From the Newsletter – Secular Franciscan Order

Ecumenical Interfaith Committee Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity

What do you know about our brothers and sisters of the Jewish tradition? What of our Muslim brothers and sisters? Or any other faith tradition? My work on the Interfaith Alliance of the Southwest and the Interfaith/Ecumenical Committee has challenged me to SEE – to see deeply beyond borders, beyond faith traditions, and to learn to celebrate the differences that mark our uniqueness. I have found that when we examine the faith of others, we embark on a journey that reveals just how much we have in common. To embark on this path, however, takes courage. ...

Carolyn Seal2022-09-28T14:55:53-04:00October 3rd, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter|0 Comments

Formation Commission – The Light of the World: We Are Called to See It and Be It

The creation story begins with the goodness of light. Light was God’s first gift to each of us. The birth of Jesus was announced to us with the light of a star. We read of light in many stories in scripture, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. ... Light symbolizes the many wonderful characteristics of God. Light is also a symbol for awareness, knowledge, goodness, and understanding. We are each called by name (Isaiah 43:1) into the light and to shine the light from God into the world. We are called to be witnesses (Isaiah 43:10) to the world. ...

Carolyn Seal2022-09-20T13:36:44-04:00September 26th, 2022|Categories: Formation, From the Newsletter|0 Comments

JPIC – When Violence is the Way, We Must Choose and Show Another Way

In those days when a person’s word meant something, there was also more conversation, less debate, and more dialogue. Debate is more about winning and making the other person wrong than about having a healthy dialogue and sharing ideas. Where have those days gone? Why do I need to make you wrong rather than just understand your point of view? When we make others wrong, we do violence to them. We also do ourselves a disservice, because we lose out on the opportunity to learn from them, and thus to grow. ...

Carolyn Seal2022-09-13T14:14:15-04:00September 19th, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter, JPIC|0 Comments

Our Freedom, our choice, is to live as Christ lived

Fourth of July is a civil celebration, but for us Franciscans—indeed for all Christians—any commemoration is infused with a sense of God’s presence. While many of the Founding Fathers of our nation did not believe in the kind of God we believe in as Catholic Christians, several were Christian, and others acknowledged some kind of godly presence worthy of giving direction to our lives and our common project of national government. But what kind of freedom do we celebrate? ...

Carolyn Seal2022-09-07T14:06:01-04:00September 12th, 2022|Categories: CNSA, From the Newsletter|0 Comments

Fraternity Life – Fraternity: Our Secular Franciscan Witness

What could be the best contribution we, as Secular Franciscans, can make to the life of the Catholic Church? ... Here’s what Pope St. John Paul II had to say in 2002: “The Church expects from you, Secular Franciscans, a courageous and consistent testimony of Christian and Franciscan life, leaning towards the construction of a more fraternal and gospel world for the realization of the Kingdom of God. ….

Carolyn Seal2022-09-13T14:23:19-04:00September 5th, 2022|Categories: Formation, From the Newsletter|2 Comments

Secular Franciscan Order – USA Website

Website News and Did You Know… - How to use the slides on www.secularfranciscansusa.com ... - Franciscan Saints, Blesseds, & Holy Days ...

Carolyn Seal2022-09-30T08:01:56-04:00August 29th, 2022|Categories: Did You Know, From the Newsletter|0 Comments

Sharing the Vision – News From REC

The appointments for National Commissions Chairs or Committees Chairs or individual positions typically are made until one year after a scheduled NEC election. The appointment terms are set in such a manner, so a new council won’t have to appoint new commission or committee chairs immediately after being elected. ...

Carolyn Seal2022-08-16T14:51:54-04:00August 22nd, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter, News from the NEC|1 Comment

Franciscan Jubilee – Minister’s Message Summer 2022

I will never forget my 50th birthday. My daughter, aware of the significance of this 50-year mark, made a sign that she hung on my mailbox. It simply said, “It’s Jan’s Jubilee!” I still have that sign. It now hangs on a wall in my garage as an important reminder to always turn to God, where I find joy and peace beyond all I could ask or imagine. It was not my idea that the theme of the 2022 Quinquennial Congress would be “Jubilee,” but when Br. Bob Brady, OFM, suggested it, I was thrilled. ...

Carolyn Seal2022-08-15T08:48:57-04:00August 15th, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter, Minister’s Message|2 Comments

Ecumenical Interfaith Committee Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity

“The People of God: A Sacred Prism,” was an interfaith gathering of representatives of various Franciscan groups, which sparked joy, peace, and spirituality for all who attended. What a privilege it was for us, as members of the OFS-USA Ecumenical / Interfaith Committee, to attend this special event held Nov. 14-16, 2021, at the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center in Garrison, N.Y., a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. [...]

Carolyn Seal2022-07-12T14:40:24-04:00July 18th, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter|1 Comment

Franciscan Living – Take Delight in the Lord

I remember when each of my children was placed in my arms for the first time! I examined each one, marveling over every finger and toe, with their eyes gazing upon me! My children heard my voice and were comforted. I delighted in them, and they delighted in me. Psalm 37, verse 4, tells us to “Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” If the desire we have is to love God, then we must learn to delight in Him. How then do we do this? [...]

Carolyn Seal2022-07-12T14:27:19-04:00July 11th, 2022|Categories: From the Newsletter|2 Comments