tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20710778177759154392024-03-13T11:07:07.723-04:00CFR - Vocations Blogwww.franciscanfriars.comAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992067018091429061noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-78111969783380338912016-11-27T09:59:00.000-05:002016-11-27T10:00:08.206-05:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Fr. Emmanuel Mansford, CFR</b></div>
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As Christians, Jesus tells us to “read the signs of the
times.” What then are we to make of <i>these </i>times? The recent election in the US has caused many
to sit up and ask real questions about what’s going on in society. Whatever one’s perspective might be, this
election has highlighted the division and distrust that is present in American
politics. This vote has been seen by
commentators as a form of protest against an establishment that has become somehow
“out of touch” with the lives of ordinary people. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Christian Faith is all about a God who is “in touch”
with His people, about Power that is humble<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">. “<b>Though he was in the form of God, Jesus
did not cling to equality with God as something to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself, and took the form
of a slave, being found in the likeness of m</b>en</span>” (Phil 2:6-8). In Christ, God, the all-powerful One, became
man. He stepped from eternity into our
reality to save us “from the inside.” He
clothed Himself with the messiness of our humanity. He worked with calloused hands and walked
with blistered feet. He knows how I feel
and He cares. This is the beauty of the
Incarnation. God is not distant. He is close to us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As much as I may not like it, discernment of my vocation
takes place amidst the darkness and sin of the real world that Christ entered
into. I come to know myself -my desires,
my gifts and my weaknesses- through my encounters with others, by entering into
real relationships. As an “Englishman in
New York” I love living in Harlem NYC, but it also takes me out of my comfort
zone. The other day one of the postulant
brothers and I went to a block of government housing- going door to door- to
invite our neighbors for lunch at our friary.
To see the reality of the poverty in which some people live was very difficult. But at the same time it was beautiful to
connect with them there- to be with them in their reality. And some came for lunch simply because they
were invited, instead of sitting in their room alone! <o:p></o:p></div>
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So often I want to remain comfortable but God wants to
stretch me because He sees who I can become.
A big part of discernment is about allowing the Lord to call me from
where I am and who I think I am to where <i>He</i> wants me to be and who <i>He</i>
is calling me to be. St Francis’ life is
a powerful illustration of one who constantly allowed himself to be led by the
Holy Spirit - from the lepers to the Pope to the Sultan- and this resulted in
the renewal of the Church <i>and society </i>in his time. What does God have for me in our time?<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06617499563192585119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-19617785721505075222016-11-02T14:50:00.000-04:002016-11-02T14:50:23.428-04:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Asking like a
Child</span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Br.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> Pier Giorgio, CFR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In
Mt. 18:3 Jesus tells us “Truly, I say to you unless you turn and become like
children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This teaching has always
puzzled me, and made me wonder what it really means to be childlike. Certainly,
Jesus does not mean to act in childish ways, but rather to have the disposition
of a child. One of those dispositions is to ask. Children ask for everything
because they recognize that they cannot provide for themselves, so they go straight
to those who can, their parents. The same is true for all of us we must go to
our Heavenly Father and ask, if not beg, Him for all that we need, trusting and
confident that He will provide for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not
too long ago I was driving on a very busy road in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Manhattan</st1:city></st1:place>. While sitting in traffic I
realized that there was someone blocking the cars ahead of me. It was a
homeless man standing in the middle of the road begging for money and food. As
I got closer to him I rolled down my window to greet him. When he saw me he ran
over to my car and gave me a huge smile and a high-five, and started praising
and thanking God. Unfortunately I had nothing to offer him, so after a quick
exchange I wished him well and continued on my way. As I drove away I was
struck by this man’s childlike disposition and faith, he knew that the only way
to get people’s attention and to get what he needed was to stand in the middle
of a busy road. This may seem crazy to us, but we need this level of faith and
trust in our relationship with the Lord to be like the child who are
uninhibited by norms and will throw himself into his parent’s arms when he is
in need because he has great confidence that he will not be refused. We can
learn from this poor man’s example- we can ‘get in God’s way’ and be confident
that He will stop and give us exactly what we need. Let us strive to be like
children, confident and trusting in the Father’s love for us, knowing that we
can bring all our pains, needs, and desires to Him and that He will graciously
receive and hear our prayer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06617499563192585119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-53077142185239396902016-10-18T11:23:00.000-04:002016-10-18T11:32:21.694-04:00Called To Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqViowSZlNtkUVoNlo8G2OI-v_k79gHMDI5Q23bkdGg_FWMaYvyuge0fnt_uCA9BBxuCuQtgBIxP90l1nJrUAK_-AqvygzGMI6ffRFg2hQSjN24ZxKMfzSY1EbC2-mw47-jJ7TJ7yoX7Dy/s1600/god_the_father.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqViowSZlNtkUVoNlo8G2OI-v_k79gHMDI5Q23bkdGg_FWMaYvyuge0fnt_uCA9BBxuCuQtgBIxP90l1nJrUAK_-AqvygzGMI6ffRFg2hQSjN24ZxKMfzSY1EbC2-mw47-jJ7TJ7yoX7Dy/s200/god_the_father.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Recently my
brother told me that he loved me. It was a blessing to hear those words, but I
thought to myself, “What does that word even mean?” Love. What a word. Our
experience of love in family life and friendships can be wonderful - but not
always. No matter what our experience of love is, deep down inside, there is
nothing in the world that we want more than this: to be loved and to love. </div>
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When St.
John Paul II wrote his Letter to Families back in 1981, he affirmed that, “love
is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” (<i>Familiaris Consortio 11</i>). God is love (1
Jn 4:8) and we are made in his image, after his likeness (Gen 1:26). Therefore,
love is normal. It is the main thing that we need and want in our lives because
love is our origin (Gen 2:27), our life (Jn 10:10; Rom 5:5) and our destiny (1
Cor13: 8,13).</div>
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St. John Paul II goes on to say
that every vocation has its’ origin in family life. But what if your family is
not perfect? Welcome to the human race! No family is perfect. Notice how the
New Testament begins. It begins with Jesus’ genealogy. This list is not a
litany of saints. Some of these people in Jesus’ family line were good, some
were not so good, while others were very bad. Original sin penetrated Jesus’
family line, as it does yours and mine. What is the solution?</div>
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Jesus. He is the Father’s answer to
our hearts deepest longings. Whatever vocation God calls you to, ultimately it
is going to be centered on love, therefore on God. If not, you will never be at
peace. A religious vocation is a response of love, to love back the One who has
loved us first. So, once you’ve found Jesus (THE source of love), it’s time to
move forward in life. Or, as the infamous rapper Heavy D said back in the day,
“Now that we found love what are we gonna do with it”?</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Act of Love</h3>
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O my God, I love you
above all things</div>
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with my whole heart
and soul</div>
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because you are
all-good and worthy of all love.</div>
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I love my neighbor as
myself for love of you.</div>
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I forgive all who
have injured me</div>
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and ask pardon of all
whom I have injured.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, times; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, times; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, times; font-size: 15px;">Fr. Sebastian Maria Kajko, CFR</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06617499563192585119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-33311548207648202482015-05-27T10:35:00.000-04:002015-05-27T10:35:01.418-04:00Love Endures All Things<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> Someone recently asked me ‘do you
just love being a friar?’ and I didn’t know how to answer the question. I was
somewhat at a loss as to what I could say because I’ve been thinking about how
Paul says ‘love endures all things.’ To me this means that I can’t truly say I
love something until I have persevered through many moments where another
option would have been preferable and yet I chose to stay. ‘Time will tell’
could have been my answer. I think that it is important to keep this in mind
because our use of the word ‘love’ is often very shallow.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I think about my parents and
ask whether or not they love one another I can say they most certainly do.
