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

May the Lord give you peace.

I hope you had a blessed celebration of Thanksgiving. It is always good to spend some time gratefully acknowledging the gifts that surround us. Again, we, the friars, team, and staff here, are
grateful to you. We are blessed to minister together both in person and through the live stream.

We begin the sacred days of Advent this weekend. As the days get shorter, we make time to reflect on our longing for God. Many years ago, I heard an Advent song that began with a refrain, “We go on waiting, knowing he has come. Yet, we are not ready to be transformed.” I continue to ponder this refrain. We wait for the one who is already with us. Our encounter with him is always transformative. Perhaps, this year we will have eyes open to see him in our midst. We will continue our celebration of the season. We gather as a richly diverse community. We sing, listen to the Word of God, reflect on that Word, and offer our prayer of Thanksgiving-our Eucharist. Then nourished by the Bread of Life, we are sent to continue the mission of the Gospel. Each of us is differently gifted and called to share in the mission of God’s affirming love.

We will also shift this weekend from the year of Luke to Matthew. We have listened to the Lukan Gospel throughout the year with his focus on the Spirit and the poor. As we move to Matthew, we hear of a mission that both includes and extends beyond the borders of Israel. Matthew invites us to consider Jesus with his parents as exiles/refugees/migrants in Egypt. This may help us frame our current experience of being graced with many migrants in our city.

We invite you to join us for Soup and Scripture. Once again, we gather at table and reflect together on the Word of God. (Click here for more information.) I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Sacred Scripture as you bring the Word to life through your reflections.

In a fragile and broken world, we long for the experience of His presence. We are open to the transformation of our encounter with God’s love. Our scriptures remind us that He often comes in the most unexpected ways. As Mother Theresa noted: “Jesus is coming to you in the distressing disguise of the poor.” St. Francis called the early brothers to “begin again to seek the Lord.” Each Advent, we do precisely that; we begin again.

Blessed Advent,

Fr. Tom, ofm

On Sunday, November 20th parishioners and friends gathered again for our annual pot-luck Friendsgiving feast!  We had over 60 guests attend. The LGBT+ and Converge Ministries which hosted this event this year provided the Turkey, Ham, and sodas and guests brought an amazing array of side dishes and tons of desserts and plenty to drink.  We filled our bellies with great food and our hearts with gratitude for the time shared with our community.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help make this event a success.

If you missed this year’s event, make sure to keep an eye out next year for this much-loved St. Francis tradition.

All are Welcome!

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The Rite of Acceptance is the first ritual that punctuates the journey of people who are entering fully into the Catholic Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).  During this ritual, converts are introduced to the community and initiated into the Liturgy of the Word.  It is a time when a person goes from inquiring into our faith somewhat privately to  proclaiming publicly that they desire to learn the Gospel from Christ himself among us.  During this Rite they “meet the family” by being introduced to the community during Mass and after this point they join the “family dinner” each week by coming with us to Mass on Sunday.

At this Rite we also hand over to the converts our most cherished blessing: the sign of the cross.  We hand over this ancient ritual to them and we commend them to the protection of the Lord who Himself will lead his new disciples to the waters of Baptism, to Confirmation and to the Eucharist.

We will celebrate this Rite at the 5 PM Mass on Sunday, November 2oth.

Join us at the Mass and at our after Mass hospitality to welcome our candidates.

Here are photos of the Rite of Acceptance from 2021.  Photos courtesy of Keith Kemp.

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The Church of St. Francis of Assisi will observe Veterans Day on Friday, November 11th, with one Mass at 12:00 PM.

There will no confessions and the church offices and adult education center will be closed for the day.

We offer our thanks, appreciation and pray for all those who have served our country in the armed forces, especially those who were injured in the line of duty. May your bravery and courage not go unrewarded!

On November 2 at 7 PM our church was again filled with people who came to remember their lost loved ones at a special Mass of Remembrance.  We hold this Mass each year and it gives people a chance to come together to pray and remember their loved ones with their photos in the sanctuary, candles lit, incense rising to God, and beautiful music.  Fr. Tom Gallagher, our pastor, presided at the Mass last night and gave a beautiful homily which reminds us that as Christians we know that our loved ones are with the Lord and still with us.

This Mass is particularly important to people who live far from family and friends that pass away and can’t share in the rituals that hold us up in times of grief and sadness.  So we share those rituals together in our own sacred space with our community at St. Francis.

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If you would like to watch the 2022 Mass of Remembrance, we have posted it here:

Our first FrancisFest – an Octoberfest get together to celebrate our patron saint – was a great success.  Parishioners and friends gathered to reconnect, chat, laugh and play – and share some traditional Octoberfest fare – brats, soft pretzels, and beer.  We even had some parishioners don their dirndls and lederhosen to make the day more fun.

