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

May the Lord give you peace.

Thank you for your generous response to the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal. We are at $17,000 of our $73,000 goal; please give as your means allow to help sustain the mission of the Archdiocese. We particularly want to support the work of Catholic Charities.

This weekend we spend some time with the experience of the man born blind as told in the Gospel according to John. He gradually comes to realize that it is Jesus who has opened his eyes. Many were disbelieving, and many who would have preferred that he remain blind. Some see “sin” as the cause of his blindness. As we are on our pilgrimage of transformation, we also realize that there are limits to our vision. With the man born blind, we seek the healing that comes from the encounter with Jesus to open our eyes so that we might see ever more clearly. Perhaps we have limited vision due to culture, tradition, church, or experiences of abuse. We seek to see the presence of the Lord in our life experiences. As we share in his vision, we are liberated for the mission of the Gospel. I invite you to pray with this text considering how we might see things through the lens of compassion and inclusion.

As we celebrate Pope Francis’ ten years as the Bishop of Rome, we see in him a man who continues to invite us to a new vision of the Reign of God. His concern for our participation in creation, his love of the Gospel, and his engaging all of us in a synodal process are blessings for the life of the church and the world. He desires to hear all people’s dreams, hopes, and brokenness. He calls us to be shepherds with him in seeking the broken and the lost. He imagines the church as a field hospital where we triage the many people who have experienced the struggles of life. He calls us to a new way of knowing ourselves as church, and through listening to one another, wash away the mud from our eyes that we might see the graced person who walks with us. With God’s grace, we may see greater equity of ministry by women in the church, the realization of the gifts that people who have suffered fractured relationships of divorce bring to the community, and the talents of our LGBTQ+ members. We need everyone around the table and everyone on the journey. Perhaps our task this week is to open our eyes to recognize the gifts of the people in our lives and our community. With the newly sighted man of the Gospel, we give thanks.

Finally, I invite you to check out the banners at the 32nd Street entrance. The banners have text from the Gospels of the Sundays of Lent. The lengthy scaffolding time was disastrous for our plants, and we will begin planting as the weather changes.

Thank you for all you are for the Church and community!

Blessings and peace,
Fr. Tom, ofm

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

May the Lord give you peace.

Our journey continues. In the last two weeks, we have been in the desert and on the mountaintop with Jesus. This weekend we are going to a village in Samaria. The Samaritan people were outcasts to many Jewish people. Yet, Jesus enters into conversation and asks a favor of a Samaritan woman. Our journey with Jesus continues to invite us to go deeper and wider in our ways of knowing and relationships. Jesus engages someone who is both a woman and a Samaritan. This was unheard of and shocking to the disciples. How can we follow this example? Paul offers some insight, “…the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Jesus embodies the love of God and the grace of the Spirit. Similarly, we are invited to do the same.

There are many outcasts in our society. Many people experience being marginalized not only in the larger community but also in the Church. Pope Francis, with the Synodal Way, asks us to be open to gracefully receive one another. Like the woman at the well, many women have been dismissed, and their gifts have not been respected. Jesus did not hesitate to have a difficult but respectful conversation with the woman. She becomes the apostle to the others of her village. Through her encounter with the Lord, she enables many to believe in him. She is transformed by her encounter and others are blessed by her courage. We give thanks for the many women who call us to encounter the Lord for ourselves.

Unfortunately, Fr. James Martin, SJ is unable to join us on March 18th. Please keep his family in your prayers. He is a great blessing for the Church and has a significant message for all of us. He will reschedule for a later date. We are still planning to meet on the 18th and will spend our time contemplating the Passion from Matthew’s Gospel. We do not often get a chance to sit together with the text. This is an opportunity to listen to the Word of God, to listen to others reflect on that Word, and to be heard as you allow the Spirit to speak from your heart. I will be facilitating the conversation.

Please note that author Maureen O’Brien has a new book. Maureen spoke with us last year, sharing her reflections on the psalms. Her new book is: Gather the Fragments: My Year of Finding God’s Love. If you enjoyed her presentation last year, I am sure you will be taken with this new work.

Thank you for your response to the Cardinal’s request for support in the Annual Stewardship Appeal. I know that times are tight for many of us. I jokingly suggested someone pledge the outstanding $59,000.00. However, if 1000 people pledged just $59.00, we would meet our goal. Please do what you can to stop the mailings! Thank you.

Peace and all good,

Fr. Tom, ofm