Currently my dad is going through some painful health problems and at times can
be pretty cranky, and my mother is enduring this thing because of her love for
him. Does this mean that she is always going to like being around him, no. Does
that mean she doesn’t love him, of course not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvqvAgBfqJGBHNau6x5y8xMFeqUGij23mCpbPF8elR0pmScysgPjyjTE0f9oxJPN-ZVP18bBA-BbFC-ilMisk7Vw7bUj09fuU98In3QXbzLozlZJl7LMfXK85p4ZbZGvbNlBlkfuItH4e/s1600/Crucifixion+Icon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvqvAgBfqJGBHNau6x5y8xMFeqUGij23mCpbPF8elR0pmScysgPjyjTE0f9oxJPN-ZVP18bBA-BbFC-ilMisk7Vw7bUj09fuU98In3QXbzLozlZJl7LMfXK85p4ZbZGvbNlBlkfuItH4e/s400/Crucifixion+Icon.png" width="270" /></a>We ought to be honest with
ourselves when discerning our place and mission in the Church. Am I looking for
a place where I will always do really well and never be challenged? Am I trying
to find a place where I know what will happen every step of the way and there
will never be any surprises? Or, am I open to entering into something where I
am not in control and can just as easily be surprised by joy as much as sorrow?
Am I open to possibly going somewhere that will challenge me to be real, where
I might fail and have to get back up many times, where I will endure many
things? I think it is no coincidence that the Second Vatican Council document
on religious life is called <i>Perfectae
Caritatis </i>(The Perfection of Charity), to be perfected in love must mean
that you have ‘endured all things.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though I haven’t been a friar very
long I’ve been around many of the older friars (Fr. Benedict Groeschel for
example) who have been here long before I was born and I can look at their
lives and recognize their love for being a friar because they have endured many
things. This really is the ultimate test, and a reality check as well. From
moment to moment my feelings about being a friar can vary. Maybe what that
person meant to ask was ‘do you like being a friar?’ Yes sometimes I do, but
there are other times when it is difficult, there are moments when I need to
admit I was wrong and change, there are moments when my fickle heart wants to
be doing anything else but what I’m supposed to be doing. But when things are
like this I can look to someone like Fr. Benedict or any of the older friars,
or any other priest or religious for that matter, and see that they too must
have endured similar situations and have shown the path of love. I can think of
my mother and father who are enduring some difficulty and this is a sign of
their love. On many levels I do love being a friar, but in a more sober tone I
must say that time will tell. If I persevere to the end and I have ‘endured all
things’ then will I be able to look back and say with deep conviction ‘I have
loved being a friar.’</div>
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<br /></div>
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Peace,</div>
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Brother Lazarus</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-86278117497215936152015-04-30T10:57:00.003-04:002015-04-30T10:57:41.372-04:00Fear and God Don't Occupy the Same Space<div class="MsoNormal">
Benny is one of our neighbors who lives just up the block
from us here in Harlem. From time to
time we see him on the street, often carrying a cup of store-bought
coffee. He often has an insight or
reflection to share, which he does in his own lyrical Harlem-way. He speaks
like he’s singing-rythmic and poetic. His thoughts are random-sometimes
bizarre, sometimes angry, sometimes spiritual, always real. Last Thursday he stopped in to our friary
where we serve lunch for our neighbors.
As the meal was coming to a close and the brothers were washing the
dishes, Benny was just speaking. “ Fear
and God don’t occupy the same space” he said, real matter of fact. Eyes were raised from the sinks as we looked
up at one another. Christ had
spoken. Having lived with the poor for
over 15 years, I have heard His voice many times through simple conversation
such as this. This was one of those
moments. A word from God. A word for me, and I believe, a word for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaFkuBfGfnRNe9WoBylv0xK5YPjVfYku9EfQ-SPrM3wI4RXLpdJnsGrg7n9Q3q3MRWtsxzz8ysHyRcyWmf6L9gfn2gO4F9ir5hCcUpeMKc2r7X2s0mDAtJ6q8XQCRRa93tnjwXnhN-IlY/s1600/jump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaFkuBfGfnRNe9WoBylv0xK5YPjVfYku9EfQ-SPrM3wI4RXLpdJnsGrg7n9Q3q3MRWtsxzz8ysHyRcyWmf6L9gfn2gO4F9ir5hCcUpeMKc2r7X2s0mDAtJ6q8XQCRRa93tnjwXnhN-IlY/s1600/jump.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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“Fear and God don’t occupy the same space.” For those of you who are discerning, this is
Benny’s word for you through me. So
often fear threatens men who are discerning, drowning out the quiet voice of
the Lord with insistent shouts, “What if…?”,
“I’m not…”, “I can’t…”, “What about…?”.
Such over-questioning leads to a “paralysis of analysis”. Fear-based questions overwhelm and make it
difficult to move forward. Of course, we
<i>must </i>be real with ourselves and with
our deepest questions and fears, particularly bringing them to prayer and to a
wise spiritual director, but at a certain point we need to move forward,
trusting that the step that is being asked of me is all I need to concentrate
on for now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When Jesus walked past Peter and Andrew as they were fishing,
he simply said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk
1:16-18). He didn’t lay out a 10 year
plan or the benefits of being associated with Him, nor the cost! He simply said, “Come, follow me, and I will
make you fishers of men.” Were they
afraid? Confused? Unsure?
Probably. But they followed Him
because somehow they trusted more in Him than in their own fears and
questions. You see, Benny is a Harlem
prophet-“Fear and God don’t occupy the same space.” So if your fears are stopping you from doing
what the Lord wants, ask for the grace to move through them and then take a
step. “Fear is useless. What is needed
is trust” (Mk 5:36). Following Jesus is
all about taking steps. He leads. We follow.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgte-rRe-Vx09-5KIKlvmDnF4cQ4MhQ_RABq4HpRR4u-dkLuhGggSxoUgmnB_dtgObBFOl3JX_ym-GwPEpUfSV6jSF_BAVWmJyXD-l0J1PKwfAHr0cJ6YaZhIbw_w2TKFufUV51a28RL7/s1600/Christ+Calling+Apostles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgte-rRe-Vx09-5KIKlvmDnF4cQ4MhQ_RABq4HpRR4u-dkLuhGggSxoUgmnB_dtgObBFOl3JX_ym-GwPEpUfSV6jSF_BAVWmJyXD-l0J1PKwfAHr0cJ6YaZhIbw_w2TKFufUV51a28RL7/s1600/Christ+Calling+Apostles.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Fr Emmanuel Mary CFR<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Vocation Director <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-63905236515513514702015-04-30T10:04:00.000-04:002015-04-30T10:04:21.446-04:00Take a Risk!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYhiurS5wGYYQ4yi9IfeDJkyZihlwZSQALJLL9Szumwzdm8lVMwGzZAslhxpY-Mg4btHqNNF4dPUWyqc-uv6EEtY79bil3oMyj6qDiav7FBoZS29CTiwOjEU6ynCFIQQd2xJuaU4iVzbD/s1600/DSC00413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYhiurS5wGYYQ4yi9IfeDJkyZihlwZSQALJLL9Szumwzdm8lVMwGzZAslhxpY-Mg4btHqNNF4dPUWyqc-uv6EEtY79bil3oMyj6qDiav7FBoZS29CTiwOjEU6ynCFIQQd2xJuaU4iVzbD/s1600/DSC00413.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Sometimes the Lord invites us to take a
risk. Every Easter the brothers in
England and Ireland get together for our annual retreat and some fraternal
time. This year it was in the Lake
District in Lancashire. It is an
absolutely beautiful place with numerous trails along lakes and over craggy
peaks. On the last day of our time there
the weather began to shift. The clouds
hung over the house foretelling rain.
But there was still one more ridge to climb. My body had barely recovered from a previous
days’ hike and my persistent head cold showed no sign of relenting. But there was still one more ridge to climb. In the spirit of fraternity and with a vague
sense that this beautiful landscape would not disappoint, I got in the van. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> We
set off just before 1pm. Our route led
up a winding narrow path through the mountains to a car park that seconded as a
sheep pen. With a quick look at our map
we began the ascent. The thought of a
restful day in bed quickly lost its allure.
