Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis

Transcription

1 October 2015 Volume 17, Issue 8 Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis Secular Franciscan Order Five Franciscan Martyrs Region St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity St. Petersburg, Florida Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity Newsletter St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity meets every third Sunday of the month, except July and August, at 9:30 a.m. in the Auditorium of St. Anthony s Hospital, 1200 Seventh Ave. N., Saint Petersburg, FL Fraternity Officers Fraternity Minister: Officers Joe Halloran, OFS (727) Minister: Spiritual Assistant: Joe Fr. Gerald Halloran, Dolan, OFS OFM (727) Spiritual Vice Minister: Assistant: Fr. Maria Gerald Halloran, Dolan, OFS OFM (727) Secretary: Vice Ann Hill, Minister: OFS Jim (727) Prior, OFS Interim Treasurers: Secretary: Maria Halloran, OFS Ann Grace Hill, Krist, OFS (727) Formation Director: Treasurer: Jim Prior, OFS Maria (727) Halloran, OFS Councilors-at-Large: Formation David Grissett, Director: OFS Jim (727) Prior, OFS Grace Krist, OFS Councilors-at-Large: D. Susan Pivec, OFS (727) Martha Dilley, OFS Frederic Wheeler, OFS Ann (727) Hill, OFS Rose Tomassi, OFS Formation Team: Jim Prior, OFS Fr. Gerald Dolan, OFM D. Susan Pivec, OFS Formation Rosalie Coyne, Team: OFS Jim David Prior, Grissett, OFS OFS Fr. Frederic Gerald Wheeler, Dolan, OFM OFS D. JPIC Susan Chairman: Pivec, OFS Jim Prior, OFS Kathryn Maynard, OFS Infirmarian: Jim Gillis, OFS Newsletter (727) Editor: Maria Newsletter Halloran, Editors: OFS (727) Bob Johnston, OFS mchalloran@earthlink.net Loretta Johnston (727) retj@hotmail.com Dear Franciscan Friend, by Joe Halloran, OFS Many folk today even some Christians! have lost a sense of the spiritual. Their religion has become secularized, and spiritual bankruptcy has been the result. How sad, how fruitless, how tragic it is to remove from the immortal soul the colossal gift that God Himself had placed there from the very git-go! Expelling spirituality from the soul is tantamount to throwing oneself off Mount Everest! And it is a grievous short-changing of the Divine Giver of the Divine Gift of Faith, for spirituality nourishes faith by bringing spiritual sustenance and strength and light to the soul. As Blaise Pascal reminds us, Faith is a gift of God. Misuse it, abuse it, refuse it and what will happen? You will have killed the sacred gift which could have helped you all the way to your heavenly Home. On the other hand, if we receive the gift of faith with deep gratitude, we will grow in our faith, and we will grow in hope and in charity and in cheerfulness, too. How thankful we lay Franciscans should be, for we belong to the time-tested Order founded by the Poverello, the Little Poor Man. And what an Order it is, with its unique spirituality and its sense of joy, justice and Jesus! Let us thank God that we can deepen and enliven our lives as lay Franciscans, and we can bring the light and love of Christ hither n yon. Talk about privilege! May we ever go deeper and deeper into that treasure trove of Franciscan spirituality and faith that affords so much peace and love and joy even here on Earth, and infinitely more so in Heaven! Let me close here with a question from St. John Vianney and a statement by Dorothy Day, two heroes of mine, one of whom was a Third Order Franciscan and the other a Benedictine Oblate (i.e., a lay Benedictine). St. John Vianney a Franciscan? Yes, Friend, that incredible Curé d Ars St. John Vianney was a member of what we now commonly call the Secular Franciscan Order, the same Order that you and I belong to. And here now is St. John Vianney s question for us: Are we taking as much care of our souls as of our bodies? Dorothy Day, the lay Benedictine, said: The greatest adventure is that of the spiritual life. Amen! God love you, dear Friend. To bring glad tidings*, Joe Halloran, OFS Minister *Motto of the late Bishop Jude Speyrer P.S.: Here is a bonus for you, because you took the time to read this letter to the end. It s another quote from our Third Order Franciscan friend, the Curé of Ars: It is only God that can fill the soul.

2 PAGE 2 ORDO FRANCISCANUS SA ECULARIS OCTOBER 2015 Rosalie Coyne OFS 11/21 James Prior OFS 11/26 Mary Dixon OFS 11/28 Congratulations! Grace Krist 11/16/05 Jason Johns 11/16/14 Polly Saint Raphael 11/16/14 Ann Hill 11/20/88 Picture from Melinde Nene Assigned to bring refreshments for the November Fraternity meeting: Rosalie Coyne Phyllis Hall Jim Prior Why does the ordaining bishop hand the Ordinand a chalice and paten? The Eucharist is at the heart of the priesthood and this ritual highlights the importance of celebrating the Eucharist in the life of the priest and its meaning, as seen in the words which are spoken by the bishop: "Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered to him. Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross." Pray for our priests, sisters, and seminarians that they may always show the works of God thru them. Pray for an end to abortion and an end to Planned Parenthood and all unborn children in this world. Pray for all our first responders, Police, Firefighters, and Military. Pray for all Christians in this world, especially for those who are being persecuted. Pray for Barbara Kalanik, Noreen Clark and all other family members who need our prayers.

