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November 5th, 2012 Our November Gathering
We will hold our monthly gathering on Sunday, November 11th, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. in Conway hall. We will recite the Franciscan Crown Rosary and after our regular meeting and prayers, we will proceed to St. Francis Church for our annual Mass of Remembrance at approximately 2:30 p.m. Fr. Paul Oggioni will be our Celebrant.
Next Month
Our December meeting, including a Social and Crib Service, will be on December 9th. We will also celebrate the Rite of Admission for Agnes Iacono and Mary Meade.
November Profession Anniversaries
Marie Gilligan 1998
Terry Ritter 1998
Frances Lay 1996
Donna Maroonik 1978
Virginia Drew 2000
Carmella Patterson 2006
Betty Fanelli 2006
Kate Kleinert 2004
Carmen Lombertino 2004
Robert Mulhern 1947
Adele Malloy 2008
Lee Potts 2008
Robert Santoliquito 2008
Formation Quotations
Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to careful reading of the gospel, going from gospel to life and life to gospel.
~Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order
• • •
This process of transformation into the Son is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is forming Jesus within us. The prayer of a listening heart is essential to this part of the formation process. This happens when the Gospel takes over our hearts, and we become like Jesus in our relationship to the Father.
~Formation Handbook St. Katharine Drexel Region of the Secular Franciscans
• • •
Sacred reading is a way of letting God’s word shape us and change us. Consider the transforming effects of your prayerful reading in your heart and in your daily life. Ask how you are different as a result of this encounter with the word of God: How is your life changing and being shaped through your lectio divina? How does God want you to be different today as a result of this encounter?”
~Stephen Binz , Conversing With God In Scripture: A Contemporary Approach To Lectio Divina
October 5th, 2012 Formation Quotations
…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
• • •
There is a widespread opinion among many Franciscan seculars and religious that the Profession of Secular Franciscans is a “second class” commitment, some kind of a “light” Profession.
Indeed, most people have foggy ideas on the value of Profession in the Secular Franciscan Order and because of this many Secular Franciscans do not live the “grace” of Profession for what it really is. A true nuptial alliance with Jesus Christ aimed at a further consecration to God and at accomplishing a closer bond to the Church to reach the perfection of love and the realization of Saint Francis mission.
~Preface to Profession in the SFO: Gift and Commitment, Fr. Felice Cangelosi OFM Cap
Our October Gathering
Instead of our usual Sunday gathering, our next meeting will be our annual Day of recollection and will be held on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at the Servants of Charity House of formation on the grounds of the Cardinal Krol Center / Don Guanella School next to Cardinal O’Hara High School. We will gather at 9:00 a.m. in the Refectory. Please remember to bring a brown bag lunch. There is plenty of refrigeration available to keep the lunches cold. You will also need to bring your Liturgy of the Hours for morning prayer. EVERYONE PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR RITUALS BOOK. Fr. Paul Oggioni will be our Celebrant and Retreat Master. And the theme for the day will be ”My Sheep Hear My Voice.”
New Council Appointed
The St. Katherine Drexel Regional Council has postponed our Chapter of Election for St. Francis Fraternity for one year to January 2014. At our Pastoral Visit on September 9, 2012 a new council was appointed to serve.
• Marie Gilligan – Minister
• Terry Ritter – Vice Minister
• Marie Bair -Treasurer
• Robert Santoliquito – Secretary
• Carmella Patterson – Councilor at Large
• Lee Potts – Formation Director
October Profession Anniversaries
• Joanne McManus 1978
• Rita Dourdoufis 2003
• Mary Ann Palmer 2003
September 8th, 2012 Meditation
From the writings of St. Louis Guanella, S.C.
Our Divine Savior said: “Be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect.”
Francis, the little poor man of Christ, imitated these examples of his Divine Master. He wanted the perfection for himself, and he achieved it to the eighth degree of blessedness, which includes suffering and being despised for God.
