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Levels of OFS Fraternity
1. Local Fraternity:
The basic "cell"/group of members in a given locality. Members are animated & guided by an elected council & a Spiritual Assistant appointed by the Provincial Minister to which the local fraternity is "bonded" when established.
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Posted By Teresa Redder, on September 1st, 2026 St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity
Regional Spiritual Assistant
St. Francis of Assisi Friary
1901 Prior Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
tel: (302) 798-1454 fax: (302) 798-3360 website: skdsfo email: pppgusa@gmail.com
September 2026
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
Blessed are those who endure in peace
For by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
For the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.
Thus ends the beautiful poem/hymn that St. Francis of Assisi composed shortly before he died. His journey to eternity through the experiences of his life was adventuresome. The personality of Francis did not allow half measures. It was all or nothing. He partied well and spent his father’s money lavishly. He prayed intensely, ultimately being so conformed to the Object of his Love and prayers as to bear visibly the signs of a Love beyond all love, beyond all imagining.
Yet, here we are, at the end of his beautiful hymn praising God and His creation, and we see words like “death”, “mortal sin”, “second death”. The depth of meaning and true spiritual beauty in this last part of the Canticle is not recognized at first. When taken in the context of the whole Canticle praising God for His goodness and attributes in various areas of creation, the “godliness” St. Francis indirectly implied helps one to enter the heart of Francis. His was sadness for those who as yet have not realized the joy, peace, love that they have deprived themselves.
The closing words of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures present a profound theology of human existence: the human person is called to endure suffering peacefully, to confront mortality without despair, to live according to the will of God, and ultimately to praise the Creator in humility. The lines, Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned, followed by the praise of Sister Bodily Death, should not be understood simply as a meditation on dying. Rather, they articulate a distinctly Christian vision in which suffering, death, moral responsibility, and praise are gathered into one spiritual drama. Francis transforms experiences that ordinarily provoke fear – conflict, suffering, and death – into opportunities for communion with God.
The first significant idea is the blessing of those who endure in peace. Peace in Franciscan spirituality is not merely the absence of external conflict. It is an interior disposition grounded in trust in God. To endure does not mean passively accepting injustice or refusing to acknowledge suffering. Endurance signifies the spiritual capacity to remain oriented toward the good even when circumstances are painful, uncertain, or apparently unjust. Francis understands peace as something received, a “gift”, by You Most High. Authentic peace is ultimately theological rather than psychological. It does not depend entirely upon human control over circumstances. It arises from confidence that just being alive – existence – possesses a meaning beyond immediate suffering.
The promise that such persons will be crowned urges us to reflect upon the fulfillment of creation when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Human suffering is placed within the horizon of eternity. The crown symbolizes fulfillment, victory, and participation in divine life. The Christian understanding of endurance differs fundamentally from accepting what you cannot change. Stoicism, as it is called, can emphasize self-mastery and independence from external circumstances, but Franciscan spirituality emphasizes dependence upon God. The person does not conquer suffering through sheer strength but discovers, through grace, how suffering can become a place of fidelity. The crown is consequently not a prize earned through human perfection but the completion of God’s “gift” of a life ordered toward God.
This theological movement prepares for the remarkable phrase, Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Bodily Death. Francis does something intellectually and spiritually radical by calling bodily death Sister. Death is normally imagined as an enemy, an interruption, or the negation of life. Francis does not deny its terror; rather, he places death as another piece of the puzzle of creation. It is part of the vocabulary of creation. If the sun, moon, water, fire, earth, and animals can be understood as brothers and sisters because they belong to the one Creator, then even death can be addressed within the framework of relationship.
Calling death Sister does not mean that death is necessarily good. Christianity maintains a distinction between creation as willed by God and death as an expression of humanity’s fallen condition. Yet Francis refuses to allow death to have the final word. Why, because the Creator is greater than death. Death itself can be incorporated into the mystery of divine providence. The phrase therefore expresses neither romanticism about dying nor indifference toward life. Instead, it represents a profound act of theological reorientation: Francis places death inside the larger reality of God.
