The St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter Fraternity #101 Volume 20 Issue 12 December 2017 MESSAGE FROM OUR MINISTER Dearest brothers and sisters in Jesus, the Christ! He is coming! How wonderful and exciting for all of us and the entire world! In this beautiful Advent season, we should be thankful that we were called by God to serve his kingdom here on earth. Service means helping others in any and every way we possibly can especially at this time of year. We are warm and comfortable we have full stomachs we have employment or retirement we have family So many that we see on a daily basis do not have the very basic necessities of life. Thanks to Albuquerque s many organizations that serve the community in various ways, that is only a little (very little) of what each person deserves. Please make an honest effort to help someone in need. I can t imagine the suffering that so many people in our community and in the world face. It does not have to be monetary. A smile, a hug, a prayer, a conversation. Even acknowledgement of someone can help us realize the dignity of every human life. We receive our Savior with gratitude, love and joy! He is our gift this season. Let s share this gift I love you and I pray for a blessed and safe Advent and Christmas season for all. Your sis, Israela CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM! St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 1
LET US PRAY FOR Elizabeth, Deacon Charlie, Barbara H., Consuelo, Dorothy, Art and Erma, Alcaria, Eva, John and Nancy, Linda and her family, Winifred, Connie Jo, Margaret s son Kevin, Israela s grandson Emiliano, Derek, Br. Gordon, Tommie s daughter Stephanie, Jane and Brian s move The repose of the souls of Arturo, Jeannette S s mother, Clare s father, Connie Jo s husband and Br. Billy Espiritu Santo Fraternity, Fire of St. Francis Emerging Fraternity in Gallup, St. Francis Fraternity in Santa Fe, and St. Margaret of Cortona Fraternity in Carlsbad CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY Dec. 1 Council meeting, FF*, 9 AM Dec. 8 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 17 Orientation, FF*, 12:15-2 PM Fraternity Gathering, 2 PM Advent/Christmas party and potluck (see below for food assignments), optional gift exchange ($10 or less) ST. ANTHONY S BREAD ST. MARTIN S HOSPITALITY CENTER Dec. 25 Christmas Jan. 5 Council meeting, FF*, 9 AM Jan. 28 NO Orientation classes Fraternity Gathering, 2 PM Mass and Rite of Profession for Consuelo, Felis & Luciana Hospitality Group 1 (Ernestine, Connie Jo, Tommie, Gina & Antonio) ST. ANTHONY S BREAD CFR S (FF* is the Franciscan Facility, 1350 Lakeview SW, Albuquerque, 87105) WHAT S HAPPENING AT OUR DECEMBER PARTY A-L MAIN DISHES M-O--SIDE DISHES P-Z-DESSERTS (Please bring servings for eight) We will also be sharing on which person/animal from the nativity best reflects our journey this past year. There will be an optional gift exchange please bring a wrapped gift under $10. We still have a few homebound members that need a buddy. If you haven t chosen, please consider doing so. Finally, our beautiful Lady of Guadalupe statue will be raffled off. BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS Gina Lubeck December 13 Mary Lou Narvaez December 13 Bernadette MacMillan December 20 Laura Manire January 14 Br. Gordon Boykin, OFM January 19 Jeannette Schlicher January 21 Luciana Garcia January 26 JESUS ARTURO OLIVAS, 1958-2017 Jesus Arturo Olivas was born on September 10, 1958, in Long Beach, California. He was raised in nearby Wilmington. His parents, Elisa Alva and Jose Natividad Olivas, were natives of El Paso, Texas. After high school, he attended Yale University and UCLA, earning a BA in History and his Masters of Education, both from UCLA. St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 2
