St. Francis Fraternity

Our September Gathering

We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, September 9th at 12:30 pm in Conway Hall. 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.

Please do your best to arrive on time (or even a little early) so we can begin our gathering promptly at 12:30.

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.

• Judy A. – overall health
• Joe – Kidney testing
• Lillian Schieman – repose of her soul
• Betty, John, Bob and family – healing
• Patti – physical and domestic healing
• Midge – in hospice
• Wendy and Vince – healing and grace
• Bill – repose of his soul
• Cindy – spiritual and mental healing
• J – strength and spiritual guidance
• Anthony – major heart valve leak and strength for his family

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste
• Travel Size Toiletries
• Men’s & Women’s Underwear (especially men’s boxer shorts) — All Sizes
• Men’s Shoes — All Sizes
• Diapers — All Sizes
• Baby Formula & Baby Food
• Powdered Lemonade & Iced Tea
• Prayers

Formation Information

In September, our candidate for Profession, Kathy Cerone, will be using the formation session to bring us all up to date with the apostolate she has organized to visit the sick and homebound member’s of our fraternity.

Food for Thought

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

~ Matt. 22:39

– – – – –

And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

~ Matt. 25:40

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The Beatitudes*

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,*
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.

6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 – – – – –

Insertion into a local fraternity and participation in fraternity life is essential for belonging to the OFS. Appropriate initiatives should be adopted according to the directives of the national statutes, to keep those brothers and sisters united to the fraternity who — for valid reasons of health, family, work, or distance — cannot actively participate in community life.

~ The General Constitutions of the Secular Franciscan Order, Article 53.3

– – – – –

In addition to being present at regular gatherings we need to be attentive to the needs of OFS members who, for valid reasons, are unable to attend regular gatherings. Councils can design ways and means for communicating with them. Personal visits are made and we keep relationships alive.

Reasons for being absent from gatherings can be quite different. Each person needs special attention from the Franciscan fraternity family. Appointing someone for this ministry can help us avoid any form of neglect. What we learn over and over in the Constitutions is never to neglect the issues that surround us. That certainly applies to caring for fraternity members. Our actions show them that they are truly our brothers and sisters.

~ Lester Bach, OFM Cap, Giving Life to the Words – The Secular Franciscan Constitutions: A Spiritual Commentary

(So sorry for the delay in posting the newsletter to the site.)

Our July Gathering

We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, July 8th.

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PLEASE NOTE: Due to ongoing Conway Hall renovations, we will be meeting at a different venue in July and August:

St. Joseph Parish Hall
500 Woodlawn Ave.
Collingdale, PA 19023

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Thanks for making these arrangements for us Marie!

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.

• Patty F. – health issues, physical and mental, emotional and drug rehab
• Kathy – heart health -double bypass surgery in July
• John -homeless and destitute
• Carol – mental health
• Alice – Recovery from blood clot on brain for brother-in-law
• Loretta – healing of back
• Anne F. – physical healing
• Frank – physical and spiritual healing
• Dr. Tiangson – spread of PRO LIFE and NAPRO Technology (Creighton Model Fertility Care Instruction)
• Rita – special intentions
• Jamie – spiritual and mental health
• C – spiritual and mental health
• Mike – healing from paralysis and strength for his family
• Joyce R – wrist and facial injury after
  a fall

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste
• Paper Towels
• Toilet Paper
• Tissues
• Travel Size Toiletries (soap,
  shampoo, etc)
• Men’s (particularly boxers)
• Women’s Underwear
• Men’s Shoes
• Diapers (especially #3)
• Baby Wipes
• Powdered Lemonade
• Iced Tea
• Spray Cleaners (e.g. Formula 409)
• Bleach
• Prayers

Formation Information

June 24rd marked the 40th anniversary of the Secular Franciscan Rule of 1978; the so called “New Rule.”  To mark this special milestone, our Minister General, Tibor Kauser, has announced the celebration of a Jubilee Year from June 6, 2018, to June 6, 2019 (the rule was actually approved on June 24, 1978, with the apostolic letter Seraphicus Patriarcha).

CIOFS, our international fraternity, has prepared a special gift for us to help us celebrate. It is a 12-minute video, entitled, “Forty years of the ‘New’ Rule. A Treasure for the OFS.”  It provides an historical perspective on the Rule of 1978 and a beautiful summary.

