This Easter was a very good experience for me. It taught me a lot about the disciples and how they really reacted to the death of Jesus. They hid. They hid behind locked doors because they were afraid of others coming after them for having followed Jesus the disciples were hiding, “the doors were locked, for fear of the Jews.” (John 20:19).
Henry Carter Welles, a pharmacist in small town Waterloo, in upstate New York, knew what it was like to grieve. Little is known about the man credited with the idea of Memorial Day, but one poignant fact sticks out: he was a husband and father of three. All his children died young. Soon after the end of the Civil War, Welles suggested that a day be set aside to honor those who perished fighting for the Union and liberty.
When St. Francis of Assisi looked for followers, he found them among his friends. Centuries later, the Franciscan vocations still hear the invitation, but are more likely to do so via social media. It’s up to Fr. Greg Plata, OFM, vocations director for the nationwide Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, to respond with a touch of gratitude.
They come from different generations, different backgrounds. But the two friars ordained to the priesthood May 4 at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, are united by a shared vision of Franciscan ministry with a special concern for the need for sacramental ministry.
Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, shepherds one of the largest parishes, in area, and also among the poorest that can be found anywhere in the United States. San Xavier del Bac Mission lies just 10 miles south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, and contains nearly 72,000 acres of Sonoran Desert. There you will find the Tohono O’odham people, whose name translates to Desert People. They total around 33,643 with about 2,300 being part of the parish mission area.
I hope you are enjoying the autumn season! It can only mean that Thanksgiving Day is almost here, so I’d like to share a beautiful story that captures the essence of gratitude and being thankful.
If he hadn’t answered the call to Franciscan vocation, John Boissy, OFM, probably would’ve chased his God-given gift by opening a woodworking shop. Despite no formal training, transforming wood into furniture and household furnishings
The IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) allows individuals age 70.5 or older to give the Franciscans up to $100,000 annually from a qualifying IRA. A QCD may count toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) and reduce taxable income.
It’s a tale of two cities, a landscape of extremes, in Negril, Westmoreland, Jamaica. The friars serving in this Franciscan mission in the western part of the island know the contradictory images all too well: spectacular beaches, unimaginable poverty, columns of world-class resorts with ultra-luxurious accommodations and decadent cuisine, dilapidated single-room plywood “board” houses with no windows, running water or electricity and barely enough food on the dinner table.
I hope you are enjoying the autumn season! It can only mean that Thanksgiving Day is almost here, so I’d like to share a beautiful story that captures the essence of gratitude and being thankful.
Powering the Friars’ work ad outreach ministries with the poor and marginalized coast-to-coast and beyond.
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