Franciscan Spirituality and the 800th Anniversary of Franciscan Rule
Posted on September 30, 2008
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An important aspect of Francis Fest is learning more about St. Francis of Assisi and his impact on the world today. For this reason, Father Tom Wojciechowski, OFM, a member of the Franciscan Friars (OFM) of the Assumption BVM Province, was invited on September 28, 2008 by the Felician Village of Manitowoc to speak on the 8th centenary of the approval of the primitive rule of the Franciscan Order.
The core of this rule-its reference to the Gospel is addressed to all Christians, and in a special way, to the children of Francis. The call to radically live the message of Jesus, its promises and demands, which Francis and his companions intended and followed, is still current for all times and states of life.
Historically, these scripture passages are foundational to this call:
If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. (Mt 19:21 or Mk 10:21)
He said to them, Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. (Lk 9:3)
Then Jesus said to His disciples “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. (Mt 16:24)
For more information on the 800th anniversary read Franciscan Life Day One: 800 Years 1209-2009, Reflections on the Missal of San Nicole by Father Roch Niemier, OFM.
What fascinates you about St. Francis of Assisi choosing the Gospel as his Rule of life? Choose God.
Francis Fest Sunday Liturgy Suffuces with Spirit of Welcome
Posted on September 28, 2008
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Commencing with a banner-waving entrance procession of over forty organizations and groups that are representative of the involvement of members of the parish, the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Eucharistic liturgy on September 28, 2008 was stirringly festive and notably conscious of the need to reach out to others in need. The opening song “All are Welcome” repeated the Franciscan spirit of hospitality for all God’s people as the parish patron was called upon for intercession.
Francis Fest medieval activities continued through out the afternoon concluding with a 5 p.m. Sunday Supper for the poor sponsored by the parish. St. Francis of Assisi Parish collaborates with other faith communities and churches in the Manitowoc, WI area to provide a free meal once a month at Wesley United Methodist Church.
Autumn Leaf and Music Adventure in Lakewood, WI
Posted on September 27, 2008
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Albert Camus must have enjoyed a beautiful fall Wisconsin day much like Saturday, September 27, 2008 when he wrote, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Enjoying a glorious view of color every new turn on the road on this day, a Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity music troupe traveled to picturesque Lakewood, WI for the Saturday evening Mass. Hauling a bass, a few guitars and a flute, the group also included singers, Pam Peasel and another young women in discernment with the community. Pastor Father David Schmidt and Associate Pastor Father Matthew Settle welcomed the Franciscan troubadours. The people gathered for the 4 p.m. Eucharist also prayed with full voices.
St. Mary of the Lakes parish had much to be grateful for in the last week. The congregation just recently welcomed Bishop David Ricken, newly installed Bishop of Green Bay, at last Sunday’s liturgy in which the construction mortgage on the 2005 Church was burned and the narthex was blessed.
After Mass, the musicians enjoyed a picnic supper at a near by roadside park. Needless to say, the Sisters enjoyed other spectacular views here and on the way home back to Manitowoc.
What fall scenes are a special memory for you?
Francis Fest/Oktoberfest is Here
Posted on September 26, 2008
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Francis Fest/Oktoberfest are all about feasting, family and friends, a joyful Manitowoc Community Festival. It begins on September 26 and ends on October 4th, 2008 in Manitowoc, WI.
Sponsored by St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Roncalli High School, Silver Lake College, Holy Family Memorial, Felician 
Village, Rahr-West Museum, MCCA, Capitol Civic Centre and the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, this is an event impossible to miss. Keep updated with all the activities here on the Franciscanized World.
Exhibits, tours, fish fry, blessing of animals, picnics, dancing, music, ancient Transitus service, outdoor Masses, medieval games and art, walking, an icon class, presentations on Franciscan spirituality, harp playing and jousting are all part of the beauty and bounty of these days.
Today, Friday, September 26, the Franciscan Sisters offered hospitality to over one hundred sixty guests at Holy Family Convent. Horse drawn wagon rides delivered tour groups to the 1870’s historic structure on the shores of Silver Lake from late afternoon until dusk.
While convent tours were conducted, Silver Lake College simultaneously served a Francis Fest Fish Fry. An art exhibit also was provided to educate the public further on this medieval saint. This year’s theme was Greccio.
