|
|
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on May 1st, 2017 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
May 2017
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Risen Christ bless you with His peace!
The Middle Ages was a time of wonderful monuments built to the glory of God. Many of them were dedicated to the Great Mother of God, our Blessed Mother. The devotion of the people and the great saints of the Church saw Mary as the Virgin Mother who gave birth not only to the Christ, but as the Mother of the Christian and thus the Church as well. St. Francis of Assisi was among these great ‘lovers of Mary’. His own Salutation of the Blessed Virgin gives proof of the depth of his awareness of Mary’s place in our Salvation History and the honor with which he personally held Her in his life. She is the virgin made church whose faith and openness to the will of the Father encourage us to abandon ourselves to so great a God and His most holy will.
One of the most joyous anthems of the Church is the Regina Coeli. Too few of us know it as a prayer in the home, but many of us recall it as the Eastertime noonday prayer of our Catholic school days. There is a story about this anthem that gives it greater meaning. In a fearful pestilence Our Lady’s portrait reputedly painted by St. Luke was being carried in a procession which included Pope St. Gregory the Great. As they approached St. Peter’s Basilica, the air became pure and free of pestilence. At the bridge which joins Rome to the Vatican, angels were heard singing above the picture: “O Queen of heaven, rejoice, Alleluia! for He whom you deserved to bear, Alleluia! has risen as He said, Alleluia.” When the heavenly music had ceased, St. Gregory added, “O pray to God for us, Alleluia,” and raising his eyes to heaven, saw the destroying angel sheathing his sword where he stood atop the monument of Hadrian’s Tomb. On the top of the building the Pope later erected an immense statue of the angel, his sword in the scabbard. And to this day the structure considered Hadrian’s Tomb is called the Castle of Sant’ Angelo.
Just as our Seraphic Father sought to honor Mary in his life, how could we allow this most sacred time of our Christian calendar to go by without thinking of that simple Virgin of Nazareth. Mary’s cooperation with the Father’s Will accepted the work of the Holy Spirit to ‘overshadow’ Her and thus gave us Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior and Redeemer. Infinitely less than God but eminently greater than all humanity, Mary stands above us, yet always journeys with us. We are Her children entrusted to Her by Jesus as She stood at the foot of the Cross. The ‘Woman’, praised in the first Book of Sacred Scripture, who gave birth to the Christ, is the same ‘Woman’ who gave birth to the Christian as the Church was born from the open side of Her Son as He hung on the Cross for all humankind. From that moment, Mary, the virgin made church, watches us with a mother’s eye, intercedes for us with a mother’s concern, and embraces us with a mother’s love. All humanity appeals to Mary as the ‘highest honor of our race’. Saint Francis saw Mary always in this light. Mary is Mother of the Church, because Mother of the Christ, since She is Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Her life was an intimate relationship immersed in the reality of the Most Holy Trinity. Totally human, Mary was privileged to reach the heights of holiness ahead of time, through the merits of Her Son’s redeeming Passion-Death-Resurrection. Thus, She might be forever a sign of the greatness and holiness to which all God’s children are called.
Mary’s presence, prominence, and popularity, even among those not of the Catholic/Orthodox expressions of Christianity, are indicative of the yearning of the human heart to be loved. After the Marriage Feast at Cana, our Heavenly Mother takes a silent place in the Gospels. We meet Her again at the foot of the Cross and then in the Upper Room awaiting the Promised Gift of the Holy Spirit on the Early Church. Not until St. John writes of the ‘Woman about to give birth’ assailed by the ‘dragon’ in the Book of Revelation do we meet ‘the Woman’ again in Scripture, and for the last time. The Church has always seen the image of the ‘Woman’ of Sacred Scripture as the image of Mary. Our love and devotion for Mary has kept Her always alive in our hearts. She is the one to whom so many of us run with our joys and sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and fears. She is the one most Catholics will defend when Her name and honor are being attacked. We speak of Her as we do of Her Son. The Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament is equaled by no one and nothing in this world. Nonetheless, we often speak of Mary as another ‘presence’ that accompanies us in such a way that with Her in our hearts and minds we move forward confidently, trusting Her to be ‘really’ with us with Her love and motherly intercession. Saint Francis praised Her as Palace, Tabernacle, Home, Mother, in his Salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary offers Jesus the space and place through which He makes Himself present among us and for us. Saint Francis is so simple, yet so profound!
