When prayed in the Rosary remembering Mary’s role in the History of our Salvation we enter a relationship with Jesus through Mary. Great saints have considered this prayer the one that “turned the tide” of events and brought peace to the Church, the known world at the time, a nation, a city, a person, or brought healing to the sick and infirm, stopped the progress of a plague, and so much more.
May is the month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary. It is almost universal in the Church that we Roman Catholics recite the “Hail Mary” everyday. Let us focus on this simple, brief, and beautiful prayer. Let us reflect on the words and ask Our Blessed Mother Mary to open our hearts as hers was that we may accept God’s Will and “give rebirth” to Jesus in this world so much in need of the Savior.
Hail Mary: At the beginning of the prayer, we can put ourselves in the frame of mind to talk to our Blessed Lady and Mother. We can do so because she is the Mother of Jesus and the Queen of Heaven. Our Lord Jesus, her loving Son, wants us to go to her. Remember the words from the Cross that were addressed to the Apostle John: Son, behold your Mother (John 19: 26). In John we accept Mary as our Mother and she accepts us as her children. From the side of Jesus opened for us by the soldier’s lance flowed the Saving Blood of Sacrifice. In that Blood we are redeemed. Mary becomes the Mother of all the redeemed and accompanies us through life. We greet Our Lady personally as one of her loving children. Prayer is not simply the saying of words in a formula, but a personal encounter in which we converse – primarily with God, but also with, Our Lady, St. Joseph, the angels, the Saints, the holy Souls, and so on. Our love and friendship with them in the Communion of Saints grants serenity and confidence in the words that follow.
Let us imagine ourselves bowing with the deepest respect before our Queen and Mother as we try to imitate the reverence shown to her even by such a great being as the Archangel Gabriel who bore the undescribably awesome message of God entering time. With a simple “Hail” to Mary her attention is focused on what is to follow. We know that if we are sincere, we will not be held at fault for our clumsiness or lack of knowing how we should speak properly. Our Lady listens with great kindness and attention to our humble words, as a loving mother.
Full of grace: Our Lady is sinless and perfect. This does not distance her from us. On the contrary, it makes Mary the perfect friend for us. Mary is someone who is always seeking our good. She will speak in the name of a “humanity in waiting”. Though we are not born “full of grace” but the contrary is fact, God loves His creation. Our own faults and sins sometimes make us ashamed or fearful of God. The eternal Father offers us Mary who is so much superior to us in holiness and goodness and that very goodness is itself a guarantee of her graceful understanding…and “almighty intercession” before the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Such holiness in Our Lady does not accept any offense against the Love of God. However, like a good mother, she knows that temptations prevail, and sins exist. Our love for her and her intercession for us, her children born from the side of her Son Jesus on the Cross, encourage us to repentance. She guides us to seek God’s mercy and grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and does not despise us. The very thought of Mary can help us to resist temptation, avoid sin, and what leads us to it.
The Lord is with thee: Our Lady was constantly listening to God and His voice in her heart. He was with her by grace but this was an active presence, an exchange in which she was in continual peace and companionship with God. Even when distracted by worldly chores and business, God’s presence was the backdrop of her life. Our Lady followed her conscience – remember, however, that her conscience, unlike ours, was perfectly formed. Not only was she instructed in the law of God, her judgements on what to do here and now were unsullied by that self-seeking and inclination to our own desires that mark our own struggles to choose what is right and good. The Lord wishes also to be with us, not only at our fixed times of prayer or in the Church itself, but at all times as He is always present whatever we do, wherever we are. The Hail Mary can remind us of this constant truth that God is indeed everywhere, and is always with us.
Blessed art thou among women: St Elizabeth immediately recognized Our Lady’s greatness when she came to visit her after being told of her relative’s unique vocation as mother of the forerunner of the Savior by the angel Gabriel. Her humble response to Mary’s visit is immortalized in this simple prayer we recite everyday: who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1: 43) At the same time, St John the Baptist leapt in her womb – an unborn child making an act of faith in the presence of his cousin as an embryo of only a few days implanted in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. The recognition of these great saints teaches us the fundamental reason why we give so much honour to Our Lady. She carried God the Son in her womb for nine months and was chosen for the supreme privilege of nursing and nurturing Him in His childhood. If we really reflect on this great truth, played out on the world of whose history we are a part with her, we can only bow down in love and awe at the greatness of this woman who acknowledged in humility, All generations shall call me blessed (Luke 1: 48).
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb: Mary leads us always to Christ. It is one of the saddest mistakes of those who oppose our special love and veneration for Mary to think that somehow Our Lady detracts from our devotion to Jesus Christ. On the contrary, she draws us to Him, shows Him to us, and teaches us how to be His disciples. If sometimes we find that we are distracted at Mass, it is a sure way back to true devotion to ask the assistance of Our Lady to help us to make our own offerings at Mass, of adoration, thanksgiving, sorrow, and petition for the grace of God. This is also true for the priest. He can ask for no greater assistance in His attempts to celebrate the Eucharist with due reverence and devotion than to ask the help of that holy Mother who stood at the foot of the Cross and can guide him at the altar. She is Mother of all priests, as She is Mother of the Great High Priest in Whose name each priest ministers as an “alter Christus” (“another Christ”). Let us pray for all priests, particularly those who have grown lukewarm – it happens – that Our Lady will set all of us on fire with the genuine devotion of true disciples who will bring Our Lord, blessed fruit of her womb, to others.
