Category Archives: Franciscan

I bear the marks…

Posted on by
Reply

In the first reading today for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Paul writes: “From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” (Gal 6:17).  Over the centuries many hold that St. Paul is referring to the beating and other physical assaults he has endured. Others hold that Paul had received the stigmata. Stigmata, from the Greek word, generically points to a “brand” or a “mark.” It is the common word to describing branding of cattle. In the Christian context it refers to the bodily marks resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ. St. Francis was the first person, historically recorded, who bore the marks of the crucified Christ in his hands, his feet, and in his side. Continue reading →

Buona Festa!!

Posted on by
1

Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Many blessings to all Franciscans and all those of a Franciscan heart.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace.
The Lord bless you!

Happy Feast Day!

Through Death to Life

Posted on by
Reply

In Western Christianity, the Transitus (translation from Ecclesiastical Latin: crossing or passing over) refers to “the time of passage through death to life”. The Christian theologian German Martinez writes that: “The idea of death in the Latin transitus … represents a unique Christian terminology linked to the paschal mystery. It consecrates the passage of the dying to eternal life. Offering the sacrifice of his or her personal life, the believer shares in the paschal transitus of Christ himself. Each year on the evening of October 3rd the Franciscan family throughout the world pauses to celebrate the solemnity of our Holy Father Francis’s Transitus, passing over from this life to the next. Continue reading →

The Transitus of St. Francis

Posted on by
Reply

In Western Christianity, the Transitus (translation from Ecclesiastical Latin: crossing or passing over) refers to “the time of passage through death to life”. The Christian theologian German Martinez writes that: “The idea of death in the Latin transitus … represents a unique Christian terminology linked to the paschal mystery. It consecrates the passage of the dying to eternal life. Offering the sacrifice of his or her personal life, the believer shares in the paschal transitus of Christ himself. Continue reading →

All these years later

Posted on by
1

Everyone remembers 9/11 differently. 93% of Americans over the age of 30 remember where they were and what they were doing when they received the news. For Americans 25 and under, the number drops of 42%. For Americans 20 years and younger, they were not yet born or not old enough to have a memory. Nonetheless 9/11 affected the nation. Want to know more? Read the Pew Research Center’s Two Decades Later, the Enduring Legacy of 9/11. Here and at your parish may we all actively remember and pray with and for 9/11 family members, survivors, and rescue and recovery workers for their service and healing.

Continue reading →

Cathedrals of Hope

Posted on by
2

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the NCAA college football season for most schools, my alma mater included – the US Naval Academy. I remember the first game of my freshman (plebe) year. The opponent was Colgate. I had no idea there was a college with the name Colgate. I only knew Colgate as the family toothpaste (although I preferred Ipana and its mascot Bucky the Beaver). Continue reading →

Spouses, Mothers, and Brothers

Posted on by
Reply

Just a few Sundays ago, the gospel reading from Mark recounted a moment from early in the public ministry of Jesus. He and the disciples had been to many towns and villages in Galilee and in the neighboring Decapolis region. There Jesus had cured many, cast out demons, and proclaimed the advent of the Kingdom of God. He was attracting huge crowds: “Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.” (Mark 3:20). Continue reading →

The Minor Prophets

Posted on by
Reply

The first readings for the daily Masses this week are taken from the Book of Hosea. It is the first of the so-called “Minor Prophets” of the Old Testament. The Minor Prophets (also called “The Book of the Twelve) is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries before Jesus. In the Jewish Tanakh they appear as a single book. In the Christian Old Testament the collection appears as twelve individual books, one for each of the prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The name “Minor Prophets” goes back apparently to St. Augustine, who distinguished the 12 shorter prophetic books as prophetae minores distinguished from the four longer books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. There are other OT prophets whose stories are recounted in other OT books, e.g. Elijah and Elisha, recorded in Kings and Chronicles. Continue reading →