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From the Provincial Minister
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 | Provincial Minister
Primo P. Piscitello, OFM |
NEW YORK - We are, this week, a little bit more than half-way through our Regional Meetings to discuss the Report of the Interprovincial Commission. I would like to thank all of the friars who have taken the time from your busy schedules to gather in your regions, prayerfully and fraternally, to discuss this important report and begin to think about how we might want to respond to its conclusions individually and as a Province.
Not surprisingly, the Regional Chairs so far have reported back to me what we would expect to hear. We are not surprised by the findings of the Commission. We all know the statistical realities that all of the Provinces in the U.S. are facing - it's not just us.
And, as we discuss the possibility of being part of new structures in the future, that raises some anxiety in us. That's to be expected too. These are natural questions. Where shall we go? To whom shall we belong? Especially for the older among us, we certainly thought these were questions we would never have to ask. The answers were always clear and we never thought they would change.
The notion of grieving came up in a few regions as well. This process, if it moves forward, will be a process of letting go; of surrender. We know that surrender is often the most difficult thing that we are asked to do as religious. We also know it is always the most important and necessary tool of our spiritual growth.
I also received feedback of hope and even excitement at the possibilities present in cooperating with our brothers nationwide. We forget that this process is not only about what we would give up by joining with others; it is also about what we would gain - new possibilities, new ideas, new energies and excitement.
So, once again, I invite each of us, as brothers, to continue to engage this process in honesty; and with faith, hope and trust. The lesson that we have learned time and time again is that what little we surrender to the Lord, He inevitably hands back to us in one hundredfold grace. But, it all begins with our trust.
We still have a few more regions meeting in the weeks ahead. We pray that those meetings go well. That they are marked by the same spirit of prayerful fraternity that has marked the meetings so far. Let us have the courage to surrender to the Lord who will never lead us to stray.
God bless,
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O Me! O Life!
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Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish, Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd, Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, The question, O me! so sad, recurring-What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer: That you are here-that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
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Regional Meetings discuss Interprovincial Report
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During the last week of January, Regional meetings to discuss the historic Report of the Interprovincial Commission began.
Meetings kicked off with the Toronto Region meeting on Monday. The New York City Region held its meeting on Wednesday and the Boston Region met on Thursday. The Upstate New York Region will meet at Mount Alvernia Retreat Center on February 12; and the Pittsburgh Region will meet on February 20.
Fr. Michael Della Penna, OFM, is serving as facilitator of the sessions. Michael was our Province representative on the Interprovincial Commission that created the report.
The goal of the Regional Meetings is to discuss the Report and to discuss our Province's continued participation in the ongoing national conversation on collaboration and restructuring. The conversation will be brought together at the Extraordinary Chapter June 23-25 at Mount Alvernia in Wappingers Falls.
NEW YORK CITY REGION TORONTO REGION |
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Friars celebrating Jubilees of Profession, Ordination
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NEW YORK - The following friars are celebrating significant anniversaries of profession or ordination this year. Let us all celebrate with them their commitment to our way of life and their service to the Lord and His Church.
Celebrating anniversaries of their Profession of Religious Vows:
65th PROFESSION
Isaac Calicchio  Fidelis De Berardinis
Michael D'Cruz
Armand Padula
Paul Rotondi
Bishop Gerald Scarpone
60th PROFESSION
Regis Gallo
Januarius Izzo
Aubert Marie Picardi
50th PROFESSION
Ciro Iodice
40th PROFESSION
Jimmy Zammit
Celebrating anniversaries of their Priestly Ordination:
70th ORDINATION
Clement Procopio
65th ORDINATION
Edmund Ansaloni
60th ORDINATION
Fabian Grifone
Louis De Tommaso
40th ORDINATION
Nery Aguirre
Antonio Nardoianni
25th ORDINATION
Bruce Czapla
Rohwin Pais
Ad multos annos brothers! Congratulations!
