“…The church has made an option for the poor which is understood as a ‘special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the church bears witness.’

This option – as Benedict XVI has taught – ‘is implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty.’ This is why I want a church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do that share in the ‘sensus dei’, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them in the center of the church’s pilgrim way. We are called to  find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.”

On this Third Sunday of Lent, St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians says: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” When we hear the word “foolish” we generally think of something as being a little crazy. When St. Paul uses the word, it makes us stop and ask the question, what is “real” wisdom and where does it come? Its author is none other than God, the Creator. Sometimes the real “fools” are those who think that they know everything and are really lacking in true wisdom, knowledge and experience. This is an interesting quote from St. Paul – stop and think it over.

This Sunday, our Elect experience the  first of three Scrutinies during the 5:00 Mass. These are rites that are meant to heal weaknesses and to strengthen the calling of these individuals as they move toward baptism and full participation in the life of the church. They can also be effective in the lives of all those who are participating in the Mass at which they are celebrated. Our prayers continue to accompany both the elect as well as those who are the candidates. Soon, we will be “one” at the Eucharistic table.

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

“…The church has made an option for the poor which is understood as a ‘special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the church bears witness.’

This option – as Benedict XVI has taught – ‘is implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty.’ This is why I want a church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do that share in the ‘sensus dei’, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them in the center of the church’s pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.”

The Second Sunday of Lent offers some familiar Scriptures for us to think about during the week. From the book of Genesis, we hear God asking Abraham to o er his son “as a holocaust.” We ask: Why would God ask this of Abraham whom He loved? Abraham’s willingness to cooperate brought God’s favor to him and he was prevented from laying his hand on the boy. Then we hear of Peter, James and John with Jesus on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them. Wow, what experiences! These are very different from our daily experiences or are they? Our experiences of being asked to do difficult things may not be as extreme as Abraham’s was or our experiences of Jesus may not be as dazzling as Peter, James, and John had on the mountain, but we can probably recall similar events in our lives. When you think back about these, how did you respond?

Last week, we published the income from Sunday collections here in church as well as online Sunday donations and weekday collections for the month of January. I plan on doing this every month and we have compared these  figures with last year’s figures. It is noteworthy to see how online Sunday donations have increased since last year. The reasons that the Sunday collections in church were less than last year may be due to the weather. Remember, we had many very cold weekends and many people were suffering with the flu during this time. Even in church we had problems with the heating system for a period of time. As you can see, we have a budgeted amount for each month and have fallen short of that.

Online giving in the Sunday collection is an easy, consistent, thoughtful way of giving. Check below on how to do this or email Joe Nuzzi for help (jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org).

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

Click HERE to sign up for online giving to to increase your weekly or monthly donation.
We need everyone to support our church to make up our budget deficit.
Thank you.

The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent always focuses on the temptations that Jesus experienced in the desert. Today’s version from Mark is a little different in that Mark mentions that Jesus was in the desert for forty days and was tempted by Satan, but doesn’t go into any details about the temptations as the other Gospels do. We don’t hear the familiar account, but still Jesus is tempted. It is good for us to know what our temptations are and how we deal with them…or do we? The Gospel concludes: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Repent: change your ways, leave behind those things that distract you that may appear to be attractive, but aren’t. Believe in the Gospel: this is what gives life and reflects our true selves. This is what brings light into darkness and peace into our world.

Congratulations to our catechumens who will be going to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the Rite of Election on Sunday afternoon. This is an important step as they enter into the  final weeks before their baptism at the Easter Vigil. Congratulations to our candidates who are moving ahead toward full initiation into the church. Our prayers are with you!

This weekend, I am with our Young Adults on retreat at Loyola Retreat Center in Morristown. This is our fifth annual Young Adult Retreat, and one of the favorite activities of our Young Adult Ministry, so please keep us in your prayers.

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

In today’s Mass, both the  first reading from the Book of Leviticus and the Gospel from Mark deal with leprosy. In Biblical times, not much was known about this disease and because of what it did to people, it was greatly feared. You can see this from Leviticus where it says, “He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” So, when the leper is today’s Gospel approaches Jesus and he is “moved with pity…and…touched him,” this is much more daring and shocking than it might seem. Jesus always sees “the person” – the person who is ill, the person who is possessed, the person who is blind or lame or crippled. He doesn’t care what the external condition of the person is, he sees a human in need. Jesus’ approach to situations teaches us much; will we allow this to touch our hearts?

Recently, we have begun to close the Lower Church during the week when confessions are not being heard. This is a temporary action based on the theft of the monstrance, as well as times when the church has been used as a bathroom, a lunch room, and a place to hang out. Although we have security from 6:30 AM to 9 PM, it is impossible patrol 31st Street, 32nd Street, the Upper Church,
the Lower Church and the Peace Garden at every minute. Many persons who have abused the Lower Church are asked to leave, but then they go to another entrance and cause problems. Closing the Lower Church stops some of this abuse. We will continue to monitor this situation. I am sorry that we have had to do this.

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