What was celebrated in sign, Mary bore in Her heart and mind with a depth and reality that no one ever could or ever will be able to equal. She not only received Her Lord in the Eucharist – Her Son, Savior (yes, ‘Savior’, because She was sanctified and freed of Original Sin ahead of time in Her Immaculate Conception, but had to be redeemed nonetheless), and God – but also maintained such an intimacy with Jesus by grace upon grace, that we can lovingly and devotedly say that heaven walked with Her wherever She went. To see Mary was to see a glimpse of heaven upon earth. Isn’t that what happens to us – or at least should – when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist? When we allow the Sacred Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Savior to enter our humanity and become one with us in an intimate and sacramental manner, aren’t we doing just as Our Blessed Mother did so many centuries ago? We ‘give birth in faith to Christ’ as St. Augustine reminds us. This faith and its challenges, at Communion time, must be embraced, energized, and empowered to manifest itself in the life of the one who receives the Eucharistic Lord.
In his Admonitions, our Seraphic Father writes: All those who see the sacrament sanctified by the words of the Lord upon the altar at the hands of the priest in the form of bread and wine…believe according to the Spirit and the Divinity that it is truly the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Spirit of the Lord, therefore, That lives in Its faithful, That receives the Body and Blood of the Lord. Behold, each day He humbles Himself as when He came from His royal throne into the Virgin’s womb; each day He comes to us, appearing humbly; each day He comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest. As He revealed Himself to the holy apostles in true flesh, so He reveals Himself to us now in sacred bread. And in this way the Lord is always with His faithful, as He Himself says: ‘I am with you until the end of the age’.
How powerful and profound is this intimate love between the human and the Divine! When we encounter individuals who are deeply in love, that love can be seen in their demeanor. Ask them about their love, though, and they seem embarrassed to respond. The intimacy true love reaches in hearts and souls ‘in love’ can only be experienced, never exhaustively explained. It can be seen in its effects but not really ‘dissected’ in explanations. Love is of God, and true love is a mystery to which all are called. Love must be lived to be experienced, and once experienced it must be loved to be lived fully. The ‘virtuous circle’ of love consists in this: the more we love, the more we know love and are capable of loving. The Eucharist we receive at the moment of Holy Communion – our ‘sacred bonding’ with Jesus – offers us the opportunity to enter the Love of God in Jesus. We allow His Holy Spirit to ‘overshadow’ our lives with grace. Just as Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit and became the Mother of God, so we have the possibility to be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to our cooperation with grace, and thus we ‘give birth to Christ in our hearts’. Even the ‘eccentricity’ of Saint Francis of Assisi can most often be attributed to his relationship with the Christ Who was so real to him in prayer and particularly in the Eucharist, that his very behavior became uninhibited. The joy of that one-ness with Christ let him forget all human respect, just as King David danced with abandon before the Ark being brought into the City of David.
The millennial continuation of the Real Presence of Our Savior among us around the world depends upon the consecration of the sacramental signs of bread and wine. This is accomplished through the ministry of those men called and ordained to the priesthood. The faithful share in this priesthood through Baptism. In the Eucharistic Sacrifice they accept to participate actively in the mystery of the Life-Passion-Death-Resurrection-Glorification of Jesus. They acknowledge their belief in the Sacrifice offered and strengthen the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ in their Holy Communion worthily received. They, like the priest, are called to let the Sacred Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Savior enter their lives and flow through every fibre of their being, thus enlivening their faith and filling their hearts with inexpressible inner joy and peace – the effects of the Eternal Love that possesses them. How many of us can really say we allow that to happen? How many of us ‘feel’ the effects of their Holy Communion, and like Saint Francis, feel a real change in attitude that even affects our demeanor? Some may even consider the expressions used above exaggerated, unreal, poetic, or of another era! We find difficulty expressing the depth of the love we experience in the Eucharist, often because we do not give ourselves the time and silence to allow the Sacred Guest to speak to our hearts, that we might ‘feel’ it. We are always in such a hurry. How many good Catholics run out of Church as soon as they have ‘devoutly’ received Communion?! The brief period after Communion, before the Last Prayer-Blessing-Dismissal, is an awesome moment, and a necessary one for us to allow the Truth Whom we have received, to lead us on the One Who is the Way, as He nourishes us with Himself and strengthens us on our journey to Eternal Life.
