 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI FRATERNITY NEWSLETTER |
| The Incarnation of Jesus forms the basis of our Christian faith and the actions of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) form our decisive participation in this mystery. During this time of Advent, we reflect on how Secular Franciscans can use their active faith to make Christ present in the world. |  Nativity of Jesus - public domain |
From Article 15 of our Rule: Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives.
Since Vatican II, an important role of laity has been the task of ministry. No longer are the laity charged with just the threefold adage of “pray, pay, and obey”. The lay person has become the most effective evangelizer for the Church. This role of ministry for laity is not just about doing “churchy” things like proclaiming the Word as a lector, serving as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, or teaching catechetics, as important as these may be. It is a more dominant, out-front role of saturating the secular milieu with the message of the Lord. The laity’s pulpit becomes the platform of politics and business, family life and social issues. Almost 60 years later, the words of the Vatican II document on the Church in the modern world (# 43) still ring true: “One of the gravest errors of our time is the dichotomy between the faith which many profess and the practice of it in their daily lives.”
• What justice am I showing to those living around me?
• What am I doing to assist the settlement of refugees or minorities in my area?
• How am I involved in securing fair assistance for those in need in my community?
• Do I use my voting power and my correspondence with legislators to shape domestic and foreign policy with principles of Christian justice?
Let us use the season of Advent to think of ways in which we can activate our faith to fulfill the meaning of Christmas.
(Submitted by the JPIC team with excerpts from Called to Proclaim Christ (Short Reflections on the SFO Rule), Benet A. Fonck OFM, Franciscan Press, 1998)
Since Vatican II, an important role of laity has been the task of ministry. No longer are the laity charged with just the threefold adage of “pray, pay, and obey”. The lay person has become the most effective evangelizer for the Church. This role of ministry for laity is not just about doing “churchy” things like proclaiming the Word as a lector, serving as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, or teaching catechetics, as important as these may be. It is a more dominant, out-front role of saturating the secular milieu with the message of the Lord. The laity’s pulpit becomes the platform of politics and business, family life and social issues. Almost 60 years later, the words of the Vatican II document on the Church in the modern world (# 43) still ring true: “One of the gravest errors of our time is the dichotomy between the faith which many profess and the practice of it in their daily lives.”
• What justice am I showing to those living around me?
• What am I doing to assist the settlement of refugees or minorities in my area?
• How am I involved in securing fair assistance for those in need in my community?
• Do I use my voting power and my correspondence with legislators to shape domestic and foreign policy with principles of Christian justice?
Let us use the season of Advent to think of ways in which we can activate our faith to fulfill the meaning of Christmas.
(Submitted by the JPIC team with excerpts from Called to Proclaim Christ (Short Reflections on the SFO Rule), Benet A. Fonck OFM, Franciscan Press, 1998)
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!
There between an ox and a grey donkey Sleep, sleep, sleeps The Little Son One thousand divine angels, a thousand seraphim (They) fly around this great God of love.
I imagine that if a children's choir began to sing this very old Christmas hymn: There between an ox and a gray donkey having before their eyes this Nativity of Giotto, they would easily discover the main illustrations of these words of children that abound in this Christmas hymn composed on the model of a childish folk melody. It seems to me that these little singers would immediately see in the center of the painting of the crib "an ox and a donkey" near the baby Jesus with Mary at his side. Surely they would ask the question: Why are these animals in this place in front of "the little son, between the two arms of Mary."
We know that the presence of an ox and a donkey in the manger of Bethlehem is not mentioned in the Gospels but is inspired by the prophet Isaiah who reproaches Israel and its people for not knowing its God unlike the ox and the donkey: "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib, Israel knows nothing, my people understands nothing. (Is, 1: 1-3).
In this Nativity of Giotto we notice that "the little son" of this scene of the nativity scene is not at all sleeping (as the words of the hymn indicate) but that he is perfectly awake! In fact, he has his eyes open and they are fixed on the face of Mary who also looks him in the eyes for the first time. Mary's head bows slightly, a slight smile forms on her lips and her little boy seems to smile at her in return.