Holy Mary, Mother of God: Being the Mother of God is the source of all Our Lady’s other titles. They are not simply nice thoughts but they tell us basic truths of our Faith. Mary also safeguards the truth about Jesus Christ. Because she is the Mother of God, it shows us that he is truly God and truly Man. For this reason, Our Lady has been called the “Destroyer of heresies.” As Mother of the Church, she gives her protection to those who ask for it, and invokes with us the gifts of the Holy Spirit to enable us to believe Christ and preach Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. In our secular culture it is easy to be swayed by popular opinion, to water down the teaching of Christ and His Church to make it more acceptable, to avoid arguments or sneering, or to make things easier in our own lives. Our Lady’s total trust in the Father’s Will at the Annunciation and Incarnation, and her fidelity at the Passion can shame us to stand up and be counted, to defend the faith at the cost of ridicule, to be known as disciples of Christ, to be proud to be such – not of course through any self-congratulation considering our weakness, but that legitimate pride in being under the banner of the Cross, of being His men and women.
Pray for us sinners: Our Lady never sinned but she knew more than anyone the damage caused by sin. We call her Co-redemptrix because of her share in the passion of Christ. Her perfection in grace means that she above all is the terror of demons who flee in terror from her very name as exorcists testify. Yet she is also compassionate towards us, who are affected by the wound of original sin, and weighed down by our own past sins and habits of sin. We beg her prayers for us as sinners because they are most powerful, both in helping us to resist temptation and in putting new heart into us when we have fallen. She also knows well the infinite mercy of her Son with whom there is fullness of redemption (cfr. Ephesians 1: 7) and the folly of ever despairing of this mercy.
Now and at the hour of our death: Every Hail Mary is a way of preparing for the time when we pass over from time to eternity. Death is not the loss of life but the entrance to the fullness of Life. This is something we should remember often. The Church in her wisdom has placed this petition at the end of the prayer. Many people live as if death were not a fact of our lives. But our life here on earth is short, we have one soul to save, and an eternity to enjoy the presence of God or to lose Him for ever. Nothing is more important than our eternal salvation. Therefore we ask Jesus, Mary (and let us not forget the silent one of Scripture, St. Joseph) to help us to prepare for our death by a good life. We also pray for a happy death, which means dying in a state of grace, fortified by the sacraments of the Church.
Amen. This word is our act of commitment to all said and our surrender to God through Mary’s intercession.
The Hail Mary is a simple but very rich prayer. We should take a little time – it is after all only a short prayer – to say it more slowly, to savor the sweetness of the words, to ask Our Blessed Mother to grace us with her prayers, and to form us anew as the disciples of her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Holy Virgin Mary, among the women born into the world,
there is no one like you.
Daughter and servant of the most high and supreme
King and of the Father in heaven,
Mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
pray for us with Saint Michael the Archangel,
all the powers of heaven and all the saints,
at the side of your most beloved Son, our Lord and Teacher.
As Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi let us follow the example of love our Seraphic Father had for Mary. Let our devotional practices honoring Our Heavenly Mother be the sign of an internal conviction and commitment to a person whose love for us leads us ever more closely to Jesus her Son. TOTUS TUUS! (TOTALLY YOURS!) Let us make this motto of St. John Paul II our motto and live it with trust and joy, knowing that we have a most powerful and loving intercessor before the Most Holy Trinity. As Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mary, while only human and infinitely less than God who created her, Mary is eminently greater than all of us. Invoke her loving protection and almighty intercession that while living with her in this life, she may intercede for us and assist us on our final journey to eternity and God’s loving embrace.
With every best wish for you during this Easter Season of new birth and new life, I pray we all live as ‘Alleluia People’. Be open to the working of the Holy Spirit. May this Holy Spirit inflame our hearts as He filled Our Mother Mary. May we follow the Spirit’s inspiration and confidently respond, as Mary, and all the Saints, with a determined ‘Yes’ to all the Father asks of us, that we may be more like Jesus.
May God bless you; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi watch over each one of you, his Spiritual Children, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on April 4th, 2015  April 2015
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord give you his peace! and lead you through the mystery of His Passion and Death to the joy of His Resurrection and our Renewed Life in Jesus!
I raise my eyes to the mountains. From where comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121: 1-2) Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord?…The clean of hand, the pure of heart …they will receive blessings from the Lord. (Psalm 24: 3-05) Mountains and hills play an important role throughout Scripture, from the very beginning of creation in the Book of Genesis to the ‘new beginning’ in the Book of Revelation.
The Old Testament often speaks of mountains and hills. On Mount Ararat – according to the centuries’ old tradition – God initiated His covenant with all humanity through Noah, and promised never again to destroy all humankind. On Mount Moriah, God confirmed His covenant with Abraham, and promised him descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens. On Mount Sinai, God entered a covenant with Israel and clearly stipulated the conditions that would make them a people peculiarly His own, that they might be holy for I your God am holy. On Mount Carmel, God manifested His majesty and glory to Elijah and encouraged and strengthened His prophet. Other mountains, other hills, perhaps less impressive, but nonetheless places and moments when the great God of Israel made His presence, power, and pleasure plainly known to His people. The ‘heights’ offered the spot where our ancestors in faith communed with God. Rising above the daily routine, moving beyond all things that distract and deter, they were able to encounter God more profoundly, and commune with God alone.
