ST. CLARE of ASSISI FRATERNITY

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1 The ST. CLARE of ASSISI FRATERNITY West Stockbridge, MA SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER JANET CANTARELLA, OFS MINISTER Box 216 Lanesboro, MA Michael Guertin, OFS FRATERNITY SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT Springfield, MA Fr. Matthias Wesnofske, OFM Cap. Patchogue, NY REGIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT Fr. Cidouane Joseph, OFM Hartford, CT REGIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT The Fraternity meets for Teaching, Fellowship, Prayer and Formation on the 2nd Wednesday every month at St. Patrick s Parish Center 30 Albany Road W. Stockbridge, MA The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: To observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and center of his life with God and people. The Rule of the OFS, 4 We dedicate this publication and the Apostolate which brings it to you monthly to the memory of the beloved deceased of the St. Clare of Assisi Fraternity. Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey, Pray for Us! VENERABLE FR. SOLANUS CASEY REGION Vol. 5, No. 3 March 2016 MARCH SCHEDULE Meeting Day/Date: Wednesday 9 March Starting this month, meeting times are returning to our previous schedule: The Council meets at 12:00 am The Fraternity meets at 1:00 pm Exploring the Spirit: Reading & Reflection The Imitation of Christ Book I Useful Admonitions for the Spiritual Life Leader: Janice Chapter 4: On Being Prudent in What We Accept and Do Reader: Nancy Chapter 5: On the Reading of Holy Scripture Reader: Janet Chapter 6: Concerning Inordinate Affections Reader: Tom Prayer: Janice HE IS RISEN! Happy Easter! Sunday 27 March FEASTS of the GENERAL ROMAN CALENDAR for MARCH 4 Casimir 7 Perpetua & Felicity, Martyrs 8 John of God, Religious 9 Frances of Rome, Religious 15 Longinus 17 Patrick, Bishop 18 Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor 19 Joseph, Husband of Our Lady 23 Turibius De Mongrovejo, Bishop 25 The Annunciation of Our Lord FEASTS of the FRANCISCAN CALENDAR for MARCH 2 Τ 2 St. Agnes of Prague, Virgin 14 Τ3 St. Catherine of Genoa, Virgin 16 Τ3 Bl. Torello of Poppi, Confessor 20 Τ3 Bl. Hippolyte Galentini, Confessor 23 Τ3 Bl. Jeremy Lambertenghi, Priest 28 Τ1 St. John of Capistrano, Priest 29 Τ3 Bl. Jane Mary of Vaille, Virgin Τ1 = 1st Order; Τ2 = 2nd Order; Τ3 = 3rd Order Secular

2 The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order Chapter Three, 24 Life in Fraternity 24. TO FOSTER COMMUNION AMONG MEMBERS, THE COUNCIL SHOULD ORGANIZE REGULAR AND FREQUENT MEETINGS OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS MEETING WITH OTHER FRANCISCAN GROUPS, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUTH GROUPS. IT SHOULD ADOPT APPROPRIATE MEANS FOR GROWTH IN FRANCISCAN AND ECCLESIAL LIFE AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO A LIFE OF FRATERNITY. THIS COMMUNION CONTINUES WITH DECEASED BROTHERS AND SISTERS THROUGH PRAYER FOR THEM. The General Constitutions 2000 of the Secular Franciscan Order ARTICLE 53 1 RULE 24 THE FRATERNITY MUST OFFER TO ITS MEMBERS OPPORTU- NITIES FOR COMING TOGETHER AND COOLABORATING THROUGH MEET- INGS TO BE HELD WITH AS GREAT A FREQUENCY AS ALLOWED BY THE SITUATION AND WITH THE INVOLVEMENT OF ALL ITS MEMBERS. OUR PSALMS Now there is not one of us who does not seek peace. If the Psalms are sometimes anguished, sometimes tormented, turbulent, warlike, defiant, yet they all end in peace, or show us that the way to peace is in confidence in the Strong Living God who is far above the struggles and tempests of the earth, and who, nevertheless, descends on the wings of the whirlwind to rescue His elect. There is therefore one fundamental religious experience which the Psalms can all teach us: the peace that comes from submission to God s will and from perfect confidence in Him. This, then, gives us our guiding principle in praying the Psalms. No matter whether we understand a Psalm at first or not, we should take it up with this end in view: to make use of it as a prayer that will enable us to surrender ourselves to God. If we keep this one thing in mind, the various Psalms will gradually yield their mysteries to us, and we will begin to find out that certain ones fit our own condition and our own experience better than others. This recognition of a special appropriateness for our own lives, in particular Psalms, is an actual grace of God. It is an invitation of the Holy Spirit, urging us to pay more attention to these Psalms, to use them more frequently in our prayers and meditations, to adopt them for our own use. They become our Psalms. We do not have to tell other people about our preference, preach about it or write books about it. We simply need to take possession of these Psalms, move in to them, so to speak. Or rather we move them into the house of our own soul so that we think of our ordinary experiences in their light and with their words. Thomas Merton On Praying the Psalms Thomas Merton was a Secular Franciscan before entering the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO). MARCH ANNIVERSARIES BIRTHDAYS Fred Conforti 3-1 PROFESSION Peter Feudo BEATIFICATION Bl. John Duns Scotus IN MEMORIAM Br. Gilbert Mary Hunter Joseph A. Finn St. Joseph, Foster Father of Jesus 19 March 2... the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what he desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue. St. Thomas Aquinas