(Perhaps she is singing to him tenderly: Sleepy, sleep, the child will sleep The child’s gonna quickly fall to sleep Sleepy, sleep, the child will sleep The child soon’s gonna fall to sleep!...)
It is quite likely that our little singers would not have noticed this detail "of the little son" who does not sleep or this other detail that is at the very bottom of the crib: Another presentation of the Child Jesus in the arms of a midwife who is about to make him take his bath with the help of another companion.
The images of the two choirs of angels bearing these charming names of "a thousand divine angels, a thousand seraphim" would certainly have attracted the attention of our little singers who would have seen them first and admired them at length. It is quite rare, however, to find in a Nativity two choirs of angels, one inside the nativity scene and the other outside as Giotto does here.
We see in this painting that the angels arrive hastily from all sides. Twelve of them represent the celestial choir of the "thousand divine angels" who fly above the Mother and Child. These angels have half-celestial and half-earthly faces and their hands are joined together for prayer, but they wear robes that curve with a flower resembling musical notes. So they would be singing.
Above the roof, other angels (the " thousand seraphim?") converge to the star of Bethlehem, located at the central top of the painting and the golden rays descend on the
Newborn Child: "this great God of love". The Word became Flesh and suddenly from the heavens burst the songs of praise of the many seraphim who are "myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands" (Rev 5:11). "And suddenly", as St. Luke writes (Lk 2:13-14), "with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host praising God and singing, Glory to God, in the highest heaven and on earth peace to people of good will."
To express in colour this Glory of God appearing in the sky of Bethlehem, Giotto uses a shade of fine stone of an unparalleled azure blue. A Franciscan from Assisi, Enzo Fortunato, writes about this colour: "Everything is both so powerful and so quiet. Giotto eliminates special effects and uses that blue colour, unprecedented, 'so captivating, so moving' that no one can resist... The pigment has the same brilliance as gold, but more real: the starry vault is blue, the sky of (the Nativity) is blue. Mary's coat is blue. A deep, luminous but above all 'royal and real' colour."
Wishing you all the best for Christmas 2021 here is a short excerpt from the Christmas Psalm of St. Francis of Assisi: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us exult and be glad in it. For the most holy beloved child is given to us, and he was born on the way and placed in a manger because he had no place in the inn. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. Let heavens rejoice and earth exult, the sea and all that is in it be moved, let fields and all that is in them be glad. Sing to him a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! "
Georges Morin, o.f.m.
I imagine that if a children's choir began to sing this very old Christmas hymn: There between an ox and a gray donkey having before their eyes this Nativity of Giotto, they would easily discover the main illustrations of these words of children that abound in this Christmas hymn composed on the model of a childish folk melody. It seems to me that these little singers would immediately see in the center of the painting of the crib "an ox and a donkey" near the baby Jesus with Mary at his side. Surely they would ask the question: Why are these animals in this place in front of "the little son, between the two arms of Mary."
We know that the presence of an ox and a donkey in the manger of Bethlehem is not mentioned in the Gospels but is inspired by the prophet Isaiah who reproaches Israel and its people for not knowing its God unlike the ox and the donkey: "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib, Israel knows nothing, my people understands nothing. (Is, 1: 1-3).
In this Nativity of Giotto we notice that "the little son" of this scene of the nativity scene is not at all sleeping (as the words of the hymn indicate) but that he is perfectly awake! In fact, he has his eyes open and they are fixed on the face of Mary who also looks him in the eyes for the first time. Mary's head bows slightly, a slight smile forms on her lips and her little boy seems to smile at her in return.
(Perhaps she is singing to him tenderly: Sleepy, sleep, the child will sleep The child’s gonna quickly fall to sleep Sleepy, sleep, the child will sleep The child soon’s gonna fall to sleep!...)
It is quite likely that our little singers would not have noticed this detail "of the little son" who does not sleep or this other detail that is at the very bottom of the crib: Another presentation of the Child Jesus in the arms of a midwife who is about to make him take his bath with the help of another companion.
