Discernment and Renewal

On the Feast of the Presentation our brothers renewed their vows to live our Life for one year. Renewing vows for one year may or may not seem like a huge commitment. On its own it really isn’t. Really the renewal encompasses far more. I renewed my vows for the first time eleven years ago, yet I remember it quite vividly. All the friars kneeled at the altar rail of St. Adalbert Church in the Bronx. In the presence of all the friars in the community, I spoke into the microphone: “I Brother Gabriel Mary of Jacksonville vow and promise to almighty God…” At age 25, and after having spent two and a half years with the community, my renewal of vows was for me telling God, "You’ve brought me this far and I believe you are calling me to this life and so I will continue to follow."

Every step forward becomes a step towards letting go of that which is solely our own will. Through this period of discernment we become more aware of who we are as His sons and who we are called to be. Discernment is never meant to be a source of anxiety but an opportunity to trust. Our Lord didn’t give the Apostles a five-year plan; he simply invited them to follow Him.

Please pray for all of the friars who renewed their vows!

Check it out ... 

+ FYI : The two-week visit for those wanting to join our community will be July 12-26, 2012.

+ The friars are featured in this new book. It is really positive and well written.
(find it on amazon here)
(video of an interview with the author here)






+ FatherBenedict.com NEW!
Your one stop site for all books, audio and video from Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR

God bless you,

Fr. Gabriel Mary Bakkar , CFR 
Saint Joseph Friary
523 W. 142nd St.
New York, NY 10031


Interested in learning more? Give us a call!
(212)281-4355

eLetter Archive

Jesus 2012

Whether we like it or not, our country is in full election mode preparing for the presidential election next fall. This time for some is a time of great excitement and anticipation, and for others it is a cause of great frustration and annoyance. I guess it comes with the territory as they say, but upon reflection I would like to propose a lesson that we can learn from this process every four years.

Every couple of years the country has a national conversation about priorities and the direction things are headed. The buzz word that is always used is CHANGE. Different candidates and philosophies, political parties, and movements all share there perspective and plans for particular change dealing with particular sets of issues. Change is good, but as Christians we must see things differently. You see, Jesus called for change too. His first words in the gospel of Mark chapter 1, verse 15 was to repent! There is no need to discern what He wanted, it is quite clear! For those calling for change today seem to be saying that the “other” guys need to change or those who disagree need to come over to their side. These battles that display the mentality that someone else is always to blame are why the election process gets discouraging at times. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the candidates got in front of a camera or a large crowd and said, “I am the one that needs to change!”

The need for Christians to repent of our ways is so necessary and central to every Christian call, but even more so for a religious and those discerning religious life. In his document on religious life, Blessed John Paul II states, “The vocation of consecrated persons to seek first the Kingdom of God is first and foremost a call to complete conversion, in self-renunciation, in order to live fully for the Lord, so that God may be all in all ( #35). Our vocation is to be transformed!

There is no question that there is much to consider in discerning a call to religious life. Contemplative or active, community life or solitude, teaching or serving the poor, and so much more! But when we take a step back, to “reprioritize” if you will, to become holy is the end. Our openness and understanding of this simple reality, that first and foremost the Lord calls us so Himself, to be transformed into a new creation, to live a new life and in a new way is the beginning and end of consecrated life.

Change is needed. Sure, change in the government or the philosophies of the day, but most importantly change in our hearts. This is the key to discernment and the beauty of religious life! No need for slogans and commercials or complicated plans! Just an openness and fidelity to following the Lord as He first desires to bring conversion to our hearts that ultimately transforms the world in which we live. Not to get cheesy or to take someone else’s line, but at the end of the day this is truly change we can believe in and only this kind of change can last.

