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lantern
Japanese Lantern at the Franciscan Life Center 
Insight from a Franciscan Place of Spirituality
November  2011
A ministry of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis

 
To Lighten the Spirit


If the world were
merely seductive,
that would be easy.
If it were
merely challenging,
that would be a problem. 
But I arise in the morning torn between
a desire to save the world and to savor it.
That makes it hard
to plan the day.
E. B. White






Gratitude Resources





My humanity is bound up in yours and we can only be human together.
Desmond Tutu





People who
believe in God, pray to God, worship God, but behave as if everything depends on them are functional atheists.
Parker Palmer






Many of the most luminous gifts of our lives arrive as a complete surprise.
John O'Donohue







You are all our riches and you suffice for us.
St. Francis of Assisi






All of the places of our lives are sanctuaries; some of them just happen to have steeples. And all of the people in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most will never have feast days named for them.
Robert Benson







Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him.
Thomas Merton
 
 
 

 
SRB_2011

Dear friend of Chiara,

So how do you feel about the time change in November? Me, I adjust okay. As a child I could never figure it out. How could we gain by falling back and lose by springing forward? I remember asking my mother once how the sun knew it should rise an hour later.

November brings an abundance of invitations to reflect on time -- we adjust our clocks to God's time...the Communion of Saints reminds us of timeless, still living connections...and the new Church year begins. Time even links us with our earth when we consider that the calcium in our bones is the result of the death of a star 4.5 billion years ago. Now that's a lot of time.

In the midst of calendar time we also experience an appointed time, just the right time - a time that is far more than a coincidence. It's kairos time, a time recognized deep in the soul, a time when we more clearly understand the mysterious ways of  God. The other day as I prayed Morning Prayer and picked up my dad's death card, I experienced kairos time. I knew Dad was with me. I smiled, kissed his picture on the death card, and spoke to him outloud. It was only a moment but it was truly kairos time. I'm grateful I was present enough not to miss it.

At Chiara Center we celebrate kairos time through our Nativity Festival. We peer into that moment in time, the appointed time, when God as love was fully poured forth, fully received, and fully expressed in Jesus.

What time is it for you? What is time for you? If time is the unfolding of all that exists in God, we can truly give thanks for God's on-going revelation unfolding within us and around us in time.  


Sister Renita 

Chiara Center Program Director  

The Bambinos Are Coming to Chiara      

 

Nativity Bon Hall 

Eyebrows raised at Chiara Center as we put up a Christmas tree with lights on October 18. It was part of a display to promote our fifth annual Franciscan Nativity Festival which is scheduled for the first weekend of December.

 

We're anticipating more than 100 variations of nativity sets that are loaned to us by individuals and families. While the sets are very beautiful to look at, the heart is engaged by the stories that are submitted by the donor which we include in the event program. The stories are as varied as the peoples in the village of Greccio where St. Francis first brought the smells and sights of Bethlehem to life in 1224. This year we have a special display, "Touched by a Missionary", that includes a series of cultural nativity scenes from mission schools around the world. 

 

Last year, more than 1,200 people experienced the silence and awe of gazing upon the mystery of the Word-made-Flesh among us at our event. Each person's Advent spirit was deepened as they silently made the pilgirmage of viewing the sets and realized how this beautiful story is expressed by Christians throughout the world. The Nativity Festival is free and open to the public. You're invited.

 

        Friday, December 2            2-7 p.m.

        Saturday, December 3        noon-4 p.m.

        Sunday, December 4          noon-4 p.m.  

 

Children at Nativity     


                                           
 Upcoming Events at Chiara Center

 

Franciscan Nativity Festival

A display of nativity sets from around the world. Special feature this year is "Touched by a Missionary."  

Free and open to the public.


Friday, December 2 from 2-7 p.m.
Saturday, December 3 from noon-4 p.m.

Sunday, December 4 from noon-4 p.m.

 

Meeting Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Dinner and conversation with Vickie Schmidt who worked with Mother Teresa and served as the USA national link for lay persons working with the Missionaries of Charity.

 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

6-9 p.m.

$20 ($35 per couple) Reservations required

 

Ah Day of Quiet

Enjoy a restful day of quiet in the midst of winter. Let the Spirit speak. Enjoy a wonderful lunch.

 

Monday, February 6, 2012

9 a.m.-3 p.m.

$20  Reservations required 

 

Spirituality in Recovery?

Led by a team with over 87 years of professional and personal experience in the field of recovey, the weekend retreat is for individuals, couples, or families in twelve-step programs.   

 

Friday, February 10 - Sunday, February 12, 2012

$185  ($100 commuter) 

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Please see our website to register for events and for a complete listing.
 Praise God you have decided to start and maintain this ministry.  It means a lot to my wife and me.  This was just the first of many stays at Chiara.  Thanks be to God.
                                                            St. Louis area couple at a Married Couple Retreat          
Contact us to experience Chiara Center
217-523-0901
email