The images of the two choirs of angels bearing these charming names of "a thousand divine angels, a thousand seraphim" would certainly have attracted the attention of our little singers who would have seen them first and admired them at length. It is quite rare, however, to find in a Nativity two choirs of angels, one inside the nativity scene and the other outside as Giotto does here.
We see in this painting that the angels arrive hastily from all sides. Twelve of them represent the celestial choir of the "thousand divine angels" who fly above the Mother and Child. These angels have half-celestial and half-earthly faces and their hands are joined together for prayer, but they wear robes that curve with a flower resembling musical notes. So they would be singing.
Above the roof, other angels (the " thousand seraphim?") converge to the star of Bethlehem, located at the central top of the painting and the golden rays descend on the
Newborn Child: "this great God of love". The Word became Flesh and suddenly from the heavens burst the songs of praise of the many seraphim who are "myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands" (Rev 5:11). "And suddenly", as St. Luke writes (Lk 2:13-14), "with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host praising God and singing, Glory to God, in the highest heaven and on earth peace to people of good will."
To express in colour this Glory of God appearing in the sky of Bethlehem, Giotto uses a shade of fine stone of an unparalleled azure blue. A Franciscan from Assisi, Enzo Fortunato, writes about this colour: "Everything is both so powerful and so quiet. Giotto eliminates special effects and uses that blue colour, unprecedented, 'so captivating, so moving' that no one can resist... The pigment has the same brilliance as gold, but more real: the starry vault is blue, the sky of (the Nativity) is blue. Mary's coat is blue. A deep, luminous but above all 'royal and real' colour."
Wishing you all the best for Christmas 2021 here is a short excerpt from the Christmas Psalm of St. Francis of Assisi: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us exult and be glad in it. For the most holy beloved child is given to us, and he was born on the way and placed in a manger because he had no place in the inn. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. Let heavens rejoice and earth exult, the sea and all that is in it be moved, let fields and all that is in them be glad. Sing to him a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! "
Georges Morin, o.f.m.
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2021!
St. Mary of the Angels Fraternity,
Montreal, Québec
Welcome and Congratulations to the new Council members of St. Mary of the Angels Fraternity from Montreal, Québec for the term from 2021 - 2024.
Photo by Carol David with permission
 | Immaculate Conception Fraternity, Montreal Newsletter & Bulletin |  |
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” – St. Francis
It is with Joy that we meet again for another year. As the pandemic continues, we are compelled to follow the rules imposed by the Health and City Officials, and to adapt to on-going changes. It is with sadness that we must announce
another change, to which our Fraternity must adjust. The CND convent can no longer accommodate us on weekends. Sister Bonneau (CND Leader) informed us that due to declining numbers in the CND community and staff, we can meet, at the Convent on Thursdays or Fridays. The ICF Council decided upon the second Thursday of the month from 1-5 p.m. as our meeting date. We will be notified at the end of every month, of the availability of the
room, and must follow the COVID Requirement Rules of the House.
FRATERNITY MEETINGS *** Sunday, September 12th , 2021 at 2:00 PM and Sunday, October 10th , 2021 at 2:00pm, September’s meeting will be conducted via ZOOM for those using computers, cellphones or IPAD; for those using the telephone, PLEASE use the same phone number you used at our last meeting. Calls will start @1:30 p.m. so that connections will be completed @2:00 p.m.
Details for October’s meeting will be announced.
The meeting will begin with the Franciscan Crown followed by the Liturgy of the Hours. Please have your Franciscan Crown Leaflet, Rosary and Liturgy of the Hours ready.
ONGOING FORMATION: ** Grace is introducing a new program: “The Lessons of St Francis”. In SEPTEMBER A Tangible Saint, will be presented by Grace and in OCTOBER, Luba will present Simplicity.
