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Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 17th, 2025 “I have come to set the earth on fire…”
Ten days ago, I went on a reconnecting journey with my dear friend and fellow music minister Mary Verme to St. Francis Inn in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Departing early so that we could attend the daily 8:30 AM Mass, we parked our car on a side street. Immediately, we noticed how many homeless people were now sleeping on the sidewalks close to the Inn, where they felt safer and welcomed.
After entering the chapel, we gave silent greetings to familiar staff members and then watched about a dozen high school girls coming in for worship. Many of them wore T-shirts that said “Visi” on them. This was their last day of volunteering at the Inn.
During the homily, Fr. Michael Duffy, OFM, expressed gratitude to the teens for their week of service at the Inn, noting the many daily challenges that they had experienced in the various ministries of this vibrant community. We learned that these students came from Georgetown Visitation Preparatory Academy in Washington, DC, founded in 1799 by three “pious ladies” from Philadelphia. In 1815, this school received permission from the Vatican to affiliate with and become the first US Visitation community (an order founded by St. Jane Frances de Chantal in 1610 in France). Through the vision of their high school experience, these students were learning how to set the earth on fire for Christ.
One of my favorite Gospel quotes is found in this weekend’s reading, as Jesus says to His disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” What a great visual that gives to us of God’s love that Jesus desires to be revealed in our world today and every day! However, Jesus warns the disciples that if we follow Him without reservation, then we can expect division among us. This is because worldly values are always in such diametric conflict with God’s desires. When called by God to bring messages to the people, every prophet learned the dangerous challenges and even persecutions that accompanied those missions. The prophet Jeremiah understood this all too well.
After the morning Mass, Mary and I sat with Katie Sullivan, the Executive Director of Franciscan Volunteer Ministry (FVM), who coordinates the visits of high school and college students on mission to the Inn, as well as overseeing the intentional community of FVM volunteers who spend 1-2 years in volunteer ministry in Philadelphia or Durham, NC (Note: Mary served as a FVM in Philadelphia).
Katie is an alumna of Georgetown Visitation, so there is a special bond with these students during their annual visits. On mission trips like these, the students’ daily encounters with those who are on the margins of society due to poverty, homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and many other societal hardships can be both inspiring and also overwhelming. How can the faithful help Jesus to realize the fire that He so desires in our world? As community, we need daily reminders that every encounter is an opportunity to bring God’s love to others. Christ calls us into communal action.
After our visit, I did some internet research about Georgetown Visitation, so committed to the Salesian spirituality of Saints Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal. These high school students share a very simple imperative that they must learn by doing: Live Jesus. In blog testimonies on their website, students shared the difficulties in learning to trust God and to practice the “Little Virtues” that shape the Salesian witness to Christ:
- Kindness
- Gentleness
- Thoughtful Concern for Others
- Humility
- Simplicity
- Hospitality
- Gratitude
- Patience
- Generosity
- Honesty
- Cheerful Optimism
Looking at these highly desirable virtues to make Christ’s Kingdom visible here and now, we might wonder why there would be division in the world or within families when someone intentionally chooses to live in God’s love—to live Jesus. It makes no sense whatsoever that there are people who make choices that are the opposite of those little virtues. Perhaps daily prayer to the Holy Spirit would help to remind us of their necessity. Daily decisions sometimes create a moral dilemma for us:
- Whose example will we follow?
- Are we prepared for opposition when we choose to follow Christ?
- Will we trust in God for courage and fortitude?
- How can we welcome the difficulties that we will encounter as pilgrims of hope?
- Will we recognize Christ at the door?
 
The “Visi” community is bound by an inspiring prayer:
Direction of Intention (St. Francis de Sales)
Oh my God, I give You this day. I offer You now all of the good which I shall do. I promise to accept for love of You all of the difficulty which I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner most pleasing to You.
Church history clearly tells us that there have been generations of people who listened to the Word of God and committed their lives to tending to the fire of God. If we get discouraged, St. Paul reminds us that their lives paved the way for us to serve Christ today, even amid divisions:
“We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” (Heb 12:1)
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
St. Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on August 2nd, 2025 August 3, 2025
JOYFUL GOSPEL LIVING
“One’s life does not consist of possessions.”
From a variety of news sources that we choose to get our updates, there is always a vast amount of information that is shared: world and national events; health and science updates; sports statistics; weather forecasts and warnings; arts and entertainment happenings; and business trends that affect investors and employees. The world’s population lives as a consumer society that drives the global economy. Much of that demand is reflected in our possessions: clothing, cars, homes, hobbies, jewelry, collectibles, and lots of stuff that we have accumulated in our lifetime. In the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a wise understanding that it is vanity to imagine that any of these possessions has any importance after death. So, do they even matter in life?
In this weekend’s Gospel, a man approaches Jesus to get an opinion on a family inheritance. Jesus speaks to the crowd around Him when He replies: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Jesus then tells the parable about a rich man who had such a bounteous harvest that he needed to build larger barns to store it. Little did he realize that God was watching him critically. We can only imagine what the crowd heard in that parable: “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” What did Jesus mean when He spoke about storing up treasures that are ‘rich in what matters to God’?
