Category Archives: Franciscan

Thanksgiving in Five Acts

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The American Magazine columnist, Valerie Schultz, had a wonderful article in the November 22nd online edition. I never know if providing a link is successful, so the article in its entirety follows. Enjoy.

When we are children, we believe that our families will always be the same. Time moves slowly, and we don’t understand that a future awaits in which family members will be born, or die, or marry into other families, or stray, or become estranged. And perhaps no holiday better illustrates a family’s ebb and flow, its metamorphosis and stasis, than Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a magnet that draws people back into their families, even as polar opposites attract. Gratitude and home go together.  Continue reading →

The story of a Veteran

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Today the nation celebrates Veteran’s Day, honoring all those who served in the armed forces. Thank you all Veterans!

While Memorial Day is the day in which we remember those who gave their life while serving in the armed forces, today I came across a story by Joe Nocera is a columnist for The Free Press:
The Tribute to a Little-Known Soldier. Continue reading →

The Subtle Doctor

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Duns Scotus1November 8th is the feast day of Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar from Scotland noted for his theological and philosophical work in the high-middle ages (late 13th and early 14th centuries). Scotus’ work was in the generation that followed Thomas of Aquinas and Bonaventure. His work was complex and nuanced, and he is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of his time. He was given the medieval accolade Doctor Subtilis (Subtle Doctor) for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought. Continue reading →

A small change of scenery

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On my way to the airport, the outside temperature was 33 degrees and was a harbinger of the days and season to come. But then again, I was on my way to the airport. Eight hours later

There are new posts in the queue so content will continue during my sojourn, but otherwise I will probably just enjoy another day in a place that offers days in the 70s with sunshine. Just mark me as “gone fishing.”

Critical Equivocating

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Over the last six months or more I have been reading about Critical Theory. Perhaps as you read this you are thinking about Critical Race Theory (CRT). That is but one specific focus of Critical Theory; there are many others. The broad and narrow focus of Critical Theory designates several generations of German philosophers and social theorists in the Western European Marxist tradition known as the Frankfurt School. According to these theorists, a “critical” theory may be distinguished from a “traditional” theory according to a specific practical purpose: a theory is critical to the extent that it seeks human “emancipation from slavery”, acts as a “liberating … influence”, and works “to create a world which satisfies the needs and powers” of human beings. So offers Max Horkheimer, one of the leading and founding philosophers of the Frankfurt School. Continue reading →

A Reflection on St Francis and Humility

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BarbaraA good friend and staff member at Sacred Heart in Tampa (where I served for many years) was asked by the friars to prepare a reflection on St. Francis in honor of his Feast Day. Barbara is the Director of Faith Formation at the parish and a wonderfully vibrant and faithful woman. The final line of her reflection describes her well: “May we strive to emulate the spirit of St. Francis by leading lives of humble service to one another and to love the Lord God above all.”

Continue reading →

Conflict in Jerusalem

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This coming Sunday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lectionary Cycle A. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1 ff) and been received by the people, proclaimed as Messiah, overturned the moneychanger’s tables (21:12-17), and had his authority questioned by the chief priests and elders. Jesus is performing signs and speaking in a way that the people are interpreting as Messianic – and there is a history there. Jesus is not the first messianic figure to come to Jerusalem and the chief priests and elders want to protect the people – although they have already concluded that Jesus is another false claimant. They have been amassing charges and accusations against Jesus and are simply waiting for the opportunity to bring him to trial and be done with him. Continue reading →

Pope Francis: a reflection on the Cross

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From the September 4, 2014 Angelus reflection by Pope Francis:

On 14 September the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Some non-Christian person might ask: why “exalt” the Cross? We can respond that we do not exalt any cross whatsoever or all crosses: we exalt the Cross of Jesus, because in it God’s love for humanity was fully revealed. That’s what the Gospel of John reminds us of in today’s liturgy: “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son” (3:16). Continue reading →

Star Trek Day

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Happy Star Trek Day. It was September 8, 1966 that the pilot of the television series “Star Trek” was first broadcast on NBC. As you no doubt already know (or should know!) the series followed the voyages of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise, commissioner for deep space exploration by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century. Its mission was  “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before”. Continue reading →