JPIC Report – Michel David, International Counsellor & JPIC Team Leader, in the August 2021. JPIC Communiqué, quotes Abigail, a survivor of the Residential
School System: “Say something….do something” words that express so much pain, but also hope. “There is a great weight on our shoulders for the wrong committed by our Church and Governments. What should the Church, politicians, or indigenous peoples do? On a personal level, should we take the responsibility to act with justice, peace and integrity? What have we said or done to reconcile with our indigenous brothers and sisters”? (Excerpt from JPIC Communiqué).
CELEBRATING the FEAST of St. MARY of the ANGELS of the LADY of the PORTIUNCULA (August 2nd).
It is with Joy that we meet again for another year. As the pandemic continues, we are compelled to follow the rules imposed by the Health and City Officials, and to adapt to on-going changes. It is with sadness that we must announce
another change, to which our Fraternity must adjust. The CND convent can no longer accommodate us on weekends. Sister Bonneau (CND Leader) informed us that due to declining numbers in the CND community and staff, we can meet, at the Convent on Thursdays or Fridays. The ICF Council decided upon the second Thursday of the month from 1-5 p.m. as our meeting date. We will be notified at the end of every month, of the availability of the
room, and must follow the COVID Requirement Rules of the House.
FRATERNITY MEETINGS *** Sunday, September 12th , 2021 at 2:00 PM and Sunday, October 10th , 2021 at 2:00pm, September’s meeting will be conducted via ZOOM for those using computers, cellphones or IPAD; for those using the telephone, PLEASE use the same phone number you used at our last meeting. Calls will start @1:30 p.m. so that connections will be completed @2:00 p.m.
Details for October’s meeting will be announced.
The meeting will begin with the Franciscan Crown followed by the Liturgy of the Hours. Please have your Franciscan Crown Leaflet, Rosary and Liturgy of the Hours ready.
ONGOING FORMATION: ** Grace is introducing a new program: “The Lessons of St Francis”. In SEPTEMBER A Tangible Saint, will be presented by Grace and in OCTOBER, Luba will present Simplicity.
JPIC Report – Michel David, International Counsellor & JPIC Team Leader, in the August 2021. JPIC Communiqué, quotes Abigail, a survivor of the Residential
School System: “Say something….do something” words that express so much pain, but also hope. “There is a great weight on our shoulders for the wrong committed by our Church and Governments. What should the Church, politicians, or indigenous peoples do? On a personal level, should we take the responsibility to act with justice, peace and integrity? What have we said or done to reconcile with our indigenous brothers and sisters”? (Excerpt from JPIC Communiqué).
CELEBRATING the FEAST of St. MARY of the ANGELS of the LADY of the PORTIUNCULA (August 2nd).
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| To Observe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ In his writings and early biographies, St. Francis emerges as a person formed and informed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “His greatest care, his most vivid desire, his supreme resolution was to observe the holy Gospel always and in everything and with all vigilance and care, with all of his mind’s desire and his heart’s fervor, he wanted to follow the teachings and imitate the examples of our Lord Jesus Christ to perfection. He continuously recalled and meditated over His words and with very keen contemplation, he kept His works before his eyes. The humility of the Incarnation and the charity of the Passion were foremost in his mind, so that he rarely wanted to think of anything else.” – (Thomas of Celano, First Life of St. Francis) And so we ask ourselves, what is to be done, what can we do to bring the Christ of the Gospel into our daily lives so that we actually live out the teachings of the Gospel? |  St. John the Evangelist tells us that the truth will set us free. St. Francis found the truth that leads to freedom in the truths of the Gospel, and the freedom he found was the freedom to love. God’s truth imparts to us the freedom not only to grasp the truth that is being imparted but also the freedom from what previously had been preventing us from acting on that truth. The Gospel itself will show us not only how we are to discern the truth, but how the truth leads to the action we call love. – (Excerpts from “Live the Gospel: A Message from Saint Francis”, Murray Bodo, OFM) |
Professions
| The fraternity council is pleased to confirm that Kathleen Swift will be professed at the Saturday evening Mass during the fraternity’s annual retreat. Fr. Brian MacDougall, Diocesan Administrator for the Diocese of Charlottetown, will preside.  Please join in giving thanks for this special moment of grace and love as we celebrate the decision of these two women to commit themselves permanently to living the Gospel life in the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. – (Submitted by Tom Wilkinson) |  Having received the request from Lucia Gray of St. John’s NL to be permanently professed, and having completed the required interview and deliberation, the fraternity council is pleased to announce, with much joy, the decision to accept Lucia’s request to be permanently professed as a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. Lucia has made temporary profession twice and has fulfilled all the formation and necessary requirements. The exact date of Lucia’s profession will be confirmed at a later date. Congratulations Lucia! |