The statement that death is from whom no-one living can escape introduces a great truth. Mortality is one of the fundamental conditions of human existence. Regardless of wealth, social status, intellectual achievement, or physical strength, every human being eventually encounters bodily death. Francis therefore confronts the illusion of human total control in all aspects and times of life. The question is about autonomy. Death exposes the limits of possession and control. What a person owns cannot ultimately be taken beyond mortality. What matters is the manner in which one has lived before God.
This insight gives particular significance to the warning, Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Francis immediately distinguishes between two ways of encountering death. The issue is not simply whether one dies, because everyone dies. The deeper question concerns the moral and spiritual condition in which one encounters death. Death reveals the orientation of the human person. A life fundamentally turned away from God cannot be reconciled with the vision of divine communion expressed throughout the Canticle. How sad for one to live in a state that deprives them of the serenity and joy of a deep relationship with Life Himself. Here we understand more the words: Woe to those who die in mortal sin. How sad! How unfortunate! These persons have deprived themselves, until they receive the grace of full forgiveness, of the joy of literally feeling the closeness of the soul with God. Such an intimacy can never be explained or even described completely. It can only be lived. It envelops the person with an inexplicable Presence. Francis’ “woe” is a sadly felt lament for those who failed to recognize the joy just within their reach. He prays they will hear and understand the joy just within reach. This joy would be a sign of the joy that is within the reach of every person.
The phrase Blessed are they whom Death will find in Your Will provides the positive counterpart. The blessed person is not described primarily as intellectually accomplished, materially successful, or socially powerful. The criterion is fidelity to divine will. This is central to Franciscan spirituality. The human person finds freedom not through absolute self-determination but through loving union with God. To do God’s will is to discover one’s proper relationship to the Creator, creation, other people, and oneself.
So it follows that No second death can do them harm, and the phrase deepens this distinction. Physical death is universal, but spiritual death is not inevitable. The language recalls the Christian conviction that separation from God is more serious than biological mortality. A person who dies physically while remaining oriented toward God does not experience death as ultimate destruction. The resurrection of Christ transforms the meaning of death: what appears to be an ending can become passage into fuller life.
St. Francis concludes not with fear but with praise: Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, and serve Him with great humility. These last words summarize the entire spiritual logic of the Canticle. Praise, thanksgiving, service, and humility are inseparable. The proper response to life in this world is not domination but gratitude. The world is not merely an object available for human use, or worse, exploitation; it is a gift received from the Creator. Likewise, human life is not self-generated possession but a gift whose ultimate meaning lies in relationship with God.
We see then why humility is especially important. Francis does not conclude by claiming that human beings have mastered the mystery of life. Instead, they are called to serve. Humility recognizes both human dignity and human limitation. The human person is valuable because he or she is loved and created by God, yet is not God. Such humility liberates the individual from the illusion that everything must be controlled, possessed, or understood.
Taken together, these verses form a logical and consistent spiritual understanding that the human being is a mortal creature who nevertheless possesses an eternal vocation. Suffering tests fidelity; peace expresses trust; death reveals human dependence; moral action expresses orientation toward God; and humility becomes the appropriate response to the mystery of creation. Francis does not escape the realities of suffering and death by denying them. He transforms their meaning through faith.
The deepest message of the last words of the Canticle is therefore that Christian hope does not consist in avoiding mortality but in learning how to live faithfully within mortality. To endure in peace, to accept Sister Bodily Death, to reject mortal sin, to do God’s Will, and to serve with humility are dimensions of a single spiritual vocation. Francis ultimately teaches that the meaning of life is not found in conquering death but in living so completely in relationship with God that death itself cannot destroy that relationship. The final word is consequently praise: not because suffering and death are insignificant, but because neither possesses the power to overcome the love and life of the Creator.
Surrendering life to the Creator opens the heart view to a panorama of light, beauty, love, grace that otherwise would be in the cloudy oblivion of uncertainty and fear. Every prayer of trust is a little surrender. Every time we place another person’s needs before our own, we are learning the freedom of love. In this sense, Francis’s final words in the Canticle are a meditation not on death but really a meditation on discipleship. And that carries a promise that: No second death can do them harm, pointing beyond physical death toward the deeper spiritual reality of eternal life.
This is where the entire Canticle reaches its climax. Francis has been praising creation, but creation itself is not God. Everything points beyond itself. Creation is a sign. The created world teaches us gratitude, humility, dependence, wonder, and praise. But ultimately all created things are passing. The sun rises and sets. Flowers bloom and wither. Seasons change. Our bodies grow old. Relationships change. Life moves toward death. And still God remains.
