Ready or not, the kingdom of God is upon us.

Love is set to come to life in our world and change everything! So, shake loose the cobwebs, wipe the weary from your eyes, and get set to open you mind, your heart, your soul, and your bellies.

We all take our daily physical nourishment from the foods we eat, and we take our spiritual nourishment from the Word of God. Join us as we combine these nourishing practices every Monday in Advent

Monday, November 28
Monday, December 5
Monday, December 12
Monday, December 19

6:30pm in the Clare Room.

The Soup is on!  Join us for one, two, three or all four reflections.

Since soup is being served, please let us know that you are coming….   ALL ARE WELCOME!

Sponsored by the LGBTQ+ Ministry and CONVERGE @St. Francis

Our Advent Day of Reflection this year will be lead by author Dr. Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, who will invite us to reflect on themes of the Advent season through a selection of poems from her new book Holy Land.

Join us to enter this sacred season with prayer, inspiration from Dr. Alaimo’s poetry, mediation and discussion.

Breakfast will be provided.

Copies of the book will be available to purchase that day and Dr. Alaimo will sign books at the end of the event.

Join us:

Saturday, December 3
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
San Damiano Hall

This event is free and open to all.

About the author:

Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, PhD is a professor, poet, and writer at Fordham University in New York City and serves as Associate Director of Fordham’s Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. Her publications include two chapbooks and seven collections of poems, most recently, Andalusian Hours (2020), a collection of 101 poems that channel the voice of Flannery O’Connor, and Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Pandemic Pilgrimage (2021).  In addition, O’Donnell has published a prize-winning memoir, Mortal Blessings (2014) and a book of hours based on the practical theology of Flannery O’Connor, The Province of Joy (2012), and her biography Flannery O’Connor: Fiction Fired by Faith  (2015) was awarded first prize for excellence in publishing from The Association of Catholic Publishers.  Her new critical book on Flannery O’Connor, Radical Ambivalence: Race in Flannery O’Connor was published by Fordham University Press in 2020.  

Our Christmas Carols with the Choir is one of the most exciting annual musical events at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.

Come and sing with us..
Sunday • December 18 • 3:00pm

This beautiful afternoon includes performances from our music ministry, cantors, string quartet and more. Sing along with the choir to some of your favorite Christmas Carols.

You don’t want to miss it!

The UGNAYAN Filipino Ministry is inviting you to the Simbang Gabi (9-Day Advent Novena Masses)

December 15 to 23, 2022

Weekdays at 6:15 PM Lower Church
Weekends at 1:30 PM Lower Church.

(Available also on Livestream)

For more information, please email: filipinoministry@stfrancisnyc.org

THE CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI invites you to
A MORNING OF RECOLLECTION FOR PRIESTS
Mondays
12 / 5 • 2 / 27 • 5 / 1
9: 45am – 12:00 pm
(coffee and pastries & lunch provided)
San Damiano Hall
129 W 31 Street • NYC

Kevin Mullen, OFM
December 5, 2022

Fr. Mullen has served as the 16th Provincial Minister of the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province, the largest province of the Order of Friars Minor in the U.S., since 2014. A native of Paterson, N.J., Fr. Mullen’s pastoral ministry includes nine years at parishes in Bergen County, N.J., as pastor and parochial vicar, and nine years as rector and guardian at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, Mass. During his 46 years as a Franciscan friar, Fr. Mullen has held several administrative and leadership positions for the Province, Order of Friars Minor, and Franciscan institutions of higher education. He holds a doctorate degree in moral theology from Catholic University of America in Washington, and a master’s in divinity from Washington Theological Union.

Kenneth Himes, OFM
February 27, 2023

Kenneth Himes, OFM is a professor of theology at Boston College. His research and writing focus on ethical issues in war and peacebuilding, the development of Catholic social teaching, and the role of religion in American public life, as well as fundamental moral theology. He is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the editor of Modern Catholic Social Teaching (Georgetown University Press).

Dan Horan, OFM
May 1, 2023

Daniel P. Horan, OFM is the Director of the Center for Spirituality and Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. He previously held the Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He is a columnist for National Catholic Reporter and the author of fourteen books including the award-winning Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology (2019) and The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton: A New Look at  the Spiritual Influence on his Life, Thought, and Writing (2014).

Friendsgiving at St. Francis is a time for us to gather with our church family to give thanks to God for our many blessings and share a holiday meal together.  Everyone is welcome to join!

Our Friendsgiving is a classic pot-luck dinner where everyone brings something to share. It is hosted by the LGBT+ and Converge Ministries who will provide the Turkey and the Ham and we ask everyone coming to bring either a side dish or dessert to share (for approximately 8-10 people).

If life is busy or you aren’t adept around the kitchen, don’t let that stop you from joining us. There is an option to donate $20.  We want you to attend also!

This is also a BYOB event… feel free to bring your beverage of choice! We will provide soda and water.