If the audio-visual equipment cooperates, we will be watching this video and will use it as the starting point for a broad discussion about how the Rule has impacted our lives and the ways we have found to live the rule as we have professed we would.

Food for Thought

I, [your name], by the grace of God, renew my baptismal promises and consecrate myself to the service of his kingdom. Therefore, in my secular state I promise to live all the days of my life the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its rule of life.

~ “Profession or Commitment to the Gospel Life” From the Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order

                        – – – – –

To celebrate our Rule is to make it live, only this way will we be faithful to the proposal of Jesus, who invites us to love one another as brothers. Francis of Assisi has given us the example of the grace of conversion as a great gift, which commits us to continue to follow the Franciscan path with courage and love. Our Rule, a truly Franciscan one, helps us to discover, how shall we live our vocation on a daily basis, what should our everyday life be like. We are not ‘Sunday Franciscans’ or ‘afternoon Franciscans’. The Rule has to inspire each moment of our life, so that we get to a kind of behavior, a habit.

~ June 24, 2018 letter from Tibor Kauser, CIOFS Minister General, to all his sisters and brothers in the Secular Franciscan Order, all over the world, celebrating the 40th anniversary of our Rule of Life

Our May Gathering

We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, May 6TH at 11:00 am in Conway Hall. PLEASE NOTE: This will be our annual communion breakfast and it will be the first Sunday of the month instead of the second to accommodate Mother’s Day. We will meet at Conway Hall at 11:00 to set up then and proceed to the Church for 11:30 Mass. We should try to sit together as a group. There will be a pot luck breakfast after Mass around 12:30. Be sure to bring your special dish to share. We will sing a hymn and crown the Blessed Mother.

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 Mrs. 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.

• M. Lorro – bladder cancer and leukemia
• Lorro family – healing and strength
• Jean W. – Breast cancer
• J.W. – addiction healing
• J – cousin and friend battling cancer
• Deborah – Job search
• Paul – hernia surgery
• Gary – Recovery from knee surgery
• Bill – knee problems
• Ray J. – Lung problems
• Eve – hearing loss and overall health (3 months old)
• CB – Spiritual, Physical and
  Mental health
• Jerry – Healing from cancer surgery and destruction of home from storm
• John – Positive outcome of upcoming hearing
• C – Mental and physical well being

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste
• Paper Towels
• Men’s (particularly boxers) &
  Women’s Underwear
• Men’s Shoes
• Diapers (especially 3T-4T & 4T-5T)
• Prayers

Formation Information

There will be no formal ongoing formation session in May. Fr. Quan Tran will be speaking to us during our communion breakfast. Plans for June formation are not set yet but details will be in the next newsletter

Food for Thought

The Latin words sine proprio in the writings of Francis are usually translated poverty, but that is a quite inadequate translation of them. They refer, rather, to a way of living without grasping (and are thus far more about attitudes and values than about intrinsic wealth or the lack of it).

For Francis the Eucharist is a sign of the sine proprio of Christ – he holds nothing of himself back for himself, but pours himself out totally in saving and redeeming grace to us in the Sacrament. And yet the Sacrament is also the means by which we may return all that we are and have to Christ, appropriating nothing of it to ourselves

– – – –

It was because Francis saw the humility and poverty of Christ, this pattern of living without grasping, so clearly expressed in the Eucharist that he had such a great veneration of it and urged his brothers to hold it in the same veneration. The Eucharist was, if you like, the symbol of so much of what he held to be at the heart of the Gospel. And the Eucharist lies at the heart of Franciscan spirituality still for the same reasons. It puts us in touch with the living Christ as nothing else can do. In the Eucharist we see expressed Christ’s pattern of living through dying, a pattern that we are also called to make our own. And as we do that we are following Christ after the example of St Francis in a particularly powerful way.

~ Gordon Plumb, St. Francis of Assisi and Eucharistic Adoration

Our February Gathering

We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, February 11th at 12:30 pm in Conway Hall. 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.

Please do your best to arrive on time (or even a little early) so we can begin our gathering promptly at 12:30.