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GENERAL CHAPTER THEME: "Brothers and Minors in Our Times"
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 January 26, 2014 | Rome
To all Provincial Ministers and Custodes,
Dear Brother Ministers and Custodes,
May the Lord give you Peace! First of all I would like to greet you fraternally and wish you a new year full of blessings of the Lord. Allow me to provide you with some information that I think is important in relation to the General Chapter of 2015. During the General Definitory meetings of January of 2014, the General Definitory decided that the General Chapter of 2015 will be held from May 10 - June 7, 2015. I ask you, therefore, to make note of these dates in your agenda. At the same time, taking into account the views expressed by the PCO in Konstancin (Poland), the General Definitory decided that the General Chapter will be held in Assisi at St. Mary of the Angels, The main topic ofthe next chapter will be: "Brothers and Minors in Our Times" (Fratres et Minores in Nostra Aetatae). With this theme, we will also address the issues required by our legislation.
The General Definitory also decided to ask for suggestions as to possible changes in the General Statutes. The deadline for submitting them to the Secretariat General of the Chapter is in June of 2014. This will allow us to have sufficient time to study them and present them well in advance to the participants at the Chapter, so that they can then be dealt with there. The suggestions should be sent to the Secretariat of the General Chapter to the email address: capgensec@ofm.org I urge you also to create on your provincial websites a space dedicated to inform all our brothers and sisters about the preparation of the General Chapter of 2015. Together with the General Definitory we made this decision to ensure that the friars are duly informed and therefore have as much influence as possible on this vital event of the Order.
At the same time, I ask you also to create space in your hearts for the next General Chapter and pray for this event, so that the Holy Spirit may help us and be with us always, May the Queen of the Seraphic Order intercede for all of us, followers of St. Francis of Assisi in the world, and may we become authentic Friars Minor for our times.
With sentiments of deep gratitude for the ministry you carry out, I greet you through the intercession of our Seraphic Father,
Yours,
Br. Michael Anthony Perry, ofm
General Minister
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Central American Missionaries hold annual retreat
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By Fr. Jack Hoak, OFM
GUATEMALA - The Friars of the Central American Foundation gathered last month for their annual retreat given by Auxiliary Bishop of Guatemala Rodolfo Mendozo.
Attending the January 20th retreat were Friars Flavian Mucci, Guy Vellardita, Rafael Fernandez, Roberto Siguere, Nery Aguirre, Michael Della Penna and Jack Hoak. Unfortuately, our Maltese brothers were unable to attend from Honduras due to prior commitments.
Bishop Mendoza offered a reflection on "Lumen Fidei" which prompted discussion by the group which served to motivate and stir up reflection on our role as priest-servants and brothers to each other and to the church.
While in Guatemala, there was an afternoon and evening of fraternal visitation to different sites outside the city as well as quick stop a Valle de Los Angeles and the former Novitiate at Monte San Francisco (now a retreat center). The fraternal outing was culminated by a delicious pizza meal at Vesuvio“s in the famed Cayalį shoping plaza outside the capital.
Our time together in the cool climate of City of Eternal Spring was a welcomed way to begin 2014 and refresh the soul to continue our ministry as missionaries of our beloved Immaculate Conception Province.
Paz y Bien, Pace e Bene, Pax et Bonum, Peace and Good to all.
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Reflections from Rome
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by Br. Roberto Serrano, OFM
ROME, ITALY - I am honored, that I should be given this opportunity to share what my experience in Rome has been thus far, because it is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I understand that others have come to study in Rome before me, that more will follow, and that each of us has had, and will have a unique experience that we should proudly each claim as our own. So I beg your indulgence as I relate what these last few months have been like for me.
Rome is a city rich in history and tradition, two things with which I am fascinated. The place I call home is just a stone's throw from St. Peter's, and the Coliseum is on the bus route to the Antonianum. Everyday, my wonder and imagination are captured by this City and all it contains, and I am further inspired by the realization that I have only just scratched the surface. I don't wish to imply that my time here has been a cake walk. There have certainly been challenges, and I know there are more to come. I simply wish to establish from the beginning, that this experience is worth the challenges that accompany it.
When I first arrived, all I felt was the wonder I have just described, which lasted about a month. Then, of course, that initial excitement began to fade followed by realities I had not yet, fully grasped. I knew before I arrived that I would have to learn Italian, I just did not realize the amount of work I would need to put in. It truly struck me when I was preparing to read for Mass, in Italian, from the Book of Isaiah, which is not filled with nice short readings. All week long I would meet with Fr. Antonio to prepare for the next day, only to stumble through the readings the following morning. Despite this, however, there were still those precious moments when I would see something new and wonderful to renew my spirit. This served to remind me of all the good amid the stressful moments.