Arturo taught for twelve years in the Southern California area. In 1997, he and Christopher James Gibson moved to Albuquerque. There Arturo taught for fourteen more years. He was an award-winning artist, best known for his retablos. Arturo was a foundation member of the National Hispanic Cultural Center and founding member of the National Hispanic Culture Center of New Mexico Arts Community. As an active member of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Albuquerque, he taught and served on the parish council. Arturo was professed as a Secular Franciscan on March 21, 2010. From 2012 to 2015, he served as Minister for St. Anthony Fraternity. In September of 2011, Arturo was diagnosed with incurable and inoperable Stage IV lung cancer. He was given a four to twelve month life expectancy. On November 18, 2017, Arturo met Sister Death. He is survived by Christopher, his devoted companion of thirty-three years, by his father Jose N., his brother Jose F., sisters Beatrice, Annamarie, and Marina, and by sixteen nieces and nephews. His funeral was at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington, California on December 1. He was buried with family. There will be a life celebration at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Sunday, May 27, 2-6 PM. A memorial Mass at Our Lady of Fatima will be announced later. Condolences may be sent to his father, Jose N. Olivas, 17911 Bushard St., #D-239, Fountain Valley, CA 92708. TIME TO UPDATE YOUR STATUS IN THE FRATERNITY Each professed member of the fraternity is required to let the Council know his/her status in the fraternity active or excused. This is to be done annually. The Request for Active or Excused Status Form for the Year 2018 was in the last newsletter. If you have not filled it out, please do so. Mail it to the address on the form, or bring it to the Gathering. This year, we are requesting information on an emergency contact. The Council especially needs to hear from our brothers and sisters who are unable to attend the Gatherings. Thank you to all who have already returned the form! WHAT HAPPENED AT THE NOVEMBER GATHERING On November 19, we celebrated the Rite of Admission for Regina (Gina) Lubeck and Frances Lucero. During this moving ceremony, Gina and Frances asked to be admitted as Candidates in the Secular Franciscan Order. They were given the tau and the Rule of the Order as a sign of their commitment. They will now begin 18 months of discernment, leading, God willing, to Profession. Congratulations! St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 3
Under Tommie s guidance, the fraternity gathered items and filled the goody bags for our Homebound. We had a most generous assortment of gifts thank you!! These bags will be taken by each visitor to the person they had stayed in touch with last year. We also drew names for our buddies for 2018. (We have a few names yet to be drawn if you didn t get a name, please consider doing so at the December Gathering). We ended with fellowship and a tasty meal provided by Hospitality Group 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Pending Council approval) Financial Statement for October 31, 2017 Financial Statement for November 30, 2017 Beginning Balance $1,992.83 Beginning Balance $2,544.81 Income Income Regular Contributions $353.00 Regular Contributions $515.00 Endowment Interest $80.98 Endowment Interest $78.84 Exceptional Income $545.00* Exceptional Income $35.00* Expense Expense Spiritual Assistant $50.00 Spiritual Assistant $50.00 Infirmarian 0 Infirmarian 0 Council Admin. Supplies 0 Council Admin. Supplies 0 Newsletter Supplies $40.76 Newsletter Supplies 0 Newsletter Postage $78.40 Newsletter Postage 0 Poor Clares $75.00 Poor Clares $75.00 Franciscan Friars $50.00 Franciscan Friars $50.00 Contingency Fund $50.00 Contingency Fund $50.00 Formation 0 Formation 0 Exceptional Expenses $82.84** Exceptional Expenses $987.50** Ending Balance $2,544.81 Ending Balance $1,961.15 Contingency Fund $1,709.85 Contingency Fund $1,759.99 Number of Donors 14 Number of Donors 18 *$445 Member donations/nov. retreat $100 Donation **$82.84 Food/Sept. retreat *$35.00 Member donation/nov. retreat **$20.00 Member donation/cfr $817.50 Canossian Center/Nov. retreat $150.00 Franciscan Friars/Nov. retreat HAPPENINGS AT THE PROFESSION RETREAT This year s Profession Retreat for Profession Candidates Consuelo, Felis and Luciana, was held on November 7 th and 8 th at the Canossian Spirituality Center in the South Valley of Albuquerque. There were a good number of attendees, with only a few missing out because of last minute personal issues. Father Paul Juniot, OFM, was the retreat master. The retreat focused on three topics: Seeking the Lord, Prayer, and Called to be a Eucharistic People. St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 4