Edifying conversation, epic landscape, and with a trail that seemed to
pull us onward, the ominous clouds lost their teeth and the head cold seemed to
give up on its grip. Usually on a long
hike it’s the summit that makes it all worth it. This time the whole thing was worth it. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It was like a summary of our whole Easter
Retreat and time together: “Do not let your own limitations and the temptations
of the world limit your vision. Be willing
to take the risk of moving by faith. See
by faith and be moved by the promise of seeing a beautiful landscape rolled out
before you.” I could have let my
physical limitations and the signs of gloomy weather keep me at home that day,
but to what end? In comparison to what I
unexpectedly received for having stepped-out on a hunch, staying home would
have been an extremely short-sighted and dull choice. Resting at home in the comfort of my room
appeared in comparison to be an absolutely ridiculous option. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnSikAZvB3kKzscP3iYusV2B5w0Tiq4-nGOacz9BVOJbie3R-vrG7S0zoPbT2-VSkgYJSmLQWpivRBW2diXI8grSN-tOCdDCLaKyUSIb7n6a7ltwA0bmM9XL2n8TorW5cpgDK8aSKa0g-/s1600/DSC00468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnSikAZvB3kKzscP3iYusV2B5w0Tiq4-nGOacz9BVOJbie3R-vrG7S0zoPbT2-VSkgYJSmLQWpivRBW2diXI8grSN-tOCdDCLaKyUSIb7n6a7ltwA0bmM9XL2n8TorW5cpgDK8aSKa0g-/s1600/DSC00468.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"> Brothers,
the Lord is inviting us in our discernment to take a risk. Do not let the things of the world limit your
vision to this life alone. The Lord
wants you to see more. He wants you to
decide according to deeper criteria. Our
human limitations and the challenge of living in a world that sees only bad
weather overhead are not meant to have the last word. Jesus’ Resurrection has opened up a new
horizon for each of us to behold. He has
freed us from the tyranny of our human frailty.
I assure you brothers the risk of following the Lord and walking by
faith and not merely by sight is a risk worth taking; the pay off is in the
whole of the journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Happy
Easter brothers! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">You’re in my daily prayers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Fr.Gabriel Joseph, CFR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-75296922586141271952015-04-04T12:01:00.000-04:002015-04-04T12:01:02.729-04:00Love the Lord and His Holy Will<br />
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Happy Easter Brothers!</div>
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The brothers in Bradford were recently giving a parish mission in a nearby parish in the diocese. On Wednesday night we were introduced to the oldest parishioner in the parish. She was 101 and her name was Molly. I thought her name was perfect. When I hear the name “Molly” I think of a bright-eyed red-haired young girl riding around on her bike or skipping and laughing all the way. Molly was 101. I know….no skipping or riding her bike around her neighbour’s driveway but I have to tell you she was young! “I still do everything for myself,” she said. “Oh, yes. I feel the same as I did when I was 50!” “What’s your secret?” asked Sr. Elizabeth and Fr. Gabriel standing by. Presuming to hear something about low fat yoghurt or kale and apple smoothies she offered a response as quickly as we had asked the question. “I love my God and his holy Will.” The bright smile and even brighter look she floored us both. “I’m not sure what that means, but you are holy and still here with us for a purpose; wow…,” I thought to myself. Molly continued to shuffle around the vestibule of the Church offering many “thank yous” and “goodbyes” while the rest of us absorbed what she had just said. </div>
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She found life in the Lord brothers. For her living a long and happy life was to “love her God and to do His holy will.” Sometimes knowing the will of God can be a frightening affair. Sometimes we want to run. I’m grateful for people like Molly who can remind me that God’s will gives life and therefore, joy. May this Easter be for all of you brothers a time to take a step forward in your discernment. A step forward in trust that whatever the Lord wants, I will be willing because I know that being with Him wherever He leads me is life and joy. </div>
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I have a feeling when Molly dances into the halls of heaven there will be a train of people leaning forward to follow her steps as they stumble along behind her. May we be found among them smiling and delighted with having “loved the Lord and his holy will.” </div>
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Happy Easter brothers,</div>
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Fr. Gabriel Joseph, CFR</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-59748800927037266832015-03-18T12:46:00.002-04:002015-03-18T12:46:37.748-04:00Go to Big Joe!<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zp_Sl-ukzZK5m9MJJAqx-LKPzlX-DHYcd_qRCIXF-iaPNW7p7DhdB-Bvk8fcfl2ZMTM9SOPBiAmbKuVatC8TVEBesEyH2J2xN09j6Y7UTAFeWVOPPj9-UIeq-43s1xsDtQlkUakcxd32/s1600/St.+Joseph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zp_Sl-ukzZK5m9MJJAqx-LKPzlX-DHYcd_qRCIXF-iaPNW7p7DhdB-Bvk8fcfl2ZMTM9SOPBiAmbKuVatC8TVEBesEyH2J2xN09j6Y7UTAFeWVOPPj9-UIeq-43s1xsDtQlkUakcxd32/s1600/St.+Joseph.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a>St Joseph is a model and powerful intercessor for men who
are discerning God’s will. Like many of
us, he had his own plans, desires and dreams.
Work hard. Build a career. Settle down with the woman he loved and raise
a family. Sound familiar? Sounds great.
And then God stepped in! Mary’s
news that she was pregnant turned his world upside down. He didn’t know what to do. Confused. Disoriented. Afraid.
How could this be? What did it
mean? We cannot really know what Joseph
went through at this moment and there is much speculation amongst the Church
Fathers that is beautiful and helpful for our meditation<a href="file:///C:/Users/brlazarus/Downloads/Go%20to%20Big%20Joe%20voc%20blog%20(1).doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>. But essentially it was too much for him, so
broken hearted, he decided to divorce her and move on with his life (Mt
1:18-19). </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then suddenly he received his own annunciation! God broke through again and (somewhat)
explained the mystery he was involved in and how He was asking him to respond
(Mt 1:20-24). Joseph was like us. A
human being, a real man, struggling to understand and do the will of the
Father, wrestling with God’s will and God’s ways! I wonder if he asked himself, and asked God
“why me?” as so many of us have done when faced with the call to live for
Christ with an undivided heart, when asked to live consecrated chastity? Joseph, I imagine, struggled to do the
Father’s will. It must have sounded
crazy to him. He had no idea what it
could mean and God only gives us enough light for the next step! But he listened and he obeyed (Mt 1:24;
2:14). His was the obedience of faith
(Heb 11). He acted manfully. He made a decision. Even though he didn’t have the whole picture! From then on, his life was marked by this
“special grace of intimacy” with Jesus and Mary. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Ite Ad Joseph” is a
wise spiritual maxim. Go to Joseph. He knows.
He understands. He will help you
struggle with the will of God and move forward.
