Brothers,
"Sing to the Lord a new song; for He has done marvelous deeds!" (Psalm 98.1)
This refrain from our Psalm for today's Solemnity is, I think, a fitting way for us to celebrate both our Provincial Feast Day, as well as the patronal feast of the United States.
For nearly 160 years, the friars first of the Custody of the Immaculate Conception, then later our beloved Province, have worked faithfully in the spirit of St. Francis to be men of the Gospel and bring that Gospel to the people we have served.
Our Psalm reminds us that all of the good we have done, has truly been under the direction and power of God. We are mere cooperators with His great plan. We are, to use the words of St. Francis Peace Prayer, "instruments" of His peace, love, joy, faith, pardon and light. And for this, especially today our Feast, we are glad.
As we look with gratitude to our past, and as we hope for our future, it is good for all of us to remember today, that we will continue to be successful in our endeavors to the extend that we submit ourselves to the will of our God, who always desires to continue to do marvelous deeds with us, through us and for us.
This Year of Consecrated Life is calling us, as individuals and as a fraternity, to be clear in our identity - both the identity we have as a result of our shared history, as well as, a renewed sense of who we can be in the future; who the world needs us to be and how we might re-envision our charism for a future generation.
Let me end with a quote of our Holy Father Pope Francis that can serve as a mission statement of sorts for us both today and as we embrace this Year of Consecrated Life. Speaking to young religious in formation earlier this year, the Pope said, ""I want to say one word to you and this word is joy. Wherever consecrated people are, there is always joy!"
Let this be true of each of us - that our lives and people's experiences of us be marked by the joy that they feel in our presence - the joy we have because God has called us; the joy we share because He gave us brothers; the joy we give because He has commissioned us to be His witnesses.
Buona Festa!! Happy Feast my brothers!!
Fraternally, 
Primo P. Piscitello, OFM Provincial Minister | 