The New Testament also speaks of mountains and hills. The heights where Jesus preached powerful sermons, performed wondrous miracles, persuaded and encouraged His chosen followers to accept His call to follow in His footsteps … and redeemed humanity. On the heights Jesus offers His ‘circle of friends’ opportunities to see the wonders of God and His own glory. Among these elevated areas are two memorable and important ‘Mounts’: Tabor and Calvary.
A spiritual writer of the last century says that Mount Tabor (Transfiguration) and Mount Calvary (Redemption) help us to see The Glory in every Cross, and the Cross in every moment of Glory. On Mount Tabor a few chosen friends had a unique glimpse of Jesus that would strengthen them after the Resurrection; they were transformed by His Transfiguration. On Mount Calvary all was fulfilled. The mission was complete. Jesus’ own words, When I am lifted up, I will call all people to Myself (John 12: 32), would powerfully affect humanity after the Resurrection. The covenants of the Old Testament are reiterated and find their climactic fulfillment on Mount Calvary. The ultimate sacrifice, offered to the Father in the Blood of Christ His Incarnate Son, is our holocaust. Jesus the Christ is offered on the altar of the Cross and thus seals the Covenant with the Father forever for the sake of us all. On the Hill of Golgotha God invites His children to come and see how much God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him might have life everlasting. From the Cross Jesus sees the world and all times – past, present, future. He speaks to us. We see the Suffering Servant and recognize the King of Glory, the Christ; we acknowledge that His image through Baptism in His Blood makes us the Christian (the other Christ) each is called to be; and together we become the living Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, not a museum of saints but a home for sinners redeemed in the blood of Christ Jesus.
Hills and heights continue to be places where God makes His presence felt. There is a famous hill (mountain), famous especially for all Franciscans, that speaks volumes of the one who was transfigured in his soul on that height. It is La Verna. On this height St. Francis went to spend time in prayer and solitude. His soul was transported by profound love. His ardent prayer was to feel what Our Lord and Savior felt in His love for all humanity when he accepted to be crucified. A presumptuous prayer? No! It was the prayer of one whose love was so intense that he wished to share in all things, even those most painful and repugnant, as far as possible, what the Beloved experienced. And our Seraphic Father was granted his prayer. A seraph appeared to him in the form of the Crucified, and when the seraph left, St. Francis’ body had been signed with the wounds of the Passion of Our Savior.
People saw the little man marked for Life with the signs of the Lord’s Saving Death. Through the years they had witnessed the power of God speaking through the sincerity of his heart and the simplicity of his life. He was called to be a messenger of God’s all-abiding love and hope for a troubled world grown cold in its love for God and neighbor. Saint Francis of Assisi had become the ‘Father’ of a multitude of ‘Spiritual Children’ called to be ‘instruments of peace and blessings’ to the world. Like the Prophets and Patriarchs of old St. Francis stood before God and the people to intercede for them. Now that he had experienced the depths of God’s love in such an intimate and personal manner, not just seeing in the heart and communing with God in prayer, he became a strength and channel of divine graces for countless thousands of souls over the years.
Signed with the marks of the Passion of Jesus, our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi continues to attract numberless people to God. His life still speaks so eloquently of the Glory of the Cross and the Cross in every moment of Glory. His participation in the Passion of Christ is God’s way of still inviting everyone back to a more grace-filled life. Saint Francis signed with the Sacred Stigmata is an image of the Crucified Christ. And his words continue to indicate the Way that is Christ and leads to the graces that flow from the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus.
The Paschal Mystery continues down through the centuries in the Church. The Mystery continues through the Eucharist we celebrate. The Eucharist is a re-presentation of that tragic and triumphant day when we were redeemed by Jesus and in Whose Resurrection we are empowered to be able to look beyond death to Life. At the Eucharist especially, the priest is not his own. The priest mystically becomes Christ. The Mass is not the priest’s. When the priest celebrates Mass, it is Christ Jesus, gloriously present in, with, and through the Father and Holy Spirit, Who renews that grace-filled moment of Eternal Love that transforms those present, according to their own preparation and participation. According to each one’s personal cooperation with God’s grace, we are mystically transformed into a living image of Jesus … who more, who less.
Christ becomes present to the Christian at every Eucharistic celebration. Those present are led to a more profound awareness of the image of Christ they bear through Baptism. Each Eucharist worthily received encourages us to live our spiritual life more intensely. Life in the Spirit can effectively affect life in the world so that lives can truly change and be transformed. Christ lives in and through us all, when we cooperate with grace. We Christians are once again reminded of our dignity. As St. Leo the Great reminded the faithful in one of his sermons: O, Christian, be mindful of your dignity! When we understand and accept the dignity of being redeemed in the blood of Christ, we cannot help but feel powerless to resist His presence. Surrender to God and He will fill you with Himself!
