The St. Katharine Drexel Region of the Secular Franciscan Order

Advent greetings of peace, dear Family!

I pray this finds you well and filled with the Lord’s peace in this week of honoring our dear Mother Mary. What I most love about our Blessed Mother is not only her YES to God to bear the Messiah, but also her love of justice. During her visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, she uttered the prayer of her ancestors, the Magnificat. She prayed for justice for those who were considered the lowest, the poorest and the most vulnerable. As Franciscans, this too is our prayer. We must collectively echo the words of our Mother Mary and seek justice and peace for all those who are abused and mistreated.

You have no doubt read or heard the massive yet disturbing report from the Senate Intelligence Committee on Torture. From the National Religious Campaign Against Torture:

“Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved — policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation’s most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.”

I am writing to ask you to join with me and raise a collectively Franciscan voice.

• Check your daily print or online newspaper for stories on the coverage of the report.
• Write a letter to the editor. Mention that you are a member of the U.S. Secular Franciscan Order (or your Franciscan Province or Community).
• Forward me a copy of your letter with the name of publication, city and state.

There are talking points and suggestions on the NRCAT website. I will collect the letters and forward to NRCAT – or you can go on the website and inform them yourself. Just copy me whatever you do. If the link does not work for you, visit http://www.nrcat.org.

May the God of peace give you his peace as we await the coming of Emmanuel!

Wishing you Advent blessings of peace and all good,
Carolyn

Animate Peace

“Peace begins within each of us. It is a process of repeatedly showing mercy to ourselves, forgiving ourselves, befriending ourselves, accepting ourselves, and loving ourselves. As we learn to appreciate ourselves and accept God’s gift of peace, we begin to radiate peace and love to others.” ~ Rev. John Dear

Peace to each of your hearts!

Through the kindness of our International Councillor, Mary Stronach, OFS, we have learned the results of the Chapter of Elections for our International Fraternity held in Assisi:

Our new General Minister is Tibor Kauser, OFS, from Hungary.

Our new Vice General Minister is Maria Consuelo De Nunez (Chelito), OFS, from Venezuela.

The remaining Councillors are:

• Ana Fruk, OFS, from Croatia
• Ana Maria Raffo Laos, OFS, from Peru
• Attilio Galimberti, OFS, from Italy
• Michel Janian, OFS, from Lebanon
• Diana Silva Noemi, OFS, from Argentina
• Jenny Harrington, OFS, from South Africa
• Augustine Young Hak Yoon, OFS, from Korea

Please hold them in prayer as they begin their term of service to each of us.

Blessings,
mattie

(See previous post)

“I am relieved that we have been able to secure the return of the sacred Host, and that we have prevented its desecration as part of a planned satanic ritual,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. “I remain concerned about the dark powers that this satanic worship invites into our community and the spiritual danger that this poses to all who are involved in it, directly or indirectly.”

Details on the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City website.