Franciscans – Page 4

Capuchins Open Center in Jerusalem

The Order of
Capuchin Friars Minor opened a center for spirituality and formation for
religious and laypeople who want to attend courses and retreats in that region.
The center, which is inspired by the motto, “I am the light of the
world,” was inaugurated 28 September 2010.

At the inauguration ceremony,
Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, noted that this light is
the witness that believers make to those around them. He added that this idea
“is a topic of our next synod,” which will take place in Rome,
beginning Sunday, and will focus on the Middle East.

“In Jerusalem, we can
count on hundreds of religious congregations, 14 of which are contemplative
communities,” the prelate said. “They are the strength and richness
of the Latin Catholic Church.” He continued: “Today we inaugurate a
new center for spirituality and welcome, thanks to the goodwill of our beloved
Capuchins, a center called to be light.” “True Christians influence
the world around them and reflect the light of the Lord,” the archbishop
affirmed.

The property where the center is located belonged to the Capuchin
order since the 1930’s, when Archbishop Luigi Barlassina invited the religious
to build a convent in the Jewish area of Jerusalem.

However, the friars had to
leave Jerusalem during World War II, putting the project on hold. The property
was taken over by the state for a psychiatric hospital. The Capuchin center
project was later revived in the 1990’s.

Present at the inauguration ceremony
were: Fr. Mauro Jöhri, Capuchin General Minister and the entire Definitory; His
Beatitude, Archbishop. Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Archbishop
Antonio Franco, Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Apostolic Nuncio in Israel;
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Custos of the Holy Land; Bishop
Francesco Beschi, Bishop of Bergamo; the Capuchin Order’s Legal Representative,
the General Bursar, the Capuchin Provincial Minister of Venice, other
Franciscan Provincials.

The renovation was made possible by a number of
benefactors, with a considerable contribution from the Cariplo Foundation.

A photo
journal of the center’s dedication is here.

The Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem posted a story on
the center.

Zenit carried a story on this center.

(this
story is reposted and edited from Capuchin Newsnotes, 13 October 2010)

Has the Catholic Church in Turkey been too neglected by us?

Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini, OFM Cap. of Izmir,
Turkey, and Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia and President
of the Turkish Episcopal Conference, gave the following intervention today. The
point of noting the Archbishop’s intervention here is that I believe we have to be concerned with
the reality of the Catholic faithful in places outside our neighborhood. Catholics can’t simply concerned with matters that are near. The June murder of Capuchin Bishop Luigi Padovese‘s death has remained a key point in my prayer, interest
in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, the missionary aspect of the Church’s
preaching program and the extent to which one would lay down his life for the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Is Luigi Padovese a martyr? Franceschini has been clear that Padovese’s death was premeditated by Islamic radicals with a hatred toward Christianity while the Turkish authorities insist the murder was personal and not politically or religiously motivated. I am not sure as I didn’t know the state of his soul or his true relationship with Christ. The designation of a person as a martyr is a matter for Mother Church to make, but I might be persuaded to think in that direction. Christians comprise less than one percent of the Turkish nation.

“The little Church of Turkey, at times ignored,
had her sad moment of fame with the brutal murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese
O.F.M. Cap., president of the Turkish Episcopal Conference. In a few words I
would like to close this unpleasant episode by erasing the intolerable slander
circulated by the very organisers of the crime. It was premeditated murder, by
those same obscure powers that poor Luigi had just a few months earlier
identified as being responsible for the killing of Fr. Andrea Santoro, the
Armenian journalist Dink and four Protestants of Malatya. It is a murky story
of complicity between ultra-nationalists and religious fanatics, experts in the
‘strategia della tensione’. The pastoral and administrative situation in the
vicariate of Anatolia is serious. … What do we ask of the Church? We simply
ask what we are lacking: a pastor, someone to help him, the means to do so, and
all of this with reasonable urgency. … The survival of the Church of Anatolia
is at risk. … Nonetheless, I wish to reassure neighbouring Churches –
especially those that are suffering persecution and seeing their faithful
become refugees – that the Turkish Episcopal Conference will continue to
welcome them and offer fraternal assistance, even beyond our abilities. In the
same way, we are open to pastoral co-operation with our sister Churches and
with positive lay Muslims, for the good of Christians living in Turkey, and for
the good of the poor and of the many refugees who live in Turkey”.

