Franciscan Lenten Resources
By Carolyn Townes, OFS
National Animator, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
It is that wondrous time of year again! Our Seraphic Father Francis said that for us. Lent is all year round. And for these six weeks, Holy Mother Church will share it with us!
As with most years, we enter into this holy season during a time of violence and unrest with more mass shootings. Let us lift up to the Lord all victims of violence and all those who mourn the loss of life and liberty due to violence. Let our prayers rise up like incense as they fall afresh on those of us who are prepared to mobilize and take action on gun violence and violence of any type.
Loving and gracious God, help us to reflect on what is ours to do, repent of what we have failed to do, and restore our broken relationships this Lenten season. We ask you to grant us listening hearts and wise discernment as we go forth to bring about peace and justice in this world you have bestowed upon us. In Jesus’ name, we humbly and joyfully pray. Amen.
During Lent, we are asked to devote ourselves to doing three things: to seek the Lord in prayer and Scripture reading, to serve by giving alms, and to exercise self-control through fasting. I humbly invite us to faithfully and mindfully observe all three, to the best of our ability.
In your journey to being conformed to Christ, please find attached some goodies to assist you during these six weeks. Again, I include my Lenten Season of Peace for you and your fraternity members to mindfully fast and feast. I also include Lenten calendars and resources from the USCCB (also available in Spanish), Creation Justice Ministries, and the DC Interfaith Power and Light, who have created a Creation Care calendar. I invite you to check out more Lenten resources from the USCCB and the ever-faithful Catholic Rice Bowl from Catholic Relief Services.
“… I was thirsty and you gave me drink…” (Matthew 25:35)
Article 15 of our Holy Rule states: “Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith.”
Our Holy Father exhorts: “Almsgiving, whereby we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us. And thus to rediscover the joy of God’s plan for creation and for each of us, which is to love him, our brothers and sisters, and the entire world, and to find in this love our true happiness.”
One such courageous initiative where we can give alms is our annual Lenten H2O Project, an international project to promote Christian solidarity, advocacy and financial support for poor communities who have no access to clean drinking water.
For two weeks in Lent, I invite you to abstain from drinking any beverage except water, and set aside any money normally spent on sodas and coffees. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters who do not have clean water to drink, we increase our connections, awareness and responsibility to poor communities and God’s Creation. You can choose to give individually or collectively with your families, fraternities, or faith communities. Last year, your generous donations helped bring clean water to communities here in the US and abroad. On behalf of those communities, we thank you most kindly.
Please send all contributions to the H2O Lenten Project 2022, c/o Claudia Kauzlarich, 2007 Maverick Trail Harrisonville, MO 64701-1545. Make the check payable to OFS-USA; with H20 Project in the memo line. And thank you for your generous contributions.
https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2023/02/24/29513/
Quinquennal Reflections
(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall 2022 Issue #107)
From Sandal Prints, the newsletter of the St. Clare Fraternity Portland, Ore
“First, it is so amazing gathering with at least 600 other Secular Franciscans! We celebrated Mass together every day in St. Mary’s Basilica, a block down the street from the hotel. The church was completely filled with Franciscans, and when we sang the first hymn, I was bowled over by the beauty of the voices of my sisters and brothers absolutely filling the church! The organist/cantor was wonderfully talented—and it turns out (if I got this right), he is a member of YouFRA (people up to age 30 or so can belong). “
Clare Reidy, OFS
The Q was like looking through a telescope and seeing a galaxy of Secular Franciscans. Some were older and limited physically, some were middle aged with an energetic acute interest, and all seemed driven by a love for the principles of St. Francis. Each one was trying to bring into focus their mission in these challenging times. The love for Jesus Christ was conveyed through discussions on social justice, care for creation, reaching and showing dignity to the marginalized and the poor in spirit.
Cheri Lorenzo, OFS
The first people I talked to (at the Q) were from Franciscan Missionary Service. Rhonda told me about her experience with people crossing the border and needing to be rescued.
“That night, I left for my campsite in Apache Junction. I arrived around 10 pm and set up my tent. It was 99 degrees with thunderstorms on the horizon. I lay there in a pool of sweat wondering if people were crossing the desert that night. The next day, I went back to the mission table and asked if people actually crossed the desert in August. I was told yes, “that is the most affordable time because the coyotes charge a lot less”. I am forever changed by my experience and grateful that God would allow me that small suffering. I have a picture in my living room now from the Q that reminds me of the people who die in the desert in search of a better life for their family.”
Ralph Anderson, OFS
This was the second Quinquennial I have attended, and again, it did not disappoint! I am hard pressed to choose a favorite moment. I urge everyone to watch the keynote addresses on the NAFRA website—they are rich and filled with encouragement for all of us to live our fraternal lives wholeheartedly and then to go out into the world and transform it.
Barbara Allen, OFS
Additional Reflections
After the days we spent in Phoenix, we can only say what an awesome time we spent with our family from the OFS USA. Having come together to the talk sessions, hearing, learning and hopefully applying this to our way of life. I can truly say that you will not forget this grand reunion. If this was your first Q Congress, it will stay in your heart and in your mind.
Sofia Villeareal, Regional Minister, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas
Our first speaker (Fr. David Courturier) was excellent. He covered an area I thought I was an expert in, and that was economics. He explained it in a way that was so Franciscan and made so much sense that I believe we would have a better world if we would adopt what he told us to do.
Bill Parras, OFS, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas
What we heard was necessary. We are all thinking about it, and nobody is talking about it. We need to be treating each other as brother and sister everywhere we go. How would you treat a brother or sister? Not with violence. Not with anger. We need to show the world how to live as brothers and sisters. It’s a huge issue, and we can each start living it in our corner of the world—in our homes and in our fraternities.
Esperanza Nugent, OFS, Blessed Solanus Casey
I am again reminded that we are a much larger organization.
Sometimes, we forget that we are international, and the little fraternities were a gift because we could talk openly and honestly about what we thought. The dialogue was very good. I must look at Pope Francis’s call to be a fraternity to the world. I knew he said that in his writings, but I need to look more closely at how I can make that happen at my local and regional levels. It is amazing that he is talking to us in each writing, but we don’t seem to be engaging in putting some of it into practice. I want to try harder to do that.
Rosemarie LeClerq, OFS, Tempe, AZ, St. Thomas More
https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2023/02/20/quinquennal-reflections/