St. Francis of Assisi’s LGBT+Ministry and Young Adult Ministry invites you to a scripture sharing reflecting on the Sunday Lenten Gospels.
Tea and light refreshments will be served. After our sharing, we will attend the 5:00 Mass together.
All are welcome!
Join us in celebrating National Poetry Month!
Enjoy an evening of original poems by members of the Adult Education Program and friends of the parish.
This free program will be held in the Francis Room of the Parish House
Tuesday, April 9th
from 6-8PM
I would like to reiterate that mercy does not exclude justice and truth; indeed, “we have to say that mercy is the fullness of justice and the most radiant manifestation of God’s truth. It is the key to heaven.â€
Here I think of St. Thomas (Aquinas), who asked which actions of ours are noblest, which external works best show our love for God. Thomas answered unhesitatingly that they are the works of mercy toward our neighbor even more than our acts of worship.
St. Teresa of Calcutta clearly realized this: “Yes, I have many faults and failures… But God bends down and uses us , you and me, to be his love and his compassion in the world; he bears our sins, our troubles, and our faults. He depends on us to love the world and show how much he loves it.â€
Today’s Gospel is about the woman caught in adultery and is about to be stoned to death.
It is a tense moment – for both the woman and even for Jesus. He bends down and begins writing on the ground. He looks up at the men and says, “Let the one among you who is without sin, be the first to a stone.â€They departed one at a time. What did he write on the ground, we all wonder. Jesus changes the tension into a life-giving moment. There is much to be learned from this encounter. How would you have handled it? Jesus is indeed a great teacher, by his insight, by his way of reacting, by his ability to “see through†a situation and bring out the truth.
This Friday, April 12, plan on coming to the Encounter Program for an evening of spiritual inspiration and enrichment. There will be music and Sacred Scripture. Tickets are available online and at the Front Desk. It will be the perfect preparation for Holy Week.
Many people ask me: “When is the cut off date to register for the 2019 France Pilgrimage and the 2020 Passion Play trip?†We generally have 44 people on a pilgrimage and both are over half filled at this time. When either is filled, that is the cut off date. Brochures are available at the Front Desk and online by e-mailing me. Filling out the registration form, a copy of your passport and a deposit of $500 reserves a place for you on the France Pilgrimage. Filling out the registration form, a copy of your passport and a deposit of $800 reserves a place for you for the Passion Play/Alpine trip.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Thursday, March 28, 2019 • 6:30 – 8:00 PM • Upper Church
Instruction and celebration come together in a “lecture-demonstration” of Solemn Vespers, one of the pillars of the official prayer of the Church. The evening will include an introduction to the Lenten season, to the Jewish and Christian dimensions of the psalms we will be singing, and to the music we will be performing in praise of God “whose mercy endures forever.”
Saturday, April 6, 2019 • 2:00 – 5:00 PM San Damiano Hall
Is our cross too small? The central symbol of our Christian faith is often reduced physically to a trinket, spiritually to an object of private devotion, and theologically to the appeasement of an angry God demanding satisfaction for sin. As a preparation for Passiontide, Fr. William will offer two retreat conferences that will widen and deepen your perspective on the crucifixion of Jesus.
Facilitator: Fr. William Beaudin, O.F.M.
Fee: $15.00
Click here to register online for the Lenten Afternoon of Prayer.
Or you can register at the front desk of the Parish House.
We may think that we give glory to God only by our worship and prayer or simply by following certain ethical norms. It is true that the primacy belongs to our relationship with God, but we cannot forget that the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others. Prayer is most precious, for it nourishes a daily commitment to love. Our worship becomes pleasing to God when we devote ourselves to living generously and allow God’s gift, granted to prayer, to be shown in our concern for our brothers and sisters.
Similarly the best way to discern if our prayer is authentic is to judge to what extent our life is being transformed in the light of mercy. For “mercy†is not only an action of the Father; it becomes a criterion for ascertaining who his true children are. Mercy “is the very foundation of the church’s life.â€
Luke’s Gospel for this Sunday is very familiar to us, but one sentence stands out at the beginning: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.†This sentence speaks of the way that Jesus moved among the people in the towns and villages where he traveled. His non-judgmental and welcoming approach spoke clearly of the way that He believed God wanted Him to deal with the variety of people that he met along the way. To show what He believed, Jesus then told the parable of the Prodigal Younger Son, or the Generous Father, or the Prodigal Older Son. Each of these individuals had their positive points, but also very evident weak points. Don’t each of us have the same? This is a good parable for us to meditate on during the week.
Starting last Sunday and continuing through next Sunday, we will participate in the Scrutinies at the 5:00 PM Mass. While these are meant for those in the RCIA, it is good for us to enter into the spirit, asking God to remove from us those negative, selfish atti- tudes and habits that we all have. The second reading from today’s Mass says: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation… And all this is from God.†We want to make ourselves open to that transforming power that will make us “a new creation.†God doesn’t force this on us, but waits for us to want to be open to receive this gift. This gift is meant for you and me. Continue to pray for those preparing to be received into the church at the Easter Vigil.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
