From Our June 2019 Newsletter

Our Next Gathering

We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, June 9th at 12:30 pm.

We will participate in ongoing formation, have some social time with our fraternal family, and then recite the Franciscan Crown Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours.

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.”

~ The Lay Franciscan Monthly Pledge

Prayer Petitions

Please contact Fran Urso at francesurs@aol.com or 610-202-8965 if
you would like to include a petition in the newsletter. A new list will be generated each month.

• Jeanne Bass – Repose of her soul
• Kathy Howard – repose of her soul
• Mike – healing from cancer
• Friel – for loss of their son and for the family
• Vinnie – healing from massive heart attack
• Mary Elaine – cancer
• Antoinette – cancer
• Jenny – cancer
• Mary – general healing
• Tom – general healing
• Ellen – safe transition for peace and peaceful death
• Susan S. – Recovering from brain tumor operation
• Prayer of thanks for recovery of Ellen from breast cancer and grandson’s first Holy Communion
• Carol – return to good health
• Jim Coyle – happy repose of his soul
• Jimmy M. – repose of his soul
• Chris S. – repose of his soul
• Gordon Johnston – kidney surgery with bad lungs
• Trish – Mental illness and addiction issues
• CW – inner peace and spiritual health
• Michelle – healing from anxiety and heart problems

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Men’s & Women’s Underwear (especially men’s boxer shorts) —
  All Sizes
• Men’s Shoes — All Sizes
• Baby Formula
• Powdered Milk
• Oatmeal (not instant or “one minute”)
• Spray Air Freshener or Deodorizer
• Cleaning Supplies: Spray cleaners
• Paper Towels
• Dish Towels
• Prayers

Formation Information

Sorry for the confusion I caused in May, let’s try it again. Our June ongoing formation session will be what I was planning for last month. We will be focusing on what it means to be part of the Franciscan family. It will involve a group formation activity that will lead into a discussion period. We hope that everyone will engage fully and participate fully.

Food for Thought

“…, (Francis) founded a true Order, that of the Tertiaries, not restricted by religious vows, as the two preceding (Orders), but similarly conformed to simplicity of customs and to a spirit of penitence. So, he was the first to conceive and happily carry out, with the help of God, what no founder of regulars (religious Orders) had previously contrived,  to have the religious life practiced by all.”

~  Benedict XV, Encyclical “Sacra Propediem” January 6, 1921

“…you are also an ‘Order,’ as the Pope said (Pius XII): A Lay Order, but a Real Order;” and after all, Benedict XV had already spoken of “Ordo veri nominis”. This ancient term – we can say medieval – “Order” means nothing more than your intimate belonging to the large Franciscan family. The word “Order” means the participation in the discipline and actual austerity of that spirituality, while remaining in the autonomy typical of your lay and secular condition, which, moreover, often entails sacrifices which are not lesser than those experienced in the religious and priestly life.”

~  John Paul II, June 14, 1988, General Chapter, SFO

Profession produces «incorporation into the Secular Franciscan Order»; it therefore implies incorporation into a family – the Franciscan family – which is life-giving, with all the consequences that derive from belonging to the same spiritual family.

~  Profession in the SFO: Gift and Commitment, Fr. Felice Cangelosi OFM Cap

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. The communion continues with deceased brothers and sisters through prayer for them.

~  The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, Article 24