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Brothers and Sisters,
Already another Lent is upon us, that privileged and joyful season when we imitate Jesus' own fast in the desert and prepare for the renewal of the promises of our baptism at Easter. Let us remember that our lives as Franciscans are meant to a continual turning to the Lord, a "beginning to do penance," as our holy father Francis describes his own conversion. May our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this time prepare us for the new joy of the Resurrection!
Peace,
Fr. Charles
A Few Notes on the Fasting and Abstinence of Lent
In the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, fasting from food and detaching oneself from material goods during Lent helps believers to open their hearts to God, their hands to the poor, and see others through the eyes of Christ.
Our Holy Father tells us that the Lenten fast helps Christians to "mortify our egoism and open our hearts to the love of God and to our neighbors."
On February 17, as our Fast and Abstinence begins, we are told that the Christian fasting brings together love for God and our neighbors. We are reminded by our Holy Father of our obligation to open our hearts and hands to all those in need, and that fasting and almsgiving are meant to help Christians focus on God and prepare for the Easter Celebration of Jesus's victory over sin and death. He said that it is a way for believers to submit themselves "humbly to God," and trust in His goodness and mercy. Our Holy Father said that Fasting is an aid that we open our eyes to the situation in which many of our brothers and sisters live. By fasting in solidarity with the poor, we choose to embrace an act of another, thereby making a statement that our brother or sister who may be in dire need is not a stranger -- but truly one of us. So, let us, as our Holy Father advised, open our hearts to God, and our hands to the poor.
Erma
A Reflection I thought you would enjoy reading:
Lent -- A Desert Experience, a Time of Conversion
Lent has been called a desert time and a time of conversion. As a desert time, Lent brings us to intense introspection, spiritual preparation, and penitential contemplation. As a time of conversion, Lent affords us an opportunity to reflect upon ways in which we may, through action and example, change our lives and enhance our communication with other persons and with God. We bring the essence of Lent's two-fold theme (baptism and penance) into our personal desert; we recall our baptism and reaffirm our membership in the Secular Franciscan Order which is historically penitential. During Lent, we both give up and give more in a spirit of self-denial and self-giving. Just as Jesus was led into the desert for forty days and forty nights (cf. Matthew 3:13-15; 4:1-2), we enter a special time of the Spirit during Lent. We create a quiet place within ourselves where we identify our failings, struggle with our weaknesses, communicate with God, and grow in faith. We pray that we may bring forth worthy fruits of penance as we persevere in carrying the cross with which we were marked at our baptism. We listen, and we hear God speaking in our hearts.
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Already another Lent is upon us, that privileged and joyful season when we imitate Jesus' own fast in the desert and prepare for the renewal of the promises of our baptism at Easter. Let us remember that our lives as Franciscans are meant to a continual turning to the Lord, a "beginning to do penance," as our holy father Francis describes his own conversion. May our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this time prepare us for the new joy of the Resurrection!
Peace,
Fr. Charles
A Few Notes on the Fasting and Abstinence of Lent
In the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, fasting from food and detaching oneself from material goods during Lent helps believers to open their hearts to God, their hands to the poor, and see others through the eyes of Christ.
Our Holy Father tells us that the Lenten fast helps Christians to "mortify our egoism and open our hearts to the love of God and to our neighbors."
On February 17, as our Fast and Abstinence begins, we are told that the Christian fasting brings together love for God and our neighbors. We are reminded by our Holy Father of our obligation to open our hearts and hands to all those in need, and that fasting and almsgiving are meant to help Christians focus on God and prepare for the Easter Celebration of Jesus's victory over sin and death. He said that it is a way for believers to submit themselves "humbly to God," and trust in His goodness and mercy. Our Holy Father said that Fasting is an aid that we open our eyes to the situation in which many of our brothers and sisters live. By fasting in solidarity with the poor, we choose to embrace an act of another, thereby making a statement that our brother or sister who may be in dire need is not a stranger -- but truly one of us. So, let us, as our Holy Father advised, open our hearts to God, and our hands to the poor.
Erma
A Reflection I thought you would enjoy reading:
Lent -- A Desert Experience, a Time of Conversion
Lent has been called a desert time and a time of conversion. As a desert time, Lent brings us to intense introspection, spiritual preparation, and penitential contemplation. As a time of conversion, Lent affords us an opportunity to reflect upon ways in which we may, through action and example, change our lives and enhance our communication with other persons and with God. We bring the essence of Lent's two-fold theme (baptism and penance) into our personal desert; we recall our baptism and reaffirm our membership in the Secular Franciscan Order which is historically penitential. During Lent, we both give up and give more in a spirit of self-denial and self-giving. Just as Jesus was led into the desert for forty days and forty nights (cf. Matthew 3:13-15; 4:1-2), we enter a special time of the Spirit during Lent. We create a quiet place within ourselves where we identify our failings, struggle with our weaknesses, communicate with God, and grow in faith. We pray that we may bring forth worthy fruits of penance as we persevere in carrying the cross with which we were marked at our baptism. We listen, and we hear God speaking in our hearts.