He will strengthen you in your struggles with chastity. He will help you make a decision to follow
the Lord. He is the heavenly patron of
all consecrated men and women. He is a
model of manliness for all priests, called to chaste, spousal love for the
Church and entrusted as guardians of the Holy Eucharist. He is the guardian of virgins and spouse most
chaste and he is a real man! He is the
terror of demons! Ite ad Joseph! </div>
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God Bless,</div>
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Fr. Emmanuel Mansford</div>
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Vocations Director <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/brlazarus/Downloads/Go%20to%20Big%20Joe%20voc%20blog%20(1).doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> “Saint Joseph, Our Father
in Faith”, pp 15-21, Fr. Frederick Miller (Catholic Information Service,
2008). <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-22106876426459894232015-03-02T15:43:00.000-05:002015-03-02T15:43:05.333-05:00He is Trustworthy<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtxe2IiyMrcfpKRcbSIGs-BHs3xdzeCqsmCPWkqip9HQm6T3tMWaBjhs99uPRAMzhgJxNIn16lS_oPPs_vgpBBpGy4dUB7sqpBuQTlaHURsaEd8FL3aM9Ou7LmJHt4G86hUW9-FcuejU2/s1600/Postulants+and+Michael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtxe2IiyMrcfpKRcbSIGs-BHs3xdzeCqsmCPWkqip9HQm6T3tMWaBjhs99uPRAMzhgJxNIn16lS_oPPs_vgpBBpGy4dUB7sqpBuQTlaHURsaEd8FL3aM9Ou7LmJHt4G86hUW9-FcuejU2/s1600/Postulants+and+Michael.jpg" height="213" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"> Recently, three of our postulant brothers
from New York came to visit St. Pio Friary in Bradford. We were all curious to hear their story of
discernment. As the vocation director in
Europe, I was particularly interested in knowing what they found most helpful
during the process of discernment. I was
surprised by the simplicity of what they said.
For many of them it wasn’t the web-site or an interesting blog—except
maybe for this one—it was something more basic.
While one of them was discerning they got a phone call from the New York
vocation office…but it wasn’t the familiar voice of Fr. John Paul, the vocation
director at the time. It was Fr. Isaac.
Noticing that the visitor was from Minnesota he wanted to be the one to call
him. Fr. Isaac was also from the great
state of Minnesota (“great” of course for its relative proximity to
Canada). When the postulant was
discerning the “idea” of religious life and making inquiries, what helped him
along the journey to take the next step was the awareness that Fr. Isaac took a
personal interest in him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Brothers,
I don’t say this to compliment the work of the vocation team but to highlight
something very important in discerning your call. As simple and as basic as it may sound,
discerning your religious vocation is about the Lord’s personal interest in
you. It is not about trying to “figure
it out”—although that can be part of it at an earlier stage. Discernment is not like solving a math
equation. Discernment is about a
relationship. One makes progress through
the stages of discernment as one becomes more and more convinced and heartened
by the Lord’s love and providential care for them. When the postulant sensed that the one who
was guiding him was personally interested and invested in them, he was encouraged
because the one guiding him proved more trustworthy. This is the same way brothers that the Lord
wants to relate to us. He wants us to
experience more and more that he is trustworthy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Brothers, may this
Lent be a time for more prayer so that you can let the Lord reveal to you more
and more that he is indeed trustworthy.
May there be many signs of his personal interest in you as you ask him for
guidance and so come to trust him more.
Brothers, he cares about you and is personally invested in your discernment. As you approach Easter may you know the joy,
more and more, of following someone who is indeed trustworthy: Jesus the risen
Lord!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">With a pledge of prayers brothers for a
blessed Lent,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Fr.Gabriel Joseph<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Vocation Director, Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-85233795604271482802015-02-18T19:52:00.001-05:002015-02-18T19:52:59.006-05:00"Lent - Making space for God"<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5hh9nDdTCSHcYNWMvwq0Lk5fUEJGdz8sxNiAQuTVbiJqVPkdGApTmyXnyYc_1y3FuuC3rwbrxrQUhBgU9ymIf94pX8TJC6pAM2HNrXSOeNSvdruJ_nIJ09Eue1D_k2BB04jpNc6sOtIZ/s1600/headphones+dying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5hh9nDdTCSHcYNWMvwq0Lk5fUEJGdz8sxNiAQuTVbiJqVPkdGApTmyXnyYc_1y3FuuC3rwbrxrQUhBgU9ymIf94pX8TJC6pAM2HNrXSOeNSvdruJ_nIJ09Eue1D_k2BB04jpNc6sOtIZ/s1600/headphones+dying.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><b>I was recently on the metro heading back home from JFK
airport to Harlem. The train was pretty
full. Standing by the door was a young
woman listening to music on her headphones.
She seemed lost in her music and was humming fairly loudly, gaining the
attention of the other passengers around her who seemed faintly amused by
this. Looking at her kindly, a man in
his 40’s turned to the lady next to him and said in a gentle southern voice,
that reminded me of Forrest Gump, “My Momma said you can’t hear God with those
things in your ears.” The lady, a black
New Yorker, responded simply, “That’s right.”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Silence. We can’t
hear God without silence. And yet many
people seem to be afraid of silence, perhaps because they’re afraid of
themselves-their own thoughts, fears or problems -or maybe even God! But we can’t hear God without silence and if
I can’t hear God I can’t begin to know his will for my life. Traditionally Lent is a time when we give
things up to make extra space for God through prayer, fasting and
almsgiving. Maybe we could give up
listening to music, watching TV, playing computer games or looking at
Facebook. In its place we would have
space for God and who knows what could happen?
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Blessed Mother Teresa knew our need for silence: “God is
the friend of silence. His language is
silence… We need silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to
him, to ponder his words deep in our hearts.
We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and to be
transformed. Silence gives us a new
outlook on life. In it we are filled
with the grace of God himself, which makes us do all things with joy.” I dare you!
Make time for God in silence! Every day for 10 minutes! This Lent could change your life! </b></div>
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<b>God Bless each of you!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Fr. Emmanuel Mansford</b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-25558755580789095312015-02-13T11:35:00.001-05:002015-02-13T11:35:41.073-05:00Interior Attraction to a Matchless Beauty<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="text"><i> </i></span><span class="text"><i><span style="background: white;">“I
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<span class="indent-1-breaks"><i><span style="background: white;"> </span></i></span><span class="text"><i><span style="background: white;">with the bands of love.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="background: white;">Hosea 4:11</span></span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“Contemplation of the glory of the Lord Jesus in the icon of
the Transfiguration reveals to consecrated persons first of all the Father, the
Creator and Giver of every good thing, who draws his creatures to himself (cf.
Jn 6:44) with a special love and for a special mission. "This is my
beloved Son: listen to him!" (cf. Mt 17:5). In response to this call and
the interior attraction which accompanies it, those who are called entrust
themselves to the love of God who wishes them to be exclusively at his service,
and they consecrate themselves totally to him and to his plan of salvation (cf.
1 Cor 7:32-34).” <br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Saint John Paul II <u>Vita Consecrata (§17)</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">It is not uncommon to find in our
hearts suspicion towards things we find attractive, especially when we are
trying so sincerely to seek the will of the Lord. This misgiving is
understandable and we ought to have a healthy suspicion towards what might be
simply a base attraction rooted in the flesh. We need to have a discerning
heart in these matters and yet resist being rigid by giving ourselves
permission to be drawn by the Lord.</span></div>
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I was impressed by the words of
St. John Paul II saying that our response is not only to a call but a call that
is accompanied by an <i>interior attraction.</i>
Do I find in myself, in the interior man, an attraction to belong exclusively
to the Lord? This is an essential question to ask. I think that the dynamic of
attraction is quite amazing, especially when we recognize that it is the Lord
who is drawing us to himself. Several times in the document <i>Vita Consecrate</i> JPII makes reference to
the tremendous beauty of the Lord, in one such instance he calls those who are
consecrated to the spiritual path of <i>philokalia</i>
(love of divine beauty).The beauty of the Lord is without match, in fact all
created beauty is only a reflection of His eternal beauty . <o:p></o:p></div>
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How is this related to a vocation
to consecrated life though? This is my own reflection on the matter, but I am
speaking from experience. Whenever I find something beautiful I feel attracted
to that thing, be it music, art, a building, a landscape, a person…there is a
draw, a desire to know more. I think this draw comes from finding consolation
in beautiful things, and what this feeling of consolation says to me is that I
belong here, I am home here. As the scale of beautiful things goes up the Lord
is at the top, and so in finding the Lord beautiful (and in him revealing his
beauty) I feel most at home, I can say I belong here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think this is why interior attraction
accompanies the call, we recognize the beauty of the Lord (which is attractive)
and allow ourselves to be drawn by Him to Himself. After some time spent
pursuing the Lord, hopefully, if it is your vocation, what will emerge is the
conviction to belong entirely to Him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->“<span class="text"><span style="background: white;">One thing have I asked of the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span><span class="small-caps"><span style="background: white; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">,</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">that will I seek after;</span></span>
that I may dwell in the house of the<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span><span class="small-caps"><span style="background: white; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">all the days of my life,</span></span></span> <span class="text"><span style="background: white;">to behold
the beauty of the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span><span class="small-caps"><span style="background: white; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">,</span></span> <span class="text"><span style="background: white;">and to inquire in his temple.</span></span>”
Psalm 27:4<o:p></o:p></div>
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God Bless each of you!</div>
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Brother Lazarus</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-58895807756760061922015-02-02T22:02:00.000-05:002015-02-02T22:02:21.332-05:00<h1 style="line-height: 200%;">
<u><span style="color: #073763;">Prophets of Hope</span></u><o:p></o:p></h1>
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<span style="color: #073763;"> While
winter apocalypses were being predicted the other week I was basking in the
sunshine of northern California in the San Francisco bay area. Several friars
and sisters went out to support the Walk for Life West Coast rally that happened
on January 24<sup>th</sup>. Surrounding the “Walk” we were blessed to be able
to do a number of other evangelistic events in the area as well, one of which
was a visit to UC Berkeley’s campus. We descended on the campus with friars and
sisters on the first day of their classes and quickly realized that unlike most
other places we’ve been, we were <i>not</i>
the weirdest looking people around! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"> In
the course of the day we had a few strange conversations prefaced with, “Wow,
where can I get a gray dress like that?”