Why are people so fascinated by the lifestyles of the rich and famous? There have been many news stories this year of the lavish lifestyles of rich people that are beyond our imagination. When someone has worked with Catholic charities in ministry to the poor, they see firsthand the struggles that people encounter in daily living to obtain the basic necessities of life: food, clothing and shelter. As a contrast, though, it is well known that there is a Pyramid of Global Wealth that is updated periodically and shows the sobering statistics of wealth distribution:
| >$100 Million |
1.1% |
| $100K-$1M |
12% |
| $10K-$100K |
34.4% |
| <$10K |
52.5% |
This is also where we learn that 1% of the world’s population controls 40% of its wealth; the top 10% controls 80% of wealth worldwide. More than half of the world lives in poor circumstances. How do their lives compare in their meager possessions and their struggles to survive? How does that matter to God?
In our Catholic tradition, we have centuries of stories from the lives of the saints to teach us about what matters to God. From the very beginning of the Church, the believers valued a common life and looked out for one another. The earliest stories are in the Acts of the Apostles. They were such vibrant testaments to lives of love that inspired many people to join the Church to bring about God’s Kingdom.
One of the Church’s main charitable agencies to assist the poor is Caritas International. For the Jubilee Year 2025, Caritas invited Catholics of good will to enter into the spirit of jubilee by looking at the issue of world debt with a special campaign:
“The Turn Debt into Hope campaign carries forward Pope Francis’s call for us to mark the Jubilee year in the Catholic Church by addressing the debts of countries ‘that are in no condition to repay the amount they owe.’ Inspired by the Holy Father’s message of solidarity, this global call advocates for debt justice and transformative financial reforms to bring renewed hope to communities burdened by unsustainable debt. Today, more than 50 countries are facing a debt crisis, with many governments forced to spend more on debt repayments to private creditors than on schools, hospitals or protecting their communities from the worsening impacts of the climate emergency. In the face of aid cuts and rising tariffs, which are deepening poverty and inequality in countries already burdened by unsustainable debt, the need for debt relief has never been more critical.”
In the epistle to the Colossians, Saint Paul cautions the community to remain close to the risen Christ by always seeking what is above. He wants them to put to death the earthly things that separate us from God. He refers to greed as idolatry. During this Jubilee Year of Hope, we have many opportunities to reexamine our lives and see where our desires align with those of God for us. If we are ambitious, is it for goodness and justice? Are we generous toward others as God has been generous to us? Where do we find the daily opportunities to ponder what matters to God? As Secular Franciscans, we find wise counsel in our Rule:
Reflection (OFS Rule #11)
Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life[1], even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the Gospel, they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children. Thus, in the spirit of “the Beatitudes,” and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power[2].
[1] First Letter of St. Francis, 5
[2] Rom. 8,17; Vatican II, Const. on the Church, 7
In the Scripture readings, God is always speaking to us so that we might listen and do what is ours to do. For effective listening, the words need to penetrate our hearts so that we can be the love in the world that God desires so much:
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
The new statue by Timothy P. Schmalz titled “Be Welcoming” is displayed in St. Peter’s Square (Tuesday, April 15, 2025).
Credit: Victoria Isabel Cardiel/EWTN News
Posted By Teresa Redder, on July 9th, 2025 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (JULY 6, 2025)
“Ask the Master of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest.”
Two weeks ago, my husband Jeff and I attended a Franciscan visitation in Center City Philadelphia. The minister of this fraternity excitedly told us that their host parish was moving out purposely to support Archbishop Nelson Pérez’s new evangelization. Handing me a copy of their parish bulletin, she pointed out the upcoming pastor’s meeting to energize the faithful to reach out to those who were on the peripheries. Evangelization is a most Franciscan endeavor of living the Good News!
In his pastoral letter to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia ((https://trustandhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pastoral-Letter-FINAL_ENGLISH.pdf), the archbishop described how the Church needed to be:
“We must be a community of Missionary Disciples focused on renewal, rebuilding trust, and inviting people to a relationship with Jesus Christ!”
When he assumed his episcopacy five years ago, Archbishop Pérez faced the daunting challenges of moving from crisis to hope. Many parishioners were fearful of the closures of their beloved parishes. He received great inspiration from the first apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium (EG)-The Joy of the Gospel (2013):
“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting Him encounter them…No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since ‘no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord’…Whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that He is already there, waiting for us with open arms.” (EG 3) The archbishop reached out to everyone in the archdiocese with this appeal: “We need everyone in our lives and across our local Church to know this. Where do we start?”
In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus prepares to send out seventy-two disciples in pairs, commenting to them that the harvest is great, but the laborers are few. He then tells them to “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest.” The proclamation of the Kingdom of God was still so new at this time of Jesus’ ministry, yet He entrusted this task to His disciples to go before Him and prepare the way. Now, we are in the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, and Christ still calls us to this kind of discipleship—through the Magisterium, as Archbishop Pérez has done.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has noted the sobering reality that 83% of baptized Catholics don’t come to church. This statistic should concern us, too, and foster a desire in us to be missionary disciples. What does it mean in our world to live without Christ in our lives? Do we understand why Catholics have given up the practice of their faith? In a fast-paced society that uses impersonal technology to stay connected, we frequently encounter young people (and elderly) who are lonely, anxious, and without hope. Despite this reality, our hope endures through the Risen Christ, who reaches out to encounter each of us and invites us to share our experiences with others:
“The Church which ‘goes forth’ is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast.” (EG 24)
When Archbishop Pérez was the Chairperson of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, he approved a pastoral document for evangelization called Creating a Culture of Encounter: A Guide for Joyful Missionary Disciples (May 2019) whose vision was to reach out to those on the margins in a spirit of encounter based on these four objectives, relevant to all disciples of Christ:
- Promote a vision of the Church in mission that invites, engages, and forms youth, young adults, families, and lay ecclesial movements to live out their baptismal vocation.