3 SECULAR FRANCISCAN FOCUS Blessed Jane Mary of Maille ( ) Feast Day: 29 March Jane was the daughter of the wealthy baron of Maille; she was born in his chateau near St. Quentin in France. The atmosphere of life in the chateau was infused with spirituality under the direction of a Franciscan. As a youth Jane had such intense devotion for the Virgin Mary that she took her name at Confirmation and always used it with her baptismal name. She lived a life of prayer, severe penance and good works. Her father died when she was fifteen and her grandfather, quite advanced in age, assumed guardianship. Wishing to fulfill his duty of settling Jane Mary in life as soon as possible, he arranged a marriage with the noble and exceptionally virtuous Baron Robert of Silly. On the evening of their wedding day the grandfather died suddenly. The pious husband was so moved by this Blessed Jane Mary of Maille that he readily yielded to the wish of his young wife to live in virginity. The household that the young couple established was extraordinary in its concern for virtue. Only servants who were willing to live in faithful submission to Christ and the Church were admitted. They were expected to demonstrate restraint in speech and action, following the example of Jane Mary and her husband. No one in need was turned away from their door. The Baron of Silly was mortally wounded during a conflict between England and France and was taken prisoner. Jane Mary successfully petitioned for his release but he died shortly afterwards. Now Blessed Jane Mary of Maille withdrew entirely from the world. She left her vast possessions in the hands of relatives, while she moved to a little house near the Franciscan church in Tours. Dressed in the ash-grey habit of the Third Order, she went out to nurse the sick and the poor; the remaining time she spent in prayer. She prayed especially that God might bless the labors of priests, particularly those who preached the divine word. She prayed most of all for the universal Church, which at that time had to endure one of its severest trials: the Western Schism. A pope in Rome, an anti-pope in Avignon (France) and even one in Pisa (Italy) divided Christendom to the extent that even saintly people did not know which one was the rightful head of the Church. Confusion and many scandals were the inevitable results. Had the Church been the work of human hands, it must certainly have gone to ruin. In answer to the prayers of many pious souls, God came to the assistance of the Church, and Jane Mary had the consolation before her death of seeing the Church again united under one head by the Council of Constance ( ). Jane Mary of Maille died in the year 1414, at the age of eighty-two years. When her remains, clothed in the habit of the Third Order, were brought into the church, the body appeared to have the freshness of youth. The veneration paid to her since her death was approved by Pope Pius IX. Adapted from The Franciscan Book of Saints, edited by Marion Habig, OFM. THINGS TO DO IN THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception offer the following check list of things to do during the Jubilee Year of Mercy: Forgive those who have hurt you or done you wrong. If possible, consider forgiving debts owed you and/or returning collateral. Go to confession regularly monthly, even weekly. Read and meditate on the Sacred Scriptures, especially the Gospel of Luke. Perform one or more works of mercy every day. Go on a pilgrimage to a place with a Holy Door, including the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. Share the good news of God s mercy through your words and good deeds. Make the Stations of the Cross regularly, especially at 3 PM, the Hour of Great Mercy. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily, imploring mercy on us and on the whole world. Read the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska. Let s seek refuge in the Merciful Heart of Jesus. St. Faustina, Diary, 692 3

4 FRATERNITY NEWS Many thanks to our Fraternity Spiritual Assistant Mike Guertin, OFS, for an inspirational presentation on Life in the Spirit during last month s meeting. The calendar continues to fill in. June is Community Outreach month and a presentation is planned on Franciscan Spirituality: The Secular Franciscan Life in Christ by our Formation Director Fred Conforti, MD, OFS. During the summer months we will continue to read and reflect on passages from The Imitation of Christ. At our September meeting we will share our annual Day of Recollection. This year s focus: Mercy and St. Francis. Reminders Beginning in March we will return to our previous schedule of meeting times. Council will meet at noon, Fraternity will meet at 1:00 PM. Please remember to bring your own lunch to the meetings (unless, of course, we agree on potluck). Coffee will be provided. It s approaching Fair Share time of the year again. Reminder cards with the details are included with this month s mailing and there will be another next month. As your means allow, please join in this endeavor to fund the Order for another year. He promised to show mercy... and to remember His holy covenant. Canticle of Zechariah, Luke 1: 72 Spring begins on 21 March, and this year brings us a very special reminder of God s constant work of renewal in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The unretouched digital photo at left is one of three taken with different cameras at different angles during the recent visit of our Fraternity Spiritual Assistant Mike Guertin to the Franciscan missions along the California coast. The identity of the individual on the right who appears white is not important. The sign itself, however, is of crucial significance as we move forward each day in our lives of prayer, penance and good works. God is constantly fulfilling the promise that He made to gather us to Himself, to transform us in order to bridge the otherwise infinitely immense chasm that exists between us and Him: Behold, I tell you a mystery.... we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. And when this which is incorruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?... thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Putting the newsletter together each month can be a challenge. Comments are always welcome. If you find the content to be unsuitable or inconsistent with our Franciscan spirituality in any way, please don t hesitate to be heard (write our minister at the address in the masthead or to fpcon@verizon.net). Submissions are also very welcome. FPC 4