Come to the Lord with heart filled gratitude and love rather than one that is always seeking gifts and miracles. Let the Christ present in each Christian be the Christ you now seek out in your sister or brother. Seeking out the other leads to a bonding in faith and love that builds up the Church of which we are a particular and defined expression. Secular Franciscans are sisters and brothers who individually have encountered Christ through our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and who now seek to keep alive the graces and strengthen the ‘covenant’ that has been formed in and among them, through the example of our Father, with, and in Jesus.
As Spiritual Children of the Poverello of Assisi we follow the Lord Jesus on the Way of the Cross, but we must never forget that the Cross and the Resurrection are one. Easter joy is one with Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Resurrection Sunday of New Life in the Risen Lord. Each of those days celebrates the joy of the Resurrection: Glory in the Cross and the Cross in every moment of Glory! We must never separate the Cross from that wonderful moment of which St. Paul says: If Christ has not been raised from the dead our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15: 14). Let us never forget that St. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan is God’s troubadour. We are messenger and message of God’s Love and Life to the world. The wounds of the Passion that St. Francis bore are intended to help us reflect on the eternal love of God for us in Jesus through the Spirit. The Sacred Stigmata of the man of La Verna are a visible reminder of that One Great Sacrifice, never repeated, but always re-presented on the altar by Christ through the priest, for the Christian, who in Him is the Church – a Resurrection People. All are invited to ascend the ‘heights’ of the altar in the spirit and be washed in the Blood of Christ. The example and words of our Father Francis inspire us. In him we see the Christ; through him we recognize and acknowledge we are Christian – faulty but image nonetheless of Christ; and with him we accept our role in this world to be the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, a Sign of Contradiction, that prods us in this world to look beyond ourselves and the world that has hold of us. As sisters and brothers in St. Francis we are, as St. Augustine calls Christians, an ‘Alleluia People’. We do not stop at the Cross, we go beyond. Alleluia!
On Resurrection Sunday we must roll back the stone of those many things that we have allowed to close us in on ourselves and shut us out from the light and life God has entrusted to us. God and we roll that boulder away together. We peer into the empty tomb. We recognize Who Jesus is; Jesus is the Christ. We recognize who we are; we are the Christian. We recognize what we have become in Christ; we are the Church. We are the living Body of Christ, alive in a world desperately in need of God’s messengers and message of Easter Peace and Joy. As I wrote in a previous letter: When we accept our moment in life and believe in the Lord’s Resurrection, ignorance gives way to knowledge, fear to courage and strength, prejudice to impartiality and acceptance, pride to humility, indifference to concern, over-indulgence to self-control, hypocrisy to sincerity, discouragement to hope, doubt to faith, and hatred to love, because…You can’t hold back the dawn! And the Resurrection of Jesus is the New Dawn bringing the Light of Christ to all willing to accept Him.
May the light of Christ’s Resurrection shine in your life that we might have life, and have it in abundance. Our God lives and journeys with each one of us that we might reach life’s goal: Eternal Life. May the Risen Lord Jesus shower you and your loved ones with peace, joy and abundant blessings for a Happy Easter; may Mary, Mother of the Redeemer and our Mother, help you to live with Jesus in the light of the New Life His Resurrection offers each one of us; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi watch over each one of you, his Spiritual Children, with loving care. With a promise to keep all of you affectionately in my Easter Masses and Liturgies, I wish you and your dear ones a very Happy and Joyous Easter.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on March 1st, 2015  March 2015
Dear Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi,
The Lord give you His peace!
For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored?… All his days are sorrow and grief are his occupation. (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23) Even the plebeian suffered the same as the king. (Wisdom18:11) Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering. (Lamentations 1:12) Why does Sacred Scripture deal with suffering and sorrow so much? The easiest response is the obvious fact: Suffering is at the center of every human experience.
In his Encyclical Salvifici Doloris, Pope St. John Paul II writes: Suffering, in fact, is always a trial – at times a very hard one – to which humanity is subjected. The Gospel paradox of weakness and strength often speaks to us from the pages of the letters of St. Paul, a paradox particularly experienced by the Apostle himself and together with him experienced by all who share Christ’s sufferings. Paul writes in the second letter to the Corinthians: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12: 9) In the second letter to Timothy we read: And therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. (2 Timothy 1: 12) And in the letter to the Philippians he will even say: I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4: 13). The distinction St. Paul conveys, that Pope St. John Paul II repeats, is: I believe the person and thus live his words (for I know whom I have believed); I believe in him and thus trust his power to save (I can do all things in him).
Suffering has touched all of us in some way or another. We suffer at the news of a loved one who has an incurable disease. We are saddened when a family happily awaiting the birth of a child is told that this new life will be burdened with physical or psychological challenges for all his/her life. We feel inadequate and helpless when we see suffering in our loved ones and have no power to help them. We suffer with our own spiritual and physical vulnerabilities. What about the terrible social, economic, meteorologic calamities that affect whole families, cities, nations?! Suffering is around us and in each one of our lives. How do we respond to this universal ‘companion’?
