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

May the Lord give you peace.

Ash Wednesday saw hundreds of people streaming through the church. Some came for ashes, some for Confession, some for mass, and many for a time of prayer. We are blessed to be able to welcome everyone who comes. Our many ministers were present to assist all who came.

Thank you to the ministers and the faithful folks who came to be with us for even a few moments of the day. Many told stories of their long association with St. Francis and spoke of parents and grandparents who brought them here.

We go from the desert with Jesus to the mountaintop. We go from fasting to feasting. We experience the awesomeness of God’s glory reflected in Jesus with the disciples. Sometimes life is like that, filled with highs and lows. What is consistent in the Gospel is the love of God. Jesus in his baptism, is named son, beloved, and favored. His responses to temptation in the desert are responses born of the reality of that love. His transfiguration on the mountaintop reveals God’s love for him. That the disciples witness this is a sharing in the grace of God. With Jesus, we are named beloved of God, we are in a familial relationship with God, and by God’s grace, we are favored by God. May our journey, with all its ups and downs, radiate the gift of God already present among us.

This weekend the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal has made pens and commitment forms available for us. I know I just asked you to increase what you give each week, and I am grateful to everyone who responded. Some folks have made a single donation, and others are increasing what they give weekly. I do not like to ask but feel that I must ask you to consider both our needs and the needs of the Archdiocese of New York. The forms for the CASA will be ready for you to make your commitment before you leave, or you may take them home to add to the ones you got in the mail. I thank you for your generosity and your constant prayers.

Blessings and peace,

Fr. Tom, ofm

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

May the Lord give you peace.

We have begun our journey and are blessed to make this journey together. Please join us for Mass, soup and scripture, reconciliation, time of reflection with James Martin, SJ, and quiet prayer time in the lower church. Your presence is a gift for everyone.

As I noted last week, I see Lent, not as an isolated time but as a segment of the transformative experience we are offered each year. We begin with Lent preparing ourselves for the mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection of the Lord. We celebrate our Easter liberation through the days leading to Pentecost. Ideally, this is a time to begin again, to deepen our reception of God’s love for us and for all. For too long, Lent has been presented as a time of penance. We have been told to reflect on our sinfulness. We give up what we enjoy making up for our failures in discipleship. I seriously doubt that God wants us to act like children who fear discipline. The fasting God seeks is the liberating of all who are bound, the welcoming of the stranger, and the binding of the wounds of all who have been broken under the slavery of oppression/abuse. It is time to move from focusing on ourselves to the vision of God’s love for us and all. This shift calls us to ministry, service simply because it is natural to us. Realizing how greatly we are loved and the call to maturity in grace, we give ourselves generously in response to the needs that we see all around us. Christ has liberated us from the weight of sin. He has called us to live by the Word that comes from the mouth of God. He chides us not to put God to the test (God’s love will always win.). He calls us to awe and wonder at the goodness of God, who is compassion.

The first phase of our 2023 journey has begun. Can we make lifetime changes incrementally, responding to the communion we already enjoy with God? Let us take time to listen, watch, and pray. We are blessed as a Franciscan community of grace. St. Francis’ life was shaped by his encounters with the Lord in people with leprosy, the friars, and his time among the Muslim community and in times of prayer. He learned to surrender to love. What God did for the poor man of Assisi; God does for us.

Sadly, our bulletin publishing company will no longer be able to publish any bulletins. They are one more business that did not survive the pandemic. We are looking to find another publisher. However, other companies are inundated with the many parishes affected by this loss.

Next week we will have cards and pens available for the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal. We have $10,000.00 of the $73,000.00 requested of us.

As always, I thank you for your generosity and your presence.

-Fr. Tom, ofm

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

May the Lord give you peace.

We are about to begin our annual pilgrimage of 90 days. We start with Ash Wednesday and continue through to Pentecost. Most of us have considered this to only be the first part of the journey, Lent. This season is given to us for our conversion and transformation. Remembering the Spirit’s gift at Pentecost brings us to be renewed in our lives, vocation, and mission.

The pilgrimage is fourfold, it begins with Lent, climbs the mountain of Transfiguration in Passion of the Lord, reaches its climax as God raises Jesus at Easter, and continues through Pentecost to the rest of our lives. Let us consider the process. It is about giving up, listening up, lifting up, and growing up.We are asked to give up our false selves. We can let go of our pretense and recognize our giftedness. In this giving up, we are able to welcome the stranger, the poor, and the disenfranchised people of our lives. We can give up our prejudices and our closed-mindedness. We are invited to waive our surrender of chocolate, dessert, or caffeine. (Everyone in our lives will thank us.) We can surrender to the Spirit who calls us to the fullness of life.

We are invited to listen up. This is for us to engage in prayer. Our prayer is the lifting of our minds and hearts to God. This can take many forms. Parents loving their children are praying. Caring for aging parents is prayer. Sitting quietly and being attentive to the grace of God in prayer. Sitting with the scripture, gathering with the community for Mass, the Stations of the Cross, or adoration is prayer. Being attentive as we go for our walk can be our prayer. The form is less important than the openness to God’s presence. (Often, it is only in subsequent reflection that we realize our experience of God’s presence.)

Lift up your hearts to the Lord! As we are attentive to lifting up others, our lives are transformed. We are invited to lift up one another as we praise and thank the people of our lives. We lift up children as we recognize their gifts. Our care for the migrant, refugee, or homeless person is our stretching to hold God’s presence in the other. We are lifted up as we bend to care for one another.

The call to maturity in our faith is our growing up. This journey sets us free to praise God, to embrace the love of God already present in our lives. We know the right and the good. The rules are helpful guides but only that. We discern the right things to do in many areas of our lives, and we can do the same in our faith life. As adults, we choose to follow Christ through Lent, the Cross, into Easter, and in wonder at the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit liberates us, enfolds us in God’s very being, and calls us, like Paul, to discover God’s grace in people thought to be forever outside God’s compassionate goodness.

We begin the journey together. I invite you to join us for as much of the pilgrimage as you desire and to be in this for the transformation of your life.

Blessings and peace,

Fr. Tom, ofm

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

May the Lord give you peace.

Please remember the people of Turkey and Syria who have experienced a powerful earthquake. Many were killed in the earthquake, and many more are trying to imagine how to rebuild their lives. While it may seem far away, we are connected as sisters and brothers. Please hold them all in your prayers.

I hope that you were able to stay warm last weekend. It was bitterly cold, I am glad the cold front passed quickly, and it was warmer on Sunday. Thank you for your prayers and concern for all who are homeless.

This week I am writing to ask for your help. Our weekly collections total less than $10,000. This is both weekday and weekend collections. Our need is far greater. The cost of heating, air conditioning, utilities, salaries, benefits, and archdiocesan assessments are significant. Before the Pandemic, finances were tight. We have yet to recover to that state. I ask those who are able to seriously consider increasing their weekly/daily donation. I realize that many businesspeople have yet to return to the city. This dramatically affects our weekday masses. I know that there are many folks unable to increase their donation as they are unable to increase their contribution. I ask those who can to assist according to their means. Our Development Office does an excellent job with many appeals, and we have had some significant bequests. To sustain our mission, we need to increase our income. Our Holy Father St. Francis told the early friars not to be ashamed to beg when there was a need. While I hesitate to ask, the need is overwhelming, and your generosity is always even more so.

Please know that the renovations are funded by the Renew and Rebuild allotment we received. Those funds are restricted and cannot be used for ordinary expenses.

Thank you for your attention to this plea. You are always generous, and I am grateful for you. Peace and all good,

Thomas M. Gallagher, ofm