Volunteers (l-r), Mafe Iladan, Greg Madrid and Loida deJesus working with Fr. Michael Reyes, OFM to set up for Taize prayer last Friday. Even during the pandemic volunteers find a safe way to keep our ministry going strong for people who come to church in person and for people who pray with us on livestream.

If you missed last Friday’s beautiful Taize prayer, you can join us this Friday every Friday during Lent at 6:30 PM in the upper church and on livestream.

The St. Francis of Assisi bookstore is open in the lobby of the St. Francis House.  The bookstore to offer religious articles and a selection of spiritual and theological books carefully chosen to provide a variety of options to help support peoples’ prayer life and theological interests.

Fr. Brian Smail, OFM, has chosen a few books especially for Lent that you may be interested in, including:

ALL SHALL BE WELL

GOD FOR US

40 DAYS WITH GOD

St. Francis Church will observe Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 15, with one Mass at 12:00 PM.
This Mass will also be live-streamed.

There will be no confessions, and the church offices will be closed for the day.

If you are looking for suggestions for a fast this Lent, why not consider some of these suggestions inspired by Pope Francis…

At Mass we remember people, living or deceased, in a special way when a someone offers a Mass intention for their loved one.  The Mass intentions are now published online so you can see when your loved one will be remembered at Mass.

Click here to see the calendar of Mass intentions.

If you would like a loved one remembered with a Mass intention, please visit the front desk or call 212-736-8500 ext. 0

Due to the snow storm, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi will be closed on Monday, February 1st, and Tuesday, February 2nd.

There will be only one Mass available on livestream only at 12:00 PM each day, and there will be no confessions.

The offices are closed both days.

Stay safe and warm as we welcome sister snow.

On January 7, 2021, the six provincials from six Franciscan provinces in the US issued a letter in response to the attack on the US Capitol of January 6, 2021.

Click on the button below to read their letter.

Our Christmas poinsettias need a new home. The plants are still beautiful and thriving.  If you would like to take a plant home, they have been placed in our 32nd street entrance.  Please feel free to drop in and take a plant or two.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi Church,

May the Lord give you peace.

In light of the events of January 6th, I ask your prayers for the healing of our nation. The wrongful actions at our nation’s capital are reflective of the divisions we experience.  We are overwhelmed by the pain and struggle that fear has engendered.

I ask your prayers for our nation. Perhaps, we could simply reflect on the judgment scene in Matthew 25 and praying the peace prayer. Perhaps, we could reflect on how we each participate in the divisiveness. What do our words, silence, and actions say about the compassion which marks us as disciples?

I give thanks for your good judgment and your commitment to the life of the Gospel. We pray for everyone involved in today’s activity. May the peace of Christ prevail, and may we discern how best we can be the “light of the world.”

Again, please take some time for prayer. This particular event may be over, but the wound will not quickly be healed.

The friars and staff are praying with you.

Peace and all good,

Fr. Tom, ofm

When you enter St. Francis this Sunday, or watch Mass on livestream, you’ll see that we will still have our Christmas trees up.  Some people wonder, why are the Christmas decorations still up on January 10th?

Most of us know the song the 12 days of Christmas, with its list of strange Christmas gifts (who needs eight maids-a-milking???). The traditional 12 days of Christmas counted the days from Christmas to the Epiphany, which is traditionally celebrated on January 6th, even though in some countries, like the US, it is now celebrated on a Sunday.  These 12 days were the days of the Christmas season when the mystery of the incarnation was reflected upon and celebrated by the Church.

Today the Christmas season has been expanded.  It now extends from the evening of December 24th until the Sunday after the Epiphany.  The Sunday after Epiphany is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  This is why our Christmas decorations are still up and we are still celebrating Christmas on January 10th.

So what unifies the Christmas season?  The liturgy during this season celebrates everything from the birth of Christ, to the visit of the Magi, to the presentation of the Lord in the temple 40 days after His birth.  But it also celebrates the Baptism of Jesus when he was 30 years old.  How do all of these episodes of Jesus life fit together?

While December 25th definitely celebrates the birth of Jesus, the Christmas season really celebrates the identity of Jesus.  It celebrates who He is.  Jesus is the incarnate Son of God.  He is Emmanuel, God with us, in the flesh.  All of the Christmas feasts point to this reality.  The angels announced him as Lord, and Christ and shepherd at his birth.  The Magi recognize this and offer him gifts honoring him as King, and God and sacrifice.  Simeon and Anna recognize and proclaim who Jesus is at his Presentation in the Temple; and at His baptism, the voice of the Father reveals that Jesus is the Son of God. That is why this event from Jesus’ adult life is celebrated in the Christmas season.

Christmas is a season of revelation and epiphany.  It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the great event of the incarnation of God in history.  The many days of Christmas allow us to immerse ourselves in the great love God has for all of us.  One day is no where near enough time to take in the reality of what Christ’s birth means.  Maybe a lifetime is not enough time to take in just how much God loves us.

So Merry Christmas, again, yes, in January.

-Joseph Nuzzi
Director of Evangelization