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

Annual Fair Share

Please remember that this year’s Fairshare contribution of $30 is due by our March meeting.

The Fair Share is not meant to be a hardship on anyone. If your financial circumstances makes it difficult to contribute please let a council member know.

Clothing Drive

Dear Brothers and sisters:

Consistent with our mission to spread love to all, I have committed our Fraternity to a clothing drive for the homeless.

Beginning with the February 2018 meeting, please bring any old, discarded or unused clothing which you have or may secure. I will have the clothing sorted and bagged. My daughter, her friend and I will then take the clothing to the Kensington homeless area for distribution.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and assistance.

Pax et bonum,
Frank

St. Francis Inn Needs

• Sugar
• Diapers
• Large Cans of Coffee
• Men’s & Women’s Underwear
• Men’s Shoes
• Toilet Paper
• Deodorant
• Travel and Regular Sized Shampoo
• Toothpaste
• Paper Towels
• Prayers

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.

• Terri – conversion of family, healing and diagnostics for Marybeth
• Sue – Teresa’s recovery from surgery and Carols’s return to sacraments
• Marie – special intention to do God’s will for your family
• Ray J. – breathing problems
• Maryann S. – healing for liver cancer, healing of breast cancer
• Sean – healing

Formation Information

Since we’re about to start the season of Lent, let’s have an open discussion about what special, personal devotions, practices and observances you have to help you prepare for Easter.

Food for thought

Despite all of this trouble, this overthinking, the potential for scrupulosity, I must confess: I love Lent. I love the sense of possibility the season implies. I love the symbolism that comes along with it. I love that it compels me to act, to change, to rethink how I am living, in a way that is more purposeful than at any other time of year.

~   Kerry Weber, Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job

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Every year God offers us this great season of humility as a chance to remember who we are as believers, reflect soberly on our actions and refocus ourselves on the source of our hope, the only real hope of a bloody and despairing world:  Jesus Christ.  We do this through prayer, silence, the sacrament of penance, seeking out and reconciling with those whom we’ve hurt, forgiving those who’ve hurt us, generosity to the poor, and fasting, not just from food, but from all those many things that distract us from the God who made and loves us.

~  Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., Preparing for the journey of Lent, 2013 via Catholic Philly

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 14, 2017 at the Divine Providence Village in Springfield. We will gather at 9 am and will conclude with Benediction at 2:30. Please remember to bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided. Fr. Dennis Weber will be our Celebrant and Retreat Master. See next page for full schedule.

“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

• Ellen C. – health healing
• Carolyn granddaughter – safe baby delivery in Florida
• Rita A. – knee replacement complications
• Larry – strength to work after surgery
• Jim C. – splenectomy healing
• Terry L. – gastric problems
• Betty – kidneys – radiation healing
• Charles – asthma – healing
• Marylou – healing
• Denise – rehab healing (hip)
• Kim – conceive
• Padre Pio Center – Frankfurt – N. Philadelphia
• Molly – hospice
• Kathy – anxiety
• Larry -lung problems
• Debra’s grandchildren – stabilization
• Steve – physical health
• Mary Stenson – repose of her soul
• Marsha – heart surgery and kidney problems
• Kathy Howard – anxiety over loss of husband

A Franciscan Prayer

(Thanks Marie Gilligan)

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of my Secular Franciscan vocation and pray You will help me to value it as much as You do. Bring my heart back to the day of my Profession when the fervor for my Secular Franciscan vocation burned brightly.

Through the intercession of St. Francis and my Holy Mother Mary, I pray for the strength and courage to embrace the promises I made on the day of my Profession.  Remind me each day to live the Gospel, knowing that doing this involves my total commitment by:  observing the Rule; faithfully attending my Fraternity’s monthly gathering as an act of worship and a building of community; developing a greater awareness, understanding and responsiveness to the needs of my sisters and brothers in my local Fraternity as well as the Regional, National and International Fraternities; and wearing the Tau as a symbol of my commitment to the Secular Franciscan Order and it’s Rule of life.

Dear Father of Mercies, I pray for your grace.  Keep always before me my holy purpose as a “witness and instrument of the Church’s mission.”  Enable me to renew afresh the precious gift of this vocation.   I make this prayer through Your Son and my Brother and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.