Therefore, the final lesson of the Canticle is not simply to appreciate creation. It is to pass through creation toward the Creator. Francis’s vision is profoundly incarnational. He does not despise the material world. He loves it because it reveals God’s generosity. Yet he never confuses the gift with the Giver. This is perhaps why the last words are so simple: Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, and serve Him with great humility.
For the beginning and the end of everything is God. And in God, even death cannot have the final word. Amen.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Terri Leone, on August 30th, 2026 So sorry the link I sent the other day regarding “The Easter of Francis” didn’t work. Sorry for the inconvenience if you tried it and received an error message.
The one below works for me today so it should work for you as well.
Peace,
Terri
https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/centenary-resources-the-easter-of-francis-of-assisi/
Posted By Terri Leone, on August 29th, 2026 Have you visited the Centenary pages for “The Easter of St. Francis” on our National website recently?
https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/centenary-resour…rancis-of-assisi/
Some new items have been added that you might be able to use. Check it out!
Posted By Terri Leone, on August 12th, 2026 Peace and Joy!
Current/Up to Date “Regional Forms” may be found in right hand column in the alphabetical list under “Regional Documents, Procedures, etc.”
Please do not use forms listed with “Section 2 Regional Handbook” Thanks.
Posted By Teresa Redder, on May 9th, 2026 Joyful Gospel Living
“Come to Him, a living stone…chosen and precious in the sight of God.”
Background:
Like many other fraternities, our local fraternity (Holy Assumption-Roebling, NJ) prayed that we might find a common apostolate. At the suggestion of one of our members, we decided that this should be a pro-life apostolate. After exploring several options in our local area, we made arrangements to meet Clare Kirk, OFS (belonged to St. Peter Fraternity in Riverside, NJ) , who worked at Good Counsel Home in Riverside with expectant and new mothers. She gave us a tour of the facility and what the needs were. Later, she visited our fraternity and spoke to our membership about this life-giving ministry. In a follow-up phone call, Clare mentioned to me that there was an even greater need to assist the mothers after their two years of association with the home, when their life skills were put to the test and they sometimes struggled to adjust. At that time, Clare maintained contact with seven alumnae (new mothers) who were trying to make a life for themselves and their new babies. Our fraternity made a commitment to help one of those mothers (Emma) and her 18-month old baby Essence. It has been a wonderful journey of accompaniment for all of us. This June, Essence will be 14 years old and graduating from 8th grade!
One of our fraternity members has been at the Masonic Village in Burlington, NJ, for many years now. Every year, we take fraternity to Carla to celebrate her birthday (June 29th). Emma and Essence celebrate birthdays in May and June respectively, so Carla gets to enjoy a triple celebration. How special will the visit be this year! Little sister Symone’s birthday is in September, but she gets to party, too. Carla looks forward to these visits and lavishes affection on Emma and the girls.
Reflection:
A few years ago, my husband Jeff and I made a trip to the White Mountains of Maine to visit one of my brothers and his wife. They live on Mt. Abram, but their home provides easy access to the Presidential range in New Hampshire and the Appalachian Trail (AT) as it crosses into Maine. One day, we decided to take a hike on the AT and found a trailhead to Table Rock, famous locally for the spectacular views when reaching the summit. As we hiked the rugged trail, we encountered the characteristic terrain details of Maine: stones, rocks, and boulders! When we were about 2/3 of the way up, we were both envious of bighorn sheep and their abilities to traverse such terrain!
What does a living stone look like? In St. Peter’s epistle, he encourages the local Church to “Come to Him, a living stone, rejected by human beings, chosen and precious in the sight of God.” This was an appeal to people of faith to turn to the Light of Christ and have a desire to be a living stone to build up the Church as a visible sign of Christ’s presence in our world.
On April 14th, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) hosted a one-hour webinar to encourage people of faith to advocate for a just Farm Bill. This important legislation not only protects the needs of farmers who raise the food that will nourish our country and people in faraway lands, but it also funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Both of these programs are critical to the life and dignity of people affected by poverty.
