What is CONVERGE @St.Francis ?

• Converge @St.Francis is a new ministry dedicated to strengthening Spiritual & Community Life at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.

Who does CONVERGE @St.Francis serve ?

•  Converge is open to everyone in the parish community and friends – young and old, gay and straight, people from all walks of life.

What is the goal of CONVERGE @St.Francis ?

• The goal of Converge is to strengthen the bonds of community among existing members of our parish and to welcome new people into the life of our community through spiritual, educational, and social events.

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi has been called the “heart of New York City” and our new ministry hopes to join the other thriving ministries at St. Francis in making sure that this heart continues to beat – offering life and love in our great city.

To stay informed of CONVERGE @St.Francis events sign up HERE.

For more information about the ministry team please email: converge@stfrancisnyc.org

We will celebrate three days of prayer to Mary, Untier of Knots from Monday, September 26 to Wednesday, September 28.  The prayers will be said after the 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM Masses.

Here is the novena prayer:

Introduction

The devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots was inspired by a painting created in 1700 for the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, Germany. In the image, Mary stands above a crescent moon, crushing a serpent under her foot. An angel passes a knotted white ribbon to Mary who unties knots in the ribbon. Another angel receives the smooth, unknotted portion.

Both the painting and the devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots, trace their roots to the second-century bishop, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. Referring to Mary’s role as the Second Eve, Saint Irenaeus wrote that “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what Eve had bound fast through unbelief, thus did Mary set free through faith”  (Against Heresies).

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.

Let us pray for all who are having difficulty with the knots of their lives.
— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.

With all struggling families, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all beset by financial struggles, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking employment, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all suffering from mental and physical illness, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all bound by political ideologies, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all the homeless and the destitute, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all burdened with loneliness, fears or worries, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all living with addictions, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all estranged from the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all who have been abused by the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all enduring religious or ethnic persecution, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all overwhelmed by shame or despair, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all traumatized by violence or neglect, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all targeted by racism or discrimination, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all struggling to let go of grudges, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all working to protect our planet, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking peace, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.

With confidence in God let us pray:

Holy Mary, full of grace,
during your life you accepted with great humility the holy will of the Father
and the legacy of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
You were never entangled with confusion.
As you did for the young couple at the wedding feast of Cana, you intercede for us in all of our difficulties.
With simplicity and patience, you have given us an example
of how to untangle the knots in our complicated lives.
By being our mother forever,
you arrange and make clear
the path that unites us to Our Lord.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, and our mother,
untie the knots that beset our lives.
Receive us into your hands,
as well as those for whom we pray.
Blessed Virgin Mary, through your grace, your intercession, and by your example, deliver us from evil,
and untie the knots that keep us from being united to God so that free of all that binds us,
we may find Him in all things, keep Him in our hearts,
serving Him always in our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Through the intercession of Holy Mary, Untier of Knots, may almighty God bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.

Starting in September, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi will begin to make the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick more easily available on a regular basis.

We will celebrate the Sacrament at the end of the daily Masses (12 PM and 5:30 PM) each week on Thursdays starting Thursday, September 15, 2022.

Everyone who is in need of this sacrament is welcome to come to be anointed.

What is the Sacramento of the Anointing of the Sick?

Those who are seriously ill need the special help of God’s grace in their time of anxiety. Through the sacrament of anointing, Christ strengthens the faithful who are afflicted by illness, providing them with the strongest means of support.

The anointing may be repeated in accordance with the conditions of serious illness, that is, the sick person recovers after being anointed and then again falls ill or if the same illness perdures.

People struggling with emotional or spiritual illness may desire the grace of the sacrament. 

People struggling with addiction and those affected by someone’s addiction may seek the grace of this sacrament. 

People suffering from grief may seek the grace of this sacrament. 

Caregivers and those accompanying the sick may seek the grace of this healing sacrament. 

We read about this sacrament in the Letter of St. James in the scriptures:

Is anyone among you sick? They should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord,  and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.   (James 5:14-16)