He longed for Christian perfection for others and he obtained it for many during his pilgrimages throughout Italy, France, and Spain. In the abundance of his love, he wrote to people all over the world as follows:
“To all Christians, Priest, Religious, Laity, men and women who live on earth. How fortunate and blessed are those who love God, and act as Jesus Christ says in his Gospel:
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself’
Let us love God, then, and adore him with a pure heart, with an innocent mind, because God himself asked for it above all when he said:
‘True worshipers will worship God the Father in spirit and truth.’ Those who worship him, therefore, must do it in spirt and truth. Greetings in the Lord”
In Loving Memory
Our dear sister Elizabeth Fanelli, OFS went to be with the Our Lord on August 7, 2012.
Pastoral Visit
September 9, 2012 will be our Pastoral visit. All members are expected to attend if they are able.
Annual Day of Recollection
Our annual Day of Recollection is on Saturday October 6th at Don Guanella House of Formation. Father Paul will be our Celebrant and Retreat Master. We will gather at 9 am. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Refrigeration is available. Please bring your rituals book and Liturgy of the Hours.
Elections
Please pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance in our upcoming elections on Jan. 13, 2013.
Sept. Profession Anniversaries
Patricia Dougherty
August 6th, 2012 Meditation
Dear Fraternity brothers and sisters, we are celebrating St. Clare this year, a perfect time to reflect on her Franciscan lectio, the Gaze of Divine Lovers:
Clare counseled her sisters to waste time by gazing on and into the mirror of perfection; Jesus on the cross.
Look into His life, His words and actions and come to realize how much Jesus is truly your lover and you are His beloved.
Learn to gladly waste time in solitude with Him, a place without words, without prayers, saying nothing because here the act of time is the very essence of prayer. Let go of your own agenda, your spiritual agenda and just sit in the stillness and allow God to embrace
Imitate Christ to become what we love. We are little words spoken by God, invited to join the dance of the Trinity, the dance of life.
Becoming Jesus is how we take up our cross and follow Him; the foundation of our Franciscan life
Pax et bonum.
Adele
Pastoral Visit
Our Pastoral visit this year will be September 8. All members are asked to attend.
Change of Address
If any member has a change of address or phone number please let Marie Gilligan know so that she can update the phone and address list.
Elections
Please pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance in our upcoming elections on January 13, 2013.
Aug. Profession Anniversaries
Mary Ellen Gontaryk
July 7th, 2012 Due to the high temperatures expected tomorrow, we will NOT be holding our July meeting. Please spread the word. Hope you see you all in August.
June 16th, 2012 Suzanne McElvenney was kind enough to take pictures of our 2012 Communion Breakfast which took place on May 6th. The photos can be viewed in this gallery.
October 10th, 2011 We held our annual Day of Recollection last Saturday. Additional photos from the day can be found here.
September 30th, 2011 This month, as we prepare for trick and treaters on All Hallowed Eve, let us be prepared for whoever shows up at our door, at any time.
All of us long for a sense of meaning and purpose. All over the world, people are starving for answers, and the Holy Spirit wants to direct them to us, just as he directed the magi to Mary and Joseph. Like these two, all we have to do is share from our hearts the ways God has moved in us.
In the spirit of St. Francis, trust that the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.
(Paraphrased from The Word Among Us: Jan. 2001)
Pax et bono. Adele
September 3rd, 2011 Peace and blessings.
Hope everyone survived the earth quake and Hurricane Irene. As summer winds down, autumn turns leaves to gold; it is a fitting time to commemorate the Stigmata of St. Francis, Sep. 17.
Let us take this time to call to mind the rule and life of the Secular Franciscan: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi who made Christ the inspiration and center of his life with God and with people.
May this too be our way of life as we see Christ in everyone we meet.
Pax et Bonum,
Adele
August 11th, 2011 Peace and blessings.
As we approach August 15, the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven, it seems a perfect time to revere and honor our Mother. Fitting, too, to consider her complete and total faith in Yahweh’s providence for her.
Are we ready and willing to follow Mary’s example in all things, saying, “Be it done unto me according to Your will,” just as the innocent Jewish maiden did more than two thousand years ago?
Let us try during the month of August to accept His will in all things as He reminds us, “Be still and know that I am God.”
Pax et Bonum for a happy summer,
Adele
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Our next gathering...
will be on Sunday, June 9th, 2013 at 12:30 p.m.
Please join us in helping the Saint Francis Inn - a Franciscan, Eucharistic community called to minister with the poor and homeless of Philadelphia.
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