Conventual Franciscan professes vows: Gabriel Scasino hopes to attain perfect charity

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending a friend’s profession of first vows as a Conventual Franciscan friar. Friar Gabriel Mary Scasino is a member of the Immaculate Conception Province of Conventuals. The vow ceremony was held at the National Shrine of St Anthony of Padua, Ellicott City, MD, on the Solemnity of St Joseph of Cupertino (the day was a solemnity because the friary is dedicated to the honor of Cupertino).

Friar Gabriel is one of two men who Franciscan Conventuals from New Haven, CT. There is 1 Capuchin also from New Haven.

You may ask what is a “Conventual Franciscan”? Some may hear the terms “black Franciscans” or “Grey Friars” or even “community of Franciscans”. All are synonyms. The friars are called “black” or “grey” Franciscans due to the color of the habit worn.

The friars themselves define themselves in their Constitutions as “… a community founded by St. Francis of Assisi under the name of Friars Minor. From its earliest times the word conventual was added to this name. The members of the Order are called Friars minor Conventual. From its found our community by the will of our Father St. Francis, is a true fraternity. Its members, therefore, as brothers of a single family, share in the life and work of the community ….”

Further it is stated that “St. Francis wanted his brothers to be known as Friars Minor ‘so that…from the very name itself his disciples might realize that they had come to the school of the humble Christ to learn humility.” Plus it is said that the “friars are united in a conventual fraternity, in the proper sense of that term, so as to foster greater dedication, a more regular life, a more fervent divine office, a better formation of candidates, the study of theology, and the other works of the apostolate in the service of the Church of God so that, especially under the guidance of Mary Immaculate, the Kingdom of Christ may be extended throughout the world.”

So, Gabriel become a member of the venerable order founded by the saint himself. But what does “profession of vows” mean? According to the Constitutions, one’s profession of vows means that friars:

“dedicate themselves directly and entirely to God in a special manner;
are conformed more exactly to the type of life Christ the Lord chose for Himself and are united in a special way to the Church and her saving mission;
stimulate the fervor of their charity through a fuller expression of their baptismal consecration, progress in the life of pilgrims and penitents, and voluntarily deny themselves goods and otherwise highly esteemed.”

Also, it is taught that “By their very nature the three vows bind under pain of serious sin.” Everything we do has some type of implication.

Folding his hands between those of the Father Minister Provincial Justin Biase, and resting them on the Evangeliary, Friar Gabriel said:

To the praise and glory of the Most Holy Trinity! I, friar Gabriel Mary Scasino inspired by divine grace to follow the Gospel more closely in the footsteps of our Lord, Jesus Christ, with firm faith and will, in the presence of my brothers, into your hands friar Justin, vow to God, the holy and omnipotent Father, to live for three years of my life in obedience, without anything of my own, and in chastity, and I also promise to observe faithfully the life and Rule of the Friars Minor confirmed by Pope Honorius, according to the Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Therefore, I commit myself to this fraternity with my whole heart, so that, by the working of the Holy Spirit, the example of Mary Immaculate, the intercession of our Father Francis and all the saints, with the help of brothers in the service of God, the Church and humanity, I may attain perfect charity. (Vow formula, OFM Conventual)

One striking promise made to Gabriel by the Provincial upon receiving the vows is that “if you [Gabriel Mary] observe them [the vows], I promise you life everlasting.” The certainty is what impressed me; the certainty that the Franciscan way of life, if observed, leads one to the personal encounter with God. Very few instances in the Christian life, in addition to Baptism and the holy Eucharist, can make this assertion with faithfulness and Truth.

The video of the vow ceremony can be seen here and other pics here.

Our Lady of the Angels & The Portiuncula Indulgence

From a life on Saint Francis of Assisi by Saint Bonaventure:

“The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned. Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the Angels often visited it, so that it was called Saint Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ.

He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here he began his religious life in a very small way; it is here he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.

This was the place where Saint Francis founded his Order by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel.

This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.

