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Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 1st, 2014 Peace to each of your hearts, dear sisters and brothers in St. Francis!
And so we here we are … at that interim season of summerfall … when summer is not quite over and autumn is at our doorstep. Fr. Francis and our RFD, Rosie Viragh, OFS, have provided us with lots to think about as we approach the upcoming Franciscan season. I hope you will share what they have written with our sisters and brothers in fraternity.
In his letter this month, Fr. Francis reminds us that,
God’s Word and healing grace are made more apparent and effective when we walk together supporting, encouraging, and nourishing each other through our loving example and care, rooted in Faith and Hope with our eyes fixed on the Cross of Jesus our Victorious Redeemer. (Emphasis added)
How do we do this walking together, encouraging and supporting and nourishing each other? Is this something we really believe with our hearts and through our actions or something we only give lip service to? » Click to continue reading “From the Heart of Your Minister – September, 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 21st, 2014 (See previous post)
“I am relieved that we have been able to secure the return of the sacred Host, and that we have prevented its desecration as part of a planned satanic ritual,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. “I remain concerned about the dark powers that this satanic worship invites into our community and the spiritual danger that this poses to all who are involved in it, directly or indirectly.”
Details on the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City website.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 17th, 2014 As many of you may already know, a group of occultists have scheduled a black mass at the Oklahoma City Center Music Hall on Sept. 21. Although Oklahoma’s governor has strongly condemned the event, lawyers for the state have said that nothing can be done to prevent it.
Below are some links to additional information. Please be sure to join with our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Tulsa and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City as they fervently pray and fast for the cancellation of this blasphemy.
Background on the story from the secular press (venture into the comment section with care):
From Catholic sources:
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 5th, 2014 One of the benefits of this new regional website is the synergy that can be created . I read Mattie Ward’s inspiring words about being how we are taught to hate and I can pick up on that with the thought that there is just so much rhetoric and hostility in our world today. This website ought to not only encourage us to think about things with a more Christ like attitude but also it can stir us out of lethargy and into action as we as Secular Franciscans are called “to be in the forefront of bringing about a more peaceful and evangelical world “. How is it that we are not talking about this more in our fraternities ?
Over the last few weeks, I have heard such vitriol about the immigrant children at our borders. Perhaps because I live in a very diverse community, I have a different view. I also participated in a web chat last week produced by Catholic Relief Services in conjunction with the USCCB. People are looking for someone to blame for this humanitarian crisis. The upshot of the webchat was we can blame ourselves and our fellow Americans who are clamoring for more drugs. This is one of several of the root causes of this crisis. Another tack to take when attacking that problem is working with disenfranchised youth in the Third World who turn to violence. The real work being done at the community level in Central America is giving those young people alternatives to violence and alternative careers away from the drug cartels.
» Click to continue reading “JPIC News — August 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 2nd, 2014  PEACE to each of your hearts dear brothers and sisters on this Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula!
We are tickled beyond pink to welcome you to our new Regional Website. Last year, we were approached by three computer-savvy brothers, Ted Bienkowski, OFS, Evan Ortiz, OFS, and Lee Potts, OFS, who gently explained to us that it was time to bring our Region into the 21st century. Now, through the efforts of our webmaster extraordinaire, Lee Potts, OFS, we are on our way! Soon, there’ll be an “app” for that, for those so inclined.
Lee has worked diligently and tirelessly to create this new site and continues to work to transfer the information from our former site to this one. In addition to his work in the world, supporting and caring for his family, serving as Formation Director for his Fraternity, and the myriad of other things in which he is involved, Lee has graciously agreed (and we are most grateful that he has) to serve as our web administrator. While Lee subscribes to the “do good and disappear” principle, we wanted to let you know exactly who was responsible for this wonderful “upgrade” of our Regional website and thank him publically for sharing with us his time and his talents. We are MOST grateful.
Those of you who are Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler friendly will note icons on the site that invite you to share information with others who are connected to the same forms of social media. We hope these additions to our site will open up lines of communication with many others … including, and especially, youth! We place this site under the protection of Our Lady of the Angels and ask her intercession as we move forward.
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You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
» Click to continue reading “From the Heart of Our Minister – August, 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 31st, 2014 Dear Sisters and Brothers,
PEACE and good to each of you. As we begin this month of celebration with the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiucula, we are reminded of the Portiuncula Indulgence, the first written document of which was dated October 31, 1277. The Portiuncula was the place where St. Clare received her religious habit at the hands of St. Francis in 1211. In a vision in 1216, St. Francis obtained from Our Lord the indulgence of the Pardon of Assisi which was approved by Pope Honoroius, III. We are the beneficiaries of this plenary indulgence which is a mighty tool for works of mercy and a weapon in our ongoing spiritual warfare. To obtain the Portiuncula plenary indulgence, a person must visit the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels at Assisi (would that we could), or a Franciscan sanctuary, or one’s parish church, with the intention of honoring Our Lady of the Angels. One should then perform recite the Creed, an Our Father and pray for the intentions of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. One should be free, at least intentionally, of attachment to venial and mortal sin, and truly repentant. One should make your sacramental confession 8 days before or after the feast and participate at Mass and receive Holy Communion 8 days before or after the feast.