Healing with Heart
Posted on September 22, 2008
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In the book Francis of Assisi: the Saint Early Documents Volume 1, Thomas Celano in his Life of Saint Francis written between 1228-1229 includes a chapter entitled “The Miracles of Saint Francis”. The importance of ordinary citizens from Foligno, the district of Narni, Fano, Gubbio, Montenero, etc whose healing accounts fill this biographical segment are of importance in St. Francis’ canonization process in the Roman Catholic Church. Each story is memorable. Each story includes some kind of personal touch from Francis or from things attributed to him. Each story recognizes Francis as a prayerful man.
Recently in West Point, NE, Sister Laura Wolf, OSF, CEO of Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity HealthCare Ministry Inc. and her staff distributed the book Healing with Heart Inspirations for Health Care Professionals, Re-ignite your passion for your work by Martin Helldorfer, D.Min. and Terri Moss to leadership of all the community’s healthcare sponsored institutions. The dedication page of this book seems to mirror the Franciscan perspective of human touch and the need for time in personal reflection:
Dedicated to those who…are the hidden saints, who inspire us….risk all, in order to excel in patient care….find protected time for reflection in the midst of busy days…are, above all, a healing presence to patients and caregivers alike. Thank You.
Take time to call to mind people in your life in need of Jesus’ healing. Are you called to be an instrument of healing in the lives of others?
The Year of Paul in More Ways than One
Posted on September 21, 2008
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On June 28, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI declared a year of celebration in honor of the 2000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth. The Apostle “who proclaimed the truth of Christ to the whole world committed himself with zeal to the unity and concord of all Christians,” stated the Holy Father as he designated the jubilee year which will extend to June 29, 2009.
St. Paul Elder Services, Kaukauna, WI, a part of Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity HealthCare Ministry Inc., promises to honor this Apostle throughout the year while celebrating its own 65th anniversary year of its beginnings.
The history of St. Paul Elder Services dates back to 1890 when Oscar Thilmany, founder of Thilmany Pulp and Paper Company in Kaukauna, built a mansion on Wisconsin Avenue on the north side of the Fox River. This Thilmany-Wertheimer building served as the private residence of the first two presidents of the paper company. The mansion remained in the Wertheimer family until 1939 when Robert Wertheimer gave the property to Bishop Paul Peter Rhode of the Green Bay Diocese. The Bishop sought a religious order to take the home and use it for charitable purposes. The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, responded to the request.
The saga of St. Paul Elder Services is a vibrant one. Sunday, September 21, 2008 was a day to celebrate this reality and to praise God for the proud history that includes today housing at St. Paul Villa and St. Paul Manor, long term care at St. Paul Home, a Life Enrichment Center, Center of Rehabilitation and message, occupational, physical and speech therapy.
St. Paul and St. Francis were called to be profoundly changed. St. Francis’ stigmata experience images the scriptural text Gal. 6:17 very well. In this Pauline book of the Galatians written in 48-49 A.D., Paul himself reviews his first missionary journey which included the First Jerusalem Council.
How about you? How is the Word of God active in your life in 2008? How is the message of Jesus alive in you and in others who are serving the poor and needy in your midst? Choose God.
Praise My Lord for Sister Water: Lake Michigan Beach Sweep
Posted on September 17, 2008
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Celebrating September Coastal Awareness Month in Wisconsin, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and other enthusiastic people from the greater Manitowoc/Two Rivers lakeshore area united efforts in sweeping the beach of Lake Michigan on a beautiful, sunny September 17, 2008 day.
This event coincided with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup which is the world’s largest volunteer event of its kind. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared 6 million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.
Ocean Conservancy compiles, analyzes and tracks this data and makes discoveries about the behaviors that cause the debris. The final information is used to educate the public, business, industry, and government officials about the problem.Today’s lakeshore event had representatives from Holy Family Convent, Silver Lake College, Roncalli High School, Lincoln High School, Koenig Elementary School and Holy Family Memorial.
In the Canticle of the Creatures St. Francis of Assisi praises God “through Sister Water who is useful and humble and precious and chaste.” Further in the Mirror of Reflection one reads about the exceptional love Francis had for water, stones, wood and flowers:
Next to fire he had a singular love for water through which holy penance and tribulation is symbolized and by which the filth of the soul is washed clean and because of which the first cleansing of the soul takes place through the waters of Baptism.
Refect on your own reverence for water.