We plan to make this a tradition, so if you missed this year’s celebration, keep an eye out for next year.

This event was hosted by our new ministry, CONVERGE, which plans to provide events like this to strengthen our community, faith and spiritual life.  Thank you CONVERGE volunteers!

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On Saturday, October 1st we celebrated the blessing of animals.  This much loved event is part of our annual celebrations of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  Over 70 pets came to be blessed as well as some of the magnificent NYPD horses. Below are a few of Lord’s creatures who came to be blessed…

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THE FLOWERS THAT ADORN OUR SANCTUARY IN HONOR OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI HAVE BEEN DONATED IN MEMORY AND FOR THE SPECIAL INTENTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING:

(Intentions are listed in alphabetical order, recorded as we received them)

St. Francis please pray for my wife and son and also, if possible, bless our pet cat.

In memory of Helen Arceo (deceased)

For the special intentions of Julie Black

In memory of Lydia Caparros – grandmother sister mother deceased

In memory of Brian Carter

Cherichella family – Special intention

Tanghal family – Special intention

For the special intentions of Mazda Figaro

In memory of Mary Jane Howell (deceased)

In memory of Jane R. and Charles Janiak (deceased)

In thanks for the online masses during the pandemic.

For Glezie Legaspi – special intention

In memory of deceased members of the McConnon Family.

For the special Iintentions for Olivia, JP, Rose. Joseph, Marla, Jack, Robert, Sally, Meghan, Mary, Bea, Bob , Joe, Marla, Rita, Patricks, Bethie

For the special intentions of Monika Mitchell

For the deceased members of the Nagapen family

For Rebecca Newton – special intentions

In memory of the Deceased parents JOSE & LILIA PUGLLA GUTIERREZ

In memory of: Frances M. & Stephen J. Rosty from The Rosty Family

For the special intention of Miriam A. Garcia Ruiz

For Tricia Rumola – Special Intention

In memory of Henry & Barbara Sonntag

Thank You

What is CONVERGE @St.Francis ?

• Converge @St.Francis is a new ministry dedicated to strengthening Spiritual & Community Life at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.

Who does CONVERGE @St.Francis serve ?

•  Converge is open to everyone in the parish community and friends – young and old, gay and straight, people from all walks of life.

What is the goal of CONVERGE @St.Francis ?

• The goal of Converge is to strengthen the bonds of community among existing members of our parish and to welcome new people into the life of our community through spiritual, educational, and social events.

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi has been called the “heart of New York City” and our new ministry hopes to join the other thriving ministries at St. Francis in making sure that this heart continues to beat – offering life and love in our great city.

To stay informed of CONVERGE @St.Francis events sign up HERE.

For more information about the ministry team please email: converge@stfrancisnyc.org

We will celebrate three days of prayer to Mary, Untier of Knots from Monday, September 26 to Wednesday, September 28.  The prayers will be said after the 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM Masses.

Here is the novena prayer:

Introduction

The devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots was inspired by a painting created in 1700 for the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, Germany. In the image, Mary stands above a crescent moon, crushing a serpent under her foot. An angel passes a knotted white ribbon to Mary who unties knots in the ribbon. Another angel receives the smooth, unknotted portion.

Both the painting and the devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots, trace their roots to the second-century bishop, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. Referring to Mary’s role as the Second Eve, Saint Irenaeus wrote that “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what Eve had bound fast through unbelief, thus did Mary set free through faith”  (Against Heresies).

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.

Let us pray for all who are having difficulty with the knots of their lives.
— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.

With all struggling families, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all beset by financial struggles, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking employment, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all suffering from mental and physical illness, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all bound by political ideologies, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all the homeless and the destitute, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all burdened with loneliness, fears or worries, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all living with addictions, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all estranged from the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all who have been abused by the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all enduring religious or ethnic persecution, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all overwhelmed by shame or despair, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all traumatized by violence or neglect, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all targeted by racism or discrimination, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all struggling to let go of grudges, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all working to protect our planet, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking peace, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.

With confidence in God let us pray:

Holy Mary, full of grace,
during your life you accepted with great humility the holy will of the Father
and the legacy of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
You were never entangled with confusion.
As you did for the young couple at the wedding feast of Cana, you intercede for us in all of our difficulties.
With simplicity and patience, you have given us an example
of how to untangle the knots in our complicated lives.
By being our mother forever,
you arrange and make clear
the path that unites us to Our Lord.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, and our mother,
untie the knots that beset our lives.
Receive us into your hands,
as well as those for whom we pray.
Blessed Virgin Mary, through your grace, your intercession, and by your example, deliver us from evil,
and untie the knots that keep us from being united to God so that free of all that binds us,
we may find Him in all things, keep Him in our hearts,
serving Him always in our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Through the intercession of Holy Mary, Untier of Knots, may almighty God bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.