From dialogue with the coordinators at FAN, I knew that their promotion of advocacy was to get constituents to write to the members of Congress to make it a priority to preserve funding for those who are in need. When the One Big Beautiful Bill was passed last fall, there was intention to cut $30B of SNAP funding over the next decade. The proposed budget for FY2027 includes a $4.9B reduction to SNAP. What must a living stone do to build the spiritual house whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ? These reductions have a direct impact on struggling families like Emma’s.
I visited the Catholic Charities USA website to see what the impact has been. In recent news, I found a link to a letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations by Kerry Alys Robinson, the President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, in which she wrote on behalf of the 169 diocesan Catholic Charities agencies in the US to make an urgent appeal for the vulnerable in our society:
https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/letter-appropriations-labor-hhs-fy2027.pdf
In the introduction to her letter, Robinson wrote:
“As you consider the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) urges you to invest in programs that protect and support poor and vulnerable children, seniors, families, people facing behavioral and mental health crises, workforce development and training.”
As living stones, we can choose to place ourselves where we intentionally build a strong structure. The Gospel teaches us how we are to live by loving one another and following the example of Jesus in seeing Him in one another. In this weekend’s Gospel from St. John, Jesus tells His followers: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”
What is ours to do? In our parish life, we know that there is a ministry to those in need through the efforts of our St. Vincent de Paul Society. Many people come to our food pantry for temporary and sustaining assistance. In many cases, many of those families also receive SNAP benefits, but they do not cover the growing expenses of our world today. As draconian cuts are made to these critical benefits, how will families cope? What must living stones do for one another? How does our faith in God inspire us to do the work as Christ, our foundation, would?
For 13 years, our Secular Franciscan fraternity has accompanied a young single mother and her two daughters as a pro-life ministry. Through this accompaniment, we have learned a great deal about the difficulties that poor people face with the very basics of society: food nourishment; affordable housing; sources of basic material needs such as clothing, furniture, public transportation, legal protection; and serious safety concerns when living and working in dangerous areas. These experiences are part of an ongoing conversion for those who sincerely want to be living stones for Christ.
  
When Pope Francis released his encyclical Fratelli Tutti in 2020, I explored the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) using the search engine for “common good” and found 73 results. In Part Three (Life in Christ), there was a resonating teaching for living stones:
“Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect, the right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order.” (CCC, 1738)
The Beatitudes are our blueprint for building the Kingdom of God here and now. Jesus teaches us that God’s reign is visible where people respond to the needs for righteousness and justice with mercy and compassion. There are so many needs in our world today. Sometimes, there can be a global impact by a singular event (e.g., the Chernobyl nuclear disaster). Every person of faith is called to be a living stone, and then it is good to:
“…let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on April 26th, 2026 On Sunday, April 26, 2026, Saint John the Evangelist Fraternity held a Chapter of Elections at St. John the Evangelist Parish Center in Philadelphia, PA. The presider was Teresa Redder, OFS (Regional Minister) and the ecclesial witness (delegate) was Fr. John McCloskey, OFM Cap.
It is such a great joy to see the election of two newly professed members (Adriano and Victor) to the Fraternity Council with a great desire to serve the Lord with gladness.
We give thanks to God for all of these newly elected servant leaders of this local fraternity. May God continue to bless them with the fidelity to serve with great humility!
| COUNCIL POSITION |
MEMBER |
NOTES |
| Minister |
Carolyn Murray, OFS |
Reelected |
| Vice Minister |
Terry Guerra, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Secretary |
Adriano Duque, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Treasurer |
Bob McKee, OFS |
Newly elected |
| Formation Director |
Venus Murphy, OFS |
Reelected |
| Councilor-at-Large |
Víctor Sanchez, OFS |
Newly elected |
Left to right: Terry Guerra, OFS; Bob McKee, OFS; Adriano Duque, OFS; Carolyn Murray, OFS; Teresa Redder, OFS; Venus Murphy, OFS; Fr. John McCloskey, OFM Cap; and Victor Sanchez, OFS.
The fraternal gathering concluding with Franciscan joy…
and the inquirers who were present had a peek at what a Chapter of Elections looks like!