- Provide a process of faith sharing and missionary activity that prepares Catholics to share and celebrate the Good News of Jesus Christ and to become leaven for the reign of God in society.
- Call all Catholics in the United States to become authentic and joyful missionary disciples by giving witness to God’s love with a prophetic voice by encountering their brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Invite all Catholic leaders to engage and accompany the most vulnerable and those who find themselves on the peripheries of the Church and society.
In our daily lives, each of us is a missionary disciple, laboring within the harvest that Christ desires: in our workplaces, our families, and our communities where we bring the Good News to those who need to experience its joy the most. The culture of encounter has a powerful prayer of trust and hope to inspire us to labor for Christ:
“God of infinite Mercy, You sent Your Risen Son to encounter the disciples on the way to Emmaus. Grant us today a missionary spirit and send us forth to encounter our sisters and brothers: to walk with them in friendship, to listen to their hopes and dreams with compassion, and to proclaim your Word with courage, so that they might come to know You once again in the breaking of the Bread. Make us all missionary disciples, and stay with us always, as we seek to share the joy of the Gospel with people of all generations, from every race, language, culture, and nation. We ask You this with burning hearts, filled with the Holy Spirit, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the loving intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization in the Americas. Amen.”
In this weekend’s Gospel acclamation, St. Paul, the consummate missionary disciple, prepares the way for us:
“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Posted By Teresa Redder, on May 10th, 2025 “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Easter season is the Church’s celebration of the glory of Christ’s resurrection–for fifty wondrous days! As Spring unfolds splendidly around us, we are vividly aware of the signs of new life: in our gardens, our neighborhoods, local parks, and farm fields which will soon provide us with fresh fruits and vegetables. Without any effort on our part, the Lord God provides for “His people, the flock He tends.” (cf. Ps. 100)
On May 24, 2015 (Pentecost Sunday), Pope Francis released the encyclical “Laudato Si’” (LS) for the Church. The title came from the Canticle of the Creatures that St. Francis of Assisi wrote 800 years ago (1225): “Praise be to You, My Lord.” In the introduction to the encyclical, Pope Francis addressed the tears of Sister Mother Earth with this poignant observation: “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the good with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also evident in the soil, in the water, in the air, and in all forms of life.”
In the second reading from the Book of Revelation, St. John has a vision of a great multitude standing before God’s throne, where the Lamb of God, their Shepherd, sits at the center. Despite many dangers, toils, sufferings, and fears, God has delivered His sheep with the assurance that “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” In the papal encyclical, Pope Francis gives a profound warning to the world to take care of the common home which God gave to all of us. Noting grave ecological challenges, Pope Francis makes the case for a conversion among people of good will to recognize “the intimate relationships between the poor and the fragility of the planet.” (LS 16) Indeed, there are many tears shed every day throughout the world by those who suffer from the sins of indifference.
Since the completion of his wonderful Lenten book/movie project, Deacon Jim Casa has been promoting his next activity for our parish: the encyclical letter “Laudato Si’” and the movie “The Letter.” On June 1st (Ascension Sunday) at 2:30 PM in Sacred Heart School Library, Deacon Jim has planned to show the video to anyone who wishes to understand ecological conversion better. How timely this offering is as the Church celebrates the 10th anniversary of the encyclical and the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures!
As soon as Pope Francis emerged on the balcony at St. Peter’s Square in 2013 as the next successor of St. Peter, he made it a priority of his papacy to evangelize through the importance of relationships: with God, one another, and God’s Creation. By choosing the papal name Francis, he embraced the vision of a medieval saint who made Christ the center of His life, living the Good News with joy and zeal. It is no wonder that the Canticle of the Creatures inspired Pope Francis to write an encyclical to awaken the world to our shared stewardship of God’s goodness that is revealed in all of Creation.
In his book “God’s Love Song: The Vision of Francis and Clare” (Franciscan Media, c. 2024), Franciscan Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM, captures how St. Francis became a Troubadour of the Great King through his daily simple praises of the all-good God, who inspired the saint’s lifetime of loving service to all of God’s creatures. In his final addition to the Canticle. St. Francis even embraced Sister Death:
“The ‘Canticle of the Creatures’ is the great love song of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a beautiful aria, a poem, and a hymn of thanksgiving that praises God and reveals St. Francis’s profound relationship with God and all of God’s creatures. It is a swan song in the tradition of the troubadours before him that puts lyrics to a life of love.”
