From Our October 2015 Newsletter

Our October Gathering

Instead of the usual Sunday gathering, our next meeting will be our annual Day of Recollection and will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Divine Providence Village in Springfield. Please note that is a week later than it usually would be. We will begin at 9:00 a.m. Please remember to bring a brown bag lunch. Drinks will be provided. Fr. Dennis Weber will be our Celebrant and Retreat Master. The theme for the day will be “Year of Mercy.”

Schedule:

• 9:00 am Gathering and Fellowship (Coffee/tea, light refreshment will be available)
• 9:30 am Prayer (Bring Rosary and Liturgy of the Hours)
• 10:15 am Conference with Fr. Dennis
• 11:00 am Mass
• 12:00 pm Brown Bag Lunch
• 1:00 pm Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Sacrament of Reconciliation
• 2:30 pm Benediction

If you are unable to fulfill your obligation to attend the monthly meeting, please call Pat Simon at 610-352-5390

“And we will be involved in the monthly meeting as an act of worship and a building of community.”

–from The Lay Franciscan* Monthly Pledge

Regional Council’s Fraternal/Pastoral Visit

A group from the regional council with be visiting during our November meeting. We will still be celebrating our annual Mass of Remembrance. The details and schedule are still be finalized. More information will be provided in the November newsletter.

Prayer Petitions

Please contact Antoinette if you would like to include a petition in the newsletter. A new list will be generated each month.

• Jennifer: Illness/Medication
• Carolyn: Pneumonia
• Frank: Skin Cancer
• John: Alzheimer’s
• Rose Marie: Balance Walker
• Jim: Knee Surgery
• Mary Louise: Cataracts
• Danny: Divorce Pending
• Selma: Vertebrate Pain
• Christine: Foot Bleeding
• Jean: Lung Cancer
• Eleanor: Heart Failure
• Terrance & Julie: Drug Abuse
• Sue: Brain Tumor

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Powdered Milk
• Presweetened Drink Mix
• Ketchup
• Baby Formula
• Toilet Paper
• Disposable Razors
• Deodorant
• Men’s Underwear (S, M)
• Men’s Undershirt (L, XL)
• Men’s T-Shirts (L, XL, 2X)

Annual Day of Recollection

Don’t forget that October is our annual day of recollection and our gathering takes place on Saturday not Sunday, see page one of this newsletter for details.

Formation Information

There will be no formal ongoing formation in October during our Day of Recollection, but Fr. Dennis will be speaking about the Year of Mercy.

Food for Thought

The call of Jesus pushes each of us never to stop at the surface of things, especially when we are dealing with a person. We are called to look beyond, to focus on the heart to see how much generosity everyone is capable. No one can be excluded from the mercy of God; everyone knows the way to access it and the Church is the house that welcomes all and refuses no one. Its doors remain wide open, so that those who are touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness. The greater the sin, so much the greater must be the love that the Church expresses toward those who convert.

Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought about how the Church might make clear its mission of being a witness to mercy. It is journey that begins with a spiritual conversion. For this reason, I have decided to call an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its center. It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36).”

~ Pope Francis, homily and announcement of Year of Mercy, *St. Peter’s Basilica, 3/13/2015

• • •

Then Friar Matthew said, “… do you not remember that the mercy of God is greater than all the sins of the world, and that Christ the Blessed, our Savior, paid to redeem us at an infinite price? Be of good hope that for certain you are saved.”

~ The Little Flowers of St. Francis, *Chapter 45

– August, 2015