Posted By Teresa Redder, on April 26th, 2026 JOYFUL GOSPEL LIVING
April 5, 2026 – The Resurrection of the Lord
“This is the day the Lord has made…”
At the Easter Vigil, my parish welcomed four catechumens into the Church through baptism. During this long liturgy, all of the faithful experienced the awe and wonder of Christ’s Resurrection through powerful symbols (fire, light, water, and oil), the chanting of the glorious Exsultet, special Scripture readings, and the rite of Christian initiation with water, candles, and chrism, followed by the reception of the Eucharist. This ritual is observed all over the world with the same reverence and glory that our faith has preserved by tradition for centuries.
For the catechumens and all of us, the celebration of Easter helps us to appreciate what Christ has promised to all of us who believe in Him and to share with Him the eternal life that He offers. Over three weekends in March, the catechumens participated in the weekend scrutinies of their faith. The symbols of Easter are profoundly present in our communal celebration:
- First Scrutiny: “I am the Living Water.”
- Second Scrutiny: “I am the Light of the World.”
- Third Scrutiny: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
Once a year, we renew our baptismal promises on Easter Sunday and then we are sprinkled with holy water to symbolize the new life that we share in Christ. As we are welcomed into God’s family as His sons and daughters at baptism, we also begin our journey of discipleship. For those of us who were baptized as infants, we relied on the examples of our parents, godparents, and other faith-filled people to shape our lives. When we are sprinkled with holy water, we should experience the incredible joy that Psalm 118 describes:
“This is the day the Lord has made.”
On the feast of Saint Joseph (March 19th), my husband Jeff and I were at Sacred Heart Church (Mount Holly, NJ) for the Confirmation service for our twin grandchildren (Zofia and Nathan), who were among the 50 students to receive the sacrament this year. For their 8th grade year, Jeff (a.k.a. Grandpa) was their catechist! On their own, they chose Clare and Francis as their Confirmation names. As their sponsors, we received a special gift from the parish catechetical team—a beautiful commemorative card with the title “The Role of the Sponsor.”
Before the service, I opened and read my card, which included an inscription of our granddaughter’s name and the date that she was sealed with the Holy Spirit—on the feast of Saint Joseph– the patron saint of my paternal grandfather, home parish, grammar and high schools, and university! It was a day that the Lord had made for us. Although the words inside the card highlighted the role of the sponsor, I thought that everyone who lives the faith with joy and conviction shares in this kind of witness for Christ:
“You have the honor of being chosen as witness to the confirmand’s initiation into full Christian life. Through this sacrament, the confirmand is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, made a true witness of Christ in word and deed, and invited more deeply into the life of the Church. Your most significant role in relation to him/her is to be a role model of such witness and unifying love.
Some ways in which you can nurture this spiritual relationship all through life are:
- Celebrate the anniversary of this holy day of Confirmation with a visit, call, or card.
- Listen to and share in the confirmand’s maturing struggles and triumphs in living a Christian life and keep yourself informed on Christian doctrine and values to be able to answer questions when they arise.
- Encourage a maturing life of faith through special cards, letters, or gifts which celebrate holy events…Christmas, Easter…and personal growth events…graduations, first job, engagement. (Gift suggestions: a Bible, rosary, spiritual book, religious jewelry, retreat opportunity).
- Most importantly, become a model of Christian living for the person you have sponsored, through daily prayer, virtue, and active participation in parish life and liturgy.”
During the Confirmation service, I felt especially close to my own late sponsor (my Dad’s youngest sister), Cioci (Aunt) Irene, who passed away at age 95. Not only was she a great influence on my spiritual life, but she also played a large role in the lives of my four children even into their adult lives and with my twin grandchildren, who accompanied me on many visit to her assisted living facility.
When Cioci Irene passed away in July 2022, her son asked me to offer the words of remembrance at her Mass of Christian Burial. I had to smile inwardly when I spoke with the parish staff on the phone about the instructions: make sure that the words have spiritual content to them. Besides my grandparents and parents, my aunt was the greatest spiritual companion in my life for another 10 years after all of them had passed away.
I reread what I had written about Cioci Irene after I received that card at the Confirmation service. In my special memories of the “saint” that God had chosen to be my sponsor, I treasured how she: took away my fear of the bishop when I was confirmed; was the first to send me Polish wafer bread (opⱡatek) when I went away on active duty in the USAF; used her butter mold to make lambs for our family for the blessing of Easter food on Holy Saturday (and gave me her mold to continue the tradition); brought holy water to the parish cemetery for all of us to sprinkle as we bid farewell to her husband (my uncle); gave her treasured sodality rosary to my granddaughter with the instruction to pray it often; and always gave us a blessing on our foreheads when we left our visits with her, even if we were in the dining room and everyone could see it.
