From the Minister
Christine Imislund
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We prepare for our Lord in a new and deeper way each Advent.
Jesus desires to be everything to us. He speaks to us in the song of a
bird, the smell of a rain-washed day and in the laugh of a loved
one.
This Advent I would like to challenge you. Do you bring Christ
to a world hungry for His touch? Does your fraternity grow in God's Spirit
of Love and concern because of your presence? Is the
Kingdom more present because of you?
Let this new year shine with the love of Jesus coming more fully
into the world. Be a true "Christ-bearer". Let His light shine through
you into your family, your work, your fraternity. God will
bless you and be more present in your life.
Fr. Paul Juniet, OFM-
Spiritual Assistant
As we enter into Advent, beginning the Church year
of 1999, we reflect anew on our journey to Jubilee 2000. In the biblical
sense a Jubilee was a time for a new look at our lives. A rebirth, a new
life in the Lord. On my retreat recently Sr. Ramona Miller suggested four
aspects of this renewal: Life, Learning, Love and Going Forth.
First of all our Life. We are gifted with our own lives. At
Christmas we celebrate the "life" of Jesus with us. How do we celebrate
our own? Do we take care of our physical life? Are we good to ourselves
with proper nourishment, rest, recreation, spiritual and psychological
nourishment? At the end of his life, Francis apologized to Brother Ass,
his body, for not taking care of it. Francis is telling us to be
kinder to Brother Ass than he was.
Learning: Do we continue to nourish our minds and spirits? Francis
was not against learning if it was done in the spirit of prayer and devotion.
Our mental abilities are a gift to be used. Francis was very learned in
the Sacred Scriptures through meditation and reflection on God's presence
all around him. Have we journeyed into the scriptures? Good books, even
novels and secular books expand our human wisdom. Experience is a great
teacher. Are we open to grow in wisdom and knowledge as we read how Jesus
did so in his young life?
Love: How's your Love life? The greatest command that Jesus
gave us was, "Love one another as I have loved you." Francis had to deal
with his relationship with his father. He could not live the way of his
father, but did that mean he did not love him? Do we let disagreements
with family, friends, and people we share each day with, take away our
love for them? The scene of Bethlehem with wise men and shepherds coming
together celebrated the union of love that Jesus came to share.
And finally, Going Forth: There is something about the birth
of a child that calls each of us to share the good news. The shepherds
went back to their homes dancing and singing proclaiming the Good News,
Emmanuel is born. God is in our midst. Let us begin anew our own proclamation
as we celebrate this Advent-Christmans season.
The Lord is calling us anew to celebrate, as Francis did at
Greccio, the presence of his love and gift of life in each one of us. Let
us enter 1999 opening our lives to wholeness in his peace and love. Then
truly, after journeying through 1999, we will be able to enter into Jubilee
2000.
"Paz y Bien" From the Infirmarian:
SFO INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL Weekly News
FROM: CIOFS BULLETIN, 1998, VOL 4 N.45,46(Nov. 1998)
OFM Cap.Gen.Curia
5. Brothers and Sisters present in the world.
St. Francis understood that the Church was born as a community
and because of this he was profoundly convinced that the Gospel would continue
to spread in the world by means of the fraternity. So he sent his brothers
two by two to proclaim repentance and peace (I Cel.29;30; etc.; cfr Mc
6.7; Lc 10,1).
Francis saw himself himself as brother; it defined his way of
service and of proclaiming the Gospel. He saw in each person the features
of Christ, "firstborn of a multitude of brothers" and because of this he
welcomed "all men with a humble and courteous spirit, as a gift of the
Lord and image of Christ". (Nostro Volto 6i)
The challenge of creating evangelical fraternities involves
the reconsideration of the way in which our fraternity serves the Church
and the world. This shows that the services which require the collaboration
of various members of the fraternity must have precedence over those that
are individual expressions. The variety of gifts of grace and of nature
must work together for the
communal good. Social and cultural changes have shaped a new reality
so that we all see each other with new eyes and we discover, the one in
the other, all the gifts of nature and grace.
7. A united and evangelical Fraternity.
"That Order constitutes therefore a fraternity.." This
very important declaration by the Pope to the Capuchins gives us a renewed
impetus to live again the evangelical fraternal charism of St. Francis
of Assisi, which for around 800 years has given evangelical vitality to
the Church and the world.
Calendar of Saints/Feast Days: November
1. All Saints
2. All Souls
4. St. Charles Borromeo, bishop, III Ord.
7. St. Didicus of Alcala, rel., I Ord.
8. Bl. John Duns Scotus,priest, I Ord.
13.St.Frances Xavier Cabrini,vir.,III Ord.
14.St. Nicholas Trvelic,priest and comp.,
martyrs, I Ord.
17.ST.ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, patroness
III Order, FEAST
18.Bl. Salome, virg.,II Ord
19.St. Agness of Assisi,virg.,II Ord.
22.CHRIST THE KING
24.All the Deceased of the Franciscan Ord.
26.Lt. Leonard of Port Maurice,priest,I Ord
27.Bl.Francis Anthony Fasani,priest, I Ord.
28.St.James of the March,priest, I Ord.
29.FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
29.All Saints of the Seraphic Order,Feast.
November 17
St. Elizabeth of Hungary-Widow (1207-1231) Patroness of the Third Order
Feast
Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, king of Hungary, was born in the
year 1207. As a young girl she was given in marriage to Louis the Landgrave
of Thuringia and bore him three children. She was
assiduous in meditating on the things of heaven and after her husband's
death embraced a life of poverty. She erected a hospital in which she served
the sick. Her death occurred in Marburg in the
year 1231.
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November 22
Feast of Christ the King
Make the Kingdom real for someone this week. Bring comfort to
the afflicted, food to the hungry, joy to the sorrowing, good news to the
poor. Give someone else a reason to believe that Christ is
the king you serve. A strange king, indeed, revealing an even stranger
God.
INQUIRER'S CLASSES:
Nov. 14 at 1:30 pm and Nov. 22 at 1:30 pm at Queen of Angels. Instr.:
Joanne Elfers
CANDIDATE CLASSES:
Nov. 14 and 22 at 1:00 pm at Queen of Angels.. Instructor: Rena
Xuereb.
ONGOING FORMATION:
Nov. 22 at 1:30-2:30 pm at Queen of Angels. Topic: Series
The Year of the Holy Spirit- Spiritual Life. ALL PROFESSED ARE WELCOME.
Instr.: Louise Baca
"A sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves
on an equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they
shall strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by
Christ."
-The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order II:13 |
COUNCIL MEETING:
Nov. 28 at 1:30 pm at Queen of Angels. PROFESSED MEMBERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND.
SPECIAL WORKSHOPS/ ACTIVITIES:
Cuarto Centennial Event
Plan to attend the archdiocesan celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe
as "Reconciler of all Peoples" at 3:00 pm on December 13, 1998 at the Kiva
Auditorium in Albuquerque.