The friars and staff would like to wish all of our parishioners and visitors a very happy and safe Thanksgiving this year.

Our Holiday schedule is as follows:

Thanksgiving day:

Mass at 12:00 PM

There are no confessions Thanksgiving Day

Friday after Thanksgiving:

Mass at 12:00 PM

There are no confessions on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day.

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

May the Lord give you peace.

This weekend we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. This great feast invites us to consider the king, who reigns from the cross. In the judgment scene in Matthew’s Gospel, the criterion is simply compassion. We are presented with a king upon the glorious throne who gathers the nations and the people. Though unaware of their encounters with Christ, they are blessed. They fed, clothed, gave drink, and visited the ill or imprisoned. There is no question of their keeping the law, their religious observance, or their religious tradition. They are judged on the evidence of a life of compassion. They are not asked how they voted, prayed, or were respected by others. They lived the love of the one who sat upon the throne. This is a text that frees us to do the good, to make adult decisions, and to live in a broken world with a mission. Happy Feast to all! You are those who are blessed and sharers on God’s reign. You are the people blessed with compassion. Blessed, are you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

Amid the pandemic, with rising numbers of cases being reported, we are invited to give thanks. We give thanks for God’s constant presence among us, in sickness and in health.

We give thanks for the vast number of medical professionals who continue to care for the sick, nurture the worried, and embody Jesus’ compassion.
We give thanks for the first responders and the many who work to ensure that health care facilities provide food, clean spaces, and often unseen yet essential tasks.
We give thanks for workers who go to their jobs, day after day.
We give thanks for parents and children, for teachers, their aids, and school workers.
We give thanks for all who check up on those who live alone and the elderly.
We are blessed in caregivers who selflessly tend our aged, lonely, and homebound sisters and brothers.
We give thanks for all who stay at home.
For whom do you give thanks?…….

In all of you and so many more, the love of God is realized for all of us.

We are also aware that we are on a mission this Thanksgiving. Our mission is to slow the number of infections from this pandemic. This makes our Thanksgiving celebration different from what we might usually have done. Like anyone on a mission, we are separated from some with whom we would typically gather. We can communicate in many ways but being physically present is not an option. When I was in Bolivia on 9/11/01, I was not able to return to the states. I wanted to pray with my brother friars at the death of our brother Mychal Judge. I also wanted to connect with family and friends, some of whom had lost loved ones. My mission was to be with the novices in Cochabamba. Let our mission this Thanksgiving slow the virus enabling future gatherings. Let us choose to gather via the internet, telephone, e-mail, and texts.

Next weekend, we will begin our season of Advent. This is our time to reflect on what it is to wait in hope. It is a time for our community to gather virtually and to pray with one another. Please join us for one of the many scripture sessions, for our retreat, for our Carols with the Choir. All of these will be available on-line so that we may be together and also be safe.  While we may not come together as in years past, we are called to join with one another to watch and pray. All of the details are available on our homepage.

Finally, I hope to get another camera for the church and create a link to stream 24/7 from the Lower Church. This would make a portal for anyone who wanted to pray in the church space at any time. Just click on the link, and through the internet, you are in the church. If you can help with this project, please let me know at tgallagher@stfrancisnyc.org.  We will soon resume Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the day. The camera will allow you to reflect on God’s goodness from your home, yet in St. Francis of Assisi Church.

Blessings and peace,

Fr. Tom, ofm

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

May the Lord give you peace.

This has been a tumultuous week. We need to pray for the healing of our nation. The divisions are extreme. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, he reminds us that we are “no longer in the darkness, we are children of the light and of the day.” With that in mind, we look at Matthew’s Gospel and are reminded of our talents/gifts. The wise servants invested the talents, and the talents/gifts increased. We are no longer to hide our gifts, our often-invisible capital, in the dark, but to invest them in one another. We are each remarkably gifted by God and are bearers of the Spirit of God. God’s manifestation is realized in experiences of compassion, forgiveness, courage, wonder, goodness, strength, wisdom, and, most assuredly, love. We have everything we need to build bridges that ease anger, frustration, bitterness, and fear. I encourage you to pray and to invest your gifts in one another. Please try to join us each day for the mass at noon. It is live-streamed and available at home or at work.

