Franciscan Sisters Welcome Pam Peasel

Posted on August 28, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Vocations / Discernment | 62 Comments

Today, August 28, 2008, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity welcome Pam Peasel to the postulancy. She is the daughter of Sharon and Richard Peasel and has three brothers and one younger sister. From Grand Blanc, MI, Pam has been teaching French and History at Almont Commmunity Schools for two years and is a member of Holy Family Parish from the Diocese of Lansing.

Pam’s day began with a ferryboat ride across Lake Michigan. As a postulant with God’s help, the guidance of a directress and the support of family and many Franciscan Sisters, she embarks on a journey to become a happy, holy, and healthy consecrated woman.

On a lighter side, Pam’s arrival on the shore of Manitowoc was far from a quiet one. The Harley Davidson anniversary in Milwaukee led others to form a line of welcome that invited bikers to ‘make a noise’ as they departed the ferry. Needless to say, this coincidence of arriving with this group of ‘noise makers’ will not be forgotten by Pam or her parents.

Lastly, another unforgetable fact is that today is the feast of St. Augustine. It is a wonderful day to begin anew and to take a significant step in following the Lord’s call. Augustine’s wisdom is comforting in this quote.

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.

Messages of prayer and support for Pam are welcome.

Franciscan Sisters and Diocese of Green Bay Greet Bishop Ricken

Posted on August 27, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 23 Comments

Wednesday, August 27, 2008, almost one hundred Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity gathered with other religious, priests and representatives of the Diocese of Green Bay to pray Solemn Vespers with the Most Reverend David L. Ricken at St. John the Baptist Church, Green Bay, WI on the eve of his installation as the twelve Bishop of Green Bay.

Desiring to meet this man described as high energy, pastoral, a fair ventriloquist and most significantly as a dedicated person of deep faith, many of the Franciscan Sisters also accepted an invitation to a reception later held at Rock Garden, Green Bay.

Here are some brief biographical facts:

son of George and Bertha Ricken
one brother, Mark and one sister, Carol
product of Catholic education from elementary to Licentiate degree (J.C.L.) in Canon Law
once Vocation Director for the Diocese of Pueblo
former official of the Congregation of the Clergy at the Vatican
ordained as a Bishop for the Diocese of Cheyenne in 2000
serves on the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Catechesis, Protection of Children and Young People, and more
motto: Caritas-Sapientia-Fortifudo (Charity, Wisdom, Fortitude or Courage-three important virtues in the Bishop’s life)

Do you have any special thoughts or prayers for Bishop Ricken as he begins his ministry as the Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay?

Always Go Forward Never Turn Back

Posted on August 26, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 14 Comments

Father Junipero Serra, the saintly Spanish missionary, is remembered for this memorable quote and 20,000 Serrans in 46 countries on six continents who meet twice monthly in 1,109 groups, including men and women from a Manitowoc, WI Club, follow his Christ-like zeal by fulfilling their own vocation to service and encouraging others to aspire to the priesthood and religious life.

The five elements of Serra spell the organization’s name:

Spiritual Growth

Encouraging Church Vocations

Religious Education of the Laity

Responsive Lay Leadership

Association in Christian Fellowship

Sharing a spirit of service, the Manitowoc Serrans invited the Roncalli High School LaSallian Youth to team with them on August 26, 2008 for a special appreciation picnic for the priests and religious in the local area. The event was indeed something special for all the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity that were present, as well as other guests.

The Lasallian Youth derives its name from St. John Baptist de La Salle, the founder of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. One of the founding principles of young people associated with this saint’s name is an awareness and a concern for another’s welfare.

During the 1960s, a lively movement characterized by an interest in St. John Baptist de La Salle and his principles developed among the students of the Brothers and the young people in Spain. The movement spread to many other areas: Italy, Belgium, France, Latin America, Malta, the Near East, the Phillipines and Quebec, to mention only a few.

Comment on your experience of the Serrans or LaSallian Youth.

Appleton Area Altar Servers Acknowledged

Posted on August 22, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 2 Comments

On the shores of picturesque Loon Lake, the Appleton, WI, Serrans invited parish altar servers for a day at Camp Tekawitha. This place of fun and recreational enjoyment was founded in 1926 and serves the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.

Aware that the altar servers are already faithful in their ministry to God and His people, the Serrans invited the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and representatives of the diocesan priesthood to be part of the day’s agenda. The Franciscan Sisters enthusiastically provided a session on the call to be a consecrated women religious and an invitation to Camp Franciscan 2009 to all the young women present.

Reflect on the youth you know that are involved in ministry to their local parishes and join us in thanking God for them.

Called to Be Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Hawaii Mission Part Three

Posted on August 21, 2008
Filed Under Podcasts, Vocations / Discernment | 3 Comments

Gain more insights into the goodness of the Kauai, HI island folk of St. Theresa Parish and the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity who live and serve with them.

All of the major Hawaiian islands have Lei Day festivals. Don’t miss the scenes from the children’s May Day Program that celebrates Lei Day.

Keith Warner OFM offers a reflection on what it means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and leave footprints (on the beach or on any kind of earthy soil):

What does it mean to leave footprints? One has to have feet for walking, and Francis is well known for his devotion to the humanity of Christ. Second, one must travel or go on a journey to leave such marks behind. Third, footprints are clues to the means of locomotion and direction of the traveler. Even though he did travel by boat and mule, Jesus mostly walked, and by following his footprints, one can determine the path he took. Lastly, in order for others to follow his footprints, Jesus had a leave a mark where he traveled. For Francis, the world is capable of receiving the footprints of God’s son, of holding markings which lead us in the way to the Father.

What is stirring in your heart after viewing this podcast? Where is God leading you to leave your footprints?