God bless you,

Br. Angelus Immaculata, CFR
Saint Joseph Friary
523 W. 142nd St.
New York, NY 10031

Check it out ...
+ Man chooses prison over monastery (very funny)
+ Midnight run with the Friars of the Renewal (animated slideshow)
+ Archbishop Dolan named a Cardinal (our Archbishop gets the red hat!)
+ FatherBenedict.com NEW!
Your one stop site for all books, audio and video from Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR

Skepticism: Enemy of Your Vocation

A blessed Advent and Merry Christmas to all of you. This is such a beautiful time of the year, filled with memories and moving images of an amazingly humble God. Various TV channels usually run such classics as Dicken's A Christmas Carol (did you see the Disney - Jim Carrey version?), 1983 A Christmas Story, 1964 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1969 Frosty the Snowman and the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas. Some people like the 2008 movie The Nativity Story. Many churches put on live nativity plays (see ours here). Saint Francis started it all! (read more here).

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus (Luke 1:31)

Christmas and Easter are also times when it is popular for various TV channels to show documentaries on Jesus, etc. Many of these programs this year will focus on anything except the religious aspect of Christmas - or they will be presenting the story from a skeptical point of view using testimonies from various "scholars". Beware!! It is worth noting that we are often bombarded from so many different sources which plant seeds of doubt about our faith. This is the tactic taken by the serpent in the garden. We are all influenced by the secular culture. Beware!! Skepticism is the enemy of your vocation. Littleness of faith is a huge problem when it comes to discerning and answering your call from God. Let's say bah humbug to the sowers of secular skepticism.

Just say no to those skeptical Grinches!

P.S. Remember the Nativity story? It is all true.

May the newborn baby Jesus bless you,

The Friars 
Saint Joseph Friary
523 W. 142nd St.
New York, NY 10031

Interested in learning more? Give us a call!
(212)281-4355              eLetter Archive

Check it out ...

+ Pope Lights World’s Largest Xmas Tree & Shares His 3 Xmas Wishes

+ Ultra Sound Baby Jesus Poster found here

+ Archbishop Carlson sees signs of encouragement for US vocations

+ Padre Pio's Christmas Meditation - from a hand-written notebook

+ GrassrootsFilms Superbowl Doritos Commercial - a must see from our friends

+ The Star of Bethlehem Documentary - really really interesting

+ [Advent Conspiracy] Enter the Story 2011 - a must see - 2:39 video - this Christmas

+ Videos: A Friar Tells His Story + Mother Teresa on Vocation + CFR Sisters 1 + CFR Sisters 2

Protesting

Upfront, I must be really clear that I am not “in the know” when it comes to what is going on in the world. I hear of news every now and again, but I am certainly not an expert in current events. However, I am aware of those who are currently protesting on Wall Street and around the world. Without objective news it is hard to wrap my mind around the reasons or context by which hundreds of people are gathered, but they certainly have their reasons and they are within in their rights to do so.

Don't hit a wall in your discernment

With that said, this months message on discernment is not going to be about protesting specifically nor am I going to put myself in the middle of what is going on. But upon reflection the notion of protesting has led me to think about discernment. I wonder if there is a tendency for some to make ones vocation all about what is being taken from them or to get stuck on what one has to give up in following a particular way of life. Which ends up being some what like a protest. For example, thinking of celibacy or a vow of chastity as limiting or an injustice, or seeing the gift of obedience as contrary to a person’s freedom or even embracing the vow of poverty or simplicity as inhuman or unnecessary. A lot of times when we find our selves in discernment we are consumed by what we are asked to say no to instead of what we have a grace filled opportunity to say yes to. If a call to the priesthood or religious life is only seen through the rules or limits where is the inspiration in that? Where does the romance of God seeking us and calling us from the very depths of our hearts granting us an invitation to follow him radically come into play when we see our vocations as something that we can just bear or put up with?

Think of the rich young man who sadly walked away from Jesus' invitation

My brothers! While it is good to be aware of what we are saying no to, the grace of a vocational call to religious life or the priesthood is found in what we are asked to say yes to. In embracing poverty we proclaim with our lives that God is the only necessary treasure in our lives. In fully living the vow of chastity we give God our undivided hearts and let the love of Christ live in us. And in living faithfully the vow of obedience, with our Lord, we strive to only do the Father’s will (Pope John Paul II, Vita Consecrata). What grace and freedom the vows bring into our lives! We say yes to these counsels believing that they will lead us to live as Jesus did and that we in a small way will be His presence here on earth again.

If you want to go where I am going, come follow me!

