Beginning in 2023, and culminating in 2026, we will celebrate the anniversaries of five significant events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi, namely the 800th anniversaries of the Later Rule and the Christmas at Greccio (2023), the Stigmata (2024), the Canticle of the Creatures (2025), and the Easter of Francis (2026). ...
It’s October 15, 2022, about 1:45pm Eastern time, and I have been elected National Minister of the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States (OFS-USA) by a majority vote of the members of the OFS-USA Fraternity Council at our Chapter in Detroit, Michigan. ... I have been integrating my first vocation (marriage to Brian Bamman – 32 years) with my second vocation (OFS – 27 years) for most of our married life. My husband is a “Fourth Order” Franciscan. Service as the National Secretary was a privilege and honor, but also took up quite a bit of time, so I was ready for a break. Brian and I prayed about it and discerned that it was ok to take my name off the nominations list. What a relief! ...
Putting together a puzzle is a fun fraternity project―and if the puzzle is one that reflects your fraternity or your council, it can provide important insights. ...
Currently, our fraternity is awaiting visitation from our Region. At that visit, our Regional leadership will determine whether we have successfully regrouped after experiencing the most difficult challenge to our fraternity since its formation. While there have been several challenges over our century of fraternity life, what we experienced a few years ago was truly unique, difficult, and formative. It has been a time of much prayer, discernment, mutuality, and work. ...
“Brother Masseo, wanting to test how humble he [Francis] was, went up to him and, as if joking, said, ‘Why after you, why after you, why after you?’ Masseo goes on to say in clarification: ‘I’m saying why does the whole world come after you, and everyone seems to desire to see you and hear you? You aren’t a handsome man in body, you aren’t someone of great learning, you’re not noble; so why does the whole world come after you?’” ...
As the war in Eastern Europe continues, Secular Franciscans – like everyone else – are looking for answers. Perhaps we can turn to Sts. Francis and Clare, as their lives were also affected by the tragedies of war and violence. In 1215, Pope Innocent III launched the Fourth Lateran Council, at which he called for a fifth crusade. St. Francis was likely present at the council, and he heard the call. After two failed attempts, in 1219, he arrived in the Holy Land. However, he was there as a different sort of crusader. He did not arrive with arms; he had a different plan. ...
Telling stories (parables) was Jesus’ favorite way to teach and draw others into his fold. People gathered in throngs to hear what he had to say and to speak to him. Churches too should be places where people come to hear the story of God and to tell their own. That’s how we discover what it means to live gospel lives.
This is an article that I have been thinking about for several months. I felt I needed to relate to our leaders the importance of their “Presence.” I would like to share observations I made and complaints I heard in my role as your Multicultural and Diversity Councilor and to provide suggestions on how to make the best of your presence as regional leaders of diverse fraternities. ...
What do you know about our brothers and sisters of the Jewish tradition? What of our Muslim brothers and sisters? Or any other faith tradition? My work on the Interfaith Alliance of the Southwest and the Interfaith/Ecumenical Committee has challenged me to SEE – to see deeply beyond borders, beyond faith traditions, and to learn to celebrate the differences that mark our uniqueness. I have found that when we examine the faith of others, we embark on a journey that reveals just how much we have in common. To embark on this path, however, takes courage. ...
The creation story begins with the goodness of light. Light was God’s first gift to each of us. The birth of Jesus was announced to us with the light of a star. We read of light in many stories in scripture, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. ... Light symbolizes the many wonderful characteristics of God. Light is also a symbol for awareness, knowledge, goodness, and understanding. We are each called by name (Isaiah 43:1) into the light and to shine the light from God into the world. We are called to be witnesses (Isaiah 43:10) to the world. ...