Deacon Jim’s book/video project is somewhat different this time, because it is difficult to make a movie of an encyclical. In the video, however, the powerful message of the encyclical comes alive through the four stories (five different protagonists) who speak for Mother Earth with personal stories of the need for ecological conversion, so that the tears of those who suffer will be wiped away:
- Cacique Dadá, a leader of the Novo Lugar community of Borari people in the Maró Indigenous Territory of Pará, Brazil;
- Arounda Kandé, a climate refugee from the Kolde Region of Senegal, where 80% of the population lives in poverty;
- Ridhima Pandey, from Hadiwar Uttarakhand, India, who started advocacy at age 9 for alarming climate issues;
- Greg Asner & Robin Marlen, husband and wife marine biologists from Hawaii who have devoted their scientific research for the protection of life.
June 1st is an important date on our calendars: a communal sharing of the encyclical’s message to unite us by hope to care for our common home. Pope Francis invites us to reexamine our relationships:
“Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbor, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the Earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered.” (LS 70)
Jesus speaks to us in so many ways—even in book/movie projects! Let’s get to know Him better…
”The glory of God gave it light and its lamp was the Lamb.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
SPECIAL BLESSINGS TO ALL AS WE CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY!
Posted By Teresa Redder, on April 12th, 2025 April 13, 2025
“I am among you as the One who serves.”
On a personal level, this particular Lenten season has been very different because of the Jubilee Year 2025 and its message of hope. As we begin Holy Week, these words of Pope Francis in the papal bull “Spes Non Confudit” urge us to be renewed by the jubilee: “We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence. The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope.”
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we hear the account of the Passion from St. Luke the evangelist, whose version of what happened with Jesus in Jerusalem gives us unique insights about our own call to discipleship.
Last weekend, I attended a Franciscan Regional Visitation at Daylesford Abbey in nearby Paoli, PA. Our three National Franciscan visitors included two Franciscan friars (from Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh, PA) and a lay Secular Franciscan from Louisiana. All of us were inspired by the spirit of welcome and the charism of the Norbertines, 40 canons who live in communal service to the Church and our local community.
When we checked into the retreat house, our welcome folders had an attached prayer card called “Becoming a People of Reconciliation.” One of our National visitors observed that we should pray that prayer twice on Friday before we went to bed. The opening of this prayer is connected to events in the Passion of Christ:
“Dear Lord Jesus, on the night before You died, You prayed for all Your disciples, ‘Father, may they all be one; that the world may believe it was You who sent Me.’ We know that this is the deepest desire of Your heart.”
During our visitation weekend, the Secular Franciscans celebrated the occurrence of multiple overlapping jubilees:
- The 2025 Jubilee year of Hope (2025 years of Christianity);
- the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea that gave us our Nicene Creed;
- the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures written by St. Francis of Assisi;
- the 30th anniversary of the establishment of St. Katharine Drexel Region Secular Franciscans;
- and the 25th anniversary of the canonization of St. Katharine Drexel, our patroness.
The Jubilee Year of Hope invites us to be people who are dedicated to reconciliation, just like the Norbertine prayer. In this weekend’s readings, we not only hear the Prophet Isaiah foretelling the Suffering Servant and St. Paul explaining what kenosis (self-emptying love) is, but we also listen to Jesus telling His followers, including us, that the humility of God is a reconciliation modeled on Him: “I am among you as the One who serves.” Are we ready to follow Christ?
During our Franciscan gathering, we shared insights from the Handbook for Franciscan Servant Leadership, which is based on a model of imitating Christ in serving others (washing of the feet). Passion Sunday helps us to appreciate the vision of Jesus for His Kingdom, which He proclaimed to be present here and now. That is the joyful Good News that we are to go and live in our world! God loves us so much, and we are to be His loving servants to one another.
 Good leadership is responsible for embracing a shared vision of the future, remembering it is meant to inspire the actions of today. As our weekend at Daylesford continued, I found myself wondering what the Norbertine vision was, so I searched their website and found the Vision Statement of the Order of Prémontré, approved at their General Chapter in 2006:
“Drawn by our merciful and Triune God, we are called as baptized to follow the poor and risen, Christ, in a radical and apostolic way of life according to the Gospel, the Rule of Saint Augustine and the charism of Saint Norbert, the founder of our Premonstratensian Order. Our way of life is marked by: a lifelong seeking after God through fraternal community, a never-ending conversion by giving ourselves to the church of our profession in communion with the self-emptying of Christ, in imitation of Mary pondering God’s Word, and in ceaseless prayer and service at the altar. From the choir and altar, we go to serve the human family in a spirit of simplicity, hospitality, reconciliation, and peace for the benefit of the Church and the world, especially where Christ is found among the poor, the suffering, and among those who do not know Him. We pray that what God’s Spirit has begun in us may be made perfect in the day of Christ Jesus.”
As we begin Holy Week, let us take time to contemplate the vision of Christ for His Church, remembering that He emptied Himself for our sake in obedience–even unto death on a Cross! The Norbertine vision is so full of Easter symbols: our baptismal call; fraternal communion; never-ending conversion in communion with the self-emptying of Christ; and ceaseless prayer, just as Mary embraced the Word of God.
Are we willing to serve God with humility and self-emptying? Jesus gave us our inheritance in this Gospel account, so let us decide what we are to do with this treasure that He gave to us:
”I confer a Kingdom on you, just as My Father has conferred one on Me.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on March 16th, 2025 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
“My brothers and sisters…stand firm in the Lord.”