Maybe it will be a good opportunity this week to reexamine our motives and spirit of discernment. If our discernment is more like a protest, it would be good to let the Lord into our hearts to start to see what the invitation is really all bout. Following Him in freedom and joy! Then we start to be for something rather then just against it and that is what the Lord truly wants.

Check it out ...

+ PAPAL REFLECTION ON PRIESTHOOD TO OPEN ACADEMIC YEAR
+ POPE OFFERS PRIESTS 3 TIPS
+ BBC Video, CFR Sisters in England



Br. Angelus Immaculata Montgomery, CFR
Saint Joseph Friary
523 W. 142nd St.
New York, NY 10031


Interested in learning more? Give us a call!
(212)281-4355

October 2011 CFR Vocations eLetter

Making Room

Do you have any room for us?

I am still considered to be somewhat of a new friar. I remember just a few years ago having a cell phone, a Facebook account, a laptop, and being consumed by news and information. There was something attractive about being “plugged in” and “in the know,” which all the technology allowed me to do. But things started to change when I started discerning. Like Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, I noticed there wasn’t much room in my life or my heart for the Lord to speak. I had to make room, and it wasn’t easy.

I can't hear you O Lord!

Whether we know it or not things such as our cell phone use, Facebook time, or time watching movies or listening to our Ipods can often hurt more then help our discernment. One of the goals of discernment, especially at the beginning, is to form a discerning heart, one that is capable of hearing the Lord’s voice and responding to His movements in our lives. When our time and energy are spent worrying about texting, updating our Facebook status, while having our Ipod in our ears wherever we go, it is difficult to hear the Lord. I am of course not talking about a complete fast. The Friars even sometime use the internet and enjoy watching movies. But for all of us a good balance is to be desired and sought.

There's just something wrong about this picture

The end goal is to hear the Lord, to make a place for him in our lives, to speak and to move. A good reality check for all of us and a good question to consider is whether there is room for the Lord to do just that. In the end, we all can make more room. We all can spend less time on the phone, the computer, or engulfing ourselves in noise to make more room for silence, which is where we know the Lord speaks.

What are you plugged into?

Take a moment. Examine how “plugged in” you are. And today make a little more room for Him who in the end is much more exciting and fulfilling then the new updated Facebook Status or the breaking news online. With more room to work in our lives, the Lord will guide us and lead us to what are hearts desire and our ultimate vocation and call.

Br. Angelus Immaculata Montgomery, CFR

Saint Joseph Friary

523 W. 142nd St. 

New York, NY 10031

Interested in learning more? Give us a call!

(212)281-4355









Check it out ...
+ Pope warns of "virtuality" overtaking "reality" and says that monasteries clear contaminated air
    (October 11, 2011)


+ Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy: A priest must be simultaneously little and great, noble in spirit as a king, simple and natural as a peasant. A hero in overcoming himself, sovereign of his desires, a servant of the little ones and weak ones...
   (October 3, 2011)


+ Pope's address to seminarians in Germany (Sept. 26, 2011)


+ Pictures of our new Postulants (Sept. 8, 2011)

Sept. 2011 CFR Vocations eLetter

New Beginnings
September is a time of new beginnings. The fall brings much anticipation with the start of the new school year, sports seasons, new jobs, and is even a time when some begin their journey in religious life. This week the Friars of the Renewal have welcomed five new postulants to New York to begin their formation and process of discerning with our community. With all the new beginnings there is a real sense of excitement, joy, and of course maybe even a little nervousness! We all face new beginnings. Whether it is a significant life change or just something small, we have to start somewhere and maybe for those who are discerning it would be helpful to learn a little about what it means to “begin discerning.” The following are three areas which one can begin to consider when discerning a religious vocation.

Do not be afraid!

Prayer
Our vocations are a gift given by a God who loves us and has called us. Our vocation is not to be found using Google to look up the nearest community that fits all of my personality requirements or desires. Our vocations are a part of us, found deep within our hearts, and understood in an intimate relationship with the One who created us. Time in prayer with the Lord listening in the quiet of our hearts, coming to know more about the One who has called and learning more about ourselves whom He is calling. Beginning the process of discernment is not necessarily about seeking a particular community or way of life but about seeking the One is who is calling, Jesus, and it is Him who will give us all we need to respond faithfully.

