Chapter 4: Signs of Holiness in Today’s World

Within the framework of holiness offered by the Beatitudes and Matthew 25, 31-46, I would like to mention a few signs or spiritual attitudes that… are necessary if we are to understand the way of life to which the Lord calls us…

The first of these great signs is solid grounding in the God who loves and sustains us. This source of inner strength enables us to persevere amid life’s ups and downs but also to endure hostility…

Such inner strength makes it possible for us in our fast-paced, noisy and aggressive world to give a witness of holiness through patience and constancy in doing good. It is a sign of the fidelity born of love for those who put their faith in God can also be faithful to others. They do not desert others in bad times; they accompany them in their anxiety and distress, even though doing so may not bring immediate satisfaction…

This attitude is not a sign of weakness but of true strength…

Holy Week begins today with Palm Sunday of the Passion. It has this double name because the beginning of Mass commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We hear the Gospel of His entry into Jerusalem and we join the crowds by carrying palm branches and singing “Hosanna” as the procession moves through the church. The tone of the celebration changes quickly with the assigned readings for Mass and the proclamation of the Passion of the Lord from the Gospel of Luke.

This Tuesday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Cardinal Dolan will preside at the Chrism Mass. This Mass includes the recommitment of priests to their ministry and the blessing of the oil of the sick, the oil of the catechumens and the consecration of sacred chrism. This chrism will be used at the Easter Vigil to anoint our newly baptized and for the confirmation of our candidates. The Chrism Mass is open to the public and begins at 4:00 PM.

Look over our schedule for confessions throughout the week and the times for Masses on Holy Thursday, the Services on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Masses. It is a busy week and if you plan on going to confession, go early in the week – there will be extra confessors available.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

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.”

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.”

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.”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.

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

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.”

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.

On February 15, 2019, 28 adventurous Catholics from St. Francis of Assisi bravely crossed the Hudson River and traveled to the “wilds” of Central New Jersey for a weekend of prayer and community. The event marked the St. Francis Volunteer Retreat at the Loyola Jesuit Center in the quaint hamlet of Morristown, New Jersey.

The center is located on the sprawling former estate of the Foote Family, replete with mahogany and marble staircases, crystal chandeliers, English gardens, and outdoor Stations of the Cross – all majestically set on 30 acres of woodland. Loyola provided the perfect backdrop for spiritual renewal and reflection for the dynamic group of “cityfied” parishioners.

Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M. presided over Morning and Evening Prayer, a Reconciliation Service, and Sunday Mass. Music was provided by Eric Sweeney, a member of the St. Francis Choir. The retreat was organized by Joseph Nuzzi, Director of Evangeliza- tion at St. Francis, with the goal of gathering together volunteers from the RCIA, Young Adult, Liturgical, Hospitality, LGBTQ, Migrant Center, and Filipino ministries at St. Francis.

The weekend’s theme was “Passing the Baton of Faith.” Joe, assisted by Fr. Andrew, Ed Trochimczuk, Director of Volunteer Ministry, and Jennifer Wiler (RCIA and Young Adult team member), asked those gathered to reflect in their journals and their small groups on their journey of Faith. Share how the faith came to you. Who are the people who have helped you come to know God and Christ? Who do you take inspiration from today? How grounded do you feel in your faith right now?

As the weekend came to an end, the mood of participants was joyful and inspired. New friendships had been born, and camaraderie was high. We were reminded that through each other – our community of Faith – we can find strength and hope to face whatever challenges life may bring. Our task is to continue to pass the baton of our Faith forward as others have done for us. We left the idyllic landscape and returned to the “concrete jungle” that many in attendance call “home,” full of the love of Christ and resolute in our mission to embody His Word. Until next year, that is!

-Monika Mitchell (RCIA team member)

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Below is a table comparing February 2018 collections to our current February 2019 collections.

We are grateful that our collections are up from last year, but as you can see we still are not reaching our budgeted goal.

We need everyone to do their part to keep St. Francis on firm financial ground.  The best way to use this is to make your offering using our online giving system.

You can sign up for online giving HERE.

We ask all of our members and visitors to offer the equivalent of ONE HOUR of their weekly salary per week to support the mission of the church.  This comes to a tithe of 2.5%

Thank you to all of you who are already doing your part.

On this Third Sunday of Lent we hear the parable about the fig tree that had not yielded any fruit for three years. The natural response is to cut it down, but the gardener asks for another year when he will cultivate the ground and fertilize it and hopefully, it will bear fruit. All parables are meant to teach us something. What about God’s dealing with us? How patient or impatient is God with us? We all have moments of insight and “ah ha” experiences. We may lose patience with ourselves, but God deals with us differently. Remember the Scripture passage in which God says “my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.” In our prayer we try to put ourselves “in line” with God and have God’s view and patience. This is not easy for us. This is part of our Lenten homework.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

We often hear it said that with respect to relativism and the flaws of our present world that the situation of migrants, for example, is a lesser one. Some Catholics consider it a secondary issue… the only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours who risk their lives to offer a future to their children.

Can we not realize that this is exactly what Jesus demands of us when he tells us that in welcoming the stranger, we welcome him…(we read) in the Old Testament: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.” “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

This is not a notion invented by some pope or a momentary fad. In today’s world too we are called to follow the path of spiritual wisdom proposed by the prophet Isaiah to show what is pleasing to God: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.”