As he was living there by the church of Our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of mercy and he brought it to fruition.

He embraced the Mother of Our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars.”

More on today’s feast of Our Lady of the Angels and the Portiuncula Indulgence here. One has to remember that Holy Father Francis received this “little portion” church from the Benedictine monks!

Keeping the mission in front us

Missions to help people find their true humanity and to know the mercy of Christ and friends, always needs our personal attention: friendship, prayers & study and financial assistance. Can I get you thinking about the foreign missions by personally undertaking some work to know the good work of missionaries and the work of the Holy Spirit?

Consider this blog post a seed planted: make a plan to go to the missions for period of time (even for a week), support a project with friendly letters, human contact and financial support and most certainly with your prayer to the Saints Francis Xavier, Therese of Lisieux and Josephine Bahkita for their intercession before God’s throne.

In all the consider you make, perhaps you may want to pray the Memorare to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Feeling a call to serve as a missionary in the Sudan, one of Africa’s incredibly poor countries, Father Herald Joseph Brock, CFR asked his superiors if he could serve the Church in Sudan. With tremendous generosity of the Friars of the Renewal and friends, Father Herald is rocking on… Father Herald writes a blog, “CFR Sudan Mission,” to keep friends engaged in his projects.

Making donations to the Franciscan Mission Outreach –CFR Sudan Mission can be done here. Last September I made a plea for help for the Mission.

Luigi Padovese murdered by Turk

Bishop Luigi Padovese, OFM Cap, 63, was murdered today at about 1pm local time by his driver who it is claimed had psychological problems and history of violent outbreaks was supposedly a convert to Christianity but some news agencies are naming the driver a Muslim. At the moment no one is claiming political motivation for the murder.

Bishop Padovese was born at Milan, Italy and a member of the Capuchin Franciscan order. He was ordained a priest for nearly 37 years and a bishop for 5.5 years. He was the Vicar Apostolic in Anatolia.

Bishop Padovese was to meet Pope Benedict XVI with other Middle East bishops in Cyprus to receive the Instumentum laboris, the working document for the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, scheduled to meet in October.

The Minister General of the Capuchins posted this brief bio for Bishop Luigi.

The BBC story noted here and Spero News here.

May God grant mercy Bishop Luigi Padovese mercy and may his memory be eternal.

Where are you?

The
very first question that God asks man in the Bible is, where are you? “The Lord called to the man, and
said to him, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) It is not a question that demands sophisticated answers nor
are there multiple answers to this question. Rather, it is a question of concern from a loving
father and the only demand placed upon this question is that one answers
truthfully, even if the truth exposes something to us that highlights our selfishness
and our need for God.

Before God asked Adam this question Adam had committed a
sin by disobeying God’s commandment and ate from the tree God had forbidden him
to eat from. Adam had forgotten
about God’s love and choose to place his own will and desires over the will and
desires of God. Now Adam, ashamed
and afraid (which is always the fruit of sin) tries to hide from God because he
realizes something dramatic has occurred in his relationship with the Lord. The Lord simply asks him, Adam, where
are you?

This question, as old as the Bible itself, God continues to ask us
today. Throughout our lives,
throughout each day, and often several times a day, God is continually asking
us, “My son or my daughter, where are you? In other words, where is your heart right now? Is it tired, frustrated, angry? Is it overwhelmed by the demands of
life? Is it engrossed in selfish
activities? Is it immersed in lust,
pride, envy, jealousy, etc? Is it
distracted by the things of this world?

When the Lord asks us this question it
is an invitation from him to turn our eyes away from the many distractions we
often promote and to turn our eyes once again towards Him. It is our Father, gentle tapping us on
the shoulder and calling us back to Him.
Rather than living in future events, or reliving past wounds over and
over again it is an invitation to experience God in the present moment, the
only place where we can be guaranteed to encounter God.

Brother Jeremiah Myriam
Shryock, CFR, a Fourth Year Seminary Student Saint Joseph’s Seminary-Dunwoodie,
Yonkers, NY. Brother Jeremiah was ordained a deacon on May 29, 2010 with three
other Franciscan Friars of the Renewal by the Most Reverend Manual Cruz, an
auxiliary bishop of Newark. A poem of Brother Jeremiah’s, “After Eden,” was published here.

