Dear Community and Friends of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi,

May the Lord give you peace.

We begin our second week of Advent. We have four full weeks of Advent this year. This gives us time to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. I invite you to join us for the Soup and Scripture experiences on the Mondays of Advent. Please register HERE, so we will have enough soup for everyone. We also celebrate the season with our annual Christmas Carols with the Choir on December 18th at 3 PM. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us.

Christmas is a time for gift-giving and receiving. We remember the gracious gift of God in the birth of Jesus. We spend  our Advent days preparing to welcome this gift, given in ever new ways. We have the gift of Christ in one another, in the migrant, the homeless, and the hungry. Isaiah speaks of the gifts of the Spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. These gifts revealed most clearly in Jesus are ours in the gift of the Spirit. Their purpose is to build a life-giving, compassionately just, reconciling community. We are invited to nurture the growth of peace in a divided world.

I was in Hartford In the early days of the pandemic. During the lockdown, I read stories to children (of all ages) on Wednesday nights. I found books on Kindle and used Zoom so the children could see the pictures and read along with me. Two books marketed for little ones but are of value to all were: The Gift of Nothing and The Invisible String. The Gift of Nothing tells the story of trying to find the perfect gift for a friend who has everything. The giver searches high and low for just the right present, only to realize that it is presence. In The Invisible String, a mother teaches her children that we are attached by love. No distance can be too far, or experience can separate. Love binds us together and holds us even beyond death. I note these stories as I consider Advent. We are blessed with the gift of God’s constant presence and invited to be present with one another. Our communion (both with a small and a capital c/C) is the shared gift of presence. The Invisible String is likewise our sharing in God’s love. This love opens our hearts to experience the grace of another person. With this love, we are all connected.

Thank you for your presence and for the love you bring to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Your shared gifts are a great blessing for all.

Blessed Advent,

Fr. Tom, ofm

The friars and staff at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi would like to wish all of our parishioners, visitors, friends and families a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  (Our holiday schedule is below.)

It is right to give thanks to God for all of the blessings we receive each and every day: for the gift of creation in all its wonder, the gifts of the fruits of the earth that sustain us, the gift of all of the animals, wild and domestic, that share this world with us, and for the gifts of our family and friends.

At St. Francis we are especially grateful for all of the wonderful people who make up our community here on 31st street.

And of course, it is always right and just that we give thanks to the Father for the gift of Christ Himself, the good shepherd who loves us all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 118:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Our Holiday schedule is as follows:

Thanksgiving day:

Mass at 12:00 PM

There are no confessions Thanksgiving Day

Friday after Thanksgiving:

Mass at 12:00 PM

There are no confessions on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day.

Dear Community and Friends of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi,

May the Lord give you peace.

I hope you had a blessed celebration of Thanksgiving. It is always good to spend some time gratefully acknowledging the gifts that surround us. Again, we, the friars, team, and staff here, are
grateful to you. We are blessed to minister together both in person and through the live stream.

We begin the sacred days of Advent this weekend. As the days get shorter, we make time to reflect on our longing for God. Many years ago, I heard an Advent song that began with a refrain, “We go on waiting, knowing he has come. Yet, we are not ready to be transformed.” I continue to ponder this refrain. We wait for the one who is already with us. Our encounter with him is always transformative. Perhaps, this year we will have eyes open to see him in our midst. We will continue our celebration of the season. We gather as a richly diverse community. We sing, listen to the Word of God, reflect on that Word, and offer our prayer of Thanksgiving-our Eucharist. Then nourished by the Bread of Life, we are sent to continue the mission of the Gospel. Each of us is differently gifted and called to share in the mission of God’s affirming love.

We will also shift this weekend from the year of Luke to Matthew. We have listened to the Lukan Gospel throughout the year with his focus on the Spirit and the poor. As we move to Matthew, we hear of a mission that both includes and extends beyond the borders of Israel. Matthew invites us to consider Jesus with his parents as exiles/refugees/migrants in Egypt. This may help us frame our current experience of being graced with many migrants in our city.

We invite you to join us for Soup and Scripture. Once again, we gather at table and reflect together on the Word of God. (Click here for more information.) I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Sacred Scripture as you bring the Word to life through your reflections.

In a fragile and broken world, we long for the experience of His presence. We are open to the transformation of our encounter with God’s love. Our scriptures remind us that He often comes in the most unexpected ways. As Mother Theresa noted: “Jesus is coming to you in the distressing disguise of the poor.” St. Francis called the early brothers to “begin again to seek the Lord.” Each Advent, we do precisely that; we begin again.

Blessed Advent,

Fr. Tom, ofm

On Sunday, November 20th parishioners and friends gathered again for our annual pot-luck Friendsgiving feast!  We had over 60 guests attend. The LGBT+ and Converge Ministries which hosted this event this year provided the Turkey, Ham, and sodas and guests brought an amazing array of side dishes and tons of desserts and plenty to drink.  We filled our bellies with great food and our hearts with gratitude for the time shared with our community.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help make this event a success.

If you missed this year’s event, make sure to keep an eye out next year for this much-loved St. Francis tradition.

All are Welcome!

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