Pre-Registration is required for this event. Registration closes on Monday, NOVEMBER 14th at 9:00 PM. Due to the nature of the event, we cannot accept walk-ins the day of the event.

Friendsgiving at St. Francis of Assisi
Sunday, November 20, 2022
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Francis Room

Please register below and tell us what you will be bringing:

Join us Saturday, November 5th at 1:00pm, as we gather for a Memorial Mass remembering all of the deceased friars who have served here.

Come and give thanks for the 300+ men who have helped make this place what it is today!

Are you or someone you know interested in exploring Catholicism or completing Confirmation?

• • If you or someone you know is not Catholic but is interested in learning about our beliefs and practices, feel free to contact us.  There is no pressure whatsoever to join.  Curious people are welcome to ask questions, learn, investigate and then choose to either stay or go.
  • If you are already Christian but raised in another Christian community and are interested in possibly becoming Catholic, call us.
  • If you are an adult Catholic who never received Confirmation or First Communion and are thinking about completing your sacraments, we can prepare you for that.

If any of these apply to you or someone you know, feel free to contact us.

What is the Schedule?

Our RCIA will begin Tuesday, September 13th, 2022.  We meet every Tuesday from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

The RCIA at St. Francis of Assisi is free of charge.

If you would like to find out more about our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, please contact:

Joseph Nuzzi
Director of Evangelization
212-736-8500 x365
jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org

Here is some more information that might be helpful:

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How do we prepare adults for Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion?

God calls people all the time, even in a pandemic.  When God calls people to the Church, it is the Church’s responsibility to welcome them and prepare them to be disciples of Jesus.  The main way we do this, is through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.  You will often see this referred to simply as the “RCIA.”

Why do people ask about our RCIA program?   

People give all different reasons for exploring Catholicism.  Some people come to the Church because they fall in love with someone Catholic and they are interested in exploring their partner’s faith.  Some people come from a nominally Catholic family but were raised by their parents to have no religious affiliation and they are looking to reconnect with a lost family tradition.  Some people move to the US from a country where religious practices are suppressed and they want to learn about spirituality.  People give all kinds of reasons for expressing interest.

Some people are looking for meaning.  Some people are looking for spirituality.  And some people don’t really know why at first, but they just feel like they feel good coming to church.

But why do people decide to convert to Catholicism?

This is a different question than why people call or email about a program.  People actually decide to convert because they feel closer to God in the Church.  That is it.  That is why they join and why they stay.

What is it that makes them feel closer to God here?  The answer to that is probably the same given 2000 years ago in the Acts of the Apostles:

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.
(Acts 2: 42)

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles – in other words to the Gospel.  They learned about Jesus and Jesus’ teachings directly from the people who knew him, who listened to him and who ate with him, the people who were there when Jesus died.  They heard the witness of the people who first experienced Jesus’ resurrection.  They felt close to God through the message.

They devoted themselves to the communal life – in other words they joined the community of people who gather to live out Jesus’ commandment to love one another.  Community is an integral part of the Catholic experience of spirituality.  During this pandemic we were all given a painful reminder of how important community is to all of us when we were been forced to socially distance ourselves to stop the spread of the virus.  Ancient Christians felt closer to God in the community.

They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread – this is an ancient reference to the ritual celebrations of the church (what we call the “sacraments”) and specifically to the Eucharist.  In other words, they felt closer to God in the Church’s rituals, especially Communion.

…and they devoted themselves to the prayers.  So many people who ask about the RCIA express that they do not know how to talk to God.  In other words, they don’t know how to pray.  That is OK.  It’s part of what we teach.  Ancient Christians felt closer to God in their personal prayer life and in the communal prayers of the Church.

These are many reasons for becoming Catholic. These are some of the the reasons that led the first generation of Christians to convert and they are the same that lead many today to join the Church.

St. Francis of Assisi is a church community of people from all over the world. Whether we come from other countries or other parts of the United States, many of us are in New York far from family and friends. Often we face the reality of grieving for lost loved ones from afar.

On Wednesday, November 2nd
at a special 7:00 PM Mass

we will gather to remember and celebrate the lives of our loved ones who have gone before us to live in the light of the Lord. You, your family and friends are invited to join us either live or virtually for our annual Mass of Remembrance for those who have died.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen

Have you or are you experiencing a sense of grief or loss?

St. Francis will be offering a 6-week series on Bereavement for those who have suffered through loss or grief in these days.

A Bereavement Support Group will meet on six Wednesdsays from

Wednesday, October 12 to November 23 (no session on Nov. 2)
6:30 to 8:00 pm
in second floor conference room in the Francis house

Fr. Michael Carnevale and Fr. Steve Patti will co-facilitate the group. Space is limited, if you are interested please call Fr. Steve Patti, O.F.M. at 212-736-8500, Ext. 226 or or email him at spatti@stfrancisnyc.org to inquire.

Interested persons should be at least three months into the grieving process.

Pre-registration is required.