Some years ago a physician stated: We respond to suffering with a fatalistic and passive attitude that blindly accepts what cannot be changed permitting this cruel destiny (to overwhelm us). This pagan perspective seems to pervade in every age. Other attitudes are: resigning one’s self to fate and giving up the fight; overcoming suffering by trying to eliminate all desire and passion in life; trying to play ‘mind over matter’ games like some ‘superperson’; despairing and just giving up; attempting to overcome suffering by ‘buying our way out of it’; forgetting troubles by going ‘head over heels’ into the pleasures of life; rationalizing suffering away by denying it. So many other ‘methods’ have been tried, but to no real success… It matters not how we try to eliminate suffering from our lives; suffering will always be there at one time or another, in one form or another.
How did our Seraphic Father St. Francis respond to suffering? How did our Mother Clare respond to the reality of suffering? They found an unusual happiness in their afflictions. They suffered and were willing to accept even more if that was the will of God. They did not fear suffering, because they did not fear death. Death for them and all souls surrendered to the will of God was the moment they would be united by indissoluble bonds to the heavenly Bridegroom of their souls. They were fully aware and convinced that in embracing their crosses, they were fulfilling their earthly mission to embrace the cross and follow Jesus to Calvary.
Suffering for the sake of suffering is foolish and certainly not centered in God. When we are enveloped with suffering or just have to bear some serious inconvenience for a time, we are being entrusted with a “mission”. The “mission of participating in the Redemptive Passion of Christ, the ultimate gift that every true Christian is asked to perfect in his/her life. When we enter the celebration of the Eucharist with heart, mind, and soul totally focused and intent on the Sacred Action of re-presenting the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s Passion-Death-Resurrection, we too, through our baptismal consecration as re-born in Christ through the Holy Spirit, become spiritually victims with the Victim and victors with the Victorious Redeemer.
The Lenten journey we have begun introduces us each year into the Mystery of the Suffering Servant of God. We are asked to listen to His words and follow in His footsteps. This ‘following’ can be frightening when we understand what the call entails and when we recognize our weaknesses. But, it can be uplifting when we acknowledge the One Who has preceded us and invites us to follow me. Lent encourages us to participate in the ministry of the Person of The Suffering Servant – Jesus. We are asked to be not only spectators but protagonists of the Mystery of Calvary. We are offered the opportunity to ‘be one with Christ’ in the whole work of our salvation. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2: 20).
He Who created us without our will, will not save us without our consent (St. Augustine). God can save anyone He so wills to save. However, although Jesus died once for all on the Cross, we must continue to make up in our bodies what is still wanting in the passion of Christ, as St. Paul tells us (Colossians 1:24). The continuation of the Mystery of Calvary in our lives is an ongoing process of healing with, through, in Jesus. We continue a spiritual process to eradicate whatever in our life may be harmful to our growth in God’s grace. We strive to control whatever could lead us astray from our relationship with God.
Lent is a time for us to seek spiritual healing that ultimately affects our very lives. We may try to accomplish this by very practical ‘sacrifices’: foods, TV programs, entertainment, and the like. We may increase the prayers we recite, or the time we spend reading Scripture or some other spiritual writing. We may offer our time, talents and ‘treasures’ to assist the needy with Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy. These practices and many others are commendable. We participate in the sufferings of Christ by accepting to bear these small crosses each day as we prepare for the celebration of New Life in Jesus at Easter. Nevertheless, there is something we still must do if all these practices are to be effective, if they are to achieve the purpose for which they are intended. We must start from where we want to arrive if we ever expect to eventually get there! We must Come to the Center!
Come To The Center! We must get to the ‘core’ of things. We must get to the ‘heart’, the Heart of God, that Heart opened for us on the Cross that we might enter the Father’s loving embrace – the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the Eternal High Priest Who is both the Lamb of Sacrifice and the Priest Who offers the Sacrifice. It is in this Sacrifice that we enter the ‘heart’ of the matter and the Heart of the Lord, Whose footsteps we seek to follow and Whose Cross we are asked to bear according to the strengths allotted us by Divine Providence. It is the Eucharist and all that the Eucharist means that is the point of departure as well as the point of arrival of any worthwhile ‘sacrifice’ and ‘penance’. To make our lives sacred (sacrifice=make sacred) we must do ‘penance’ (penance= metanoia = change of mind/heart). Thus, Lent is a time to be holy by changing our hearts. To do this we must…
Come to the Center! Jesus is the ‘Center’. The Tabernacle, the Eucharist, that is where our focus should be, not just during Lent, but always. It is there that we re-present the great Mystery of our Redemption in the Paschal Mystery, the Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus. It is the Eucharist, celebrated, received worthily, and adored with love, that gives meaning to what we do, and fills our hearts with the divine graces necessary to grow in our faith and relationship with God.
Our Seraphic Father St. Francis was enamored with the Eucharist. Jesus was the very center of his life. He became so much one with Jesus that he was gifted to bear the wounds of the Passion of the Savior. The prayer of St. Francis repeated by most Catholics, especially during Lent when they pray the Stations of the Cross, tells us of St. Francis’ love for Christ and the Cross, and the Eucharist: We adore You most holy Lord Jesus Christ, (here and in all Your churches throughout the world,) and we bless you, because by Your holy Cross, You have redeemed the world. Always centered on the Eucharist, St. Francis even prayed this prayer kneeling outside a locked church door when access to the interior was impossible.
