Franciscan Sisters Part of Herald Times Reporter Best Photos of 2009
Posted on January 30, 2010
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month | 4 Comments
Enjoying Benjamin Wideman and Jaslyn Gilbert, two creative professionals from the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, for a Day in the Life with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity coverage of Motherhouse happenings was a calendar-marking 2009 visit for the Catholic women religious.
Imagine the thrill, however, when finding out that Jaslyn thought her time spent with the Franciscan Sisters worthy of documenting not just once, but chose a photo from that February 
2009 day in a special feature entitled: 2009 the year in Photos, an annual edition featuring a collection of the Herald Times Reporter’s best photos of 2009. Of course, Benjamin designed the paper-print copy of this remarkable insert. (winter photo-Jaslyn Gilbert)
You’ll want to check out the on-line photo gallery for the finest images and learn a bit more about the photojournalists at the same time. And while they last, get your hands on the Friday, January 29, 2010 Herald Times paper insert!
Fill Up With Snow
Posted on December 29, 2009
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month | 12 Comments
Robert Frost’s poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening is delightfully suited for a Franciscanized World winter reflection:
Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow…
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
Do you have any snowy tales of yester-year or today? These  ’snow’ photos drifted in from the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity serving in West Point, NE after the last praire wind blizzard. Join them in praising God for Sister Snow!
Good Tidings of Great Joy from the Franciscan Sisters
Posted on December 24, 2009
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month | 21 Comments
Peace and all good this Blessed Christmas from all the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. Like St. Francis’ prayers on the night of the first Greccio Nativity enactment, our heart-felt prayers for you and your loved ones are ones of joyful exultation. Â
Finally, the day of joy has drawn near, the time of exultation has come. From many different places the Sisters have been called. As they could, the women of that land with exultant hearts prepare candles and torches to light up that night whose shining star has enlightened every day and year…our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us with supreme and indescribable love, who lives and rules with the Father and the Holy Spirt as God, eternally glorious forever and ever. Amen. Alleluia, Alleluia. (adapted from I Celano, Chapter XXX)
What words or thoughts come to mind when you contemplate the deeper meaning of Christmas?
Order the Latest in Franciscan Vocation Posters
Posted on December 21, 2009
Filed Under Image of the Month, Vocations / Discernment | 6 Comments
It’s a simple message. The world needs you. God calls you. We invite you. It’s a call for a permanent commitment of love for God and His people. It’s so totally Franciscan building the church today not using brick or mortar, but with hands made for loving service.
And we need you. Help us distribute this Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity’s vocation poster. It comes in 2 sizes (10 in. x 14.25 in. and 16.25 x 24 in.)to fit wall/bulletin board spaces at your Catholic parish, university, college, Neuman or campus ministry center, favorite coffee house, classroom, young adult hang outs, etc.. Operator on call to accept your order 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. CST. Free shipping and handling charges.
Contact us here or send us a message on Facebook.
Ponder ‘O Come Emmanuel’ a Franciscan Sisters’ Advent Podcast
Posted on December 1, 2009
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month, Podcasts, Song of the Month | 79 Comments
In this month of liturgical seasons that anticipate and celebrate the birth of Jesus, rejoice and enjoy O Come Emmanuel, a podcast featuring the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity’s rendition of the medieval 
Catholic hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (Veni Emmanuel) with its beautiful, haunting melody and collection of titles ascribed to the Savior from Scripture. Reflect on stunning Incarnational stained glass windows found in one of the Franciscan Sisters’ Motherhouse chapels and other Northeastern Wisconsin churches. Made from the most ordinary materials, this stained glass is sand transformed by fire into a jeweled beauty that stirs souls and moves them closer to God.
Sisters Caritas Strodthoff,OSF (xylophone and vocals), Sister Chiara LaValley, OSF (flute), Sister Myra Jean Sweigart, OSF (vocals)Â and Sister Winifred Crevier, OSF (organ)Â blend their musical gifts to perform this traditional hymn translated into English by John Mason Neale (1818-1866).
How does this podcast move your heart?
Ponder ‘Wind’s Waves and Wings’
Posted on November 1, 2009
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month | 6 Comments
The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity share a series of typical and yet not so ordinary photos entitled ‘Wind’s Waves and Wings’.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and fair and stormy, all the weather’s moods, by which you cherish all that you have made.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water, so useful, lowly, precious and pure. (St. Francis’ Canticle of Creation)
O Lord, you have given everything its place in the world, and no one can make it otherwise. For it is your creation, the heavens and the earth and the stars; you are Lord of all. (Esther 13:9, 10-11)
Do you feel called to share a series of personally photographed moments that opened your heart to God? Contact us. Awaken the winds of the Holy Spirit in another’s heart.
Discipleship in the Life of Francis, Clare, the Franciscan Sisters and You
Posted on October 1, 2009
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Image of the Month, Vocations / Discernment | 103 Comments
During the month of October Franciscanized World will be highlighting the call to discipleship of our Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, specifically Sister Pamela Biehl, OSF, as a parish director of the Catholic Communities of St. Mary Winneconne, WI, and St. Mary, Omro, WI and Sister Anne Marie Lom, OSF, as a spiritual director for both St. Raphael Parish, Oshkosh, WI and our own religious community.
Special Spiritual Feature
Sister Anne Marie invites you to join some Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity as they reflect on their annual retreat at the Community’s House of Prayer entitled: Discipleship in the Life of Francis, Clare and You. Read their thread of comments all month long and feel free to add your own reflections. Expect the retreat slideshow to change as all of creation goes through transformation.
Ready to begin? Read the sharing.