One of our Third Order brothers, Don Bosco, great saint of the nineteenth century, was known for his ‘dreams’. His dreams, visions, and prophecies concerning the Church are quite revealing. Among them he speaks of seeing the Church as a ship, with the Holy Father at the helm, steering it through severe weather on rough and stormy seas. The ship moves to a safe harbor as it is directed between two columns. The Eucharist is atop of one and Our Lady is atop of the other. The Eucharist and Mary are the strengths (the ‘columns’) of our Catholic Christian faith. Mary leads us to Jesus. Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament, First ‘True’ Tabernacle, First Monstrance, She indicates the way. Let us follow Her example and invoke Her prayers and protection in the ancient Easter Marian Anthem that reminds us of the severe plague that subsided at Her intercession. The Church and the world need the intercession of the Mother of all Humanity to abate the plague of anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, anti-God campaigns that afflict the world today. May we witness Her almighty intercession with the Eternal Father. We rejoice and are glad for the Lord is truly risen, and we sing our ‘Alleluia’, ahead of time, for a God Who renews the joy of our youth, as we acclaim Our Mother, the virgin made church.
Queen of heaven rejoice, Alleluia,
For the Son Whom you merited to bear, Alleluia.
Has risen as He said, Alleluia.
Pray to God for us, Alleuia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleuia,
For the Lord is truly risen, Alleuia.
May the Risen Lord Jesus shower you and your loved ones with peace, joy and abundant blessings for a continued Happy Easter time; may Mary, Mother of the Redeemer and our Mother, help you to live with Jesus in the light of the New Life His Resurrection offers each one of us; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi watch over each one of you, his Spiritual Children, with loving care.
Peace and Blessings
Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.
Regional Spiritual Assistant
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2017 Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This article comes to you while we all still in the season of Lent. I do hope your journey through the remainder of Lent and through Holy Week will bring Easter Joy and many blessings to each and every one.
I would like to share with you at this time the prayer I have been using during lent. When we get to Holy week I will be using The Geste of the Great King OFFICE OF THE PASSION OF FRANCIS OF ASSISI. It was written by Laurant Gallant OFM and Andre’ Cirino OFM
When reading please take time to reflect and to apply it to our lives as Franciscans:
Holy One who journeys with me on the road of life with its hills and valleys.
May I recognize the daily cross that is mine and carry this burden in a trustful way, confident that the undesired parts of my life can be guides to my spiritual growth.
Teach me how to be with my personality traits that I consider unworthy or unacceptable.
Inspire me to release my tight grip when I wrestle with the resistant part of myself that insists on having everything in life turn out the way I desire or demand.
Increase my awareness of the false judgements and unfair expectations that quickly arise to crowd out kindness and compassion for myself and others.
Lessen unrestrained fears and wearisome worries that keep us imprisoned in turmoil and confusion and, thus, lessen my spirits strength and courage.
Soften any hardness of heart I have toward another. Increase my ability to be understanding. Help me topple the walls that prevent my being a forgiving person.
Expand my perception of the good things my life already holds. Decrease apprehension about not having enough, doing enough, or growing enough. Awaken the undying song of hope in my soul as I carry my unwanted cross each day, so that even in the worst of times I continue to trust you to provide for what is needed.
Confident of your grace and daily empowerment, I give myself to you as fully as I am able at this time. As I carry the burden that is mine, remind me often that you are always with me and never against me. I rest my desire for union with you and into your loving care, Amen
Blessings to all at Easter.
Peace and Joy,
Rose
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2017 Will I give Him my best?
When I was a young girl many, many years ago Easter was given so much more significance than it is now. Even though Spring Cleaning had just occurred, the house was still scrubbed from top to bottom, curtains starched and ironed. The dining room table was set with the real cloth tablecloth and Mom’s best dishes. Even the card table for the kids looked better than most any other day. The house even smelled like Easter….all those lilies and hyacinths.
We all had new outfits – “from the skin out” as my mother always said. New socks, new dress, new maryjanes, new hat and gloves were ready for Sunday morning Mass. We didn’t even see our Easter baskets until we got home from Mass. Meeting the Risen Lord in the finest we had to wear came first. As we knelt before Mass, we would silently tell Jesus how successful …or not….we had been trying to make sacrifices for Him during Lent.
How very different it is these days. No hat, no gloves. No scrubbing, no starching. We don’t do the external preparation for Easter as we used to. More importantly, are we doing internal preparation? What do we have to give Our Lord on Easter morning? Have we cleaned something up within ourselves? Have we added something that would please Him?
There are a few weeks left before the glory of Easter is upon us. There is still time to prepare to greet the Risen Lord and may He look at us on Easter morning and see that we bring our best just for Him.
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2017 Our Father most holy: Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Savior…
You, Lord, are Supreme Good, the eternal Good, from Whom all good comes…
Holy be your Name…That You may rule in us through Your grace…
Your will be done…that we may love You…with our whole heart…soul…and mind…
Give us this day…Your own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Forgive us…through Your ineffable mercy…and make us, Lord, forgive completely.