Gabriel Robert Scasino takes the Franciscan Conventual habit

Yesterday morning (May 8) my friend Gabriel Scasino was invested in the habit of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFMConv) at Saint Bonaventure Friary (Forestville, MD) during Lauds. His Minister Provincial, Father Justin Blase, presided at Lauds, blessed the habit, and then invested Gabriel with the Habit. Father Justin then celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Friar Gabriel belongs to the Immaculate Conception Province.

So you may ask, What is the habit all about? The habit is the religious garment of the person who takes the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, obedience). It is a sign (used here in the religious/philosophical sense) of something deeper than the person wearing the garment and it is a sign and symbol of Christ and the Church. As a point of comparison, diocesan priests would wear a cassock or a

clerical shirt of some sort. Nevertheless, most religious orders of men and women have a habit, usually some stylized clothing of a former era, though some sisters and priests may wear secular clothing because the founder didn’t specify a habit because of the era in which the congregation was founded (e.g., Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity) or like Saint Ignatius of Loyola who told his disciples to dress as the respectable priests of the day. Orders like the Benedictines, Carmelites, Augustinians, Dominicans and the Franciscans have a habit to identify themselves as living as the poor: simple attire. The habit is a witness to someone greater than me; and believe it or not, the habit often opens more doors to Christ than one might realize because many people recognize a habit as a garment that expresses virtue.

The use of the habit may depend on the context in which the religious is living and working. In some cases color and type of fabric may be relative. However, what is clear is that the habit is not optional; it is not circus clothing, it is not for dress-up. The habit ought to help the person wearing it to take into account his or her life in Christ, preaching the Gospel and living the vows.

So, for my purposes here, let me quote from the Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual we learn what the habit means for the Conventual Franciscan in relatively direct terms:

The religious habit of the friars, the sign of our consecration and of our community and a witness to poverty, must be simple and modest, poor and becoming. It consists of a black tunic with a capuche and a white cord. In certain places, for a reasonable cause approved by the Minister General with the consent of his definitory, the grey habit may be worn.

According to custom, it is laudable to wear –suspended from the cord– the Franciscan crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The friars must wear the habit of the Order. The Minister General, however, for particular reason and as long as these last may permit another form of dress (97; emphasis mine).

As you can see from these photos, Friar Gabriel and his conferes are wearing the grey habit, which the other Conventual provinces around the world are beginning to adopt as it is seen as the more authentic habit of the Conventual Franciscans.

Friar Gabriel Robert Scasino and I are from the same town, when to the same high school and our home parish is the same, though Gabriel is much younger than I am. He was a Conventual Franciscan for 7 years has been out for about 7 years and has been mercifully and graciously been re-admitted to the same.

Beginning next week Friar Gabriel will spend 3 months in Assisi, Italy, doing a Franciscan course of study with the aim of putting him in touch with the Franciscan way of life by locating himself at the heart of Franciscan life.

Friar Gabriel will make a profession of temporary vows on the feast of Saint Joseph Cupertino, September 18.

May God grant Friar Gabriel many years as a Conventual Friar.

New York’s new priests 2010

New priests will be ordained for the Archdiocese of New York and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, these are their stories… Our New Priests (CNY article).pdf

The 7 diocesan men and the 3 from the CFRs will be ordained on May 15, 2010 by Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral at 9 a.m.

Daniel Sulmasy: Franciscan Friar-Doctor-Ethicist appointed Presidential post

Not long ago President Obama appointed Franciscan Brother Daniel Sulmasy, MD, to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. He’s universally well-received for his competence, compassion and humor. Oh, yes, the President did appoint a Catholic, a religious and a pro-life member to the commission.

Brother Daniel is a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor of the Holy Name Province and he’s a friend and collaborator with Communion and Liberation. He spoke at the first annual New York Encounter in January, 2010.

Until last year he worked here in NYC until he took a job at the University of Chicago.

The National Catholic Register ran an article on Brother Daniel.

An interview with Brother Daniel, “Doctor and Brother” by Joan Frawley Desmond

The Franciscan announcement.