FRANCISCAN FOCUS
  • Welcome
    • Blessed Father Frederick
  • Fraternities
    • Atlantic Area
    • Quebec/Ontario Area
    • Secular Franciscans of Canada
    • International Secular Franciscans
  • News
    • Fraternity Newsletters
    • Member Sharings
    • Events
    • Regional News
    • CIOFS News
    • Holy Spirit Province
    • More Franciscan Family
    • Pope Francis
  • National News
  • Blogs
  • JPIC
    • Taking Action
    • Fair Trade Pledge
    • Franciscan Voice Canada
    • Franciscans International
    • Laudato Si' & Fratelli Tutti
  • Franciscan Resources
    • Rule of the ​Secular Franciscan Order
    • General Constitutions
    • Ritual of the OFS
    • Statutes
    • Local Council Resources >
      • Local Council Duties
      • Elective Chapter - Local
      • Candidate's Formation
      • Local Treasurer
    • Regional Council Resources >
      • Elective Chapter Regional
      • Support to Local Fraternity
      • Regional Council Responsibilities
      • Regional Treasurer
    • Communication Kit
  • Formation
    • Regional Formation Corner >
      • On-going Formation Ideas
      • RULE - REFLECTIONS
    • Guidelines for Initial Formation 2017
    • Living Fraternity
    • 2008 CIOFS Formation Manual
    • Formation Manual
    • Resources for Franciscans >
      • Book Reviews
    • Reflections by OFS Members
    • Catechism of Catholic Church
    • Franciscan Shrines
    • Franciscan Saints
    • Plays and Stories
    • Articles
    • San Damiano Cross
  • Prayer
    • Liturgies >
      • Franciscan Wake Service
      • Transitus
      • Franciscan Way of the Cross
      • Christian Seder
    • Prayers >
      • Canticle of the Sun
      • Franciscan Crown Rosary
    • Music
  • Contact Us

Regional Formation Corner

Elizabeth of Hungary: Social Justice, Compassion, and the Franciscan Calling

12/10/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have just received this article from Richard Shields offering it to the Secular Franciscans. Richard Shields has his Masters in Franciscan Spirituality from St. Bonaventure in New York and his Doctorate in Religious Studies from McMaster in Ontario. If you recall, Richard was our Regional Spiritual Conference leader in 2018. Richard wrote:
"...I am in contact with the Franciscans in Germany and appreciate the spiritual insights they share. One of the brothers recently offered a reflection on the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. I was originally going to translate it and share it with the secular Franciscans here in Canada, but then I realized that it would be better to use it as a jumping-off point and to rework it through a Canadian lens. That is what I am sending you. I hope that it can be shared."  ​The following is his reflection.
                                                                                                                                         - Sherrill Guimond, ofs
Picture
The following is an adaptation of a mediation composed by Brother Niklaus Kuster, a German Capuchin. As we celebrate the feast date of the Patroness of the Secular Franciscan Order. St. Elizabeth of Hungary, we renew our own commitment to justice and compassion.

                           Elizabeth of Hungary: Social Justice, Compassion, and the Franciscan Calling

Introduction
When she was three years old Elizabeth’s father, King Andreas II, handed her over to the Count of Thuringia as a political gesture. A child in a strange land! Throughout the rest of her life, she pushed boundaries and challenged the status quo that built walls between people rather than bridges. After her marriage at age 14, the young princess followed the longing of her heart rather than the norms of the ruling class—offending many among the aristocrats.  As Countess she often left the castle to seek out the poorest and most marginalized of her subjects. As a young widow she made herself the barefooted sister of the poorest.
 Most of us are not affluent; we don’t belong to a privileged class. What can we learn from our patroness that can help us understand our Franciscan vocation in today’s society?

A child abandoned in a foreign country: migrants
So many people today must leave the culture that nurtured them to find safety, work, or dignified living conditions in Canada. As a new-comer, Elizabeth was open to adapting to her new environment, even though many of the ruling family resented this “foreigner.”  In adversity, after her husband’s death, she was so deeply connected with the German people, that she was seen as a mother, a sister, and a friend to many.

                     Download the full reflection
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    As your Regional Formation Director, I hope to provide fraternities with formation ideas and material that will be useful in your local formation programs. My hope is that you will share your ideas as well so we can all benefit. Just click on the Comments Button.
    Peace,
    ​Sherrill Guimond ofs

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Welcome
    • Blessed Father Frederick
  • Fraternities
    • Atlantic Area
    • Quebec/Ontario Area
    • Secular Franciscans of Canada
    • International Secular Franciscans
  • News
    • Fraternity Newsletters
    • Member Sharings
    • Events
    • Regional News
    • CIOFS News
    • Holy Spirit Province
    • More Franciscan Family
    • Pope Francis
  • National News
  • Blogs
  • JPIC
    • Taking Action
    • Fair Trade Pledge
    • Franciscan Voice Canada
    • Franciscans International
    • Laudato Si' & Fratelli Tutti
  • Franciscan Resources
    • Rule of the ​Secular Franciscan Order
    • General Constitutions
    • Ritual of the OFS
    • Statutes
    • Local Council Resources >
      • Local Council Duties
      • Elective Chapter - Local
      • Candidate's Formation
      • Local Treasurer
    • Regional Council Resources >
      • Elective Chapter Regional
      • Support to Local Fraternity
      • Regional Council Responsibilities
      • Regional Treasurer
    • Communication Kit
  • Formation
    • Regional Formation Corner >
      • On-going Formation Ideas
      • RULE - REFLECTIONS
    • Guidelines for Initial Formation 2017
    • Living Fraternity
    • 2008 CIOFS Formation Manual
    • Formation Manual
    • Resources for Franciscans >
      • Book Reviews
    • Reflections by OFS Members
    • Catechism of Catholic Church
    • Franciscan Shrines
    • Franciscan Saints
    • Plays and Stories
    • Articles
    • San Damiano Cross
  • Prayer
    • Liturgies >
      • Franciscan Wake Service
      • Transitus
      • Franciscan Way of the Cross
      • Christian Seder
    • Prayers >
      • Canticle of the Sun
      • Franciscan Crown Rosary
    • Music
  • Contact Us