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St. Patrick's Fraternity, Montreal
June 2021 Newsletter
| ST. PATRICK’S FRATERNITY - June 2021 Newsletter Let us love, honor, adore, and serve the Lord and God with a pure heart and mind, for this is what He seeks above all else. MEETING CANCELLED Dear all, Please remember in your prayers our brother Stan Lemieux who passed away last year on June 14th at the age of 104 years. Our brother Stan spent 83 years as a faithful member of St. Patrick’s Fraternity. He was professed in May 1937. May our Lord grant that he may rest in peace. Prayers for our sick: Please remember our brothers who are having some difficult times: Br. Joe Di Clementi who is in a long-care unit. We also keep in our prayers, Br. Gordon Deery, and M/M Monique wife of Br. Peter Jones. | Marc Chagall Watercolor |
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ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI FRATERNITY NEWSLETTER - June 2021 VOLUME XXXIII NO. 6
Indigenous Spirituality and Father’s DayAs Franciscans, we marvel at the wonders of God’s creation: the earth and all that dwells within it, but also the universe with its countless planets, suns, moons and constellations. Myths from all over the world have both a mother and a father figure in them. The mother is usually the Earth and the father the Sky or Universe. The Greek creation myth told of the goddess, Gaia, and the god, Uranus, who fell in love; Gaia was the earth and Uranus was the sky. Similar creation myths can be found in most ancient cultures. Closer to home, the central spiritual beliefs of the Anishinabe people, a group of culturally related Indigenous people resident in what is now called Canada and the United States, can be summed up as follows; respect for self, respect for others, respect for Mother Earth and respect for Father Sky, the Great Spirit and the Universe (Excerpt from First Nations Pedagogy website, June Kaminski). It is also worth noting that the Medicine Wheel, used by generations of native people, embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree, all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life. Note how there is distinctive room for both Mother Earth and Father Sky in these ancient creation myths and indigenous spirituality. While Western culture has tended to acknowledge Mother Earth, less attention has often been paid to Father Sky. The face of God can clearly be seen in both Mother Earth and Father Sky. Happy Father’s Day to all the special fathers in our fraternity. May you have a wonderful celebration of your giftedness. We are all most grateful for the gift of fatherhood. |   |
| Celebrating Mothers Whether it is your biological mother, or another woman who has cared and loved you through thick and thin, Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate the amazing women who have been there for you in your life. Mother Earth is another mother we must never forget. The recent celebration of Earth Day has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our collective Mother who sustains life on this planet for all of us, and who provides unconditional love and care that we all require to grow and mature into healthy, responsible adults. |   |
Ongoing Formation - May 2021
Truth and Reconciliation - Residential Schools
Our May meeting will host a presentation by John Barrett who is an elder of Zion Presbyterian Church. He will be speaking to us concerning Canada's Residential Schools and the subsequent Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
During his years of involvement at both the National and local levels, John has studied and been involved with the history and issues related to Residential Schools that were run by the Presbyterian Church of Canada. This has brought him into dialogue with church, aboriginal and political leaders in Canada and has provided him with an informed perspective on the horrendous and deep scars, which Indigenous people have experienced.
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During his years of involvement at both the National and local levels, John has studied and been involved with the history and issues related to Residential Schools that were run by the Presbyterian Church of Canada. This has brought him into dialogue with church, aboriginal and political leaders in Canada and has provided him with an informed perspective on the horrendous and deep scars, which Indigenous people have experienced.
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| Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that the ones who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all. Download PDF Newsletter Here |  |
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