 Whenever my husband Jeff and I have been on pilgrimages to other countries, we have had the privilege to meet many priests and religious who serve in the foreign missions. When Jesus shared the Good News with His first followers, He expected them to go out to all the world and share what they had seen and heard. In their limited understanding of the world at that time, though, those first disciples were limited by geographical borders that were known mainly by trade routes or conquests. So much of the world was still waiting to be explored!
Why was St. Paul compelled to tell the Philippians to “stand firm in the Lord”? Even in their time, people living ordinary lives in common society had to be reminded that people of faith, whose minds were occupied with earthly things, are citizens of heaven. During our Lenten journey, is our daily prayer helping us to stand firm in the Lord?
During our pilgrimages, the missionaries that we met shared many stories of their compassionate encounters with people in developing countries: education, health care, maternity services, cooperative projects for sustainability, and trauma relief for those who had seen great violence and destruction. In our Lenten experiences, most of us are safe from harm, comfortable with our food, clothing, and shelter, and far away from those who are suffering. A good question to ask ourselves during Lent: How does Catholic social teaching on solidarity shape our almsgiving? Do we hear the cry of the poor when they are suffering?
Before Ash Wednesday, I was on a special Zoom call hosted by the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia in Aston, PA. Their guest speaker was a staff member of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who spoke about the need to continue funding programs that provide care all over the world. After the speaker’s opening remarks, we shared questions and comments. One of the elderly religious sisters (who participated on that call from Africa after midnight!) was a 30-year missionary to Kenya, where she had been working faithfully in AIDS ministry to children. Because of CRS support, she told us with gratitude that they no longer had any children who passed away due to AIDS. She was concerned about what would happen there when their current supplies of medicine are expended and there is no additional funding to obtain medicines.
Motivated by this Zoom call, the Franciscan Sisters’ Care for Creation Committee voted unanimously to focus the community’s Lenten almsgiving on the CRS Rice Bowl project. I visited the CRS website to see what kind of new insights were there for donors to appreciate the challenges better. The CRS Mission Statement resonates with the Gospel’s message of transfiguration:
“Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We are motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching.”
On the CRS home page, I found a special link that was posted on March 5th:
CRS’ Rice Bowl Program Celebrates 50 Years of Global Hunger Reduction | CRS
I can still remember the joy that our family had when our four adult children were growing up to fill the CRS Rice Bowl together during our Lenten journey.
As I thought about the Franciscan sisters, who take a vow of poverty, live in service to others, and made this a special Lenten priority because the need in the world is greater now than ever, I thought about God promising Abram that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens. So many centuries later, his descendants (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) number in the billions and live on five continents! Yet CRS reminds us that we must urgently take care of many of these brothers and sisters who need our compassion and generosity:
“According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 580 million people could be chronically undernourished in 2030 – just five years away – if the trajectory is left unchecked. Elevated hunger levels are quickly becoming the new normal, causing long-term and generational harm to children, families and communities. More than 340 million people around the world are currently facing some level of food insecurity, with nearly 2 million facing catastrophic hunger – primarily in Gaza and Sudan. Many of these food crises involve overlapping issues that increase year after year.”
We can inspire our children and grandchildren to stand firm in our world that is too often preoccupied by earthly distractions by taking less than two minutes to watch this YouTube video about the CRS Rice Bowl’s history:
https://youtu.be/5QoPVNxKEGE
It is so easy to stand firm in solidarity with the poor:
Online: crsricebowl.org/give
Phone: 877-435-7277 (8 AM-11 PM ET) for CRS Rice Bowl
Mail (Please write “CRS Rice Bowl” on memo line of check):
Catholic Relief Services (Attn: CRS Rice Bowl)
P.O. Box 5200
Harlan, IA 51593-0700
May this CRS Prayer shape our Lenten desires:
“Jesus, Bread of Life, as we encounter You in the Eucharist this Lent, nourish us with Your love, unite us in communion with our sisters and brothers, showing us how we are connected. Transform [transfigure] our hearts, that we may be moved to share bread for life with our global family and work for a world where all can thrive. AMEN.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on February 16th, 2025 JOYFUL GOSPEL LIVING – FEBRUARY 16, 2025
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
“Blessed are you…”
Bronze Sculpture “Angels Unaware” by Timothy Schmalz
Installed in St Peter’s Square (Vatican City – Rome, Italy) on September 29, 2019 (105th World Day of Migrants & Refugees)
My parish is very blessed to have a large and active Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) ministering in our local community. Through the actions of many dedicated volunteers and generous donors, SVDP provides temporary and ongoing assistance to families who experience many challenges with critical food supplies, affordable housing, and basic needs for survival. This ministry is a mutual blessing–to the guests who come for aid and to those volunteers who are a Christ-like presence of solidarity to them..
This weekend, our Scripture readings remind us that we are called to live a God-centered life. When we completely place our trust in God, we are truly alive. Our daily experiences are transformed because we see things differently. We become aware of the blessings in our midst. This awareness then fills us with gratitude while re-ordering what we value in life.
Because we are in the liturgical cycle of the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus offers us four blessings (“Be-Attitudes”) and four woes in this weekend’s Gospel, promising that those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, and insulted will rejoice and be glad. God notices those people with great love and attention, and He bestows blessings upon them. Alternatively, the woes are a caution for those who may not be paying attention to the needs around them.