Last month we began an article written by Sr. Clare Andre in honor of St. Clare. As the Feast of St. Clare occurs this month, the conclusion of the article follows.
» Click to continue reading “Thoughts From Your Regional Formation Director – August, 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 31st, 2014 August 2014
(St. Francis of Assisi)
O truly the most Christian of men,
who strove by perfect imitation to be conformed
while living to Christ living, dying to Christ dying,
and dead to Christ dead,
and deserved to be adorned with an expressed likeness!
(Your) most holy soul was released from the flesh
and absorbed into the abyss of divine light …
You were borne aloft straight to heaven …
(you) merited to enter the place of light and peace
where (you) rest with Christ forever.
(Pray for your family on earth
that we may share your life with God one day.)
(Major Legend by St. Bonaventure, chapter 14 – adapted)
Following are excerpts taken from The Romanticism of St. Francis by Father Cuthbert, O.F.M. Cap. ed.1924; Daily reflections are taken from Day by Day with by Pope John Paul II.
The Story of the Friars
1
For three years…Francis had been living a life of strict poverty, working with his hands and begging his bread. He had run the gauntlet of ridicule and now by sheer force of character and his evident sincerity, was winning the respect of his fellow citizens. – As soon as the Christian becomes aware of his supernatural vocation, he welcomes the mystery of God’s coming to his own soul.
2
One day hearing Mass when the words of the Gospel fell upon his ears…He at once cast aside his shoes and went forth barefooted and as he met people on the road, he began to admonish them to love God and save their souls. Thus to the life of poverty was added the apostolate. – The stable of Bethlehem is the primary place of man’s solidarity…chiefly with those for whom “there is no room in the inn”.
» Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Reflections – August 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 31st, 2014 
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
regional website: www.skdregion.org – email: pppgusa@gmail.com
August, 2014
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Sts. Francis and Clare,
The Lord give you his peace!
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:2). Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). The “vocation” to holiness and “perfection” is a call directly from God. Life is a sign of God’s love for and trust in us, and his confident view for the future we are created to build. The world, this “Theater of Redemption” as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen entitled it, is the place that prepares us for the fulness of Life with God. He knew us before we existed and God has a part for us to fulfill in the Divine Plan for creation. We are “destined” for greatness in God’s time, a “destiny” however that we can refuse with the gift of our free will. We are “called” to be and act in God’s Name; this is our “vocation”. After our assent to God’s invitation, we are “commissioned” to fulfill some specific purpose in our individual life for the glory of God and good of others as well as ourselves. Is this not the essence of holiness: to live unconditionally and totally in the will of God? Each “yes” we offer to what we believe to be God’s will, is a step further in holiness and perfection.
» Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greetings – August 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 20th, 2014 Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Lord grant you his peace!
We continue this month, dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, with our consideration of the Eucharist. We can note in the two passages taken one from our Seraphic Father and the other from one of his sons, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, love for the Eucharist not only expects a certain composure but also promises definite effects on ourselves and others. We can speak about “charism” and “spirituality” and fulfillment of basic requisites to belong to the Franciscan Order, but if Jesus is not in our hearts, if He is not the Center of our Life, nothing really matters. And, this “real presence” in our life will undoubtedly affect our lives visibly. » Click to continue reading “Fr. Francis’ Greeting – July 2014” »
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 14th, 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 May the Lord bless you! In honor of the 750th Anniversary of the death of St. Clare, our Sister, Sr. Claire Andre, OSC, wrote an article celebrating St. Clare, which was published in St. Anthony Messenger Press. It is rather lengthy, but gives us further insight into the life of St. Clare – her strength, her leadership, her ability to totally trust in the providence of God. As Sr. Claire Andre points out, the life and example of St. Clare remain relevant for us today. Consider what relevance her example holds for you and how, through her intercession, you can be drawn closer to the Lord. Here’s the first installment – more to follow in August.
Peace and good,
Rosie
Celebrating St. Clare of Assisi, by Sister Claire Andre Gagliardi, OSC
Within each of us is the potential to be a light focusing attention on God’s presence in our world. Clare of Assisi’s life reveals just how much light she shed. » Click to continue reading “Thoughts from your Regional Formation Director – July 2014” »
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