The report on former Cardinal McCarrick was made public this week. For many survivors of clergy abuse, this is yet another moment of reliving their experiences of abuse.  This is yet another call to pray for healing and for listening to the cries of the survivors. Let us also pray for the Church; experiences of abuse tear the very fabric of our relationships and challenge us to create new ways of living the Gospel. We are called to a covenantal bond rooted in love. Pope Francis encyclical Fratelli Tutti invokes the Franciscan model of fraternity/sorority as a shift from the hierarchical model that puts one person or group of persons over others. Pope Francis invites us to consider the ways of exercising leadership and power in the Church.

Thanksgiving is almost here. This will be a very different Thanksgiving for many of us. Please stay safe. If you travel, be attentive to the recommended precautions. Take some time to give thanks for God’s presence with us throughout this pandemic and election-year politics. We will live-stream the Thanksgiving Day mass and hope that you can join us from wherever you are.

We are looking forward to Advent. Please check the Church’s website for updates on the many opportunities to pray for healing and peace during Advent. Join us for:

1. 1. Scripture sharing Zoom sessions planned for each week,
   2. creating your own advent wreath,
   3. weekly advent wreath blessing and candle lighting  (Please be careful with candles and fire.),
   4. the Advent retreat,
   5. weekly vespers,
   6. our annual “Carols with the Choir,” which will be live-streamed for everyone’s health and safety.

There are many opportunities to connect with one another and to share our gifts.

Good News! We will re-open the Lower Church for confessions and private prayer on Monday. We will offer exposition of the Blessed Sacrament very soon.

Finally, thank you to all for your commitment to St. Francis of Assisi Church. Together, we are the Church. Your participation enriches the lives of the friars and one another. Your shared talents foster peace, healing, and love in our world. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Tom, ofm

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis Church,

May the Lord give you peace.

I thank everyone who joined us for the All Souls’ Memorial on November 2nd. It was good to have so many people present in person and on our live stream. We had many pictures of loved ones and were able to pray in gratitude for their lives with us. (Click HERE if you would like to see the video of the liturgy)

This has been quite a week. As I write, we are still awaiting the results of the national election. The record number of voters is a great sign of the participation in the democratic process. The uncertainty is painful. Many are particularly struggling at this time. It is important to support one another and support the process so that everyone’s vote is counted. Click HERE for link to a post-election prayer from the Education for Justice. I heartily recommend this site to you. It offers good content, prayers, and reflection on current issues through the lens of faith. Please pray for our nation and the people who are struggling with whatever the election results may be. We are a people of hope and support. Our Franciscan charism calls us to be attentive as sisters and brothers together in the journey of grace in God’s ever-present love. Unlike the “wise” virgins in this Sunday’s parable, we continue to share our gifts. We know that in God, there will always be enough of the oil of love, compassion, generosity, wisdom, and courage to nurture us on our way. We do not close doors; we create bridges that link us as sons and daughters of God-as sisters and brothers of Jesus.

Please join us on November 21st for a healing mass for all affected by suicide. We invite survivors, all who keep memory of someone who died of suicide, all who struggle with thoughts of suicide, all who worry about a friend or loved one, as well as anyone who wishes to participate. We will live stream the service. If you cannot join, please pray. The American Federation for Suicide Awareness and Prevention designates the Saturday before Thanksgiving as a day of prayer and awareness. They sponsor walks to raise funds for their work. Over the years, I have participated in 8 of the Over Night Walks, two here in the city.

On another note, we are looking to develop new opportunities for us to gather and pray. We will offer some sessions via Zoom as we enter into Advent. The Zoom forum allows us to come together from the safety of our homes, to share our faith, and to build our community. More information will follow in the next few weeks. My experience with Zoom has been good. I have seen people who saw each other at mass regularly but rarely had time to do more than greet each other begin to share their stories of life and faith.

Finally, I must admit that with the pandemic, we need of your financial support. I ask you to consider our online giving. If your means allow, please increase your regular contribution to the life of the Church. Thank you for all that you do for St. Francis of Assisi Church.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Tom, ofm

How livestreaming came to St. Francis of Assisi:

When the pandemic hit New York and we had to enter our shutdown, here at St. Francis we scrambled to figure out how to continue to reach out to and connect with all of you.  Streaming our Masses was the first priority.  Never having done this ourselves here, it was not easy to pull together equipment and expertise when everything was closing around us.  Within a week, and with relatively inexpensive equipment, we were able to stream our Lenten Masses, Holy Week, Easter and Mass ever since.

