SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER Our Lady of Angels Fraternity

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER Our Lady of Angels Fraternity"

Ruby Peters
5 years ago
Views:

1 SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER Our Lady of Angels Fraternity February 2015 Meeting time Sunday, February 22, 2015 Rosary: 2:10pm Meeting and Ongoing Formation: 2:30pm Mass: 3:00pm Linus Hall is not available, please do not bring refreshments. Ongoing Formation The Joy of the Gospel: be involved, be supportive, inspire Question of the month: Lent is our opportunity to prepare ourselves for Easter, for re-centering our lives toward God. Evaluate your past Lenten practices. Have these practices helped you to live liturgically, not only during Lent, but throughout the year? How will you continue to weave prayer, fasting, and mercy through all aspects of your life? Fair Share/Per Capita Dues Reminder Reminder to all members! The Fair Share/Per Capita fee of $38.00 is due for all active, active excused, and novitiates. If you have received donation envelopes, you are considered in one of these categories. Note to all members: This is an opportunity to exercise the Franciscan Mission. There are members who may not be able to afford the dues. Consider sponsoring a member. Add some extra to your Fair Share/Per Capita envelope.

2 Prayer knocks, Fasting obtains, Mercy receives (excerpt from a sermon by St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop) T here are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God's ear to yourself. When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery. Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you. Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor. Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart. Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving. [2]

To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth.

3 To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others. Stations of the Cross The Secular Franciscans will be leading the Stations of the Cross this Lent at Our Lady of Angels Church Oratory. Please join the members of Our Lady of Angels parish in honoring the passion of Christ each Friday during Lent at 7pm. Council News Council members met on Sunday, February 8 th. The following was discussed: Fair Share/Per Capita Dues and membership list reviewed. Membership report and dues need to be sent to the Region by March 31, Current financial status holding steady, in consideration of low turnout in January due to poor weather conditions. Request to go out through promotors and newsletter regarding participation in the Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of Angels Church. Regional News There have been some changes within the Regional Council. Fr Walter Dolan,OFM, our Provincial Spiritual Assistant has retired and moved to a Franciscan care facility in Wisconsin. You may remember his celebration of Mass for us during this year's Regional visitation, and the memory he shared [3]

4 during his homily about attending prayers and Mass in the Oratory during his seminary years. Joanne Angeletti, OFS, our Regional Minister, resigned in January for personal reasons. Joanne has lead the region for many years with a firm, but true hand. Dennis Ross, OFS, who was elected Vice- Minister has stepped into the Minister's role. Some of you may know Dennis. He was Minister of the region from 2001 until At that point he served as National Treasurer until he returned to the Regional council as Vice Minister. READING CORNER Intimacy in Prayer: St. Bernard of Clairvaux Publisher Pauline Books and Media Three Heroes of Assisi in World War II by Andre Cirino, OFM and Josef Raischl Finally, our own Elsie Fleckenstein, OFS, was elected by council to fill the Vice Minister role. Elsie, as you may know, has been a long time friend of the fraternity. She joined Fr Dolan on the Regional Visitation this past year and was so happy to see us and the progress we are making. Study Group Meetings JOY of the GOSPEL Proclaiming the Gospel in Today s World Join us in a Study Group meeting. Discuss current events, Church teachings, and the Franciscan life. Where: Jim Robinson s home When: First Monday of each month 7pm or After 6pm Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Mass is beautiful, but not required) Who: All Franciscans and non-franciscans invited. Contact Mary Donlon, OFS at (216) or mfdonlon@yahoo.com or Jim Robinson, OFS (216) for more information. [4]

5 JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation) FAN (Franciscan Action Network) If you have an account and wish to receive this information regarding JPIC or FAN news and activities, please forward your address to Mary Donlon at One copy of each JPIC and other National and International Franciscan News will also be available at the monthly meeting. FAN: o PEACE Principles: Prayer, Empathy, Active Listening, Compassion, Evangelical Love o Coalition for Peace Action hosts Interfaith Conference on Drone Warfare JPIC: o US Church leaders applaud new US Cuba ties Other: o Pope Francis next encyclical announced. Subject ecology Upcoming Events OLA Miraculous Medal Novena Saturdays at 4pm in the Oratory of Our Lady of Angels Church Please join Blessed Trinity Parish each Monday from 3-4pm on the Puritas Ave side of the parish campus for the Public Witness for Peace. It is just one way to have a voice against violence! Tetelestai is a portrayal of the trial, execution and resurrection of Jesus. One of our own members, Francie Tomazin, has been an active participant in this presentation for many years. The presentation occurs every Friday (8pm), Saturday (8pm) and Sunday (2pm) from February 13 through March 29, concluding Holy Thursday (April 2 8pm) and Good Friday (April 3-8pm). For more information contact Francie or the Cleveland Performing Arts Ministries at St Mark s Parish is hosting Lenten Retreats: Men s Footprint Retreat: February and Women s Footprint Retreat: February 28-March 1. Contact the parish office for more information. [5]

6 The Immaculate Heart of Mary Fraternity will hold a Lenten Retreat on Friday, March 13, 2015 at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Parma. Fr Lester Knoll, OFM CAP will lead the retreat. Cost $30.00 per person. Registration 8:30 am the morning of the retreat. If anyone has any events they would like to have included in the monthly newsletter, please forward them to one of the council members by the beginning of the month. Note the newsletter may not be received by members until after mid-month. A Blessing of Saint Clare What you hold, may you always hold. What you do, may you always do and never abandon. But with swift pace, light step, unswerving feet, so that even your steps stir up no dust, may you go forward securely, joyfully and swiftly, on the path of prudent happiness, not believing anything, not agreeing with anything that would dissuade you from this resolution or that would place a stumbling block for you on the way. So that you may offer your vows to the Most High in the pursuit of that perfection to which the Spirit of God has called. [6]

Vol 8 Issue 4 April Called Home

Vol 8 Issue 4 April Called Home Vol 8 Issue 4 April 2017 Newsletter of the St. Frances Cabrini Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order. Monthly gatherings: 1:30 PM on 3rd Sunday of the month unless otherwise noted. St. Nicholas Byzantine