And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
Amen
Following are daily excerpts taken from various Franciscan writings
Daily meditative phrases from various sources
1
Once there was a great war between the citizens of Perugia and Assisi. Francis was captured … and …endured the squalor of prison. His fellow captives were overcome with sadness … but Francis rejoiced in the Lord. (2Celano,bk.1,chpt.1) – Anyone can stand up to an opponent: give me someone who can stand up to a friend.
2
Though staying in a pit and in darkness, he was imbued with an indescribable happiness never before experienced. (1 Celano,bk.1,chpt.5) – I may have all the faith needed to move mountains, but if I have no love, I am nothing.
3
He rose therefore swift, energetic and joyful, carrying the shield of faith for the Lord, and strengthened with the armor of great confidence, he set out for the city. (1Celano,bk.1,chpt.5) – We get no deeper into Christ than we allow him to get in us. » Click to continue reading “Father Francis’ Reflections – April 2017” »
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on April 1st, 2017 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 skdregion.org
email: pppgusa@gmail.com
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
The Risen Christ bless you with His peace!
The season of Easter is saturated with Peace. It is a time for us to enter the Joy of the Risen Jesus and realize that our God is alive and well. We see in the few chapters that end the Gospel accounts a transforming experience for all the first followers of the Lord. It was an inner transformation, for as yet they were fearful of the Jews, but joy-filled at the sight of the Savior. No doubt some may have thought that ‘now He will re-establish Israel’, ‘now He will manifest Himself to the world and conquer our dominators’, ‘now the sinners and sinful nations will be put down and Israel will reign as the righteous nation’. As childish as this manner of thinking may seem, I do not doubt that some, if not all the disciples, may have had similar thoughts or feelings. All we need do is remember what the concern was on the road to Jerusalem as Jesus spoke of His pending capture- torture-death…and resurrection; the apostles were talking about who would be first and powerful in the kingdom, and who would reign on the right and left with Jesus. » Click to continue reading “Father Francis’ Greetings – April 2017” »
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on March 7th, 2017 “Multiculturalism and Diversity: Who is My Neighbor?”
This Summer Session is open to all who would like to attend. Check out the attached flyer for more information on this great opportunity to spend a few days with Seculars from across the country and participate in this timely topic. Seminar flyer 2017
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on March 1st, 2017 Judas has been on my mind. Don’t ask me why….I have no clue. I’m assuming there is a lesson in there that God wants me to learn. But again….I have no clue. Am I being a Judas or am I just dealing with too many Judas’ in my life?
So I have just tried to think in general about Judas. If the story of the Last Supper were a cowboy movie, Judas would be the one wearing the black hat and we would know he is the villain. If the Last Supper were an old black and white movie, Judas would be the one with the slicked down hair, the prim mustache and goatee and dark beady eyes. And we would know he is the villain.
I have always thought that Judas looked like a villain. But I can’t find any place in the Bible where the other apostles shied away from Judas. Or any time that they went to Jesus and said – get rid of this guy, he’s bringing us down.
Nor does the Bible tell us that Judas was plotting from the beginning. When we come into the story, Judas has been an apostle for awhile. It seems like Judas didn’t think about going to the Pharisees until things started to go wrong. That last week in Jerusalem must have been difficult with all the rumors swirling around.
But let’s go back to when Judas first became an apostle. Jesus chose Judas knowing what would happen. Jesus knew on some dark night in the future, Judas would do the unthinkable.
But He said to Judas, “Come follow Me”, just like He said it to the other 11.
So, Judas must have looked and acted like one of the guys. There was the incident at Lazarus’ house where Mary poured the perfume over Jesus’ head and Judas protested. Did he start looking for a way out then? Had his feelings for Jesus begun to sour?
Judas spent quite a while living in Community with Jesus and the other apostles. If the other 11 were living the way Jesus was teaching them, then they embraced Judas as a brother. That must have been the way Jesus wanted it.
Jesus didn’t wash 11 sets of feet on Holy Thursday night. He didn’t pass the bread and wine to one end of the table and not the other.
Knowing what would happen a few hours later, Jesus shared that last meal with all 12. Because Jesus knew something else besides the fact that He had freely chosen Judas. He knew there was forgiveness for Judas, if Judas wanted it.