Then came the Christmas season. By this point I was beginning to find the rhythm of life here, not just for the City, but for the house as well. As all my brothers know well, there is aways an adjustment period when you move into a new community. The new brother is trying to figure out how he fits into the new community, as well as those already present learning how to welcome their new brother in. I believe that, ideally, what you end up with, is something new for all parties. Somethings will remain the same and others will change. There is still much for me to learn, but the learning happens more quickly now. It's a bit like working on a puzzle. You start with the border, which is usually finished very quickly. Then you begin to group pieces together, based on color and pattern, and see how they fit. This can be very slow and tedious, but once you've got enough of the pieces connected you start to see the picture and everything starts to fall into place more quickly.
There will always be speed bumps at unexpected places, but I believe firmly that adversity is an opportunity for growth. My time here, has presented me with challenges, and those challenges have taught me to cling more firmly to the Lord, and to rely on his strength.
With a spiritual life rooted in the Eucharist, prayer and spiritual direction I feel confident that my time in The Eternal City will be as fruitful as God wishes it to be. I thank all of my brothers for taking the time to read this and I ask you to keep this house in your prayers, just as you are in ours.
May God give you His peace.
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Franciscans Marching for Life
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by Br. Joseph Powell, OFM
It was a cold one. That's what everyone was saying. Forecasters had announced days before it was going to be a cold one. The archbishop who made the opening remarks at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception began by remarking what a cold one it was - and said that it had been ordered specially for the Canadian archbishop so he'd feel at home. Cardinal Sean O'Malley from Boston resumed the theme from the presider's chair, reminding the thousands of people swelling the pews that, yes, indeed, it was cold outside. But, he went on, "the weather is perfect. It tells people that we are serious." It might be seriously cold outside, but, hey, we're still gonna march. Seriously.
We met the cold coming down to D.C. from Boston. Six guys in a Pilot, on the road by 5:15 AM, and hoping to skirt around this rumor of a storm and make the District in eight hours. Massachusetts passed us by in the darkness, Connecticut opened up in the slow sunrise. New York just looked at us and yawned. Then we hit New Jersey, and the storm hit us. After twelve hours on the road crawling through the snow we rolled thankfully into the driveway of the Franciscan Monastery with the flakes swarming the air thicker than flies.
"Gee," someone said as we staggered out, "it sure is a cold one."
Seriously, it was.
That did not stop thousands of people from traveling to Washington D.C. to the 2014 March for Life. Seminarians from Boston had taken the train, other groups had taken buses or packed themselves together in carpools; together we converged at the Immaculate Conception Basilica for the Vigil Mass the night before the March. The crypt beneath the church was filled with young people with backpacks, group leaders with colored flags, priests in their collars and sisters in their veils. At the far end the seminarians congregated in a vast crowd of white surplices. It took some time, but finally the Mass began and that excited flock of men were processing up the stairs into the main church as steady and solemn as any ace crew of altar boys.
During his homily, delivered to a packed Basilica still warming up from the unusual chill, Cardinal Sean O'Malley emphasized the importance that the March for Life had for the American Culture and for the Catholic Church. His illustration of that fact was the story of the Emperor's New Clothes - the vain monarch in question being the prevailing mindset of convenience and deceptive self-interest, awakened to the folly of its actions only by a child's prophetic voice. The Church, concluded the Cardinal, must be that prophet. Not only must Catholics stand up against social wrong - even more importantly, they must stand up to proclaim the positive, joyful message of the Gospel. Only the resounding thrill of gladness can shake the world of its icy coat of cynicism, of egoistical self-destruction. Cold must give way to fire in the end.
Having been inspired by this powerful Vigil Mass, we went home, ate pizza, and went to bed.
The day of the March itself was sunny. Windy, too. Once we had gone to Mass at the Church of the Sacred Hearts - a gathering of all the Boston groups, presided over by the Cardinal - a quick stop at the Monastery to get more layers and a quick bite to eat brought us to the beginning of the actual March. Flags waved. Breath steamed from cheering mouths. Somewhere, a band played. Thousands upon thousands walked the sloping road up to the steps of the Capitol: a tide of human beings beating once more on the marble shores of the nation. Drops of water hollow away a stone, they say. How many drops will hollow the Capitol enough to make room for change?
