A weekly program of peace-giving themes, reflections, and prayers leading up to Christmas is available on the website.

Developed by Carolyn Townes, OFS, National JPIC animator, the readings and reflections focus on peace from Oct. 3-Dec. 25.

A beautiful way to prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace, the program includes thoughts or themes for each week, a reflection, a Psalm fragment, a reflection question, resolution, and prayer.

At our August 2022 Quinquennial, Marion Clorey, OFS, mentioned “12 Weeks of Franciscan Peace” in her keynote address.  Marion said this about the program:

“In the program 12 weeks of Franciscan Peace by our sister Carolyn Townes, she quotes Claude Thomas as saying “Imagine, if everyone stopped the war in themselves – there would be no seeds from which war could grow.” In our prayers of the faithful at Eucharist, we often pray for an end to war and conflict in various parts of our world. We need to pray for the seeds of war that grow in the recesses of our own hearts. When I am critical of my neighbor when I want more recognition for my service – all of these things are the beginnings of anger and resentment which can take root in my heart. We need to uproot those thoughts with the power of God’s grace and forgiveness. And, of course, our commitment to daily conversion and prayer is the place where this can happen. We trust in the presence of the divine seed in
everyone, including ourselves!”

You can find 12 Weeks of Franciscan Peace here:   [English] [Spanish] [Korean]

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2022/10/03/12-weeks-of-franciscan-peace-2022/

Dear Sisters and Brothers, dear friends,

Happy Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi!

This painting by Brother Laurentius Englisch OFM shows the beauty of creation as expressed in the canticle.

Looking into our actual world we can get an impression that humanity is in process of destroying all this beauty; not respecting the inherent dignity given by God our Creator, which we as humans share with all creatures.

As Pope Francis reminds us in his encyclicals: care for creation and for those who are excluded and discriminated against, goes hand in hand.

Encouraged by Saint Francis’ life and his fraternal relation with all creatures, we are called to follow his path to bring the good news to all world.

Therefore, we Franciscans engage at the United Nations to ensure the protection of everyone’s dignity and our common home.

Together with many other ‘people of good will’ we worked hard so that the United Nations recognized the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. We thank you for all your continued support of our common mission.

On behalf of our International Board of Directors and all our team members, I wish you a blessed and happy Feast of Saint Francis

Fraternally,

Markus Heinze OFM
Executive Director

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2022/10/03/blessed-feast-of-st-francis-from-markus-heinz-ofm/