On the feast of St. Blaise, 4th century martyr, bishop and physician, it is traditional to bless people’s throats as a protection against illness and accidents. St. Blaise’s feast day is February 3rd.
We will bless anyone who wants to receive this blessing on:
Saturday, February 3rd at the 11 AM and 4 PM Masses
Sunday, February 4th at the 8 AM, 11 AM, 12:30 PM and 5 PM Masses
One of our resolutions for the New Year could be eating and drinking as close to nature as we can. In doing so, the prayer before meals takes on a new significance – thanking God for creation and thanking those who sow, plant, reap, and prepare our meals. The prayer after meals concludes our satisfaction with the event and of our desire for more when it may not be needed.
We continue to think of those in need who may not be as fortunate as we are.
“I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom. That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life.” Pope Francis (LS227)
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Click here to go to our page on the website for St. Francis Church.
Meatless Monday is a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat in their diet for their health and the health of the planet. Plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils generally use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas intensities than animal-based foods. For more Monday ideas and meatless recipes go to https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/meatless-monday.
“An awareness of the gravity of today’s cultural and ecological crisis must be translated into new habits.” Pope Francis (LS209)
This tip came to us from a parishioner here at St. Francis of Assisi. If you have a tip you’d like to share or if you want more information, email: stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Click here for our ministry page on the website for St. Francis Church
Imposition of Ashes 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM in the Lower Church
Masses: 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM, 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM
Confession: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
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Mondays, February 26, March 4, 11, 18
6:30PM
Francis Room
Join us as we gather to reflect on this season of Lent, quieting ourselves so we may better hear God’s message for us.
click here to register for this event
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Saturday, March 9, 2:00pm.
San Damiano Hall.
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Encounter God’s Mercy at our communal Reconciliation service
Opportunities for the private celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available during this Liturgy
Friday, March 22 at 6:30 PM
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The Stations of the Cross are prayed immediately after our 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM Masses
every Friday of Lent (February 16 – March 22, 2024)
Saturday, January 20, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Church of St. Francis of Assisi – Clare Room
135 W. 31st Street
New York, NY 10001
Presenter:
Mr. Michael N. Connors
Elder Law, Probate, Wills, Trusts & Estate attorney
Mr. Connors and his firm, Connors & Sullivan Attorneys at Law, are renowned for their comprehensive approach to estate planning, elder law and estate litigation and are well sought after for real estate closings, tax law and asset protection matters.
Come to this informative session and hear about protecting your future and all your assets.
This seminar is FREE and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register below:
Just one. You.
Flip the switch to LED (light emitting diode) bulbs either one at a time or all at once. They use considerably less energy and they last 25x longer than an incandescent bulb.
Choose either the soft warm, usually preferred, or the daylight which makes your home feel like you’re at a baseball game but they do make you look great on camera for your virtual
meetings.
“We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world.” Pope Francis (LS212)
If you are interested in our Laudato Si Circle you are welcome to come to our next meeting:
Thursday, January 25, 2024
6:30 – 8:00 PM
First Floor Conference Room of the St. Francis House
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email: stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
The Irish Way: Understanding Irish Music through Persecution and Famine
Ireland has a rich musical history, especially in the Mediæval period, and today it provides for multiple and varied expressions of religious and secular music. Christianity developed rather differently in Ireland from that of the mainland continent, and its music and rituals were imbued with the earlier Celtic culture to form a uniquely Irish spirituality. Oliver Cromwell’s persecution of the Catholic Church crushed a flourishing musical and religious life, and led to an underground movement, stripping away nearly all cultural identity. A century and a half later, the Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century lead to mass migrations, with much of it to the United States and New York, specifically.
Instructor: William Mulligan, M.Mus.
Wednesdays, February 28 – March 27, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM; Zoom Meeting
In-person on March 27 (in Clare Room)
Fee: $50.00
Soul-Searching: Three Novels by Francois Mauriac
The Catholic novelist Francois Mauriac was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life.”
Our reading will begin the first of Mauriac’s novels to gain critical attention, A Kiss of the Leper which focuses on a young man’s struggle with his physical appearance. The Desert of Love explores the psychological and social consequences of sexual desire when a father and his son are attracted to a woman of a lower social class. We will conclude with The Knot of Vipers, a family’s story told through the protagonist’s journal.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, R.S.M., M.A.
Thursdays ,Feb. 29th-April 18th No class March 28th
12:30-1:30 PM
on ZOOM
Fee $60.00
The Poetry of Alicia Ostriker: Observations and Engagements
The first two sections of Ostriker’s Waiting for the Light invite us to reconsider familiar New York City encounters with vendors and cardplayers, taxi drivers, immigrants and tourists and to note human energy and the energy of changing seasons. The last two sections of the book include poems of witness which consider America and the world.
Our course text, Waiting for the Light, was winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award.
A teacher, scholar and critic, Ostriker has published seventeen volumes of poetry as well as books on women’s writing, American poetry and the Bible
From 6 to 7:30PM we will discuss Ostriker’s poems; from 7:30 to 8 students will have the option of writing poems in response to a prompt based on the style or content of the poems discussed in class.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, R.S.M., M.A.
Mondays, February 26th-April 15th, no class April 1
6:00-8:00 PM
on ZOOM
Fee $60.00
Catholicism 101: Christianity in the 2nd & 3rd Centuries
Between the writing of the books of the New Testament and the establishment of the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Church grew and developed in the tumultuous second and third centuries. This 8-week course will be an introduction to this crucial period in the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion. Using primary sources from the period we will investigate the emergence of church structures and leadership, the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, the relationship between Christianity and the pagan Roman world, the liturgical life of the Church and the emergence of a Canon of Christian scriptures.
A custom course booklet will provided containing our texts
Instructor: Joseph Nuzzi, M.A.
Wednesdays, February 21 – April 17 (No class March 27)
12:30 – 2:00 PM, Clare Room
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Clare Room and on ZOOM
Fee: $80
