It’s the First Sunday of Advent. One sentence in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah stands out: “Yet, O Lord, you are our father, we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.”

When I was in elementary school, we had art classes and one of the classes gave us the opportunity to work with clay and the potter’s wheel. Our teacher was good at shaping the wet clay, but when I tried it, I made a mess. She showed me how I had to be steady when I was trying to shape the clay and while I didn’t do a great job, I didn’t make a mess, either.

God is our potter – steady, attentive, concerned that we turn out correctly. Sometimes, we think that we can shape ourselves without God and that’s when we turn out to be a mess. Advent is a good time for us to put ourselves in God’s hands and allow the divine love to shape us.

Congratulations to our sisters and brothers in the RCIA who celebrated the Rite of Acceptance a few weeks ago. They have been attending classes each week since September and this is an important step in their moving forward. Congratulations to Joe Nuzzi and the RCIA Team for their dedication.

We hope that you nd the booklet that was given out for the season of Advent to be an inspiration as we go through this season that can be so distracting. Taking time each day to re ect on the day’s presentation in the booklet can keep us on the right track. There are also other Advent books available in the lobby of the Parish House. Check them out!

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

Leap of Faith

Today’s Gospel could be seen as an example of what St. Paul is explaining in the second reading. First, he tells us that the resurrection of Christ is not the end of God’s reign, but the beginning. Since death came into the world with the sin of Adam, Christ’s death saved us from sin and his resurrection saves us from death. Now that he is risen, he will complete his reign over all creation, meaning that everything in creation that turned away from God will now be subject to God. Since Christ had to die before he could rise, the last enemy to be subjected is death; so too do we have to die before we can rise.

When all this happens, everything will show God’s glory. God will be seen in all of creation. Jesus will be seen as equal to the Father, not just a man, but the Son of God. The Gospel gives us the image of a king on his throne, surrounded by his subjects. And then comes the final judgment.

The rest of the Gospel is symbolic description of that judgment. I always thought the point of this parable was that we recognize God in the poor, the sick, the homeless, prisoners, etc. But the people in the parable who helped all those in need did not recognize Christ in the needy. That’s why he tells them that whatever we do for “these least ones,” we do for Christ.

That is actually good news, because it is not always easy to recognize Christ in others. I used to think that once I start seeing Christ in all people, I’ll be more willing to help them. But it also works the other way. When you help someone in need, you begin to see Christ there, too. This means that we cannot use not seeing Christ in others as an excuse to put o helping them. (“Sure, I’ll help those drug addicts – as soon as I see Jesus in them.”) Whether it is a death-row prisoner or a homeless family, we need to take that leap of faith to help, not knowing if we will ever see Christ in them. Remember, God forgives and saves us because we need God, not because we deserve it.

-Tom Schmidt

Whenever the New Testament authors want to present the heart of the Christian moral message, they present the essential requirement of love for one’s neighbor: “The one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the whole law…therefore love of neighbor is the fulfilling of the law.”These are the words of St. Paul, for whom the commandment of love not only sums up the law but also constitutes its very heart and purpose: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” To his communities Paul presents the Christian life as a journey of growth in love: “May the Lord increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” Saint James likewise exhorts Christians to fulfill “the royal law according to the Scripture: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself ’, in order not to fall short of my commandment.”

Today’s Gospel presents us with the teaching about using the “talents” that God has given each of us: “Well done, my good and faith- ful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.” God has given us many gifts: time, talents and abilities, attitude, graces and blessings. For these gifts, we should always be eternally grateful. We need to remember that these were not given to us just for our happiness, but to share them and give them to build up others who may be in need in any way. As the Peace Prayer of St. Francis says: “It is in giving that we receive.” Many do not see the value of this, but it lies at the heart of the Christian message and the Christian ways of life. And…we know that it is true!

This Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving, an important tradition here in the United States. Abraham Lincoln in 1863 declared that this day would be set aside each year as a national day to give thanks. For us as Christians, it reminds us that giving thanks and especially the virtue of gratitude are important qualities that we have as believers. Gratitude enables us to give thanks to God every day of our lives for ordinary blessings and for special blessings that we receive. Cultivating the virtue opens us up to be sensitive to the positive and life giving moments and happenings in our lives rather than focusing on the negative and evil happenings that occur daily. Know that we, the Friars and Sta here at St. Francis, wish you a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Know that you will be remembered in our prayers for the blessing that you are to us!

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

The Lord’s missionary mandate includes a call to growth in faith:

“Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Hence it is clear that the first proclamation also calls for ongoing formation and maturation. Evangelization aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and God’s plan for his or her life. All of us need to grow in Christ. Evangelization should stimulate a desire for growth, so that each of us can say wholeheartedly: ‘”It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Along with the virtues, this means above all the new commandment, the first and the greatest of the commandments, and the one that best identifies us as Christ’s disciples: “This is my commandment , that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Fr. Michael McDonnell, who ministered at St. Francis of Assisi for 20 years, from 1987 to 2007, died on Friday, November 3, in Saint Petersburg, FL where he had recently retired.

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1938, Fr. Michael lived for most of his life in the United States. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1958 and was ordained a priest on March 13, 1965 in Washington, DC. Much of his priestly ministry was dedicated to Spanish-speaking people. He served in parishes in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Lima Peru, as well as the Bronx and Silver Spring, MD. After Fr. Michael completed his ministry at St. Francis of Assisi, he moved to Holy Name of Jesus Church on the Upper West Side, but continued to hear confessions in Spanish here at St. Francis.

Fr. Michael enjoyed a wide range of interests, including a deep fascination with various forms of transportation, from subways to jetliners. He was an avid walker and swimmer as well. He will be fondly missed at St. Francis for his gentle humor and shy smile.

Five foolish and ve wise virgins are featured in today’s Gospel from Matthew. They may capture your attention at the beginning, but the last sentence puts the parable in perspective: “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”That statement is enough to keep you awake because it can appear to refer to the time when our death might be. Yet, another way of looking at it is that it is a call to be alert to how the Lord is breaking into our world and what is expected from us now. The Lord breaks into our world all the time. Are we awake enough to recognize this when it happens, especially if it happens quietly and peacefully.

We 55 pilgrims arrived back here in the USA yesterday, so now we have jet lag. Our  final days on the pilgrimage took us through the northeast countryside of Spain and across the border into Lourdes, France. Here in 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to a poor shepherd girl, Bernadette, 18 times. We visited the famous Grotto, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of Pius X. We joined
in the evening torchlight procession. Throughout the pilgrimage I had Mass for our group in some very beautiful places…and of course, we prayed for you. There is much for us to remember and to be grateful for…and we are happy to be home!

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