In seeking the Lord, Jesus Christ, He is to be found in our midst. We are each called to a personal relationship with Jesus, not just intellectual affirmation and knowledge of Him as our Lord and Savior. Recall that Jesus was not only fully divine but fully human, that is, He is one of us. So, it becomes possible to enter into a friendship with Jesus. Jesus loves us first with an everlasting love and desires our friendship. Thus, we must respond in seeking Jesus, in love, with our whole heart. Prayer is communication and communion with God. Prayer should always precede action if one is truly to accomplish any good in one s life. Sometimes in one s haste to get it all out, prayer becomes an empty exercise. We talk at God but not to God. Prayer needs to originate from our heart in a simple honest way. As one prays, one should focus on a conscious awareness of God s presence in the here and now, not out there somewhere in the vast Cosmos. Prayer should be an ongoing activity of one s daily life as one seeks oneness with God as life unfolds. We are called by God to be Eucharistic people. Since Jesus is to be the center of our lives and since Jesus is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist, it should be the center of our lives. Those who receive the Eucharist become more Christlike and are empowered to walk as the children of God. God manifests His presence in living persons, not a lifeless church building. In receiving the Eucharist, we are each called forth to share the presence of Jesus, Who cares for and loves us, to others whom we encounter in our daily lives. In the 15 th chapter of John s Gospel we are commanded by our Lord to Live in my love and keep my commandments. There was time allotted for group discussion after each of the presentations. There was also time for personal prayer, confession, and private spiritual meditation in between sessions. The retreat concluded with a Mass. (By Rex L. Schlicher, OFS) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AN ADVENT CHALLENGE Our Lady is the only one who in her complete sinlessness never wasted grace.this, I believe, should be our goal this Advent: that we will not waste grace. Great things are put before us. The Church becomes, even in her tenderness, very dramatic. Wake up! she says. And she will say this again and again in Advent: Get up out of this torpor, this stupor. Wake up! Now is the time to rise from the spiritual sleepiness, the same old dreary infidelities, the same wastefulness, the same old idling paths, the same old petty self-indulgences. Wake up! she says. (Mother Mary Frances, P.C.C., Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting) St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 5
Fraternity Contacts MINISTER: Israela Garcia OFS 505-450-5267 director@bailabaila.com VICE MINISTER: Rex Schlicher OFS 505-839-9397 rlschlicher@msn.com SECRETARY: Gerry Rohrkemper OFS 505-873-2657 gmrsfo@aol.com TREASURER: Tommie Page OFS 505-452-0915 FORMATION: Marilyn Migliarini OFS 505-261-1555 mmigliarini@gmail.com COUNCILOR #1: Mary Lou Narvaez OFS 505-235-5772 malunarvaez44@gmail.com COUNCILOR #2 Margaret Martinez OFS 505-899-6410 margova601@q.com SPIRITUAL ASST: Br. Gordon Boykin, OFM 505-249-5774 gordyboy45@aol.com INFIRMARIAN: Margaret Martinez OFS NEWSLETTER: NEED VOLUNTEER Email: saf.ofs.newsletter@gmail.com WEBSITE: http://franciscanalbuquerque.sfousa.org St. Anthony Fraternity P. O. Box 6881 Albuquerque, NM 87197-6881 Our Mission Statement We, the fraternity of St. Anthony, inspired by the vision of St. Francis, Commit ourselves to the We are the Ordo Franciscanus Gospel as our Way of Life: Going from Gospel Saecularis (The Secular Franciscan to Life and Life to the Gospel. We believe that Order) in the United States of America. we are called to Fraternity to Share a life of joy and peace an well as to draw our inspiration from We live our vocation in Our Lady of the cross of Jesus as Francis did. Guadalupe Empress of the We believe that we are called to be renewed Americas Region. Continually through the celebration of the Eucharist and to go forth to rebuild the Church Our Franciscan Community is the St. Through our witness. Anthony Fraternity located in Albuquerque, New Mexico St. Anthony Fraternity Newsletter December 2017 Page 6