5 REGIONAL NEWS The annual Forming the Formators workshop for the Solanus Casey Region, Central District, will be held on Saturday 12 March from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM at St. Pius X Church Hall in Middletown, CT. Entitled Relationships: Francis and Ours, the focus will be on St. Francis relationship with the Persons of the Trinity and how this permeated his relationships with his brothers and sisters. The focus will then turn to an examination of our own individual relationships with the Persons of the Trinity and of how the quality of those relationships shapes the manner in which we interact with both our fellow Secular Franciscans in Fraternity and individuals in the world everyday. Our Fraternity Formation Director Fred Conforti, MD, OFS, will be attending. There is no charge for this workshop but registration is required, and anyone interested (Professed only) should let Fred know ASAP. Or contact Regional Director of Formation Patricia Wilkin, OFS, directly at or wilkin.patricia@yahoo.com NATIONAL NEWS REVIVING THE SPIRIT Revive your spirit! Register for the 2016 Quinquennial. Nicknamed the Q, the congress is for Secular Franciscans, the wider Franciscan Family, and Franciscan-hearted companions. It takes place June 30-July 4 at Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri. Keynote presenter is theologian and spiritual writer Father Dan Horan, OFM, a young Franciscan scholar who has already become a prolific author and sought-after speaker. Rediscover the Franciscan charism at the 2016 Quinquennial in St. Louis and enjoy new growth and fruitfulness, the Q committee states, adding: Fr. Dan Horan, OFM Experience a rebirth of joy in our vocation. Other speakers and breakout sessions will round out the congress, which opens with Mass and dinner on Thursday evening, June 30. The session will close with Mass on Sunday evening, July 3, with departure on July 4. Don t Let Finances Keep You Away! Interested in attending the Quinquennial but unable to because of financial circumstances? The 2016 Q Scholarship Fund may make attendance possible. The fund provides full and partial scholarships for Professed and Candidates; details and application form are available online at Alternatively, Fraternities may wish to sponsor individuals as their means allow. Individual contributions to the scholarship fund are always welcome and can be sent to National Treasurer Jerry Rouseau, OFS, 82 Kim Street, Blairsville, GA, A detailed account of all funds received and used for this purpose is available. And don t forget Operation Blessing Bag, described in last month s newsletter. Last date for donations is Wednesday 8 June. More details next month. 5

6 GALLERY FRANCISCAN SAINTS MARCH AGNES OF PRAGUE Left: Rendered by the Bohemian Master (1482), St. Agnes of Prague ( ), the illustrious daughter of the king of Bohemia, is depicted performing the work that occupied the majority of her life: Tending to the poor, the sick, and the dying. Agnes was a valuable political pawn; she was betrothed at age 8 to Henry, the son of Emperor Frederick II, but the contract was cancelled after 6 years. Agnes father Ottokar went to war over cancellation of the betrothal and wished for her to marry Henry III of England. Frederick II vetoed this; he then wanted Agnes for his own wife. The friendship between Agnes and St. Clare of Assisi is one of the most powerful stories of how women shaped the early history of the new Franciscan Order. Agnes and her companions lived the Rule of the Second Order of St. Francis that was approved by Innocent Iv on 9 August 1253, two days before the death of St. Clare. CATHERINE OF GENOA Right: The great mystic St. Catherine of Genoa ( ) spent the last 31 years of her life caring for the poor. She would have been 45 years old when her fellow Genoese Christopher Columbus set sail on the first trek that would lead to the discovery of the New World; she was 28 when Michaelangelo was born in Settignano outside of Florence. St. Catherine appears at right in a mixed-medium watercolor and acrylic painting by Connecticut artist Joseph Trepiccione. It is an interpretation of a portrait found in the hospital of Pammatone in Genoa, where she and her husband lived and worked until her death in The painting is the cover art for the book Catherine of Genoa: Purgation and Purgatory, The Spiritual Dialogue, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ, MY GOD AND MY ALL! 6