Watch How the Franciscan Sisters Serve at Santa Cruz Parish and San Xavier Mission, Tucson, AZ
Posted on September 1, 2009
Filed Under Image of the Month, Podcasts, Vocations / Discernment | 33 Comments
Filmed on location at southside Santa Cruz 
Parish and an over 200 year old San Xavier Mission in Tucson, AZ, this podcast series tells the story of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity service among the people of God in two Catholic communities of faith. Come immerse yourself in the lives of Sister Carla Riach, OSF, Sister Delores Vogt, OSF, Sister Ellen Pachmayer, OSF, Sister Leonette Kochan, OSF, Sister Maria Goretti Scandaliato, OSF, and Sister Mary Gabriel Van Dreel, OSF.Â
Realize the Franciscan Sisters’ collaboration with Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson, Franciscan Friars of the Santa Barbara Province, Christian Brothers serving at San Miguel High School, Principal Mrs. Shirley Kalinowski and other faculty and staff members of two Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson elementary schools, young people enrolled in Notre Dame University’s Alliance for Catholic Education Program, and of course the families and leaders of these two parish communities including the broader Tohono O’odham Reservation. This is a story waiting to be told.
View all four podcasts on youtube. Recent video activity will be exchanged and highlighted throughout this month. And the Sisters have promised to share their daily lives as it happens.
Any thoughts you would like to share?
Here’s a Franciscan ‘Chiara’ by Sister Mariella Erdmann, OSF and ‘St. Clare of Assisi’ by Stephen B. Whatley
Posted on August 1, 2009
Filed Under Image of the Month | 22 Comments
This August the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are pleased to highlight an image 
of St. Clare of Assisi, devoted follower of St. Francis,  that is the artwork of one of our own Sisters, Sister Mariella Erdmann, OSF.
Sister Mariella comments on how ‘Chiara’ came to be:
I was honored to be asked to design an image of St. Clare for Chiara Convent, the new home for the Sisters working at Silver Lake College. Chiara is the Italian name for Clare. Since we are Franciscan Sisters we wished to name our new home after St. Clare of Assisi, the great Franciscan Saint. The name Clare means light and I have designed Chiara holding a candle – light, and also holding the bible. As I reflected on the life of St. Clare and prayed for guidance to create this piece, I came up with the image of Clare showing her  simplicity, inner strength, peace, and deep prayer. It is through her eyes that these qualities are most reflected. Clare was dedicated to gospel living in the following of Jesus the Christ. He was her center and it was from Him that she radiated the qualities I listed. She truly became a light to the world of her day as each of us need to become lights to our world as we follow Christ. Clare summed up her spirituality in these four words –Gaze, Consider, Contemplate, Imitate. This was her life in imitation of the Crucified Christ.
The image of Clare is sandblasted into limestone panels. The recessed areas were then blackened which makes the image stand out from quite a distance. The panels were set into the stone masonry work on the façade of the building. This in itself was a feat as there were four panels that had to be carefully set in and then finished off with the curved arch at the top. The rough stone masonry that surrounds Clare is fitting in its setting in a wooded area. Thus use of natural materials is keeping with the Franciscan spirit. Clare is a most welcoming image as a person enters Chiara Convent. I pray that her image does not only welcome us in but permeates our being in the following of Christ as Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. St Clare and St. Francis have done their part now we must do our part in the furthering of the Kingdom of God in our world.Â
August 11 - Stephen B. WhatleyÂ
On the actual feast of St. Clare of Assisi we also add a portrait done by friend of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Stephen B. Whatley.
Stephen comments:
St Clare, described as a great beauty, was born in 1194 in Assisi, Italy to a family of great wealth and from her earliest years had a great yearning for a more spiritual life. She was greatly inspired in her teens by hearing St Francis of Assisi preach; and with all her heart desired to imitate Francis and to live a poor humble life for Jesus. Along with her younger sister Agnes, she co-founded a community of nuns, still known throughout the world as Poor Clares. In 1234, through the depth of her prayers, God saved Clare and her Sisters when the army of Frederick II launched an attack on Assisi; planning to raid the convent first. Clare was very sick, but she pulled herself up from her bed and proceeded to face the invaders at an open window - placing the Blessed Sacrament in clear view of them. In artistic depictions St Clare is often shown holding the monstrance (as in Stephen’s tribute )or the ciborium; as she prays for help and protection. She begged God to save the Sisters: “O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now”. At this moment the attackers were struck with sudden fear and fled.Her prayers would defeat future dangers in her lifetime; before St Clare passed away in 1253.Clare was canonised in 1255. St Clare is Patron Saint of among other things, ’sore eyes’; and as recently as 1958, Pope Pius XII chose St Clare of Assisi to be Patron Saint of Television.Recognising the importance of this then relatively new communications medium, he qualified his dedication by recalling a time in St Clare’s life when she was too ill on Christmas Eve to attend Midnight Mass. She sighed, “See Lord, I am left alone with You” as the Sisters left for Mass. At that moment God granted Clare a vision in which she saw and heard the Mass as if she had been present in the convent chapel…
Faith.
Website: www.stephenbwhatley.com
Any comments?
See Abundance and Life Pictured Here
Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Image of the Month | 2 Comments
Enjoy digital photography? The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity welcome Franciscanized World images. This month find a unique Camp Franciscan 2009 photo. A group of campers named ‘the St. Francis group’ submitted this common reflection while on an opening day photography search.
Even for worms he (St. Francis)Â had a warm love, since he had read this text about the Savior: I am a worm and not a man. That is why he used to pick them up from the road and put them in a safe place so that they would not be crushed by the footsteps of passersby.
-The Life of Saint Francis, Chapter XXIX, Thomas of Celano
Any comments for our photographers?
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