The Beatitudes are the blueprint for the Church’s teachings on social justice. There are seven themes to Catholic Social Teaching, all based on the Church’s understanding of human life and human dignity. They play a central role in shaping pastoral priorities throughout the Church—for the rich and the poor alike.
On February 20th, the United Nations will mark the World Day of Social Justice. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has 19 committees that carry out specific mandates in support of its spiritual goals. One of those committees is the International Justice and Peace Committee, led by Bishop Elias Zaidan, Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon. This committee, focused on social justice, also has eight other diocesan bishops or auxiliary bishops who support this mission:
“Sharing and promoting the social teachings of the Church, especially on global solidarity, human development, human rights, religious freedom, and war and peace.”
When we meet people who experience great need, whether domestic or international, we are called to act with justice and to care for our neighbors with love and mercy (Hint: This is an ancient and enduring message from the Prophet Micah of the Hebrew Scriptures). Sometimes, Christ’s Gospel can put us into conflict with secular or political agendas. From our baptism, though, our sacramental life in the Church sends us forth as disciples (and prophets) on Christ’s mission to build the Kingdom of God here and now.
A link on the USCCB’s Justice and Peace website calls Catholic disciples on mission to put Two Feet of Love in Action. This program was inspired by two encyclicals of Pope Benedict XVI, with a vision of putting Christian charity into daily practices. What does it mean to put two feet in action? It is a deliberate walk of discipleship:
Concerns the social, political, and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 201). We step with this foot when we work to address the root causes of problems facing our communities by advocating for just public policies and helping to change the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice at home and around the world.
Charitable Works are our “response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc.” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 31). We step with the Charitable Works foot when we work to aid or assist others both locally and globally to meet their immediate needs. Examples include engaging in direct service or providing food, clothing, shelter, or monetary assistance to help those in need.
As we hear Jesus’ teaching this weekend, what can we do to be better disciples? First, we need to become better listeners, but with an attitude of listening to the voice of God rather than other voices that may not embrace the Church’s fundamental teachings. We also need to see the world differently with eyes that look for the concealed needs that are waiting for us to notice. To hear and see differently, it helps to pray regularly for God to bless us with understanding hearts (prayer resource from the USCCB website):
Loving Father, open our hearts to hidden realities:
Your love for all people,
Your presence in the community,
Your call to justice and peace.
May the sacraments stir in us
that same love for those with whom we worship
and all members of our human family.
Christ Jesus, help us to imitate Your example:
healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, assisting the poor and vulnerable.
May the sacraments remind us of Your love and self-giving,
which we strive to imitate.
Holy Spirit, make visible to our eyes what is invisible:
Your call to Your people,
Your summons to live our faith daily as witnesses of justice and peace.
May the sacraments move us to engage in love-inspired action that transforms us and the world.
Amen.
As the Jubilee Year 2025 continues, pilgrims of hope are on a shared journey of solidarity and openness to God’s goodness. The responsorial psalm is a great jubilee reminder of how we can walk with two feet:
“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”
Peace and all good,
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on December 22nd, 2024 Joyful Gospel Living
“Behold, I come to do Your will, O God.”
Fourth Sunday of Advent 2024
This weekend, the Church begins the short/last week of Advent and prepares to celebrate Christmas. This has been no ordinary Advent, though. Many preparations have been made for the celebration of Jubilee Year 2025. On Christmas Eve at 7:00 PM in Rome, Pope Francis will open the door to the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, inviting all of us to become pilgrims of hope. The Vatican has a special website for the Jubilee activities:
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html
In his epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul notes that Jesus understood that God did not require obligatory holocausts or burnt offerings (i.e., sacrifices) from anyone. Rather, God only desires our humble and contrite hearts. He quotes Jesus saying, “Behold, I come to do Your will, O God.” This is an important teaching for us, because human beings have a great gift from God in our free will. We choose our pathway that we take in our life. God offers us eternal life, but we must respond to God with our willing spirit, just like Mary did in the Gospel reading.
In “Spes Non Confudit” (Hope Does Not Disappoint), the Papal Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis highlights what it means for a pilgrim to be on a willing journey of faith:
“By His perennial presence in the life of the pilgrim Church, the Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”
What does the image of opening a door mean to us? Are we curious about what awaits us behind the door? How will we respond to the Holy Spirit’s call to learn more about God’s will for us? The Holy Father describes the symbolism of Jubilee 2025 for us:
“Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ. The Holy Year will also guide our steps towards yet another fundamental celebration for all Christians: 2033 will mark the two thousandth anniversary of the redemption won by the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We are about to make a pilgrimage marked by great events, in which the grace of God precedes and accompanies His people as they press forward firm in faith, active in charity and steadfast in hope (cf. 1 Thess 1:3).”
Pilgrims to Rome will visit the traditional holy doors of the Seven Pilgrimages: Basilica of St. Peter, Basilica of St. Mary Major, Basilica of St. John Lateran, Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls, Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (where St. Monica brought relics back from Calvary to Rome), and Basilica of St. Sebastian outside the Walls. Visiting these churches on foot is a 25 km (15 mile) walk. Globally, bishops will also designate holy doors for Jubilee 2025.