Come to the Center! The Eucharist is not a devotion; the Eucharist is not ‘another sacrificial practice’; the Eucharist is not an ‘option’ among many others. The Eucharist is Jesus! What greater experience could we allow ourselves to deepen, that in turn would transform us, than to focus on the Eucharist and make our Sacramental Jesus, Eternal High Priest and Lamb of Sacrifice, the Center of all we seek to do and become during the Lenten Season.
As Brothers and Sisters in St. Francis of Assisi, his Spiritual Children, remember that the Eucharist was central to our Father’s life. His strength came from his love and total surrender to his Lord, the Center of his life. What about us!? If we do only a few ‘things’ for Lent, let us make an effort to deepen, sincerely and with commitment, our participation in and love for the Eucharist. This may take herculean efforts for many because this requires daily and/or concentrated and regular preparation before, focused participation during, and calm centered praise and thanksgiving after the celebration of the Eucharist, each day if possible. From this will flow abundant graces and unimaginable strength to meet the demands of life and to live in a peace and serenity that only God can give. I hope that all of us, Spiritual Children of the Poverello, will make the Eucharist the first and foremost goal of our Lenten journey. Let our cry and goal be: Jesus, and Jesus alone!
Come to the Center! Let Jesus be the focus of your Lenten journey, because Jesus is the real goal of this season. In the Eucharist, we re-live the awesome experience of our Redemption in His Passion-Death-Resurrection. Only in Jesus, does anything we ‘do’ make sense, and any sacrifice we ‘make’ have a lasting and meaningful effect.
May this holy season fill you with the graces necessary to strengthen your resolve to become holy through ‘sacrifice’, in a profound change of mind and heart through ‘penance’, by a daily resolute decision to Come to the Center – Jesus! Come to the One from Whom all graces flow and to Whom all life must go if we are to grow in the New Life we celebrate at the end of this holy season. What a wonderful opportunity we are offered. Let us make the effort Lent asks of us.
God bless you; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and St. Francis of Assisi our Seraphic Father watch over each one of us, his Spiritual Children, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on February 2nd, 2015
 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360
website: www.skdregion.org email: pppgusa@gmail.com
February, 2015
Dear Spiritual Children of St. Francis of Assisi, The Lord give you His peace! In a brief time from the end of the Christmas Season, the Church begins the solemn Lenten Journey that takes us from the Ashes of humility to the Palm and Olive Branches of praise, and from the Calvary of betrayal and death to the Empty Tomb of Resurrection and glory. If ever there were a time for us to see the intimate connection between the Crib and the Cross, it is now. The wood that enveloped the Child at Bethlehem was a preparation for the wood that would hold him up before the whole world. Mary presented Jesus to the world at Bethlehem when the Wise Men from the East arrived seeking the newborn King. Mary associated Herself with the Sacrifice of Her Son on Calvary and offered Him to the Father with a love and total surrender that only a Mother can personalize within her heart and express in her life. The words of the prophet Simeon – and your own heart will be pierced with a sword that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare (Luke 2: 35) – were finally totally fulfilled. The Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, celebrated at the beginning of this month on February 2nd, prepares us for all that follows during the next forty days of our lenten journey; and, it reminds us of the intimate relationship of Mary with Her Son Jesus, sharing with Him the most solemn moment of His life. Lent helps us to prepare for the transition from childhood to adulthood in the Spirit. We journey in Word and Sacrament throughout this holiest of Church Seasons. We open our ears and our hearts to the Word of God calling us to a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in Whom all creation is restored. We are reminded that the Christian, as another Christ in the Spirit, is called to take up his cross daily and journey to Calvary and beyond. The ‘beyond’, and where it leads, is determined by the depth of desire and decisiveness we have to make up in our personal lives what is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His Body the Church (Colossians 1: 24). Lent helps us to re-focus and re-evaluate those areas that may have affected or be affecting our soul’s journey through Christ to the Father in the Spirit. All this may sound like ‘nice’ words for spiritual reading but not necessarily food for our everyday lives. There is nothing further from the truth! It is a question of Spirit and Life! The Spirit prompts within us and life responds to the urging of the Spirit. It is only when our hearts and souls are balanced that our lives become less dysfunctional, our values and principles less compromising, our actions less burdensome, our decisions less patronizing, our prayers less formal and spiritless, our relationship with God and others less self-centered and more open to the working of the Spirit and the Will of God. When our spirit is in shape, then the whole person is truly – even though somewhat distorted and infinitely less – an image of the invisible God. We begin Lent with the acceptance of ashes on our foreheads. This has always seemed a little strange to me because of the Gospel we hear read and preached on Ash Wednesday: Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see (Matthew 6: 1). It is interesting how people will make every effort to go to Church ‘to get ashes’ on Ash Wednesday, but often indifferent to what is expressed by their reception. This sacramental signifies the passing state of life, the nothingness of so many material things for which we express great concern and desire, and our willingness to reflect upon our lives to refocus on the priorities and the great gift of salvation celebrated in the Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus. Ashes in the ancient world and still today in many areas of the globe are used for scouring and cleansing tough stains. For us, they are the sign of a willingness and availability to permit God’s grace, through our collaboration, to scour and cleanse our hearts and souls so that we may enter the Easter Season renewed in the Spirit, with lives better directed to everything a Christian has promised and is expected to be and do. The three tools that we are