As we remember our Baptism during the Easter season, let us delight in the awe and wonder of God’s glory in new life that we experience in Christ. Let us remember those who have been witnesses of faith for us:
“…let us rejoice and be glad.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on February 25th, 2026 This reflection is on the Scripture readings from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 15, 2026)
Joyful Gospel Living
“If you choose, you can keep the commandments…”
Over the past several weeks, the 2nd and 8th grade students in our parish have been preparing for the sacraments of First Holy Eucharist and Confirmation by participating in the sacrament of reconciliation. It is a grace-filled time, not only for the students who are in formation, but also for their families. Even the bulletin board in our church vestibule celebrates this spiritual journey as we look upon the cut-out sheep who are in the gentle care of the Good Shepherd.
During the prayer services before the private confessions, Fr. John (our pastor) proclaimed different Gospel parables to the two groups: the Prodigal Son (8th grade) and the Good Shepherd (2nd grade). In his homilies, Fr. John impressed upon the students how great is the love of God for every person. Even when we choose to do wrong, God seeks our return with mercy, compassion, kindness, and joy.
For most Catholics, our sacramental preparation required us to learn the Ten Commandments and to understand how they provide us with the framework for our daily lives. When the Ten Commandments are portrayed as two stone tablets, there are three commandments that refer to the love of God on one stone; the other stone has the seven commandments that direct us to love our neighbor. In the first reading from the Book of Sirach, there is a wisdom that is shared across all generations: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments; they will save you.”
As human beings made in the Divine image, we are blessed with the gift of free will and intellect. Through humility, we learn to use these gifts with great love for God and one another. The word “choose” is significant for us. The Ten Commandments provide us with a moral framework to build genuine relationships with God and our neighbors. During the reconciliation services, I always enjoy hearing the communal recitation of the Act of Contrition in which we publicly acknowledge that sometimes our choices are not always loving or the best for our spiritual lives. God is always waiting for us to come back. ♥
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church provides us with clear teaching about the basics of our faith. It has four main parts:
- One: The Profession of Faith (the Creed)
- Two: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery
- Three: Life in Christ
- Four: Christian Prayer
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
Sometimes, it is worth it to spend some time exploring what the Church teaches. In Part Three of the Catechism (Life in Christ), there are two sections:
- Man’s Vocation in the Spirit;
- The Ten Commandments.
Both of these are related to the Scripture readings we have heard in these weeks of Ordinary Time. Our vocation in the Spirit is to embrace the charity described by the Beatitudes. They form our actions and our attitudes. Keeping the commandments then becomes our choice to love God and one another.
Through parish music ministry, I have participated in many reconciliation and sacramental events for our students over the years. For the second graders, their preparation time includes learning the song “Open My Eyes.” It is such a simple song, but it is full of a prayerful longing to know God better.
This year, our twin grandchildren (age 14) are receiving the sacrament of Confirmation on March 19th at Sacred Heart. The confirmandi had to prepare activity packets to reflect on their formation journey. Part of the packet required the logging of service hours, with a mapping to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. When we are obedient to God by choosing to do good, we are led by the Holy Spirit to a life of service for others. It was fun to review the list of service hours with them and to see how they might be fruits of the works of mercy. Those choices are important to making God’s Kingdom visible now..
Another reflection activity was to think about their favorite story about Jesus and why it made an impression on them. This was a very personal encounter with Christ. When all of the responses are submitted, we can only imagine the beauty of the encounters that the confirmandi have had with Jesus as they have prepared to receive the sacrament. Which of the stories is important to our own lives at this time?
In our parish hymnal (Oregon Catholic Press), there is a song called “Eye Has Not Seen.” It is based on the epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians that we heard this weekend: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, what God has ready for those who love Him. The words to this song express the wonder and mystery of our God at work in our lives. It beseeches the Holy Spirit to give us the mind of Jesus so that we may learn to love the way that Christ loves. How that love transforms our world!
