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Keeping Watch for Christ
The most memorable sermon I have heard on "the Parable of the Talents" featured in our readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time was at a Trappist monastery in the Rocky mountains of Snowmass, Colorado. I was 24 years old and discerning if I might be called to a life of contemplation in this beautiful place. I worked and I prayed, and awoke in the middle of the night and walked across the prairie to join the monks at the 4 a.m. vigil.
The sermon that Sunday by Fr. Micah helped to open my young adult mind to a new image of God. The master's reaction to the scared servant is one of the most shocking aspects of Jesus' parables. The servant says the master is a "demanding person," so out of fear he buries his talent in the ground. "I might have done the same!" Fr. Micah retorted. The key point is when the master replies "So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter?" (Mt 25:26) Fr. Micah, drawing from scholarly interpretation, pointedly said that this was like saying, "Oh, really? Am I really so demanding and overbearing?" The master is saying that the servant's fearful image of him is wrong. And what's most shocking is that, in line with Jesus' thrust for urgency in his hearers, living with that fear throws you into darkness with its wailing and grinding of teeth.
And so I sat with the monks in the cold mountains at 4 a.m., in the silence of a stone chapel dimly lit by candles. In this dark, barren place we were trying to be "children of the light" (1 Thes 5:5) as the second reading says. We were keeping watch for Christ, especially in our own hearts. May we turn and say to each other amidst the darkness, "let us stay alert and sober" (1 Thes 5:6). Let us stay alert to our fears, to the smallness of our images of God, and alert to still greater love and courage.
Lonnie Ellis
FAN Director of Organizing and Development
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FAN Care for Creation Session at NCCW Convention in Chicago
 From November 9-12, the National Council of Catholic Women will holds its Annual Convention on the theme "Campaign for Human Dignity - Love in Action" at the downtown Chicago Marriott.
On November 11 from 1:45-3 p.m., FAN Director of Care for Creation Christy Elliott will host a breakout session on "Creation Relations: Prayer, Principles, and Practice." This session will integrate prayer, education, and discussion to examine the Catholic commitment and approach to care for God's creation, including the contributions of the Franciscan tradition. The session will explore the spiritual roots of current ecological challenges, the principles of Church teaching on care for creation, and ways to live out this call. Participants will leave the session with a fuller understanding of how care for creation relates to other areas of Church teaching, especially human life and dignity, and how they can practice transformative leadership in their homes and communities. This session will also consider the particular ways that women can contribute to caring for creation.
Learn more about the convention and session online. |
| REGISTER FOR A FAN WEBINAR!
Spirituality + Science = Care for Creation
Retrieving a Franciscan Cosmology for Climate Conservation
Keith Douglass Warner, OFM
Santa Clara University
Thursday, November 17, 8 p.m. EDT
Franciscan care for creation emerges from the spirituality of St. Francis but also draws on the Franciscan intellectual tradition, which includes the natural sciences. Fostering ecological literacy should be an important goal for Franciscans in the 21st century.
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| PRAY AND ACT FOR A FAITHFUL FEDERAL BUDGET
1) Please send a USCCB e-mail to House Members of the Deficit "Super Committee" to urge them to protect the poor and vulnerablea in their budget considerations.
Religious coalitions of Christians, Muslims and Jews are planning a prayer vigil on November 20 at 3 p.m. in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., as well as vigils outside the district office of their members of Congress, in public squares and at houses of worship throughout the country to ask God to move the hearts of policy makers and encourage the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration to draft a fair federal budget that does not place an undue burden on the poor.
Anyone interested in participating in a local vigil is welcome to join weekly planning calls on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. EDT by calling (308) 344-6400 (Access Code: 260501).
Learn more about the Campaign for a Faithful Federal Budget online.
 2) At a November 2 press meeting which FAN staff Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF attended, Bishop Denis Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore and board member of CRS stated, "Catholic Relief Services and other faith-based groups extend the reach of US poverty-focused international assistance to the poorest people in the poorest countries. We must not balance our broken budget on the backs of these people."
Please use this CRS resource to call or e-mail your Senators urging them to support the Senate Appropriations Committee bill and to vote against any damaging amendments which would cut funding from U.S. foreign assistance, which is already less than 1 percent of the federal budget.
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FAN Joins in Tar Sands Action at the White House
 | | November 6, 2011 Tar Sands Action |
Yesterday, November 6, FAN members participated in a rally and circle around the White House to demonstrate opposition to the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which would run from the tar sands of Canada to refineries in Texas.
-Check the FAN blog this week for reflections and photos of the event!
-View photos of the event on the Tar Sands Action Flickr page
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Celebrating Instruments of PeaceDuring an October 27 evening of prayer and reflection at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md., FAN staff Sister Marie Lucey, OSF offered a short reflection about St. Francis, followed by reflections by Rabbi Fred Scherliner Dobb, Rizwaan Akhtar and Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM. The theme, "Jews, Christians, Muslims: Praising the One God, Co-creating a Peaceful, Sustainable Future," unfolded in discussion and commitment to action in small groups before the closing prayer and hymn.
The same day, FAN Executive Director Patrick Carolan and staff member Christy Elliott joined the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order and other guests and observers to observe the World Day of Prayer for Peace: Spirit of Assisi.
 The Secular Franciscans presented their JPIC Award to Fr. Louie Vitale, OFM. Ed Shirley, SFO posted a reflection on the FAN blog. FAN Action Commissioner and SFO National JPIC Commission Chair Kent Ferris, SFO presented on JPIC and the SFO relation to FAN. SFOs also reported their use of the F.R.A.N.C.I.S. Commitment to Civility in Discourse Resources as bookmarks for fraternity members and as a peronsal reminder on a binder. In this election season, let us renew our commitment to peacemaking through civility.
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FAN Action Commission: Occupied in D.C. During the FAN Action Commission gathering in October, FAN staff and participating Action Commissioners visited an Occupy D.C. site to learn more about this movement. Read guest Rhett Engelking, SFO's reflection on FAN's blog, and see photos on the FAN Flickr page.
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FAN Staff Advocates for Conscience Protection
 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule to require private health plans to cover for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as surgical sterilization for women and men. These are listed among "preventive services for women" that all health plans will have to cover without co-pays or other cost-sharing - regardless of whether the insurer, the employer or other plan sponsor, or even the woman herself objects to such coverage.
Before the Sept. 30 close of the public comment period, FAN staff member Christy Elliott submitted comments to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Although the HHS public comment period has closed, please email your Senators and Representative to urge support for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467).
Learn more about conscience protection through USCCB resources.
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Father of all that is good,
keep us faithful in serving you,
for to serve you is our lasting joy.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Prayer for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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Mission Statement
Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, and the example of saints Francis and Clare, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) is a collective Franciscan voice seeking to transform U.S. public policy related to peacemaking, care for creation, poverty, and human rights. |
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