If you were with us from the beginning, you know that it was a rough start and we had to work out some issues.  We appreciate your patience and support, especially through our rocky beginning.

Where we are today:

Well, six months later, we are happy to bring you a new and improved livestream experience!  Many of you expressed how important these livestreams are, and have requested that we make this a permanent part of our ministry together.  We agree. Because of your encouragement and support we have invested in new and more appropriate livestreaming cameras, computer equipment and some training for our staff.

If you have been watching our noon time daily Mass you will see the difference our new system makes in the quality of the transmission.  This new system will allow us to bring you a much better prayer experience and we have made this a permanent part of our parish life together so that even after the pandemic passes, our people can join us for Mass online if you are away, if the weather is really bad, or if you are home sick.

Introducing St. Francis Live!

We have also created a new portal on our website to better organize access to all of our streamed liturgies.  We call it St. Francis Live!.  At St. Francis Live! you can see our Sunday and Feast day Masses, the Korean Community Sunday Mass, our Daily noontime Mass and special events.  They are all conveniently located on the same page.  You can scroll through past events to find a liturgy you may have missed.

A $15,000 investment in our ministry

We invested just over $15,000 on the new and improved livestream experience. Some of you have already donated toward this new way of keeping connected.  As you can imagine, the pandemic has impacted our collections, just as it has impacted many in our community.  For those who can, it would be very helpful if you would like to make a special contribution toward this new new part of our ministry.

Veteran’s Day Holiday Schedule

Mass: 12:00 NOON

No confessions

The church offices are closed today

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

May the Lord give you peace.

This weekend we celebrate the feast of All Saints. We can look back at those children, women, and men recognized by the church as saints.  We can also recall with St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Christians, “you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” With this in mind, let us consider the many saints of our day. We can think of men and women who worked for the dignity and grace of all people. We can consider the educators who provide book knowledge and also tender the care and wisdom that forms gracious ways of thinking and being. We recognize medical personnel who offer healing and peace. We might consider the men and women who challenge us to face our racism, sexism, and limited understanding of gender and sexuality. We are also blessed with those children, women, and men who live simple, humble lives open to God’s continued call to transformation in grace. Pope Francis invites us to consider the holy men and women of other religious or non-religious traditions. We think of so many who give themselves in service to our world with compassion. I invite you to take some time to consider the saints of your life, those children, women, and men who have loved you, nurtured you, challenged you, held space for you, and were present for you. We can give thanks to God for all whom we know and the many we have already forgotten. 

Many of us are anxious about the election. We are challenged to choose leadership as Catholic Christian voters. We think of the Pro-Life dimension of our call to social justice, and we remember that Pro-Life is not simply pro-birth; it is the whole of life. Within our Catholic Social teaching, we consider a large picture. The right to life continues beyond birth. The right to life beyond birth includes our transformation/conversion as a culture and church in the areas of human dignity. These areas of conversion include racism, ecology, care for families, care for the poor, quality education for all, affordable medical care, nutrition, homelessness, refugees, and migrants. To be Pro-Life calls for an economy that places people over objects. Our hidden wealth is found in our relationships, our faith, our willingness to dialogue, and our respect for diversity. We are responsible for electing leaders who see beyond the narrow confines of limited imagination. We seek leaders who are open to the vista of participation in a world that, while divided, is filled with children, women, and men created in the image of God, loved by God.  Please pray for our nation. 

Pray for peace during this election. Pray for those who are elected and those who are not. We seek to unite the divisions that often seem overwhelming. To do this we must put bitterness and resentment aside, work for the values of the Gospel within the way of the Gospel. 

Finally, please stay safe. The virus is spiking in many places. Follow the prescribed protocols, avoid crowds, and encourage one another. 

Peace and all good,

Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi,

May the Lord give you peace.

I thank you for your generosity and your many ways of caring for one another. While I have only been here a short time, I have come to see the many gifts of this community. We are indeed blessed. I am delighted by the number of folks who watch our live stream services. I am hoping that we can increase the options for your participation from home or office. We have been training folks to work the cameras.

I invite you to join us in person or on-line for a week of prayer for our nation. We will gather for Evening Prayer, Vespers each night Monday – Friday at 6. This is an opportunity to reflect on our call as disciples during this election cycle. We will listen to texts from the Sacred Scripture and from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (We are all Sisters and Brothers). I hope you will find time to join us for the entire week or often as you are able.