What more to say? We came, we marched, we went home. The cold remained, as it always does - but, as the Cardinal says, it is our job to breathe just a little more warmth into the cold around us. If one more March has injected just that ounce of grace and hope into the country and the world, then we will have marched seriously.
For reals.
Br. Joseph blogs regularly at: The Blue Wilderness
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Friars of San Damiano become Public Association of the Faithful
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WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY - The Friars of San Damiano received Diocesan approval and designation as a Public Association of the Faithful on January 6, 2014. The Friars, until recently, had the designation as a Pious/Private Association of the Faithful.
Based in the Albany Diocese, the Friars received their new canonical status via Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard. The Friars follow the Rule of the Third Order Regular and have enjoyed a spiritual association with our Province over the past 10 years holding their twice annual gatherings at Mount Alvernia Retreat Center in the Spring and Fall. The Friars also attend the annual Transitus at Mount Alvernia. Many have also attended the "Journey of the Soul Retreat" experience presented by Fr. Andre Cirino, OFM. Fr. Roch Ciandella, OFM has served as their Spiritual Director since their founding.
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Dazzi Scholarship helps make retreats accessible
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WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY - Provincial Minister Primo Piscitello, OFM, has continued the Fr. Bernard Dazzi Scholarship Fund to assist retreatants who cannot afford to pay the full stipend requested for retreats.
The scholarship fund was named in memory of Fr. Bernard Dazzi, OFM, and the funds are made available through the generous donations of Franciscan Mission Associates to assist Franciscan Mission at home and around the world.
The most recent allocation was for $500 to assist women to attend a Matt Talbot Retreat for men and women in recovery. |
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Franciscans in Mission Together for FMU 2014
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NEW YORK - Fr. Jim Goode, OFM, has announced the annual Franciscans in Mission Together for FMU 2014 with its regular theme taken from First Corinthians, "The love of Christ impels us." (1 Corinthians 5.14)
Friars are invited once again to continue to support our Franciscan Missionary Evangelization Call by our prayers, compassionate offerings and donations.
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Come & See Weekend - February 23-25
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BOSTON, MA - The Franciscan Vocation Office will be holding a "Come and See" Discernment Retreat Weekend February 23-25, 2014, and ask all parishes, ministries, to post the following announcement in their respective buleltins:
"COME AND SEE" VOCATION DISCERNMENT WEEKEND, February 23-25, 2014
The Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception Province are holding a Vocation Discernment Weekend Retreat for men between the ages of 18-38 who are discerning a possible Franciscan vocation. The weekend retreat will take place at our Franciscan Friary in Boston, MA from Friday, February 23 - Sunday, February 25. Please contact Fr. Alvin, OFM, (vocations@icprovince.org or 1-800-521-5442) as soon as possible if you'd like to be part of this weekend retreat.
Friars, formandi and candidates on the recent Come and See Weekend, January 17-19 in Boston.
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Franciscan Forum X: Responding to Love
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 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University is sponsoring the Franciscan Forum X: Responding to Love, Exploring the Franciscan Moral Vision. The forum will take place March 27-30, 2014 at St. Francis Springs Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Five scholars came together to present key elements of the Franciscan Moral Vision in a new book entitled Responding to God's Love (Franciscan Institute Pub., 2013).
Their primary goal was to make the contemporary implications of the Franciscan moral vision more accessible to English-language readers and to demonstrate how the characteristics of that tradition are rooted in the life and spirituality of Francis and Clare, especially their profound understanding of God's love for each individual and all of creation.
In their theological reflection on this spirituality, the early Franciscan Masters, Bonaventure and Scotus in particular, understood Christian morality as a response to the extravagant love of God. Without denying human limitations and sin, the Franciscan tradition offers the contemporary Church an aesthetic moral vision in which humanity is called to reflect the beauty and goodness of God.
Franciscan Forum X offers a unique opportunity in which participants will have an opportunity to explore the characteristics of the Franciscan Moral vision in mentored conversation with three of the volumes authors-Thomas Nairn, OFM, Mary Beth Ingham, CSJ, and Joseph Chinnici, OFM.
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