One of our encounters, however, was truly anointed. We met a young man,
Colin, searching in the true sense for meaning, for the truth, for hope. The
conversation went deep quick and we found ourselves sharing about the struggles
of life, suffering, despair, depression, faith and the longing of the human
heart for something more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"> At
a certain point I shared with him how St. Francis had been searching in a
similar way and that his prayer he raised to God for years was, “Who are you
God? And who am I?” Immediately Colin blurted out with eagerness, “So what did
he find?!” His heart thirsted for an answer; it thirsted for an authentic hope
in the midst of life’s struggles. This opened the opportunity for me and the
brother I was with to share not only how St. Francis had encountered Jesus
Christ and the joy and hope that he gives to life, but we also shared how today
in our own life we both have experienced the reality of his love. This is the
love of a God who does not simply hit the delete button on evil’s presence, but
takes it on himself and makes it a source of new life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"> In
the end every human heart that finds itself walking in the “valley of tears”
wants to know they are not alone…and as religious we are blessed to be that
prophetic witness in the world speaking with our lives and words the message of
Christ, “Do not be afraid!”… “I am with you always.” It is His presence in the
world, in our lives, that gives us an enduring hope no matter where we may find
ourselves on the journey of life. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-1091345965303880322015-01-06T11:01:00.000-05:002015-01-06T11:01:35.264-05:00For the salvation of others<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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In response to one of our posts on Facebook, one of the poor who has been coming to us for years expressed his gratitude for the presence of the brothers in downtown Bradford. Here follows an excerpt:<br />
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""The brothers", two words, two words alone, those two words, for over two year, represented, hot food, on a <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1672733992" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday</span></span>, "the brothers" was synonymous with a <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1672733993" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday</span></span>. My feet, set off there , every <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1672733994" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday</span></span>, without fail, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1672733995" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday</span></span>, wasn't <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1672733996" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday</span></span>, without, seeing the brothers, a warm welcome, a hot drink, and lo and behold, being immersed with the love there. The brothers, bro Felice, father Thomas, father Conrad, father Leo, there are many more, they never fail, consistent and true. Never stop the awesome work you do, You may not always realise just what you mean to so many, it's like you don't twig, until it's not there anymore. You have given me the strength to reach into new pastures, so a flipping big well done is in order. Flipping big well done. out of all the projects, you and Emmanuel, reach deeper for people, well done."</div>
Our life in service to the poor is regular fare for us, like bread and butter. Hard to imagine one without the other or a week without it. There are times when it is a struggle to let go of your plans and make your way down to the kitchen to be with those that come. But when you hear what kind of an impact it can have on others' lives it makes your objections so petty.</div>
Brothers, as you continue to discern, never underestimate the significance your lives have on others. Many times our discernment is focussed on our relationship with the Lord alone, listening in prayer for indications of his plan for us, and seeking the grace to say "yes". Know, however, that your vocation is not for your salvation alone...it also includes the salvation of others. Jesus not only has you in mind when he calls you, but also the many people he is sending you to be his hands, his feet, his heart, his voice.<br />
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One of our founders, Fr. Glenn, was preaching recently in Scotland. He told the story of driving in a snow storm once. He strained to follow the lights of the car in front of him. As the snow continued he pulled over to rest a moment when he noticed something behind him. Stopped behind him now was a row of cars waiting for him to continue. Unbeknownst to him, many were relying on him to continue ahead. He thought he was looking for his own way down the road. Take the chance brothers. Set out to follow the Lord's light down the road, and know that your willingness to follow the Lord, will enable many others to follow along the same path to Him.</div>
May this light that has come make you more aware of the drama of salvation that a vocation invites you into...a drama that is no solo show.</div>
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Happy Christmas brothers...you are in my prayers daily.<br />
Fr. Gabriel Joseph,CFR</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Vocation Director, Europe.</i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-82464990642344143352014-12-11T22:32:00.000-05:002014-12-11T22:32:34.372-05:00All we have to decide is...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I am re-reading
with delight </span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The Lord of the Rings</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> Trilogy.
In the early part of the first book, </span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The Fellowship of the Ring</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">, Frodo, a humble and happy hobbit, is
lamenting the darkness of the time that he lives in, wishing that it were not
so. Gandalf, the wise wizard, offers a
gentle correction stating that it is not for us to decide which time we live
in, adding, “</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">All we have to decide is what to do with
the time that is given us</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">.” With these simple, strong words Gandalf
encourages Frodo as he faces the lonely possibility of embracing the mission
before him. He encourages Frodo to
accept reality as it is, not as he wished it could be and so choose freely how
to respond to the circumstances in which he finds himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">There is so much
depth in this short sentence for anyone and yet especially for one discerning
God’s call in his/her life. This 2<sup>nd</sup>
Sunday of Advent the Church proposes the person of John the Baptist as one who
clearly knew how to live the time that was given to him. John’s whole identity was in pointing to the
coming of Jesus. His singular witness
remains an icon of religious life. For
us in the 21<sup>st</sup> century it is a rather bizarre image of one who wore
camel hair and ate locusts and wild honey!