A jubilee hymn was composed by Pierangelo Sequeri and set to music by Francesco Meneghello. As with all liturgical music, this hymn opens us to do the will of God through faith, with trust and reliance on the source of Life. The song is full of a longing “charged with the hope of being freed and supported. It is a song imbued with the hope that it will reach the ears of the One from whom all things flow. It is God who as an ever-living flame keeps hope burning and energizes the steps of the people as they journey.”
Recordings of the song and the musical score can be found at this link:
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/inno-giubileo-2025.html
As we seek to do God’s will in imitation of Christ, perhaps every pilgrim of hope will treasure the refrain to the hymn:
Like a flame my hope is burning
May my song arise to You.
Source of life that has no ending,
on life’s path I trust in You.
The Jubilee 2025 also has a beautiful prayer for pilgrims of hope that puts forth a desire to be drawn closer to God and discerning His will:
“Father in heaven, may the faith You have given us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of Your Kingdom. May Your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, Your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To You our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen.”
When Mary and Elizabeth became pregnant as part of God’s plan, they were both delighted to do God’s will. Like Elizabeth, we too can be awed by what God has in store for us:
“Blessed are you who believed…”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS (Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister)
Posted By Teresa Redder, on October 4th, 2024 Joyful Gospel Living
“All have one origin.”
 While driving home last week, I passed the historic John Woolman house on Branch Street in Mount Holly, NJ (Burlington County), where a large sign on their picket fence announced that the first Sunday of October was World Quaker Day. Knowing the history of the Quakers in our town and the annual celebration of this event, I checked the internet to see what the 2024 theme was. For their global celebration, the Society of Friends had chosen “Living the Spirit of Ubuntu.” The Zulu word “Ubuntu” declares “I am one because we are one.”
In their weaving document (tapestry) for the celebration, the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) wrote, “Ubuntu is about unity in our diversity. Our diversity is what makes us rich and vibrant: we are all equal and beloved in Christ Jesus.” This keen focus on community was a compelling call to work for justice, finding peace through listening to the stories of others and healing for past injustices.
In his letter to the Hebrews on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Paul describes the humility of Jesus in taking our human nature, with His willingness to suffer, so that we might learn the way of salvation: “He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, He is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers’ [and ‘sisters’].” On this first Sunday of October, we Catholics can also appreciate the meaning of “Ubuntu” with our Quaker friends, because we all share one origin in God, who made us in the Divine image and loves us unconditionally. This openness to others is the very work of the Holy Spirit in making us one.
Ordinarily, the Church would joyfully celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. Sadly, though, this is the second year that this feast day is marred by the ongoing violence in the Holy Land where the Blessed Mother was born and gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ. The violence began with an unsuspecting terror attack on Jewish villages that led to death, destruction, and kidnapping of hostages. The war then continued to escalate, as well as in other parts of the world where people long to live “ubuntu.”
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a Franciscan friar who has ministered in the Holy Land for many years. In his September 26th letter to the faithful of his diocese, the Patriarch made this appeal for unified prayer, knowing that faithful Christians in Gaza and the West Bank have suffered greatly during the difficult months of war and deprivation:
“We too have a duty to commit ourselves to peace, first by preserving our hearts from all feelings of hatred, and instead cherishing the desire for good for everyone. By committing ourselves, each in our own community contexts and in the forms we can, we should support those in need, help those who are personally invested to alleviate the suffering caused by this war, and promote every action of peace, reconciliation, and encounter. Yet we also need to pray, to bring our pain and our desire for peace to God. We need to convert, to do penance, and to implore forgiveness. Therefore, I invite you to a day of prayer, fasting, and penance on October 7th, a date that has become symbolic of the drama that we are experiencing.”
In our daily prayers, we should strive to practice the “Little Way” of St. Théresè of Lisieux, who taught us to be childlike in our relationship with God. Through humility, we open ourselves to trust more fully in God and to allow His grace to penetrate our innermost being. As the Patriarch said so well, we do need to be converted from our self-centered focus and to imagine what God has planned for those who love Him. Just imagine the power of this prayer when people of good will throughout the world put their hearts, minds, and spirits behind the words…
Prayer for peace
Lord our God, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all mankind,
Who in the cross of Your Son and through the gift of His own life,
at great cost You wished to destroy the wall of enmity and hostility
that separates peoples and makes us enemies:
Send into our hearts the gift of the Holy Spirit,
that He may purify us from every feeling of violence, hatred and revenge,
enlighten us to understand the irrepressible dignity of every human person,
and inflame us to the point of consumption for a peaceful and reconciled world
in truth and justice, in love and freedom.
Almighty and eternal God,
in Your hands are the hopes of all and the rights of every people:
Assist with Your wisdom those who govern us, so that, with Your help,
they will become sensitive to the sufferings of the poor
and of those who suffer the consequences of violence and war;
may they promote the common good
and lasting peace in our region and throughout the earth.
Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope,
obtain the gift of peace for the Holy Land
that gave birth to you and for the whole world. Amen.
