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

Happy Easter, and may the Lord give you peace.

Blessings and prayers for all of the mothers of our community. We are blessed in you. Mothers, Grandmothers, and Godmothers celebrate your gifts. We give thanks for all who have been “mother” to a child as they nurtured dreams, dried tears, and loved -even when it was not easy. We remember mothers who have passed and mothers who have lost a child. We bless those whose dreams of being a mother were unfulfilled.

In St. Francis’ Letter to All the Faithful, he writes, “We are mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ when we carry him in our hearts and in our bodies.” This is a day for us to remember all mothers and to hear our call to be mothers to the Lord. Happy Mother’s Day to all.

As we move through our Easter Season, we can look back to Ash Wednesday and consider the ways that we have allowed ourselves to be transformed by grace. As we have journeyed together from the bitter cold of Lent into the Springtime of Easter, we have deepened our love for the Lord, celebrated the resurrection, and moved toward remembering the manifold gifts of the Spirit, always already given. These weeks have been our opportunity to be open to God’s healing love, the grace we find in one another, and the opportunities for new ways of being in the world. The Spirit enflames us with the love of God, calling us from fear, guilt, and shame to trust, healing, and the freedom to accept our giftedness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus notes that he is revealed to us in love. Love is a gift of the Spirit lavishly given to us. Alleluia!

The Feast of St. Anthony, June 13th, is on a Tuesday this year! We have great things planned for the day. Please be sure to join us for mass, the novena, and to see the relic. There will also be St. Anthony’s Bread, oil, and candles. Our volunteers are ready, and we are looking forward to seeing you.

Finally, we are halfway to our goal for the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal. There is still time to give, and we would like a significant participation rate. No matter how large or small your gift is, please consider giving to this appeal.

Click here to make your donation: Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal 2023 – Saint Francis of Assisi (stfrancisnyc.org)

Blessings and thanks,

Fr. Tom, ofm

Honor your mother, living or deceased, with the gift of a Novena of Masses said by our Franciscan Friars staring Mother’s Day.  You can enroll your Mom in the Masses and receive a Mother’s Day card to let her know.

Click here to see and order the Mass cards online.

The Migrant Center would like to THANK YOU!!!

Thank you to our volunteers and financial supporters and donors for your ongoing support of the Migrant Center’s Drop-In Center where we have been able to assist so many of the 55,000 migrants who have come to New York to begin their new lives!!

We are phasing out the Drop-In Center outreach and phasing in other needed assistance for newly arrived migrants including:

• Providing ESL classes at St. Francis to help migrants learn English
• Assist with asylum applications and helping them fill out the Immigration forms
• Assist migrants with job training and skills.

There is still a great need for people who are bi-lingual with either Spanish or Haitian Creole.

If you are able to help with these ministries, please contact Fr. Julian at  [email protected] or call 212-736-8500 x377.

Again, many many Thanks for all you have done in helping us to provide for these sisters and brothers!!