Catholic Journey of Hope Pilgrimage in Wisconsin
Posted on September 10, 2008
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Having encountered God, pilgrims ponder what God is speaking to them after an Immigration Awareness Pilgrimage, A Journey of Hope on September 7, 2008. You are invited to do likewise.
The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross, the Norbertines of St. Norbert Abbey, the Diocese of Green Bay, and the Franciscan Friars (OFM) of the Assumption BVM Province collaborated to make this day possible. Members of St. Philip, St. Willebrord, St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral parishes of the Diocese of Green Bay, WI were also involved in the planning.
What longings, desires, fears and questions surfaced as you listened deeply and pondered prayerfully this day of pilgrimage? How might this pilgrimage influence your/our activities and involvements in the future? Is there any special memory that lingers in your heart?
Kumbaya by Lynne Arriale
Posted on September 5, 2008
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The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity present Lynne Arriale who has captured the imaginations of jazz and mainstream music lovers with her outstanding CD and DVD recordings and sold out performances. She has been critically acclaimed as having a ‘singular voice’ as a pianist, leader, composer, arranger and for “putting the heart back into jazz” (London Times).
Arriale’s consistently excellent recordings have topped every notable jazz chart. With back to back #1 Jazz Week radio hits, a #17 debut on Billboard’s Jazz Chart, the top ten “Best Of” lists for The New Yorker, United Press International and The German Record Critics Association, Arriale has earned her place among elite international jazz artists. Further evidence of her status includes her being featured on the PBS nationally televised program, Profile of a Recording Artist, and on multiple NPR programs including Weekend Edition, Jazz Set, and Piano Jazz with Marion McPartland.
Arriale’s current release, LIVE (Motéma), recorded by BR-TV at Germany’s oldest and most prestigious jazz event, The Burghausen Jazz Festival, won the 2007 German Record Critics Award for best jazz CD/DVD recording. She has toured Japan with the legendary “100 Golden Fingers”group, a bill Lynne shared with jazz legends Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, Ray Bryant, Junior Mance, Harold Mabern, Roger Kellaway and Monty Alexander. In 1993 she earned first place at Jacksonville’s prestigious Great American Piano Competition. Arriale continues to perform such internationally prestigious venues as The Spoleto Arts Festival, Ireland’s Cork Jazz Festival, The Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, the Burghausen and Stuttgart Jazz Festivals, The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Folly Theater, The Gilmore Festival, The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, The San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival and numerous other festivals, concerts and clubs throughout Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Norway, The Czech Republic, Ireland, the UK and Australia.
Committed to Jazz Education
Deeply committed to jazz education, Lynne Arriale is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano and Director of the Jazz Combo Program at The University of North Florida. She also conducts master classes, clinics and workshops internationally for professionals, students and communities at large.
I chose Kumbaya because it always reminded us to call on spirit all the time, on every occasion, to help us and be with us.
-Lynne Arriale
For more information: http://www.lynnearriale.com/
Immigration Awareness Pilgrimage: A Journey of Hope
Posted on September 4, 2008
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Photos contributed by Fred Graber, September 7, 2008. Other photos see Flickr. The Compass News has further coverage and an audio/visual slideshow.
During this month in which Pope Benedict XVI in the General intentions for 2008 recommends that the people of God pray “that Christians may defend and protect refugees”, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc, WI, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross, Green Bay, WI, the Norbertines of St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere, WI and the Diocese of Green Bay invite you to virtually walk with them in an Immigration Awareness Pilgrimage, A Journey of Hope, Justice for Immigrants and Refugees.
On August 31, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared:
Migration has become an emergency in our times, and one that demands solidarity and effective political solutions…for their part, European countries, and all other countries that are the destination of immigration, are called to, among other things, develop through consensus initiatives and structures that continue to adapt themselves to the needs of irregular migrants.
The latter must be made aware, on the one hand, of the value of their own lives, which are a singular good, always precious, that should be safeguarded in the face of the grave risks that the pursuit of better situations exposes them to and, on the other hand, the duty of legality that is imposed on all.”
As the [Pope],” he added, “I feel a profound obligation to recall everyone’s attention to this problem and to ask for the generous cooperation of individuals and institutions to deal with it and to find solutions.”
Desiring to follow in the footprints of Jesus, reflect on the Holy Father’s words in the light of this Gospel passage from Mt.25:35-40.
For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me; in prison and you came to see me…I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.
How do we as Church respond to the needs of migrants and refugees in our country today?
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