During this October month of the Holy Rosary, let us take time to pray for all those throughout the world who are suffering because of unjust wars, indifference, fear-filled evacuations for their safety, gross human indignities, and senseless loss of loved ones:
“May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives!”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
October 6, 2024
Posted By Teresa Redder, on March 1st, 2024 FEBRUARY ENDS WITH A “LEAP” OF FAITH
Brothers and sisters,
At our Region’s November gathering, we distributed Franciscan Solitude calendars to the Fraternity Ministers and Formation Directors to provide Franciscan inspiration for 2024.
For the month of February, the picture was of the sanctuary of La Foresta in the Rieti Valley, a place very special to St. Francis. The calendar urged us to read Chapter XIX of the Little Flowers of St. Francis. In many respects, this story is similar to the loaves and fishes, requiring patience and faith when our senses are challenged. A great crowd had followed Francis to this property where grapes had been planted. The host priest had doubts that the grape crop could survive this great crowd. This story is a powerful reminder to us of how we must place our trust in God. I would like to share some of my photos with you from my 2019 pilgrimage to La Foresta as you read the story; the last photo is from the calendar…
   
Little Flowers of St. Francis – Chapter XIX
HOW THE VINE OF THE PRIEST OF RIETI, WHOSE HOUSE ST FRANCIS ENTERED TO PRAY, WAS TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT BY THE GREAT NUMBERS WHO CAME TO SEE HIM, AND HOW IT YET PRODUCED A GREATER QUANTITY OF WINE THAN USUAL, AS ST FRANCIS HAD PROMISED; AND HOW THE LORD REVEALED TO THE SAINT THAT HEAVEN WOULD BE HIS PORTION WHEN HE LEFT THIS WORLD
St Francis at one time being grievously tormented with a disease in his eyes, the Cardinal Ugolino, protector of his Order, who loved him dearly, wrote to him to come to Rieti, where there were excellent oculists. St Francis, having received the Cardinal’s letter, set off first to San Damiano, where was Sister Clare, the devout spouse of Christ, to give her some spiritual consolation, intending afterwards to go on to the Cardinal. On arriving at San Damiano, the following night his eyes grew so much worse that he could not see the light, and was obliged to give up going any further. Then Sister Clare made him a little cell of reeds, in order that he might repose the better; but St Francis, owing partly to the pain he suffered, and partly to the multitude of rats, which much annoyed him, could rest neither day or night.
After suffering for several days this pain and tribulation, he began to think that it was sent to him by God as a punishment for his sins, and he thanked the Lord in his heart and with his lips, crying out with a loud voice: “My God, I am worthy of this, and even worse. My Lord Jesus Christ, thou Good Shepherd, who hast shown thy mercy to us poor sinners in the various bodily pains and sufferings it pleaseth thee to send us; grant to me, thy little lamb, that no pain, however great, no infirmity nor anguish, shall ever separate me from thee.” Having made this prayer, a voice came from heaven, which said: “Francis, if all the earth were of gold, if all the seas and all the fountains and all the rivers were of balm, if all mountains, all hills, and all rocks were made of precious stones, and if thou couldst find a treasure as much more precious again as gold is more precious than earth, and balm than water, and gems than mountains and rocks, if that precious treasure were offered to thee in the place of thy infirmity, wouldst thou not rejoice and be content?” St Francis answered: “Lord, I am unworthy of such a treasure.” And the voice of God said again: “Rejoice with all thy heart, Francis, for such a treasure is life eternal, which I have in keeping for thee, and even now promise to thee; and this thine infirmity and affliction is a pledge of that blessed treasure.”
Then was St Francis filled with joy at so glorious a promise; and calling his companion, he said to him: “Let us go to the Cardinal.” He humbly took leave of Sister Clare, after having comforted her with holy words, and took the road to Rieti. When he approached the town, such a multitude came out to meet him, that he would not go into the city, but went to a church which was about two miles of. But the people, hearing where he was gone, went thither to see him; so that the vine which surrounded the church was greatly injured, and all the grapes were gathered; at which the priest, to whom it belonged, was very grieved in his heart, and repented of having received St Francis in his church. The thought of the priest being revealed to the saint, he called him to him and said: “Dearest father, tell me, how many measures of wine does this vine produce when the year is a fertile one?” He answered: “Twelve measures.”
Then said St Francis: “I pray thee, father, have patience and endure my presence here a few days longer, as I find great rest in this church; and, for the love of God and of me his poor servant, let the people gather the grapes off thy vine; for I promise thee, in the name of my Savior Jesus Christ, that it shall produce every year twenty measures of wine.” And St Francis remained there for the benefit of the souls of all who went to see him, for many went away filled with divine love, and gave up the world. The priest, having faith in the promise of St Francis, left the vineyard open to all those who came to see him. And, wonder of wonders! although the vine was entirely ruined, so that there scarcely remained, here and there, a few small bunches of grapes, when the time of vintage arrived, the priest gathered the few bunches which were left, and put them into the winepress; and according to the promise of St Francis, these few little bunches did not fail to produce twenty measures of excellent wine.
This miracle teaches us that as, in consequence of the merits of St Francis, the vine, though despoiled of its grapes, produced an abundance of wine, so in the same way many Christians, whose sins had made them barren of virtue, through the saint’s preaching and merits, have often come to abound in the good fruit of repentance.
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Let us find strength and joy in this story no matter what challenges we face in our daily lives!
Peace and all good,
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
St. Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
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