3 PAGE 3 ORDO FRANCISCANUS SA ECULARIS OCTOBER 2015 Poems by MLF, he is an inmate at Pinellas County Jail where Jim Prior and Jim Gillis minister by Jim Prior, OFS The Big News is that these people in formation will be professed at our November meeting. They are: Cheri Jenner Cindy Macks Michael Mender Congratulations to all of them and to the rest of the folks in formation. Keep up the good work; your profession is within sight. Knight Light by M. L. F. 5/17/15 My tears try to break through The bars at night, as I contemplate Will I ever be alright, will my family and I ever reunite. I pray to the Lord day and night, Will I ever find the might and get myself through These difficult nights, as I follow Him in His light. As I look outside to see the beautiful night And see His moon oh so birhgt Will He ever make me His knight. Guidance by M. L. F. 9/16/15 I had low confidence A Call to St. Francis by Jim Prior Stay by myside. Allow me to sing your songs Involve me in the channels of your peace Never let me grow tired of you or Jesus Trust me as Christ trust you Francis, you are loved and cherished Right my wrongs Anchor my hope in you Never stop praying for us Come to me, when I am down Inspire me with your humility and simplicity Show me your way, every day I kept my distance. My faith had no existence I never had a clear diligence. Only an obvious ignorance When I stepped back into the church I could smell the burning of incense. Only the Lords presence. I opened up a Bible and read That the Lord will give us an abundance If we just accept our repentance

4 PAGE 4 ORDO FRANCISCANUS SA ECULARIS OCTOBER 2015 by Joe Halloran, OFS (a.k.a. The Quotemeister ) In the tabernacle there is the greatest treasure that can be found either in heaven or on earth. St. John Bosco How happy we would be if we had a lively faith in the Most Blessed Sacrament! Oh, if we but knew the gift of God! St. Peter Julian Eymard Through Baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. St. Leo the Great See every day as a new beginning. St. Anthony of Padua What part soever you have taken upon you, play that as well as you can and make the best of it. St. Thomas More It s better to get one little apple tree planted than a thousand trees in a dream orchard. Fr. Dominique Georges Pire, OP Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta A glad spirit attains to perfection more quickly than any other. St. Philip Neri A single act of love for God made during a time of aridity is worth more than a hundred made with affection and consolation. St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) Sister Briege McKenna, OSC, asks: Who comes first in your life? Is the Lord really first? Groaners? You be the judge. (But please don t judge too harshly. ) Q.) Regarding the story of Boaz and Ruth in the Old Testament, what was Boaz like before he married Ruth? A.) Ruthless. by Joe Halloran, OFS Carl: Whatever happened to that guy who fell into an upholstery machine? Carla: Oh, he s fully recovered. A renowned healing clergyman was praying over various individuals in a church where he was preaching a parish retreat. One of the parishioners, a 20-something year-old guy, lined up to request the pastor s prayers. He told the pastor, I have a hearing problem and I m worried about it. The very sympathetic pastor grabbed the parishioner s both ears and prayed up a storm for him. After praying, the pastor asked, Okay, then, how s your hearing now? Well, said the young man, I don t know yet because my hearing isn t till Wednesday. Submitted by Maria Halloran, OFS There s not a sinner in the world, no matter how much he may be estranged from God, who does not return to Him and recover His grace, if he has recourse to Mary and asks her assistance. St. Bridget of Sweden

5 Inspiring reports from local 40 Days for Life leaders keep coming in! So far, during this current 40 Days for Life campaign, there have been babies saved from abortion that we know of! We trust God and pray that there are many others. Prayer volunteers often wonder if there are women who see people peacefully praying outside the abortion center... women who change their minds about abortion and just keep driving without ever telling anyone. In many instances, the Lord is indeed the only one who knows. So keep going to the vigil... and keep praying! Every blessing has a story behind it... and here are just a few. St. Petersburg, Florida 40 Days of Life Sabrina says the St. Petersburg campaign has heard the good news that a woman had rejected abortion on at least two occasions. In one case, she said, the young mother paid the abortion clinic for an ultrasound which revealed that she is having twins! The team was also told that a woman who had gone in for an RU-486 abortion then had second thoughts and contacted an abortion pill reversal hotline. She is working with a local doctor to maintain the pregnancy. We were blessed to learn more about abortion pill reversal at our kickoff events, Sabrina said, when another young mother told us about her regret after having taken RU 486. Her mother s boyfriend did some research, which led him to Culture of Life Family Services. She followed the protocol and is now the mother of a beautiful baby girl. There is now an Abortion Pill Reversal network of more than 270 physicians worldwide and a 24-hour hotline. You can find out more athttp://

6 40 Days for Life at the Central Avenue Woman s Clinic Michael Albano OFS Loretta Johnston Congratulations to our new Candidates: Priscilla Romano, Marty Roache and Phyllis Hall