From the Minister
Christine Imislund
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“On [Christmas] day Francis wanted the poor and the hungry to be filled
by the rich, and more than the usual amount of grain and hay given to the
oxen and asses. ‘If I could speak to the emperor, I
would ask that a general law be made that all who can should scatter
corn and grain along the roads so thatthe birds might have an abundance
of food on the day of such great solemnity, especially our sisters
the larks.’ He would recall, not without tears, what great want surrounded
the poor Virgin on that day.” (2Cel 200).
We sometimes forget that this “great solemnity” is actually
with us always in the form of the Eucharist. This year, let us celebrate
it daily in all we do!
Fr. Paul Juniet, OFM-
Spiritual Assistant
On Sunday, December 27th, we celebrate the feast of the Holy
Family, a feast very much in line with Christmas. In coming into the world
Jesus came as one of us. He belonged to a human family.
He suffered the growing pains of a baby, youth and teenager. He was
one of us in all things but sin. He accepted the Jewish ritual of circumcision.
In act as he was teaching, the people questioned: “Isn’t this the
son of the carpenter? We know his family.”
We know very little about the life of Jesus in his family.
But three elements stand out in the Scriptures.
1. This family was chosen by God and they went forward in faith. Mary
answered the call by saying,
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord.” And during the early days of Jesus’
life at various times she did not understand what was happening but she
“reflected on them in her heart.” She walked in faith. Joseph, on hearing
the words, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife into your home”
in faith joined in marriage with Mary. In faith a year or so later he took
his family into Egypt and returned to
Nazareth with them. Jesus in faith at the age of twelve “went down
with Mary & Joseph and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.”
2. Jesus knew the ordinary life of a small Jewish town. He was not out of the ordinary. He worked with his father in the carpenter shop and took care of his mother after Joseph died.
3. Prayer and contemplation were very much part of their lives. Mary
often reflected on the mysteries that were happening at the birth of her
son. Mary & Joseph offered Jesus to the Father in the temple.
Jesus learned from his parents the contemplative way of prayer. Later in
his life he often
went aside for prayer and contemplation.
With the foundation of the Holy Family each one of us is called
to strengthen our own family bonds. Life with God cannot be lived on an
out of this world level. It must be lived in our ordinary human pursuits.
God touches every element of our family life in the world.
As Secular Franciscans we are called to live the Gospel life
in this ordinary everyday world. We have the foundation of faith and trust
in the Lord to support us. And in our prayer and contemplation we celebrate
and live out the presence of God alive with us.
As we celebrate this Christmas season let us renew the spirit
of the Holy Family in our own homes. Let us truly “advance in wisdom and
age and favor before God and man.”
Love, Fr. Paul
"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
6. “I want this brotherhood to be called Order of little brother!” (1Cel38)
said Francis. It was characteristic of minority that made the primitive
Franciscan fraternity such a powerful force in the world. Contemporary
society, obsessed with individualism, also needs the evangelical witness
of minority. Through selfishness, our world has arrived at the point of
identifying... abortion with liberation of women and suicide with the final
rights of the sick! And minority is strength for reconciliation and peace
in a world that, eager for power, is “torn by ethnic hatred and murderous
madness” (Vita Consecrata, n.51)
It is the evangelical fraternity that will make
you happy to put yourselves on a level with all people, especially the
most lowly. You feel “called, together with all people of goodwill, to
build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God
may be brought about.” It is necessary however to commit oneself to the
accomplishment of the duties appropriate to the work and the relevant professional
preparation. It is necessary to take on one’s social and civil responsibilities,
with the same spirit of service.
4. In order to create an evangelical fraternity, evangelical conversion
logically constitutes the heart of the formative process. Formation does
not only concern the growth of the individual...but also the development
of an instruction, the experience and shared reflection “centering on the
unity of faith
and life, following ways which tend to make the local fraternity a
school of life, of maturity, of dialogue and communion, of conversion,
of citizenship conscious and aware also of the living
experience of Church.” (SFO General Chapter).
Calendar of Saints/Feast Days: December
8. Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron and
Queen of the Franciscan Orders.
Solemnity.
12. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patron and Queen of the Americas.
Memorial.
15. Bl. Mary Frances Schervier, virgin. Op.Mem.
25. BIRTH OF OUR LORD-CHRISTMAS
27. Holy Family
28. Holy Innocents
January 1,1999: Mary, Mother of God (New Year’s Day)
3. Epiphany of the Lord
December 25
“For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion
rests. They name him wonder-counselor, God-hero, father-forever, prince
of peace” (9:5).
December 27
Each family, in some way, should be involved in the preparation
for the great jubilee. Was it not through a family, the family of Nazareth
that the son of God chose to enter into human history?
---John Paul II
December 28
In the Eastern Church, these are the ‘Holy Infants,’ the
male children recorded slain by King Herod in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew’s
account stresses Jesus as the ‘new Israel,’ persecuted and forced to flee,
and the ‘new Moses,’ marvelously rescued from the general slaughter of
the Hebrew
children. Because it is not recorded in any secular document, some
scholars believe this incident was not an historical event, but rather
Matthew’s way of presenting his theological ideas, a method quite popular
among Semitic writers of that era.
January 3, 1999 - Epiphany of the Lord
From childhood we are captivated by the tale of exotic wise
men from the East who follow a star to a humble stable in Bethlehem. Charming,
but not exactly a story fraught with challenge for modern-day Christians.
Or...it it?
The story of the Magi is a story about the quest for God. What
it tells us is that we need to keep our eyes open on our own quest because
God just might show up where we least expect it. Just picture the Magi’s
surprise...the newborn king...in a stable! Yet they did not turn away to
look
for another but bowed down in adoration before the child in the manger.
And herein lies the challenge for us today. Are we really open
to the ways that God might choose to reveal himself to us or are we blinded
by our own prejudices and preconceived notions? Can we accept that those
whom we may deem useless or unworthy just might be the stars which can
show us the way to God?
Our God is a God of the unexpected. Today, on this feast of
Epiphany, let us pray that we may recognize and celebrate the myriad and
surprising ways that God reveals himself to us each day.
Teresa Whalen, Regina, SK
INQUIRER'S CLASSES:
Dec. 12 at 1:30 pm and Dec. 27 at 1:30 pm at Queen of Angels. Instr.:
Joanne Elfers
CANDIDATE CLASSES:
Dec. 12 and 27 at 1:00 pm at Queen of Angels.. Instructor: Rena Xuereb.
ONGOING FORMATION:
Dec. 27 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
"We are mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ when we carry him in our
hearts and in our bodies... and give birth to him through the working of
his grace in us which should shine forth as an example to others.”
-Letter to the Faithful |
COUNCIL MEETING:
Jan. 2, 1999 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.