(Maybe he was from California or an archetypal founder of the CFR’s
?!) And yet mysteriously the Gospel
tells us, “All the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him.” His prophetic witness was attractive because
it was clear and authentic in a world that was afraid and confused. He knew what he was about. Jesus. He was a friend of the Bridegroom,
listening for the Bridegroom’s voice so that he could announce joyfully to the
world the coming of Christ-the desire of all nations (Jn 3:29). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Pope Francis put
it simply. The role of religious is to “wake up the world.” And how our world
desperately needs waking up from its spiritual lethargy. God is calling each of us to respond for our
time. We cannot change the times we live
in. Each of us can only respond as we feel led by Him. Even if like Frodo, we
feel inadequate and small, each of us has a mission. “</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">All we have to decide is
what to do with the time that is given to us.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">”
Advent is a time of grace given that we may do this. Let us not waste time but act manfully. May the intercession and example of St John
the Baptist stir our hearts to respond wholeheartedly to the call of Christ and
the needs of our time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Fr Emmanuel Mary
CFR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Vocation
Director<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-67182149132603616322014-10-23T20:56:00.001-04:002014-10-23T20:56:45.613-04:00The ‘Ripple Effect’ of Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s ‘Yes’ to God<em>“If it hadn’t been for Fr. Benedict, I don’t know where I’d be.”</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These words, spoken by a young man who had lived at the St Francis House for boys founded by Fr. Benedict in the 60’s, have been echoed by the sentiments of countless others during these days of prayer and rememberance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Fr. Andrew preached at yesterday’s funeral, “No Fr. Benedict, no CFR’s!” and so without Fr. Benedict, I don’t know where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> would be!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We CFR’s have been powerfully reminded (and perhaps educated) this week that Fr. Benedict’s untiring and faithful “yes” to God for over 60 years has been a source of tremendous grace for thousands, if not millions of people; bishop’s; priests; families in poverty; religious sisters; boys from Children’s Village; viewers of EWTN; readers of his 43 books; homeless men; women in crisis pregnancy and who knows how many more…?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And who knows what the ripple effect of God’s grace has been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">through </i>the lives of those touched by Fr. Benedict?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s how Fr. Benedict would like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>So often the news is disturbing and frightening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>War, terrorism, disease, moral confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a great deal of fear in our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People feel helpless and hopeless in the face of everything and so do nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that wasn’t Fr. Benedict’s style!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a man of faith and hope, impelled by the love of Christ and so he had to do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he did a lot!<br /><br /> But what is our response?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my </i>response?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must be the same response uttered by Fr. Benedict when he was 17 years old, as he left home to follow Jesus and join the Capuchins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must be the same response that then led him (some 30 years later) as he left the Capuchins (his home) to follow Jesus and begin the CFR’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same response he uttered, not without struggle and suffering, for over 60 years. We can almost hear him say it in his unmistakable quiet voice, “Yes Lord.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Just the other day I read this quote from St. John Paul II and thought of Fr. Benedict:<br /><br />
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The first duty of the consecrated life is to make visible the marvels wrought by God in the frail humanity of those who are called.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They bear witness to these marvels not so much in works as by the eloquent language of a transfigured life, capable of amazing the world</i>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Vita Consecrata).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br /> Fr. Benedict wasn’t perfect and nor are any of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not called to be Fr. Benedict and nor are you but his powerful “yes” challenges each of us, in our frail humanity, to offer our lives to God wherever we are, with the same passion and generosity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. Benedict’s life made visible the marvels of God and you know what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So can we!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s what amazes the world - the ripple effect of grace!<br /><br /> + Fr. Emmanuel Mary Mansford, CFR<br /> Harlem, NY<br /> ----------------------------------------------------<br /> We need your help! <a href="http://franciscanfriars.com/donate" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1717d7;">Donate here.</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992067018091429061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-11378014569199959242014-10-14T15:26:00.000-04:002014-10-14T15:42:08.676-04:00From Fr. Gabriel Joseph Kyte in England<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brothers,<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hope
this e-letter finds you all well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
year in the European region we’re introducing Come and See weekends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re from North America and have visited
St. Joseph’s Friary in New York, this style of visit will be familiar to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the European region however, we’ve had a
number of visitors over the years to our friary in London, but many of the guys
don’t get a chance to meet the others who are discerning with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brothers in Europe, you are not discerning
alone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many other young men
who are asking the same questions as you, and wrestling with the same fears and
aspirations in discovering God’s will with joy and trust!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wednesday to Sunday stay will hopefully
allow for a more focused stay as you take another good step in the process of
discernment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
Come and See “weekend” will be offered in each of our friaries in England and
Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first one will be in Bradford at St.
Pio Friary November 12<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>-16<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second will be in Limerick at St.
Patrick’s Friary, February 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>-8<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The others are planned for May and July in
Derry, N. Ireland and in Limerick respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Please
call me at St. Pio Friary in Bradford, England if you’d like to come on any of
our Come and See Weekends (</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">0044-1274-721-989</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray that
they will be a helpful part of the journey for you in following in Jesus’
footsteps.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You are in our prayers,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fr. Gabriel Joseph<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vocation Director, Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With
Fr. Benedict’s passing, I wanted to recommend to all of you a great book that
Fr. Benedict wrote while accompanying a young man discerning and pursuing God’s
call.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Father
Benedict Groeschel had a great love for vocations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helped many to discover and/or persevere
in the will of God for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of them
was a priest named Fr. Eugene Hamilton who became a priest in the final moments
of his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. Benedict’s book, A
Priest Forever (Our Sunday Visitor Press), tells Fr. Eugene’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can track it down, it is well worth
the read…even if the diocesan priesthood is not your call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7MT2qg3nkXRVHUVA6tdorO0JamPD-Jcyy2Yk7c-QpVrpUuOfNld36PBlvlBfuwn_YkkK4uqhY4wOHsGufuGO6EGQVuxujUCM0lbfUz5P0WsoV1QsgFsVxRyyr68UgnyX0MOOdbQ56-st/s1600/944_300.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7MT2qg3nkXRVHUVA6tdorO0JamPD-Jcyy2Yk7c-QpVrpUuOfNld36PBlvlBfuwn_YkkK4uqhY4wOHsGufuGO6EGQVuxujUCM0lbfUz5P0WsoV1QsgFsVxRyyr68UgnyX0MOOdbQ56-st/s1600/944_300.gif" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(<a href="https://www.osv.com/Shop/Product.aspx?ProductCode=944" target="_blank">find it here</a>)</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With special permission
from St. John Paul II, Eugene was ordained to the priesthood in the final hours
of a long battle with terminal cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fr. Eugene was young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. Eugene
wanted to do God’s will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all of
his heart (toto corde) St. John Paul II gave his permission that Eugene be
ordained a priest, even if only lived out in this life for a very short
period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. John Paul II knew that to do
God’s will, even if only lived out briefly in this life was worth more than a
thousand lives lived doing one’s own thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Eugene Hamilton was ordained a priest 3
hours before he passed from this life into the next, a priest forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Be
assured of our prayers brothers and of our support as you discern God’s will.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">St. Francis, pray for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St.
John Paul II, pray for us.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992067018091429061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-35028876680927809062013-12-16T12:24:00.000-05:002013-12-16T12:25:23.420-05:00Human Formation #4<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In our last reflection (Human Formation #3 posted on Nov. 20, 2013), we spoke of affirmation, the
response to our fundamental human need to have our goodness revealed to us by
another. Receiving authentic affirmation
leads to emotional maturity and even opens us up to the love of God, leading to
an experiential, felt faith. Yet, the
hard truth is that none of us have been loved or affirmed adequately. This is obviously true for those from
unhealthy families where, instead of affirmation, love deprivation and emotional
denial characterize the family culture.