Ecclesiastical Octave of the Assumption

Posted on August 19, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 4 Comments

For those who delight in the movements of a symphony, operatic soloists or personalized, high-capacity streaming internet radio, an octave is defined as an interval of eight notes. Rooted in the same linguistical understanding, the Roman Catholic Church uses the term octave for a period of eight days beginning with a religious feast day commemorating a person or an event significant in matters of faith.

Looking closely at the calendar days of August, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated on August 15, 2008. The octave concludes with another Marian feast, the Queenship of Mary on August 22, 2008. Why was it that Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954?

From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. And never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ, nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother’s solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen. (Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam)

Mary’s queenship has Scriptural origin.

Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would be given “the throne of David…and his reign will be without end.”
At the time of the Visitation Elizabeth refers to her cousin as “the mother of my Lord.”

The Franciscan Crown, a rosary unique to Franciscans remembering the joyous events of Mary’s life that dates back to 1422, also celebrates her queenship.

Fittingly during this Marian octave, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity wish to share with you a faithful friend’s portrait of the Mother of God. Stephen B. Whatley painted this tribute on the Blessed Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary 2008. He feels called to share this prayer with as many people as possible.

Care to comment on his inspiration or what these feasts of Mary mean to you?

Near the Roar of Lake Superior at Baraga’s Marquette

Posted on August 17, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 2 Comments

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In his trilogy of novels Tyler Tichelaar describes generations of people who have followed their dreams to the town of Marquette, MI “where the roar of Lake Superior, mountains of snow and sandstone architecture inspire.” Historically, Marquette is the hallowed resting place of saintly Bishop Frederic Baraga who died on January 18, 1868. Known affectionately as the snowshoe priest and the Apostle to the Great Lakes, his cause for canonization has been presented in Rome. Bishop Baraga’s intercession is timely in every age.

It is here that the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity serve at St. Christopher’s Parish and where a few more Franciscan Sisters traveled from Manitowoc, WI to provide music for the Eucharistic liturgy on Saturday, August 16, 2008. Enjoy a picture pilgrimage of this largest city of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and meet some of the kind people of the Diocese of Marquette who call this beloved place home.

Called to Be Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Hawaii Mission Part Two

Posted on August 13, 2008
Filed Under Podcasts | 3 Comments

Continue the story of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity serving among the good people of St. Theresa Parish, Kekaha, HI.

Fr. Roch Niemier, OFM in his book In the Footsteps of Francis and Clare devotes one chapter to prayer and mountain spirituality. As you view this podcast, is it possible to translate this paragraph to prayer and ‘ocean’ spirituality or whatever is your ordinary natural setting?

The spirituality of Poggio Bustone, or ‘mountain spirituality’ calls forth deep contemplative prayer. Heart-centered prayer or contemplation, is not so much our praying or speaking to God as it is becoming aware that it is God who is pursuing us and praying us, drawing us upward. All of Scripture reveals this wonderful mystery of our God. It is God who comes in search of us: it is God who desires us, desires to be one with us; it is God who loves with passionate longing. It is God who comes to us with overwhelming compassion.

Clare the Ever Bright One

Posted on August 11, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 3 Comments

When you picture St. Clare, what color do you imagine her Francisan habit to be? A stain glass window at the Shrine of Nations at the Cathedral of St. Paul offers a brilliant, metaphorical chromatic image on this feast of a 13th century saint who was the first religious woman to write her own rule of life. The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity invite you to join us in celebrating this woman of courage and shining blessedness.

Named ‘bright’ or ‘light’ by her mother Ortolana, Clare did not change her name after answering the call to be a consecrated woman . Rather, she was called to live out her baptismal name and commitment with greater transparency and lucidity. Her parents’ choice of a name was this noble Lady in Christ’s lifetime destiny. This passage from The Third Letter to Blessed Agnes of Praque summarizes her spiritual direction:

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!

Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!

Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!

And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead

Itself

through contemplation!

So that you too may feel what His friends feel

as they taste the hidden sweetness

which God Himself has reserved

from the beginning

for those who love Him.

St. Francis, whose Gospel ideals Clare matched wtih feminine clarity and faithfulness, also did not feel called to abandon his family’s given name. This merchant’s son embraced the name his father Pietro preferred, rather than his mother’s pious John bearing homage to John the Baptist. As Arnaldo Fortini writes in Francis of Assisi:

So the baby was called Francesco-or as we know him, Francis. It also must have been by divine will, though, that he was given that singular and unconventional name, one that was a proclamation of the qualities most admired in that century, and that by this name he should find everlasting glory.

Today provides an occasion to contemplate the name (s) that you are affectionately called by your family. What special memories do you hold of others calling you by name? Does your name(s) challenge you to greatness, holiness?

Western Most Edge Oceanview

Posted on August 7, 2008
Filed Under Image of the Month | 4 Comments

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The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity focus on the ‘beach at St. Theresa Parish, Kekaha, HI’, a place at the literal edges of the United States, as the image of the month. Sister Hannah Johnecheck, OSF reflects:

And each day at school seeing the beach and seeing there’s ocean and the land stops…a constant reminder that there’s something greater than me out there. And it reminds me of my need for God. You know that sense that you could just fall off the edge almost. And that you need God to help you through each day and to carry you through each day.

keep looking »

Franciscan Sisters Welcome Pam Peasel

Franciscan Sisters and Diocese of Green Bay Greet Bishop Ricken

Always Go Forward Never Turn Back

Appleton Area Altar Servers Acknowledged

Called to Be Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Hawaii Mission Part Three

Ecclesiastical Octave of the Assumption

Near the Roar of Lake Superior at Baraga’s Marquette

Called to Be Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Hawaii Mission Part Two

Clare the Ever Bright One

Western Most Edge Oceanview

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