NEW YORK - Our Provincial Office was recently made aware of a spectacular development regarding the mortal remains of our Provincial founder, Fr. Panfilo Pierbattista da Magliano dei Marsi. 

 

Provincial Minister Robert Campagna was recently made aware that the descendants of Fr. Panfilo in Italy have at last discovered the resting place of this holy man. Many places have been speculated over the years as being the site of burial including Rome and Panfilo's home town.  Members of his family have discovered his body in a local cemetary in Abruzzi.

 

This wonderful occurrence is made more wonderful as it is happening during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Province he came to establish.

 

The family of Fr. Panfilo have made contact with the administration at St. Bonaventure University regarding the possibility of returning his bodily remains to the site of the university he founded.  No decisions have been made regarding this request.

 

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - On March 1, more than 1,700 gathered at Toronto's Pearson Convention Centre to attend a now 20 year tradition known as the Ordinandi Dinner.  Among that group invited was our own Friar Alvin Te, who is set to be ordained on April 24 along with classmates Friars Christopher Gaffrey and Giacomo LaSelva.

The dinner was hosted by Serra International, an organization promoting religious vocations. The event raises awareness of religious vocations and also recognizes those who have answered the call to the priesthood. In addition to showcasing  priesthood candidates who will be ordained, the dinner also honours priests who have been in service for 50 and 60 years.

This year's dinner honored 11 men who will be ordained in this Spring. The highlight of the night was the vocation stories as told by the Ordinandi. The men, ranging in age from 25 to 57, each outlined their own call to the priesthood. The Ordinandi briefly shared their own spiritual journey towards a radical call to follow Christ, brought about by a desire for meaning in life, a troubled past, or even a recently departed spouse.

Also taking the stage were representatives of the Serra Clubs who run the event. Celeste Iacobelli, the Chair of the Ordinandi Dinner, recognized the continuing support and efforts of the event's founder, Mario Biscardi. Archbishop Thomas Collins, who spoke briefly, asked the audience to be grateful, to reflect upon the priesthood, and to celebrate vocation, whatever it may be.

The proceedings were underlined by a fundamental purpose and theme. As vocations director of the archdiocese of Toronto Fr. Hansoo Park explained, "The foundation of the priesthood is a personal relationship with Jesus . . . and everything else is hinged on that."

 

Friars Alvin, Christopher and Giacomo will be ordained on Saturday, April 24 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Anthony Church in New York City.  Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the U.N.   will be the ordaining bishop.

BOSTON - For over a year, the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults of the Boston Archdiocese have been holding a monthly young adult event called "Jesus in the North End."  These events take place on a Friday night and begin at 7 p.m. with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions, followed by Mass at 9 p.m. and a social activity afterward.

 

The most recent one was held on Friday, February 19, during one of our own Provincial Vocation Discernment Retreat weekends.  Cardinal O'Malley was the presider and homilist at the Mass.  Our Vocation Director along with the five men participating in the weekend were in attendance for the Mass.  Below are some pictures from the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON - The Archdiocese of Boston has initiated a Lenten program called The Light Is On For You.  As part of this program, confessions will be available in every Church or Chapel in the Archidocese on Wednesdays of Lent from 6:30-8:00 p.m.  They also have asked a series of bishops and priests to write reflections on the Sacrament for publication in The Boston Pilot. Friar Thomas Washburn was among those asked to contribute.  Below is his reflection which appeared in the February 26 issue.

 

By Father Tom Washburn, OFM
February 26, 2010 | The Boston Pilot

A number of years ago, I was preaching at the prayer service for First Reconciliation for the young people in my parish. During my homily, I brought all of the young people into the sanctuary and asked them all the usual questions -- did they understand what was taking place today? Had they prepared themselves well? What was Reconciliation all about? Among the questions, I asked if anyone was nervous about making their first confession. Hands went up. Some of the responses named things like not being sure what to say; being concerned about what the priest would say to them; or not sure what their sins were. Then, I asked the children if anyone was excited about making their first confession. One hand went up immediately and enthusiastically. I asked the young girl why she was excited and she said proudly, "I'm excited because today I get to be sin free!"

I would love to have t-shirts made up that I could hand out as people leave the confessional proclaiming the same joyful sentiment -- today, I am sin free! This young girl was able to proclaim something that I think many of us miss when it comes to this sacrament -- that it is a sacrament of joy and a sacrament of freedom. One of the challenges in our modern times is that too often we have turned Reconciliation in our own minds from this great moment of rejoicing into an experience of the Divine Courtroom. The modern construct views us as entering a courtroom (the confessional), guilty of a crime (sin), standing before the judge (the priest) and placing ourselves at the mercy of the court. Our greatest hope is to receive a light sentence.

This isn't the image that God intends. The image we get over and over again in Scripture is an image of joy and freedom. As we hear in John's Gospel, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." (John 3.17) It is the same with the parable of the Lost Sheep, the Woman Caught in Adultery, the Prodigal Son, and so on -- these are images of freedom from our sins and the joy that comes from unity again with our God. "Today, we get to be sin free!"

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about the effect of this sacrament, "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship...reconciliation is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation. Indeed the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true spiritual resurrection, restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God." (No. 1468)

The time has come for us to cast off these unhelpful notions of the Divine Courtroom that only serve to keep us away from God's fount of mercy and love. The time has come to ask a simple question in the depths of our hearts -- do I want to be free? God offers this freedom; freedom from the burden of our sin; freedom from the corruption of the world; freedom from the impurity that surrounds us; freedom from the daily struggles to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Do you want to be free? Let the grace of God's healing sacrament descend upon you and give you a joy, a peace, a freedom that cannot be found anywhere else.

Father Tom Washburn, OFM, is a Franciscan priest and Vocation Director for the Franciscan Province of the Immaculate Conception, in residence at St. Leonard's Church in Boston's North End. He is teaching an adult religious education class on Reconciliation entitled Lord Have Mercy on Tuesday evenings of Lent at 7 p.m. in St. Leonard's Church Hall.