With attention to the upcoming election, I offer you this talk given by Bishop McElroy of San Diego in February for your reflection: https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/bishop-mcelroy-voting-faith-and-conscience.  I find it particularly helpful that Bishop McElroy’s presentation offers a broad view and calls us to prudent decision-making rooted in our conscience. The bishop invites us to incorporate all aspects of life in our considerations as we elect those we entrust with leadership. Please read this talk, reflect, consider other sources of Catholic Social Teaching documents, pray and vote. Your wisdom is a great gift.

We will host a celebration of all the deceased on November 2nd. This annual time of prayer engages us in remembering our loved ones who have gone before us. At 5 and 7 PM, the services will be live-streamed for your participation at home or office.  We also welcome those who are able to join us in person. Remembering that we can only accommodate 100 participants in church, please register here if you are able to be here in person.

Later in November, we will offer an opportunity to pray as we consider the struggles of Suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, AFSP, designates the Saturday before Thanksgiving, this year, November 21st, as a day of prayer and education. Many of us have had our lives touched by suicide. There are those who mourn the loss of friends or family members, those who live with constant thoughts of suicide, those who fear the phone call that confirms the loss of a loved one, and those who have survived attempts at suicide. At this service, all are welcome. We will share in the scripture, reflect on God’s faithful love, and share in the Eucharist. Please invite others to join us. AFSP sponsors annual walks to raise money for suicide awareness and prevention. I have participated in 8 of the overnight walks, two here in NYC. There is strength in our coming together in the grace of God to give peace, healing, and life.

Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi,

May the Lord give you peace.

I thank you for your participation and support of the ministry of St. Francis of Assisi. It is good to see so many of you who are able to join us for the public masses and to know that many of you are choosing to participate via the live stream. We want to stay connected. It is also good to know that many of our parishioners, who no longer live nearby, are joining us on the live stream. Given the current technology, we are able to continue many parts of our mission.

Within the next few weeks, we will offer some new chances for reflection on the scripture via Zoom. Please keep an eye out for the registration and Zoom link.

We will also begin a week of prayer for our nation as we consider the upcoming elections. From Monday-Friday, October 26-30, we will host a Vesper service in the Church and live stream at 6:00 PM. This service will include psalms, readings, and time for quiet reflection. The readings will come from the scripture and from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. This is an invitation to prayerfully consider how we will vote and the challenges to our nation. I hope you will be able to join us. For those who are not able to participate at the scheduled time, the live stream will be archived on our website and the service may be downloaded for private prayer. I would ask that you set aside a space for your prayer, perhaps a table with a cloth, cross, and candle. It might also be something for a family or small group to pray together.

In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus is quizzed on paying taxes to Caesar. He enjoins his hearers to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God’s”.  Our participation in our government through voting is our joining of these two dimensions of our lives. Voting is our rendering to the civil government what is due. Voting is also rooted in the Gospel, that speaks of care for the poor, of servant leadership, of the welcoming of the stranger, (cf. Matthew 25:31-40 “Whatever you did for the least one, you did for me.”) renders to God what is God’s. Our voting is not a single issue, nor based on what someone in authority has said. It is the act of an adult conscience that looks at the broad picture of human life and development. Our voting is participation in the compassion of God. Please vote wisely and compassionately.

We are also planning for our Mass of Remembrance on All Souls Day. Please check the website for more information. This will be a public mass as well as available on the live stream. Too many of us were unable to gather with family and friends at the passing of loved ones during this pandemic. The mass of remembrance is a chance to pray for that person and for all who grieve. As we remember, I invite you to call to mind the gifts of the person. Their shared gifts are a grace from God that continues to speak to our hearts. As Schillebeeckx wrote, “we cannot believe that all that they have meant for us will be lost forever; You are their life, now and always.” We remember. We celebrate. We believe.

Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M

DUE TO A DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE COUNTING FOR THE CENSUS WILL END 6:00 AM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16.

THIS EVENT IS THEREFORE CANCELLED.

Take part in the Census 2020!

As you may know, national census happens only every 10 years.  If you have not completed your Census form there will be Census volunteers at the 32nd street entrance of the church who can help you next Sunday:

Sunday, October 18th
from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Numbers are important; therefore it is important to be counted!