Over the next two months, the children in our parish will experience God’s love in the reception of the sacraments of initiation: Confirmation and Eucharist. Let us share their joy and learn about wonder from them:
“You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on January 7th, 2026 Joyful Gospel Living
“Then you shall be radiant at what you see…”
Unlike Advent, Lent, and Easter, the Christmas season is not very long in days of celebration: Christmas Eve vigil mass (December 24th) until the Baptism of the Lord (January 11th). During those 19 days, though, we hear some of the most wondrous stories of all time and we meet some of the most unlikely people who opened themselves to being part of God’s extraordinary plan for our salvation.
Whenever I listen to or play Christmas carols on the piano, I hear those stories so clearly. These are not the catchy holiday tunes that have played on the radio since Halloween and disappeared the day after Christmas. The true Christmas carols draw from us the desire to experience awe and wonder about the birth of Christ (although King Herod’s reaction, motivated by pride and envy, had no room for awe and wonder). Here are some noteworthy words from the carols that connect us to people and places: Bethlehem; stable and manger; heavenly host; shepherds and sheep; “Gloria in excelsis Deo”; a guiding star; Magi from the East; treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; and the appearance of the Light of the world, transforming our world with His grace, peace, and beauty.
When my three brothers and I were growing up in Camden, the celebration of Epiphany always occurred on January 6th (before Vatican II). Our faith community looked forward to this celebration because our parish distributed chalk and incense for families to take home to bless their homes for the year ahead. Someone from the family would remind everyone of the three kings (Kaspar/Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) and then make an inscription above the doorframe: “20+K+M+B+26.” My Mom would bring out a special bowl with the resin of the incense, lighting its fragrance within each room for the same blessing for our house.
These special traditions help us to appreciate how wondrous it was that the Magi saw the bright star in the sky and followed it to where it led them. These faraway visitors to the newborn King in Bethlehem were the fulfillment of ancient scriptural prophecies in which every nation on earth would adore the Lord. This would become dramatically apparent later when St. Paul had his conversion and chose to bring the Good News to the Gentiles as the Church grew in faith and witness.
During the Christmas season, our worship area is beautifully decorated with the large Fontanini Nativity set and the significant characters in the birth of Christ. When we pause in front of that Nativity set, we understand what the Prophet Isaiah meant when he foretold, “Then you shall be radiant at what you see.” What a privilege to have been present during that wondrous moment! Sacred art enables us to have a taste of what it must have been like.
Our parish Nativity set not only has the Holy Family, offering us their love for one another and God, but also shepherds, animals, and the Magi. The story would not be complete without all of them. Isn’t it interesting that the visit of the Magi is not found in any other Gospel account other than Saint Matthew’s? Let us be grateful that this story and its consequences (the slaying of the Holy Innocents and the flight into Egypt are also significant to the Christmas season) were preserved so that we would understand that Christ’s coming was not totally idyllic and safe.
After more than two years of steady conflict, the Church welcomed Franciscan Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, as the new Custos of the Holy Land. In a true spirit of interfaith dialogue, religious leaders resumed their annual celebration of Hanukkah with Christians and Muslims in Ein Karem, the home village of Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist, followed by a Magnificat Institute concert that expanded dialogue to include Muslims. What a special way to bring light and hope to others!
In his first Christmas message as Custos, Fr. Ielpo focused on this Scripture quote: “She gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger.” (Lk 2:7). The foreign Magi saw this, too:
“Jesus is born in a makeshift place, humble and unsuitable. The disruptive image of Christmas is smallness. Here in Bethlehem we contemplate a small God. A stable becomes the place of the infinite. The holiest liturgy is celebrated on straw, with the sharp smell of manure, in the caresses of a mother and in the cry of a child. Once again, Jesus is not afraid to descend to the lowest point of our humanity, made of violence, sin, pain, tears, and hardship. Once again, He is born and asks us, just as we are, to be a cradle for Him, with the poor straw of our fragility. He is laid in the manger to become food, nourishment of hope for all humanity. By looking at Him, contemplating Him, and imitating Him, we can begin again with renewed hope. In the stable of humanity, we are not alone. Jesus is born for us.”
 
The Prophet Isaiah reminded Jerusalem that they were part of God’s plan: even when darkness covered the earth, the glory of the Lord shone upon them because the light had come for them. On this Epiphany celebration, we share such glad tidings of joy and peace 2025 years later. If we pause to savor what has happened, we will experience what Isaiah foretold. May awe and wonder fill our days!