Jesus has chosen each one of us to be Secular Franciscans. Why….I don’t have a clue. But He does. So for the remaining time of Lent, let’s work on being better Franciscans. So that on Easter morning, the Risen, Glorious Lord can look at our efforts and say….ahhhh yes, I know why I chose you!
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on March 1st, 2017 Brothers and Sisters,
This year lent begins on March 1st. Once again we dedicate ourselves to follow and imitate Jesus, through self-denial and experience conversion through Gospel living in solidarity.
I am presently reading The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton by Dan Horan OFM. In it, Ilia Delio, OFS, offers a reflection on this experience of conversion according to the Franciscan Tradition. She writes:
True poverty creates community because it converts self-sufficiency into creative interdependency where the mystery unfolds for us. Only those who can see and feel for another can love another without trying to possess the other. Poverty is that free and open space within the human heart that enables us to listen to the other, to respect the other and to trust the other without feeling that something vital will be taken from us. . . .Conversion to poverty and humility is the nucleus of Christian evolution because it is the movement to authentic love; a movement from isolated “oneness” toward mutual relatedness, from individualism toward community, where Christ is revealed in the union of opposites in the web of life.
The culmination of this experience of change in Francis life took place in his life when he renounced his social status and perhaps taking too literal the words of Jesus, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple”(Lk.14:26) » Click to continue reading “Thoughts from our Regional Spiritual Director – March 2017” »
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on March 1st, 2017 Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of the day, every day and continually,
let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve,
praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks
to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God, Trinity and Unity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Creator of all, Savior of all who believe and hope in Him, and love Him, Who,
without beginning and end, is unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable,
incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, praiseworthy, glorious, exalted,
sublime, most high, gentle, lovable, delightful,
and totally desirable above all else for ever.
Amen.
(Prayer of Saint Francis taken from the Earlier Rule, chapter 23)
Excerpts taken from A Mirror of Perfection, Rule, Life and True Calling of a Lesser Brother
Daily reflections are taken from various sources
1
Blessed Francis had such reverence and devotion for the Body of Christ, that he wanted it written in the Rule that the brothers in the regions where they stay have care and concern, and should preach to the people, and admonish the clerics and priests to place the Body of Christ in a good and fitting place. – Christianity is not an opinion. Christianity is Christ!
2
(Blessed Francis) wanted to send some brothers with pyxes through every region and wherever they found the Body of Christ placed illicitly, they were to place It honorably in them. – Christianity is a person, a living person! To meet Jesus, to love him and make him loved: This is the Christian vocation.
3
Blessed Francis had such reverence and devotion for the Body of Christ … that he wanted to send (other brothers) with beautiful wafer irons for making hosts at all times. – We have greater need for the Gospel if we are to walk in the ways of truth, freedom, justice, and peace. (adapted) » Click to continue reading “Father Francis’ Daily Reflections -March 2017” »
Posted By Kate Kleinert, on March 1st, 2017 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 email: pppgusa@gmail.com
March 2017
Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,
May the Lord grant you peace!
Throughout his life, St. Francis regularly sought the solitude of forests, mountains, islands. His Canticle of the Creatures gives us an insight into his love and reverence for all creation as gift from the One Great Creator and Father. Nonetheless, often he would retire for weeks on end from this wonderful Theater of Redemption, away from the ‘world’ , the people, and the circumstances that enveloped him each day. Why? If all is a gift and everything is so wonderful, why leave? If God is everywhere, why go as far away from ‘civilization’ as possible to be able to ‘touch God’?
Good, legitimate, enjoyable, and even necessary persons, places, and things – even religious things! – can ‘possess’ us so much that we can risk losing our God-centered perspective, and confuse our priorities. They become the end rather than the means to deepen a relationship with God Who is ‘the Other’ and though He is not His creation, yet God can be seen in all things, because He is My God and My All as St. Francis prayed. An old saying states: A growling stomach cannot hear God speaking to us. God’s providence and love cannot be felt unless they are seen in those who proclaim them by their actions. The spirit, immersed in God, can often become distracted and even depleted of its inner strength by the constant barrages, cacophony, seductions, allurements of our society, and also from just frenetic running around ‘in four directions at once’ without taking time for healthy rest in the Lord. The various ‘lents’ that St. Francis practiced during the year all responded to the canons of the Church for all Christians. They were part of his own particular devotional life and spiritual needs, and they afforded him the silence and solitude to ‘recharge’ his spirit, deepen his relationship with God for Whom St. Francis was the ‘Herald of the Great King’, and clarify his view of the world that surrounded him. » Click to continue reading “Father Francis’ Greetings – March 2017” »
|
|
Comments are closed 
