Becoming Prayer for Peace and Social Justice Part 2
Prayer must be our first line of defense in all things and not a last resort. Prayer must be our default – like breathing.
Breakaway Group Activily Seeks to Draw Members from OFS
Each of our families is touched by broken relationships. At least somewhere in the family tree, there is likely to be divorce, separation, or some kind of estrangement. Our national fraternity is similar in this way: there is a group of energetic former Secular Franciscans who have broken their fraternal relationships with us to form a separate group of Franciscan tertiaries. As is all too common with broken family relationships, these former members seek to draw other members into their group.
The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Francis of Assisi
There is the tendency to view Francis’ devotion to Mary as somewhat of an isolated entity, unrelated to his spiritual life as a whole. Yet, Francis’ love for Mary was so much a part of him that it is almost impossible to separate his Marian devotion from his daily life.
Sharing the Vision – News from the Executive Council
(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall Issue #104)
2021 NAFRA Chapter and National Elections
The 2021 NAFRA Chapter will be held virtually October 26-31, 2021. Given the decision to hold the Chapter virtually, the National Elections needed to be rescheduled. The National […]
Franciscan Living – God Alone
Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. (Deut: 6:4-5) So begins the “Shema,” commonly known as the most important prayer in the Jewish faith. It identifies that God alone is the only God, and we should love Him with all that we are and do―but so many of our prayers seem to be meditating about God rather than praying to Him. [...]
Transcendence or Immanence?
Anyone who has spent much time visiting different Franciscan fraternities is aware that there are different ways of understanding how to live out our Franciscan life.
Holiness Behind Bars
“Would you be willing to mentor a young man in prison who wants to be a Franciscan?” What a question! What a surprise! I’m always eager to share my life with anyone who is interested, but I never imagined being asked to share our Franciscan life with a prisoner on the other side of the United States. ...
National Minister’s Message – Who We Are
Three years ago, I made a Visitation to Tau Cross Regional Fraternity. Something happened during that visit that made quite an impact, and I have remembered it ever since. Our ongoing formation topic that day was the OFS Rule. I was interested in what the Rule meant to those gathered, so I handed out blank postcards and asked everyone to write down three words – just three words – to describe the Rule. ...
Diversity – Is a Gift to Us from God!
There were so many good titles to choose for this article, but I felt compelled to choose this one. It came from Tom Ha, OFS, our Korean brother from Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Fraternity in Houston, Texas. This message has resonated with me so many times this past year. It is so true that Diversity is a Gift to us from God, and what we do with that Gift is especially important. ...
Multiculturalism and Diversity – Did You Know?
My ultimate goal is to help others better understand and embrace the different ethnic cultures within our fraternities. The following definitions are taken from that website article (see footnote). [...]