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A New Call to Prayer and Contemplation

As we begin 2024, we are reminded of two special calls for deepening our relationship with Our Dear Lord and our suffering sisters and brothers. The Franciscan Family is commemorating the “the Gift of the Stigmata” and the whole Catholic Church begins the final year of preparation for the Eucharistic Jubilee. ... In celebrating the Centenary of the Gift of the Stigmata as a Franciscan Family, we are invited to restore the dimension of prayerful and contemplative silence in our daily lives, the silence that places us before the essential, that lets us recognize our desire for the infinite that resides in our hearts, that allows us to listen to ourselves, to others and to God. ...

Carolyn Seal2024-02-17T12:11:58-05:00February 17th, 2024|Categories: Centenaries 2023-2026|1 Comment

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens – 1st Sunday in Lent – Fr. Christopher

May God strengthen us inwardly, that with the joy of the Holy Spirit, we may offer God something above the measure required of us. Amen.

Miriam Kennedy2024-02-16T15:01:13-05:00February 17th, 2024|Categories: CNSA, Homilies|0 Comments

Voices of Gospel Living: Privilege

This is Leap Year and as we approach that extra day on Feb. 29 I urge you to pay close attention to what might cause your soul to leap as you come to encounter the crucified Jesus, and the results of His resurrection.

Sharon Winzeler2024-02-24T14:36:22-05:00February 16th, 2024|Categories: Voices of Gospel Living|Tags: Cherryle Fruge|2 Comments

Seek with Encounters, Dialogue with Others

I couldn’t help thinking how our meeting – an Anglican priest at the Chapter of a Catholic order – would have been, for far too long, unthinkable. Until people did think of it! And then these people acted on it: Roman Catholic Secular Franciscans reached out to the Anglican TSSF and the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and asked for dialogue. Meetings were held, and five principles of Franciscan unity, across our denominations, were discovered: baptism, charism, call, Christo-centrism, and the prophetic voice. The Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity was founded, and in time the Order of Lutheran Franciscans joined. “How blessed it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity,” (Ps 133:1).

Carolyn Seal2024-06-06T18:33:36-04:00February 12th, 2024|Categories: Ecumenical Interfaith Committee, From the Newsletter|0 Comments

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Christopher

Jesus knows this law as well as any other rabbi of His day. But He chooses to break the law in a most deliberate and decisive way—He actually stretches out His hand and touches the leper who came for a cure. Touches him. Inexcusable! Irresponsible! But it works! Jesus’ tender touch makes the leper clean.

Miriam Kennedy2024-02-10T18:35:07-05:00February 10th, 2024|Categories: CNSA, Homilies|1 Comment

St. Francis, transformed by God, influencer of many

God transformed Francis, keeping many things in his style (that were a part of his character), and not destroying his personality. This is the miracle — how God can transform a person by changing things in life and turning (things that are) bitter into sweetness.

Sharon Winzeler2024-02-08T16:25:45-05:00February 8th, 2024|Categories: Centenaries 2023-2026, CIOFS|0 Comments

CHRIST, ST. FRANCIS, and FRANCISCAN THEOLOGICAL TERMS

Today, in Franciscan circles, specific words or phrases are used to describe the Franciscan understanding of Christ and Christ’s relationship to humanity and creation. Too often, no clear definition is given, and many Franciscan teachings are skipped over without understanding what is meant. This should not discourage us because St. Francis’ understanding of the Almighty deepened throughout his life. The man who began by repairing churches was not the same man who wrote the Canticle of the Creatures and gave himself back to God in the arms of Sister Death. So, Let us begin...

Carolyn Seal2024-01-31T11:08:19-05:00February 5th, 2024|Categories: Formation, From the Newsletter|2 Comments

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2024

"Care of the sick and infirm reminds us most visibly of how God deals with us graciously in our weakness. There is the tendency in all of us to stand tall and proud, attractive in strength and talent. We even rely on those things and think of those things as important to our relationships with others. . . . And so, we need a reminder that God does not glory in our accomplishments. God loves us for who we are—fragile and failing human beings—bent for another kind of glory where the accomplishment is God’s and ours is the gratitude."

Miriam Kennedy2024-02-03T12:06:05-05:00February 3rd, 2024|Categories: CNSA, Homilies|1 Comment

Reflections on gentle journey of peace, love

The gentle journey to profession in the Secular Franciscan Order opened my heart’s pathway to listen to Jesus’ GPS and participate in the experiences He had prepared along the journey.

Sharon Winzeler2024-02-24T14:33:36-05:00February 1st, 2024|Categories: National Executive Council, Voices of Gospel Living|Tags: Susan Ronan|2 Comments

What Way are You Going?

Abraham Lincoln had it right. We should not claim God’s blessing and endorsement for national policies and practices. We should not proclaim that God is on our side. Rather, said Lincoln, we should pray whether we are on God’s side. Martin Luther King Jr reminded us of God’s purposes for peace, for justice, for the building of the “beloved community,” where everyone is welcomed, everyone is included, and no one felt left out of the conversation. By the working of the Holy Spirit in human hearts, unity is forged in diversity. ...

Carolyn Seal2024-01-25T15:00:29-05:00January 29th, 2024|Categories: CNSA, From the Newsletter|0 Comments