“…your heart shall throb and overflow.”
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
SKD Regional Minister
Posted By Teresa Redder, on December 3rd, 2025 “This is the King of the Jews.”
As I prayed over what reflection to share for the Solemnity of Christ the King, I could hear a song playing in my head that the Sacred Heart School students have sung at their monthly Masses: The King Shall Come (#70 in our parish hymnal). There is something so hope-filled and prayerful in the words of this song. It bothered me, though, that it was in the Advent section of our hymnal.
While on a Franciscan retreat (November 3-12) to Assisi, Italy, during which we spent nine days reflecting on the Journey into God by St. Bonaventure, my husband Jeff and I joined 30 other pilgrims from the US, Canada, England, Germany, and the Philippines to appreciate how contemplation leads us to God, the Summum Bonum (Highest Good).
On our fourth day together, our retreat leaders asked the group: How does the outside enter us? This was an important spiritual question for those whose desire was to be a lover of God. As we considered that question, we had help from St. Bonaventure regarding three powers of the psyche that are relational:
- Memory → eternity (the image of God);
- Intellect → Truth (meaning of words, sentences, logical conclusions);
- Will → Highest Good (deliberate, judge, desire).
In this chapter, St. Bonaventure wrote, “The function of the memory is to retain and represent not only things that are present, physical, and temporal, but also things that are successive, simple, and everlasting. Memory holds past things by recall, present things by reception, and future things by anticipation.” After reading that, I knew that the song I was hearing was meant for this reflection.
What does our memory tell us about our image of God? Do we understand who Christ the King is and where His Kingdom exists? Do we anticipate the coming of our King by remembering what Christ promised to us?
In this weekend’s first reading, we remember how David became king of Israel, anointed before the Lord to serve the people. Future prophets would later foretell that the Messiah would come from the royal line of David. The Jewish people held that hope in their memory. When Jesus came, though, it was not in the way people would imagine their King would come.
In the song The King Shall Come, the composer Trevor Thomson gives us a song about the King who has already been with us, but told us that He was returning. How are the faithful waiting and longing for that return? Do we see signs of the King in our midst?
The King shall come when morning dawns
and light triumphant breaks,
When beauty gilds the eastern hills
and life to joy awakes.
Not, as of old, a little child,
to bear, and fight, and die,
but crowned with glory like the sun that lights the morning sky.
This weekend’s Gospel account by St. Luke looks at the kingship of Christ through the lens of the Cross. Who would ever expect their king to be crucified by their oppressors? Part of the mockery that Jesus endured was to have the sign above His cross that said, “This is the King of the Jews.” For the people who journeyed with Jesus, this present situation challenged their memory. Nobody yet knew what was to come. One of the criminals that was executed with Jesus did understand it, though, and he asked Jesus to remember him when He entered into His Kingdom. Jesus promised Him that he would be with Him in paradise.
Through the Sacred Scriptures, our memory is able to recall the birth of Christ, the proclamation of the Kingdom, and the Passion of Christ. They are significant past events that shape our faith and our desire to know Christ better.
The people of God today live in much different circumstances than when Jesus preached the Good News. Technology continues to advance rapidly, sometimes with harmful effects on people. Major conflicts continue to erupt in the world that cause great human suffering. Seeing the face of Christ in our midst, a present memory, remains a challenge for all Christians because it requires the full embrace of the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The criminal who put his faith in Christ trusted that His Kingdom truly existed. Through memory, we know that the death of Jesus was not the end. The resurrection of Jesus was the King’s glory, witnessed by many people. How beautiful, then, is verse 2 of the song for those who believe and hope for the King:
O brighter than the rising morn
when He, victorious, rose
and left the lonesome place of death,
despite the rage of foes.
O brighter than that glorious morn
shall this fair morning be,
when Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
and we His face shall see!
Memory teaches us that the desire for God is something that should be with us daily, shaping our prayer life and our choices to think and act. This weekend, let us sing confidently…
“Come quickly, King of kings! Come quickly, King of kings!
The King Shall Come – Lyrics Video
May God bless our Advent with longing, joy, and hope for what we see and what we await!
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
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