But it is true even for those from the healthiest of families since imperfect
people are incapable of perfect love. I
mention this because sometimes love deprivation and emotional denial are subtle
in their expressions. A surprising
example of affirmation-in-action will help to illustrate this point. Dr. Baars writes:</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Long ago a friend told me of a childhood incident that
had left a lasting impression on him. He
was five or six years old when on a weekday morning the pastor came to visit
his mother. His father was outside
working on the farm. The older children were in school. Being shy, my friend John hid under the table, but not
entirely out of sight, while the pastor and his mother visited. Neither one paid attention to him. When the pastor had left and John had come out from under the
table his mother stroked his hair and with a friendly smile said, "Were you shy, Johnny"? Johnny had never forgotten this incident and
the wonderful feeling that it
was all right for him to be shy, that he did not have to force himself to be a big boy and to hide his shyness from the visitor. Johnny had
been affirmed both by his mother and
her understanding visitor. They had affirmed Johnny by allowing him to grow and become who and what he was
supposed to be in his own time, in his
own way, and at his own pace. I remember asking John whether he recalled
the effect of this particular
visit. "Indeed," he replied, "I remember that it gave me a sense
of confidence in myself, a
feeling that I was O.K. And I'm almost positive that the visit cured, or at
least greatly diminished my
shyness." <i>This may sound like a rather unexpected outcome to those of us who find it easier to imagine another
version of this visit by the pastor, like: "Johnny, come out from under the table and shake
hands with the pastor. Show him what a big boy you
are. Come on, Johnny, don't be a baby." But it is precisely the Johnny in
this second version who is not
being affirmed and whose emotional development will become adversely affected</i> (Dr. Conrad Baars,
M.D., <i>Born Only Once</i>)<b>.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">While love deprivation and emotional denial may be subtle in their
expressions, especially in healthier families, their long-term effects are
obvious and painful. These effects
include (to greater and lesser degrees):
1) An inability to relate to
others, to form intimate friendships; 2) Feelings of uncertainty and insecurity which often manifest themselves
in hypersensitivity and an unhealthy need for acceptance and approval; 3) Feelings of inferiority, inadequacy
and unworthiness; and 4) Increasing feelings of depression resulting from a fearful
and lonely lifestyle. Do any of these
symptoms look or feel familiar? This may
be a tough reality to face, but it needs to be faced for the sake our own
happiness (see John 10:10) as well as for the sake of our discernment. Discernment requires both the freedom and the
self-confidence needed to say Yes!. Still, we
do not need to be afraid of our weaknesses, God has sent His son Jesus to heal
us and set us free so that we can say Yes to Him and His plan with confidence and freedom—this is the message of Advent! With this advent hope in mind and heart, we
will discuss in coming reflections how we dispose ourselves to receive the
affirmation of God and others and how to become authentic affirmers
ourselves.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">May God bless you this
Christmas!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Harlem, NY </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-1655176499803319532013-11-20T12:44:00.002-05:002013-11-20T12:49:13.596-05:00Human Formation #3<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Please forgive the four week hiatus since the last post. I'm happy to be back after some time away for prayer and ministry. We continue with the third reflection in our human formation series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As mentioned in our last reflection, in order
to discern and answer God’s call, we need to know that He loves us. An essential ingredient for knowing God’s
personal love for us is proper emotional development and maturation. But, how does this take place? While there are many contributing factors to
emotional maturity, some of which we will touch on in this series, emotional
maturity is ultimately the fruit of unconditional love, or what some Catholic
psychologists call <i>affirmation</i>.
As Dr. Conrad Baars puts it, affirmation is the “fundamental human need”
to have “one’s goodness revealed to oneself by another”. Being affirmed involves actually <i>feeling</i> my own goodness; experiencing
that I am “loved and lovable simply for being” who I am, not for what I can
achieve, produce or possess. By being
affirmed, I receive from another what only they can give me, the unique gift of
myself, my true identity. This is a
life-changing experience—Dr. Baars actually calls it our second or
psychological birth—that ideally begins in childhood in one’s relationship with
their parents and significant others but also needs to continue throughout
one’s lifetime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> How does it
work? Dr. Philip Sutton teaches that
affirmation takes place when “another person is fully <i>present</i> and <i>attentive</i> to
us to <i>recognize</i> our goodness, is <i>moved</i> by our goodness, and then is in <i>communion</i> with us, revealing their being
moved by us in the visible, sensible, physical changes in their face, posture,
[touch] and voice.” It’s more about
being than doing. This awareness,
feeling and revealing of our goodness to us is all prior to any words or
actions on the other’s part. Based upon
our needs and the circumstances of a given situation, words or actions may
follow another’s affirmation of us, however, they are not strictly necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Being loved
in this way is truly life changing! Not
only does it lead to a real love of self and others, it also contributes to our
love of God, producing an <i>experiential</i> or <i>felt</i> faith. Dr. Conrad Baars explains: “A truly <i>felt </i>faith and trust in a
loving God is essential if we are to become open to the goodness of all being,
and to live without fear. However, the presence of this <i>felt </i>faith and
trust is virtually dependent on and develops only as a result of emotional
affirmation. A non-affirmed individual is quite capable of directing his will
toward God when his intellect discovers the necessary reasons for doing this.
However, purely intellectual orientation toward God does not stimulate his
feeling of love for God and does little to open him to knowing and feeling the
goodness of all being. In fact, in times of severe emotional stress this
spiritual orientation may collapse easily and reveal the underlying fearful
self-centeredness.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Brothers, our human relationships can shape
and influence our relationship with God.
Let’s ponder that reality in these coming days….Stay tuned.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-49655215801686482072013-10-16T16:24:00.002-04:002013-10-16T16:24:40.421-04:00Human Formation #2<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I concluded last week by proclaiming that God
really loves us! But let me begin this week's reflection by stating that in addition to the fact that He loves us, He actually
likes us! I use the word “like” because
that gives an affective, personal dimension to God’s love. God’s love for us is not general. It is specific and individual. It is personal delight. He delights in us; He delights in you! How else do we explain the above words?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How
else do we explain ourselves? God’s love
for me is the answer to the question “who am I?” Blessed John Paul II wrote in <i>Redemptor Hominis</i>: "Man
cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for
himself; his life is meaningless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does
not participate
intimately in it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God is
love (1 Jn 4:8) and He loves us (1 Jn 4:10; Rom 5:8; Gal 2:20). And His love is so powerful that it makes us
His children, it makes us His sons (1 Jn 3:1-2). But, do we believe in this reality? Are we really aware of it? Do we feel it and live from it?
The answer to these questions will determine our ability to discern,
choose and live out our vocations in joy and peace; in a word, the answer to
these questions will determine our happiness!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God
desires that we would believe in His love and yes, He also desires that we
would feel
it. We are created to share in His happiness and
in order to do so we need more than a merely general, intellectual knowledge of
His love. We need an emotional,
experiential, heart-knowledge of it.
Really the same goes for our relationship with others; it’s not enough
to know in our heads that we’re loved, we need to know in our hearts. God made us so that the heart has primacy
over the head. The heart is supposed to
lead the head; the head is supposed to serve the heart, because the heart is
the place of loving-encounter--with God and others--the seat of true happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While God’s love is certainly not reducible to an
emotional experience, He does want it to touch us on that level. Our experience of an emotional love for God
can actually lead us to a deeper and lasting faith and the higher, sacrificial
love that Jesus ultimately calls all of His disciples to. The Saints and Mystics often speak of their
union with God in personal, passionate, emotionally charged and poetic
language. The Bible itself, especially
in the Song of Songs, uses powerful, romantic and even sensual imagery to
describe God’s passionate love for us and our response to that love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brothers, the beginning and end
of all formation—human and spiritual—is the personal love of God for us. We are loved!