Come on, answer my call!

Conversion
The fulfillment of our vocation doesn’t happen overnight. Those who are living the religious life can tell you that it is a test of daily fidelity to God working and moving in our lives is what is important. So much conversion needs to happen before we can be in a place to say yes to what the Lord is preparing. How easy it would be if our Lord just proposed and we were off to begin! Instead it is important to recognize that there is much purifying that needs to happen with the Lord, in our relationships with others, and within our own selves before we are ready and prepared to take the next step. We must trust in the beautiful process that is preparing us for the next step and embrace the sometimes painful but truly necessary work the Lord is waiting to do in our lives.

Let me mold and shape you.

Perseverance
Discernment takes time. It also takes patience and trust over the course of many months and even years as the Lord is preparing and sowing the seed of a call in our hearts. Don’t be in a rush! Look at discerning as a journey of becoming your true self rather then a stress filled process of “doing” something for the Lord as soon as possible. We all want to reach the fulfillment of our call and vocation but that plan we have for the future might not go as we hope it would. To persevere and trust that the Lord knows what He is doing is a key to discerning, especially during times that might seems dark, or the future might seem unclear. There is not doubt the Lord knows you and wants you to know who He is calling you to be. Persevere to the end and you will be fulfilled!

I'm suppose to be in the convent already!

If the journey of discerning your vocation is new for you, commitment to prayer, openness to conversion and trusting perseverance are all tools that might help in this new beginning. In this time of new beginnings, let us rejoice in the Lord and be grateful for all the things He wants to do in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

God bless you,
Br. Angelus Immaculata Montgomery, CFR

Saint Joseph Friary
523 W. 142nd St.
New York, NY 10031

Check it out ...
+ Pope's homily to seminarians in Madrid (Aug. 20, 2011)
+ Pope's address, "no vocation is a private issue" (Sept. 12, 2011)
+ Fr. Timothy Gallagher online video, solid teachings


Interested in learning more? Give us a call!
(212)281-4355

We Remember

The call came to our friars from the firemen next to our friary on156^th Street in the Bronx. “Please get down to Ground Zero – we need you there.” It was the day after 9/11. The plan was to meet at theBronx firehouse and take a bus with the firemen who would be transported to help at Ground Zero.

So a group of us friars, priests and brothers, waited at the firehouse with the firemen the morning of 9/12 to head across the bridge by bus to Manhattan. The firemen sat in silence while watching the news on the television. Also, a fireman was writing a list of names on a chalkboard, the names of their confreres who had died.

Pain was written on their faces. There were no words that seemed appropriate. We just sat praying silently next to them and waited. The bus was delayed so we were encouraged by the firemen to take the subway to Manhattan as far as could and then to walk the rest of the way. That we did – we passed two barricades at which we simply said, “The firemen asked us to go to Ground Zero.” We were given the OK.

Before we knew it we were at a place that seemed surreal. Somehow we were there, yet it didn’t seem real: skeletons of buildings, broken glass, water pouring down escalators, grey soot up to our ankles, most of all the pained faces of heroes trying their best to do something, anything.

My responsibility was to bless the bodies which were being removed from the rubble. The unmistakable orange body-bags were carried with great dignity. I stood next to a Rabbi and a Protestant Minister. As the bodies were being carried to the first temporary morgue the bearers paused, we prayed, gave a blessing and cried.

Other friars prayed with small groups of firemen, policemen and other responders. Only prayer and simply being present seemed to be appropriate. Some brothers gave out rosaries and offered their shoulders to cry on. Noting Saint Francis’ love for animals we were asked to bless the specially trained dogs which were helping with the search for remains.

On the way back to the Bronx we rode the bus with the firemen. We rode through Manhattan as crowds of people waved and showed signs of support. We sat in silence. Only prayer and simply being present seemed appropriate.

Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR
Community Servant
Most Blessed Sacrament Friary, Newark, NJ


Letter from Pope Bendict to US Bishops
Sept. 11, 2011

Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI at Ground Zero
April 20, 2008