Reflection on Lent
The din of the world constantly surrounds us. Cell phones, TV, computers, etc. all modern conveniences of today. We often think what would we do without them, but I often wonder if St. Francis lived in today’s world what would he think of us? A man, who gave up everything to follow in the footsteps of Christ, found his answers not in what surrounded him in his world at the time but in the silence. In the silence of the eyes of the outcast, the Cross and the words of a silent holy book which spoke loudly when he opened it to expose its words. It was through those moments of silence he heard the whispers of our Lord speak to him.
That gentle whisper spoke his name and lead him to what he was searching for, he left the world and all he knew behind to follow him. Two years ago, like Francis I felt a need to do more and I set out to Italy for holy week. Soul searching, I sat in silence in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi. I sat there for hours and suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I shut out the world and sat in communion with God.
Silence can be a frightening thing. It is there you truly find your vulnerability, your inner self; you feel naked, exposed. But it was in that exposure of soul that I felt the most liberated. It was me, the person God made me to be, not what the world expects me to be. It was through that faith journey that I made the decision to join the Secular Order. I heard the whispers of my heart, and God and Francis answered me.
Lent is a time in which we prepare ourselves for the Lord’s passion through fasting and penance. I believe we should add silence as part of our preparation. We truly need to take time to be with the Lord intimately. Being in complete silence is not easy to do, for the noisy world keeps us very busy. But you can just separate yourselves from the world for a time each day or once a week during this holy season and bear your souls to Jesus, leave your burdens at the foot of the cross and let him take care of you. Abandon yourself to Him. After all, isn’t that why he suffered died.
When was the last time you sat in complete silence?
Hush. Can you hear him, he is whispering to you.
May you hear our precious Lord’s whispers this Lenten season.
Blessings!
That gentle whisper spoke his name and lead him to what he was searching for, he left the world and all he knew behind to follow him. Two years ago, like Francis I felt a need to do more and I set out to Italy for holy week. Soul searching, I sat in silence in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi. I sat there for hours and suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I shut out the world and sat in communion with God.
Silence can be a frightening thing. It is there you truly find your vulnerability, your inner self; you feel naked, exposed. But it was in that exposure of soul that I felt the most liberated. It was me, the person God made me to be, not what the world expects me to be. It was through that faith journey that I made the decision to join the Secular Order. I heard the whispers of my heart, and God and Francis answered me.
Lent is a time in which we prepare ourselves for the Lord’s passion through fasting and penance. I believe we should add silence as part of our preparation. We truly need to take time to be with the Lord intimately. Being in complete silence is not easy to do, for the noisy world keeps us very busy. But you can just separate yourselves from the world for a time each day or once a week during this holy season and bear your souls to Jesus, leave your burdens at the foot of the cross and let him take care of you. Abandon yourself to Him. After all, isn’t that why he suffered died.
When was the last time you sat in complete silence?
Hush. Can you hear him, he is whispering to you.
May you hear our precious Lord’s whispers this Lenten season.
Blessings!
Frances
Witness to my healing….
I was suffering from knee osteoarthritis for years. Finally, I had my both knees replaced last Dec 15. 2009. My surgery went well, thanks be to God. I was having very high fever for three days even all the tests came out negative. I did everything to cool down my body, but to no avail. My wife asked me if I am praying the Rosary and I said, I am praying the Rosary with my hands and she told me to pray the Holy Rosary with the real Rosary and ask our Blessed Mother for help. After praying, I saw a smoke and smell a sweet, cold air coming out of the closed windows. The smoke stopped in front of me. Then my body temperature cooled down. While I was preparing my C-Pap ( sleep apnea ) machine , a man in white came and asked me if I needed help with the machine. He is very neat, soft spoken and angelic look. I thanked him and told him I can do it by myself and to my surprise, he disappeared. That night the same cold air came out of my machine. The man that appeared must be my Guardian Angel. Since that night, I have been wearing my rosary around my neck. The next day, my body temperature became normal. Two days later, I was able to transfer to Burke’s Rehabilitation Center.
I spent Christmas at the Rehabilitation Center with my family. I have encouraged patients who had been there for months by being a good example with my physical therapy. A woman was there for four months and now she is much improved. I spent nine days at the Center and was sent home with a cane.
My super surgeon, Dr Steven Zelicof allowed me to drive three weeks after my surgery. Now, I am walking without a cane and still go to Burke’s Rehab Center as an outpatient until I reached my goal. I thank God for all the blessings and our Blessed Mother for her intercessions. I am grateful for all my family and friends who prayed and supported me during my recovery.
Lester 