The Christian life has been described as a passage from being loved by
God without knowing it to being loved by God and knowing it. Knowing His love is a must for both
discerning and answering God’s call. And
proper development and maturation of our emotional lives is a must for knowing
His love. Therefore, our
series on human formation by exploring God’s plan for our emotional
growth. Stay tuned… </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God bless you all,</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">St. Joseph Friary</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harlem, NY</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-22885121122985858432013-10-08T14:44:00.002-04:002013-10-08T14:44:51.454-04:00Human Formation #1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Finally, the promised series on human formation is here. As I mentioned a couple of months ago in our last reflection on the Creed, “in the coming
weeks and months, I will be offering reflections on human formation and how the
necessary healing and development of our human nature helps us to believe in
and live everything we have been reflecting on in our Series on the Creed.<span> </span>Human formation is an indispensable part of
every vocation and it is my hope that these reflections will in some way help
all of us to open our nature more and more to God’s grace.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Human formation is indispensable because God’s grace, which is His very
life, builds on our human nature.<span> </span>Put
another way, our human nature was made for the grace of God.<span> </span>The Church teaches “the desire for God is
written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God
never ceases to draw man to himself.<span>
</span>Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops
searching for…” (CCC, 27).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">We’re created “by God and for
God”.<span> </span>Our study of humanity in general
and human formation specifically must start with God because He is our origin
and goal!<span> </span>That’s why I began with some
reflections on the Apostles Creed.<span> </span>The
truth about man is relative to the truth about God!<span> </span>And the truth about God is that He loves
us!<span> </span>Human formation is about preparing
our nature to receive this Love, which is the foundation of every vocation.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">As we
reflected on the first two articles of the Creed we read:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">“You
have a Father in heaven, God, who created you. Even before the world began to
exist, God your eternal Father thought of you, knew you, loved you, wanted you,
and brought you into being. Your life is from Him. Although you need not have
existed, He wanted you to exist, and therefore you do exist. Your life was
given to you so that you might come to know how much He loves you and to love him
in return…. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Although you do not
comprehend how much he loves you and adores you, He has provided a way for you
to come to know His incredible love for you</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">….</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">[That way]
is Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son. He is looking for you. He sees you, he
knows you through and through, and he loves you. He reveals his love to you in
a special way.</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">God
really does love us!<span> </span>Ponder that and
stay tuned for the second part of our series.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">God bless you all,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem, NY </span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-88558537953875271522013-08-07T07:40:00.002-04:002013-08-07T07:43:08.235-04:00Summer Greetings<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Brothers,</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope your summers have been restful, prayerful and fun! Here in NYC, our summer has been action-packed. Recently, four of our brother professed temporary vows and five professed perpetual vows. These professions are a boost for the whole community and a reminder to all of us that God delights in us and that we are made for glory. In the fall we look forward to welcoming three new postulants! Please pray for Ben, Joseph and Joshua as they prepare to take the next stage in their discernment. And stay tuned, the promised series on human formation is delayed, but on its way!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May God bless you all!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem, NY</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-18966075662338381012013-06-24T20:38:00.000-04:002013-08-07T07:44:18.121-04:00The Apostles Creed - Part 12<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hello all! Here is the twelfth (kind of significant, huh?) and final installment of our reflections on the Apostles Creed. We end on a very hopeful note: with that hope in our hearts, let us "risk everything on his mercy", everything! Enjoy<span style="font-size: small;">!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To be clear, the resurrection-life inside of you will always
be invisible in this life. But it will be real. It will grow gradually.
Provided you do not resist its action, it will heal you and purify you until
you become utterly what God wants you to be. The resurrection-life is nothing
less than the Presence of the Holy Trinity living and active in the depths of
your being.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have faith in his mercy, and if you take advantage of
all of these gifts in the Church, and if you do so until the end of your days,
they will change you into a saint. Gradually, through these many gifts, Jesus
will fill you with all the fullness of God. You will come to know your heavenly
Father, and you will learn to love him back with ease and joy. And you will not
be alone. You will be in the Church. There will be people of all nations,
races, and tongues who will be living through it with you. Some, like you, will
still be on the way to becoming saints. Others, living or dead, will already be
there. But regardless of whether it is you or others, already there or still on
the way, all that belongs to the saints belongs to you. All is yours, and you
are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And on the last day, when the last trumpet blasts, and when
all generations of men and women come forth together to meet our Maker, you
will rise with a new and immortal and glorious body. And your new and immortal
and glorious body will reveal to everyone the victory of love in your life. For
grace has come to you. You have found Christ and his Church. You risked
everything on his mercy. And even though the accuser, Satan, prowled around
you, and always reminded you of every weakness, sin, and failure of both you
and your Church, still you believed his mercy would never fail us. And so the
last word on your life, the sentence handed down in the tribunal of love, the
pure and simple truth on the last day will be this: </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, these reflections are
not mine. They were born in the heart of a wonderful priest I only
recently met face to face. Thank you Fr. James for your inspiring
words, for feeding us with the fruit of your prayer and study.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>In the coming weeks and months I will be offering reflections on human
formation and how the necessary healing and development of our human
nature helps us to believe in and live everything we have been
reflecting on in our Series on the Creed. Human formation is an
indispensable part of every vocation and it is my hope that these
reflections will in some way help all of us to open our nature more and
more to God's grace.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May God bless you all!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. <span style="font-size: small;">Jo<span style="font-size: small;">seph Friary</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem, NY </span></span> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-82589280846596246212013-06-17T17:04:00.000-04:002013-06-17T17:04:28.555-04:00The Apostles Creed - Part 11<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hello Everybody! Peace be with you! Again, I apologize for the hiatus due to a very busy June! So, picking up where we last left off, we continue to reflect on the great gift of the sacraments. We finished last time with confirmation and we begin this time with the sacrament of reconciliation:</span></span><br />
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In reconciliation, he restores this
resurrection-life to you if you should weaken it or throw it away by personal
sin. His mercy is always there for you. There is no need to fear the impending
tribunal of love so long as you believe in his healing love and mercy and put
all your trust in him. In marriage, he transforms the resurrection-life into
something you live together with a spouse and children. In holy orders, he
makes a man into a minister in the Church of these seven great gifts. And in
the anointing of the sick, he comes to you when you are in a state of serious
illness, seals you again with oil and prayer, and thereby heals you of sin and
fortifies your resurrection-life in the midst of your illness and suffering.
There are many other gifts in the Church. There is Scripture – the book by
which God speaks to you even now. There is prayer – the loving conversation
with God in friendship. There are works of love and mercy to carry out for
others. And there are more – too many to mention here. All of these things
serve to build up and strengthen the resurrection-life within you. These are
the ways that Christ, by his mercy, heals you and prepares you for the glorious
day of judgment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May God bless you all!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem, NY</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-65898090312665924162013-05-23T16:47:00.000-04:002013-05-23T16:47:04.603-04:00The Apostles Creed - Part 10<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hello all! Please forgive the two-and-a-half week hiatus. I had the privilege of visiting our brothers down in Comayagua, Honduras. I am edified by these brothers and their desire to respond to the challenge of Pope Francis to go out and preach the good news to the poor. I encountered many people who, while poor in the things of this world, are rich in the things of God; namely, humility, long-suffering, generosity and joy! Please remember them in your prayer.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week we continue reflecting on the following words from the Creed:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span><i>I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting</i>. <i>Amen</i>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span> </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the Church you will find God’s seven great
gifts to you. God has given the Church seven ways by which you can personally
interact with the risen Lord Jesus and be filled to overflowing with his
resurrection-life. In each one of these seven great gifts, we call them
‘sacraments’, the living and true God, Jesus of Nazareth, reaches out and
touches you in some way or another. In baptism, he touches you with oil and
water and prayer and by that gesture fills you with an initial influx of his
resurrection-life. In the eucharist, he reaches out and feeds you with heavenly
food, and this heavenly food nourishes and grows and revitalizes the
resurrection life within you. In confirmation, he reaches out and seals you
with oil and prayer and by that gesture fortifies the resurrection-life within
you and makes you ready to give testimony before the world.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next week we will continue reflecting on "God's seven great gifts" to us. Until then, God bless you all!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fr. Isaac Spinharney, CFR</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Harlem, NY </span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2071077817775915439.post-32196218130968580532013-04-30T10:05:00.001-04:002013-04-30T10:05:36.390-04:00The Apostles Creed - Part 9<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting</i>. <i>Amen</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Love unites us. Love unites people with God and with each
other. But the Holy Spirit is love – the eternal love between the Father and
the Son. And the Holy Spirit is now at work in the world. It stands to reason,
therefore, that the Holy Spirit is now uniting people with God and with each
other. If we look for this unification, where do we find it happening? It is
happening in the Church. The Holy Spirit is uniting men and women of every
nation, race, and tongue in the Church. The international, intercultural,
multimillenial unity of the Church is therefore a sign to you that eternal love
really is at work in the world. In the Church, the same love can go to work in
you and through you. N<span style="font-size: small;">ext week w<span style="font-size: small;">e'll discuss how this happens...</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">God bless you all,</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fr. Isaac Spin<span style="font-size: small;">harney, CFR</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Joseph Friary</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Harlem, NY </span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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