Come and listen! Enjoy original poems by members of the Adult Education Program and friends of the parish.
This free program will take place from:
6:00-8:00 PM,
Wednesday, November 29,
in the Clare Room on the first floor of the St. Francis Parish House.
The Gospel for this Sunday, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, is the final judgment scene from Matthew’s Gospel. “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Jesus as “king” and Jesus’“kingdom” are very different from what history has shown us about kings and kingdoms. In Jesus’ kingdom, He is the model and the example of how brothers and sisters are to be treated. He uses the words “brothers and sisters” to inform us of our relationship with Him. He also shows us that no one is considered “least” in His kingdom because no one is the “greatest” among the brothers and sisters. This Gospel is the final message of the Liturgical Year and a very fitting and appropriate Gospel to leave us with as we begin a new Liturgical Year next Sunday.We have all been saddened by the death of Fr. Felix McGrath. He was hopeful when he went into the hospital to remove the cancer from his tongue. He came through it well and had even begun speech therapy and physical therapy at the rehab center after leaving the hospital. But it became evident that the surgery and its aftereffects had taken a toll on him, and it was diffcult for him to have the energy to walk and exercise. Because of his condition, visits were limited to the Friars. On Monday, November 13, Fr. Tim Shreenan and I visited him and celebrated the Anointing of the Sick which he had received earlier. Because of a change in his condition, it was appropriate to celebrate the sacrament again. Shortly after we had prayed, he peacefully breathed his last.
Fr. Felix has a long history here at St. Francis and was especially known for his compassion, patience, and support of those who came to him for confession. He was the “chosen” one for many people. He had a message to give whenever he preached and this message was lled with the wisdom of a man who had experienced much in his life as a Franciscan priest. He was always faithful to his duties and was always willing to do more. He was the oldest member of the Friar community at St. Francis, and will be missed by all of us and by the many people who waited in his confession line and by all. May he rest in peace.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Wake: Sunday, November 19, 4:00 PM, Lower Church
Wake Service: Sunday, November 19, 7:30 PM, Lower Church
Funeral Mass: Monday, November 20, 11:00 AM, Upper Church
Funeral services for Father Felix McGrath, O.F.M. will begin this Sunday evening, November 19, with a wake in the lower church starting at 4:00 PM. A Wake Service will be held at 7:30 PM. On Monday, November 20, a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the upper church starting at 11:00 AM. Provincial Minister Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M. will be the principal celebrant.
Fr. Felix died on Monday, November 13, at the Riverside Premier Rehabilitation Center here in New York City following complications from recent surgery. He was 87 years of age, and a priest for 56 years.
He was born on May 14, 1930 in the Bronx where he attended Sacred Heart School and Cardinal Hayes High School. After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1954, he made frst profession of vows a year later, then studied theology in Washington, DC where he was ordained to the priesthood on February 25, 1961. His classmates included Fathers Mychal Judge, Patrick Fitzgerald, and Cassian Miles, who also lived and ministered here at St. Francis of Assisi. Following ordination, Fr. Felix ministered at St. Anthony Shrine, Boston; Immaculate Conception Church, Atlanta; and Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park, NJ. Next he spent fve years preaching parish missions, and then moved to St. Patrick’s Church in Bufalo, NY where he served from 1970 to 1973.
After a year of ongoing studies in Washington, he embarked on his longest ministry here at St. Francis of Assisi where he served for 43 years and became a popular confessor and preacher, loved by many people who came to him for counseling and advice. In addition, he served for many years as a weekend assistant at a church in Somerville, NJ and as Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscans of the St. Thomas More Fraternity here.
Although quiet and unassuming by nature, Fr. Felix touched many people in his years of ministry. He had great compassion for those who were suffering emotionally and spiritually, and would spend as much time with them as they needed, whether in the confessional or in the parlor. Hoping never to have to retire from ministry, Fr. Felix wanted to keep working right up to the moment the Lord would call him. His fnal illness got in the way, though, but he was ready to do what the Lord asked of him. As we hear in this week’s Gospel: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy,” we are grateful to God for Felix’s life among us and are confdent that he is, indeed, sharing the Master’s joy.
The St. Francis of Assisi LGBT Ministry will host another fun and honest conversation with Fr. Michael. We’ll talk scripture, personal experiences, and what it means to be Catholic and part or an ally of the LGBT community.
Join us! All are welcome!
Whenever the New Testament authors want to present the heart of the Christian moral message, they present the essential requirement of love for one’s neighbor: “The one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the whole law…therefore love of neighbor is the fulfilling of the law.”These are the words of St. Paul, for whom the commandment of love not only sums up the law but also constitutes its very heart and purpose: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” To his communities Paul presents the Christian life as a journey of growth in love: “May the Lord increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” Saint James likewise exhorts Christians to fulfill “the royal law according to the Scripture: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself ’, in order not to fall short of my commandment.”
Today’s Gospel presents us with the teaching about using the “talents” that God has given each of us: “Well done, my good and faith- ful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.” God has given us many gifts: time, talents and abilities, attitude, graces and blessings. For these gifts, we should always be eternally grateful. We need to remember that these were not given to us just for our happiness, but to share them and give them to build up others who may be in need in any way. As the Peace Prayer of St. Francis says: “It is in giving that we receive.” Many do not see the value of this, but it lies at the heart of the Christian message and the Christian ways of life. And…we know that it is true!
This Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving, an important tradition here in the United States. Abraham Lincoln in 1863 declared that this day would be set aside each year as a national day to give thanks. For us as Christians, it reminds us that giving thanks and especially the virtue of gratitude are important qualities that we have as believers. Gratitude enables us to give thanks to God every day of our lives for ordinary blessings and for special blessings that we receive. Cultivating the virtue opens us up to be sensitive to the positive and life giving moments and happenings in our lives rather than focusing on the negative and evil happenings that occur daily. Know that we, the Friars and Sta here at St. Francis, wish you a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Know that you will be remembered in our prayers for the blessing that you are to us!
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Please join us for the 2017 Hesburgh Lecture, sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of New York.
This year’s lecture is titled:
“Islam, the Catholic Faith and the Future of the World”
The lecture is presented by Gabriel Reynolds, Ph.D.,
Theology, University of Notre Dame.
Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017
Doors open at 6:30 PM; lecture begins at 7:15 PM.
San Damiano Hall
The Hesburgh Lecture is a free event open to club members, the parish, and the public.
Registration is requested.
Presenter Biography:
Reynolds is the author of The Qur’an and Its Biblical Subtext (Routledge 2010) and The Emergence of Islam (Fortress, 2012). At Notre Dame, Reynolds teaches classes including “Foundations of Theology,” “Islam and Christian Theology,” “The Qur’an and Its Relation to the Bible,” “The Holy Land,” and “Islamic Origins.” Outside of Notre Dame he has conducted research and delivered lectures in cities throughout the Middle East, including Ankara, Cairo, Jerusalem, Beirut, Damascus, and Tehran. Gabriel and his wife Lourdes have four children: Luke, Emmanuel, Theresa, and René.
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The Lord’s missionary mandate includes a call to growth in faith:
“Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Hence it is clear that the first proclamation also calls for ongoing formation and maturation. Evangelization aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and God’s plan for his or her life. All of us need to grow in Christ. Evangelization should stimulate a desire for growth, so that each of us can say wholeheartedly: ‘”It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
Along with the virtues, this means above all the new commandment, the first and the greatest of the commandments, and the one that best identifies us as Christ’s disciples: “This is my commandment , that you love one another as I have loved you.”