reminded of during this holy season are: prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving (charitable acts). These are traditional terms still meaningful and effective for anyone attempting to make his/her Lent a fruitful experience of growth in grace. Unfortunately, so many view these three positive elements as negative and ‘old fashioned’. Prayer is often understood as repetitious ramblings of the pious words of others and/or form prayers required to ‘make God hear us’; the more we say the better – even if taking more time to recite these prayers our responsibilities may suffer! … Sacrifice is the act that refuses legitimate things often with the thought that the more we suffer physically the greater God blesses our soul. While at times there can be a truth in that, pain for the sake of pain is never a blessing … Almsgiving or Acts of Charity opens our wallets/purses, refrigerators, check books, signs petitions to legislators and speaks powerfully in favor of the downtrodden, and so forth, but often fails to recognize the person of Christ in the one whom we have made an object for our own good feeling and sense of altruism. Some reflections regarding the three companions still necessary for a fruitful Lenten Season of Renewal might help us to acknowledge them more positively, and view them from a different perspective: Prayer – Prayer is a posture of dialogue between the creature and the Creator. It is an intimate exchange that places us in the presence of God and allows the Love of God to envelop us and speak to our heart. It does not take eloquence or long drawn-out discourses. When you pray, go to your room … and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6: 6) … do not rattle on (Matthew 6: 7) … All it takes is the time to be quiet with God; to speak to Him from the heart about whatever we know He already knows but that we need to emphasize in our own hearing to recognize our greater need for God in the matter; to speak less and listen more to the God Who speaks to our hearts and souls; to reconfirm our trust in God’s Providence and our desire to always live in His Will. This type of prayer requires only love, and the response we experience brings us peace and serenity. Sacrifice – Sacrifice for Lent has always been wrapped up in denials. The word itself – “sacrifice” – actually comes from two Latin words: sacrum (sacred) and facere (to make). Thus, the reason for ‘sacrifice’ is to make something or someone ‘sacred’ or ‘holy’. This was the command God Himself gave His People in the desert after they left Egypt for the trek to the Promised Land. Be holy, for I, your God, am holy (Leviticus 11: 45; 1 Peter 1: 16) . Holiness, as we read in the Gospels and the Letters of the Apostles, has little, directly, to do with food, clothing, activities, or the like. What the word does entail is that we seek ways to free our spirits and lives from the slavery of being controlled by things, even legitimate things, which can, continued and exaggerated, addict the person in such a way that the person no longer has time to focus on his/her God and his/her relationship with Him, or makes him/her so self-centered on personal needs and wants, that he/she fails to notice the sisters and brothers in need. The need for physical ‘sacrifice’ (in the common understanding of ‘relinquishing things’) has also been proven very helpful and spiritually and physically healthy for the body, mind, heart and soul. The prime purpose for sacrifices must be the spirit; we must direct our priorities correctly, otherwise a good act, done for the wrong reason, is worth little or nothing. Almsgiving – Almsgiving is an old term that merely means ‘charitable acts’ of giving, materially meeting another’s needs from our own resources. The first thought here that some may have is that of special collections or money gifts provided for those whose lives are socially, financially, ethnically, legally … challenged. Even here, the thought is commendable, but when done for more social reasons and not because we recognize the suffering Christ in our sister or brother in need, our acts benefit the other, but are not a true expression of faith in Divine Providence Who exercises Its beneficence through God’s Children. Prayer, Sacrifice and Almsgiving (Charitable Acts) really do follow a logical sequence that fills the soul with a serenity in its advance on the road that leads to our resurrection and renewal in the Spirit at Easter. Prayer creates an atmosphere of calm and quiet, an openness and availability to God Who speaks. Sacrifice, in response to God’s Voice, helps us to differentiate between our needs and wants, and allows us to recognize how blessed we are recognizing everything we have and do not have as a gift of Divine Providence. Almsgiving (charitable acts) is the natural response done from the heart and not the head to offer others the opportunity to know how blessed they are because of God’s Goodness offered them through us, because we have recognized God’s Goodness and our call to be His Providence to others. These three Lenten Companions teach us that: – Prayer helps us discover that humility, contrition and prayer make the distance between man and God disappear. They act in such a way that God descends to man, and man ascends to God, so that both understand, love, and possess one another. – Sacrifice humbles us lovingly before God. Distancing things that distract us or that we have allowed to “possess us”, we will hear more clearly the “voice” of God Who speaks to those who truly have a humble heart before him, and enriches that heart with His gifts. In the course of life, mortifications will not be lacking. We should love them, and embrace them with a cheerful heart. Suffering is the mark of those who have chosen a Crucified God as their inheritance. – Almsgiving or Acts of Charity opens our heart to others and leads us to treat them as we would want to be treated. We see all as “our neighbor”. Our Seraphic Father St. Francis reminded the brothers in his Testament: and the Lord gave me brothers – brothers and sisters, whoever they may be in creation, are God’s gift to us. We must love them in fact and not just in theory. We are called to “embrace the leper”. Have we tried to enter a more personal relationship with God? Do we pray from our hearts, or must we always use books or vocal prayer? Do we feel uncomfortable in silent prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament? Do we believe that the power of prayer can transform ourselves and even the world? Do we believe in the necessity of prayer to recognize God’s kingship over us and our need to detach ourselves from all that hinders our journey to God? Are we prudently reasonable in the sacrifices we perform during Lent? Do we propose Lenten ‘sacrifices’ that will help us: control our exaggerated desires, let go of legitimate acts and things that tend to or in fact control our daily routine, or help us to prioritize our needs and wants, so that we can recognize more deeply the presence of God’s Providence in our life? When we respond to the needs of others, do we offer out of ‘compassion’ (seeing our suffering sister or brother entitled to our concern and loving response – love looks across – horizontally) or out of ‘pity’ (seeing a lesser member of society so that we can ‘feel good’ in materially helping someone without considering them as an equal in need – vainglory looks down – vertically)? Is our willingness to be of service an openness of heart or just a ‘seasonal’ series of acts that will have no lasting effects on our perception of those less fortunate – in any way – than we? Do we ‘buy’ our way into the lives of others rather than empathize and enter into the hearts of others, allowing them to enter ours? Now that we have begun this holy season, I pray that it may be a spiritually fruitful journey for us all. Let us ‘Hurry up slowly’ through this Season. Let us do little things well, with our hearts focused on the true meaning of ‘Repentance’ and ‘Renewal’. Little, simple, consistent, faith-filled acts and attitudes can help us deepen our awareness of God’s love in the Passion-Death-Resurrection of Jesus and strengthen our spirits to become more authentic Christians in our lives. May God bless you; Our Lady guide, guard, and protect you; and our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi look over each one of us, his Spiritual Children, with loving care. The beginning of the month we heard Simeon proclaim Jesus a Sign of Contradiction (Luke 2: 34). Through the graces and practices of this holy season, may we too be “signs of contradiction” – as was and still is Jesus – to a confused world. In the spirit of the Poverello, may we be an uplifting presence for the many whom we encounter on our journey. Happy and fruitful Lent to all the Penitents of Assisi! Peace and Blessings Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap. Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Teresa Redder, on January 1st, 2015 
January 2015
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
The Lord give you His peace and blessings now and throughout the New Year!
The prophet, speaking in the name of God, says, My Word will not return without fulfilling the purpose for which It was sent (Isaiah 55:11). From the very beginning of time, when the Almighty Creator and Father of all life brought out of nothing all that is and all that ever will be, there has been a yearning in creation for something, or better ‘Someone’. This ‘hope’ that groans until now (Romans 8: 22) is our constant companion on life’s journey that urges us to move forward into God’s Providence. We journey without knowing what the next moment will bring. We journey, and we trust. We trust because we believe. We believe because our hearts have been touched at birth by the Spirit of God Who enables us to see signs of the One greater than all. He encourages us to know Him more deeply as we see Him in and through the many gifts of His Creation. And, Jesus is the excellent and flawless example, the epitome of His magnificent creation. » Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greetings – January, 2015” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on December 1st, 2014  December 2014
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
May the Infant Jesus grant your heart the Peace you desire.
May His Star enlighten your mind with the splendor of His Truth.
May His Love consume your heart so that it beats solely for Him.
God’s Word for the first Sunday in Advent speaks of the Lord’s unexpected return to close the experience of time and opens for us the reality of eternity. The Scripture passages for this Sunday may have different effects on those who read them. Some may feel that the words are only figurative, intended to convey the need for people to change their lives or be responsible for the consequences of their choices in this life. Others may read the words and see in them a warning about a real event to take place in the immediate future, thus instilling a sense of fear, trembling and a “forced” changed of heart… (Can any heart be changed by force!?)…Then there are those who read the words as they have been read for centuries. These read them as a reminder and a loving warning of what will come about for all human beings created to share in eternal life. This is a reminder and a warning to be heeded but not feared for those who have striven to be faithful to God. » Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greetings – December, 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on November 1st, 2014 Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis, 
The Lord give you his peace!
Today me, tomorrow you. (This is a loose translation of the Latin inscription: Hodie mihi, cras tibi). This famous saying can often be seen sculpted or painted at the entrances of many cemeteries in Europe. It is a rather stark and macabre reminder that earthly life, as long as it can be, will eventually experience its transforming moment. The point of convergence of all life’s experiences – good, bad, and indifferent – will come together awaiting our call to timelessness; death calls and eternity awaits. It is not the end of everything, as too many people feel and believe. It is the moment of the ultimate transformation of who we are into who we were created to be.
We celebrate November, the month dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. They await transformation by God’s love and mercy. The Church asks us to pray for those who have gone before us into eternity and who still await the fullness of Life. The Church also reminds us that we ought to pray for ourselves who, still on journey, are subject to many challenges that can either threaten or strengthen our resolve to be faithful to the Gospel and live in the light of Eternal Life. The journey of life that is so wonderful because of the many challenges God offers us to grow in His love, is also very dangerous because of the many allurements and seductions that can entice us to deviate from the path marked out for us. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (cfr. John 14:16) If we follow His Way, listen to His Word of Truth, we can expect ultimately to share in the fullness of His Life. He Himself says: I came that they may have Life and have it in abundance. (John 10: 10) » Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greetings – November, 2014” »
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
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