January: Happy New Year!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
   

In his Testament, our holy father Francis wrote: "When the Lord gave me brothers, no one showed me what I was supposed to do, but the Lord himself revealed to me that I had to live according to the form of the holy Gospel." This, sisters and brothers, is the heart of our Franciscan vocation to Evangelical Poverty. It is the poverty of not appropriating to ourselves any idea of what it means to be a human being or a disciple of the Lord save for what Jesus has revealed to us. We receive all from him, and leave everything that is not from our Lord behind. That is the freedom and lightness of Franciscan poverty. Through Francis's intercession, may God bless you all!

Peace
Fr. Charles 

"The Year of the Priest" -
St. John Vianney

In this "Year of the Priest," our Pope Benedict XVI, hoping to reinvigorate a new focus on the Priesthood, announced a "Jubilee Year of the Priest" beginning on June 19, 2009 to June 19, 2010.  He called for this event so as to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney - "The Curé  of Ars," and for the "spiritual perfection" of our priests.
A Few Notes of Interest on Our Curé of Ars:
1. St. John Vianney became a member of the 3rd Order of the Secular Franciscans in 1848, and had a great appreciation for St. Francis of Assisi.
2. The devil revealed to the Curé that if there were three such men as the Curé  on earth, Satan's Kingdom would be broken.
3. A Protestant man coming from meeting with the Curé  said, "I have just seen God in man."

Our beloved Curé was truly a great saint. St. John Vianney has helped many of God's people to embrace the Faith and return to Confession and accept God's call to come back home to Him. Truly, by the intercession of St. John Vianney, many more people honor our priests. May he help all priests and all of God's people embrace more fully our Faith so that through his intercession we will have many more of our people return to accept God's calling.  Truly, it takes a very special kind of person to care enough to take the time for others. God Bless our Priests.
A special thank you to the Curé  of Ars for helping us to remember to honor our priests and at the least - to pray any prayer to express our appreciation and support for having heard God's call! As the church throughout the world continues to honor all priests on the 150th Anniversary of the death of our Patron St. John Vianney, your prayers are humbly requested for all priests. They will surely be appreciated as you yourself will.

Notes of Interest -
Born - May 8, 1786
Ordained a Priest -August 13, 1815
Died - August 4, 1859 (age 73)
Declared Venerable - July 26, 1896
 (Pope Leo XIII)
Beatified - January 8, 1905
(Pius X)
Canonized a Saint - May 31, 1925 (Pope Pius XI)
Patron of Priests - 1929 (Pope Pius XI)
Patron of All Priests of the World - June 19, 2009 (Pope Benedict XVI)

I am happy that my brother - a priest, who is now deceased - had taken me to visit the Curé of Ars (in Europe) years ago - and how the Curé truly changed my life.
God truly has created our priests to do some definite service which he has not admitted to another. They shall do good. They shall do his work.  Amen!
Closing
In this "Year of the Priest," may God Bless all those he has called to the Priestly Ministry. May they be as compassionate as Jesus was to open their hearts to all in need of prayers and mercy. May our beloved St. John Vianney pray for all our priests, nuns, Secular Franciscans, workers, and for all our beloved Parishioners.
May Saint John Vianney help all priests and all God's people to fully embrace the Faith and, by his intercession, may many more gain access to God's call to the ministry of the Church!

God be with you all. you are all in my prayers. I miss you all. I'm doing better and have a great Doctor - Jesus - and a very beautiful nurse - Mary!

I truly miss you all! God Bless you!

Erma

   Reflection on the Baptism of our Lord

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him". (St. Matthew 3:14-16)
    Forget Superman and all those superheroes we grew up with. Jesus is the ultimate superhero, a rock star! (Although through his humility, would think otherwise) Jesus born without sin asked to be baptized. Our Lord through his baptism teaches us that he is and will always be with us. He is the fighter of the villains of sin. He numbered himself among us, sinners.
John baptized for the repentance of sins and he drew many from all over Judea to have their sins washed away. Jesus comes without sin to be baptized in our place, to fulfill the Law for us. While sinners would leave their sins in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus takes all of our sins out of the water to the cross to die for the sin of the world.
He carried the cape of our sins by suffering and dying for us in order to save us and give us the gift of eternal life. Jesus brought His forgiveness to us in the waters of our baptism, where all our sins were washed away. There, the Father gave us a new Name, he marked us as His own, and proclaimed to us that no matter what happens to us, we are His. He will never leave us and He will never forsake us.
So, Let’s give him that big letter S! For truly our superhero, Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Our Salvation.
So look up into the sky, not at the birds or the planes but to the heavens above in thanksgiving for Jesus has set us free!
 

Peace to all
Frances
 

Read more...