SING A NEW SONG TO THE LORD!

These words, from the beginning of Psalm 149, are echoed throughout the other 149 poems/prayers that make up the Book of Psalms.  For nearly 2500 years, the psalms have played a central role in the lives of Jews and Christians alike.  They have been sung in public worship and prayed in private devotion.  They have been meditated upon by saints, commented upon by scholars, and set to a variety of musical styles ranging from Gregorian chant to Bach and Brahms, Ives and Stravinsky. The Book of Psalms is not only a treasury of prayers.  It is a school of prayer in which the inspired Word of God teaches us how to pray just as Jesus, God’s Word made flesh, taught his disciples when he introduced them to the Our Father.

St. Francis Adult Education Center is pleased to offer an intensive summer workshop on the psalms.  This course will meet twice a week for three weeks in July.  For the first five classes, participants will have the option of registering for the noon session (12 – 1:15 p.m.) OR the evening session (6:15 – 7:30 p.m.).  Taught by three members of St. Francis of Assisi’s parish staff—Mr. Joseph Nuzzi, Fr. Bill Beaudin and Fr. Timothy Shreenan—the course will cover the following topics:

Week 1 (July 11, 12)  The Psalms:  Hymnal of the Jerusalem Temple

Joseph Nuzzi will introduce participants to the various types and major themes of the psalms, the characteristics of the Hebrew poetry in which the psalms were written, and the role of the psalms in the religious life of Israel.

Week 2 (July 18, 19)  The Psalms:  Prayer Book of the Christian Church

Fr. William will explore the influence of the psalms on the New Testament, the Church’s liturgy, and Christian spirituality, and will discuss what it means to find Christ in the psalms and to pray the psalms with Christ.

Week 3 (July 25)  The Psalms:  Muse for Artists and Musicians

Fr. Timothy will demonstrate how the psalms have been the inspiration for some of the western world’s finest artistic creations in images and sounds.

The workshop will conclude on the evening of July 26 in St. Francis of Assisi Church where the various themes of the course will be brought together in an introduction by Fr. William and a celebration of Solemn Sung Vespers by the workshop’s participants.

INSTRUCTORS: Joseph Nuzzi, Fr. William Beaudin, Fr. Timothy Shreenan

Wednesdays and Thursdays:  July 11, 12; 18, 19; 25, 26

12:00 PM – 1:15 PM  OR  6:15 PM – 7:30 PM; San Damiano Hall

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DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM HERE

or click HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE.

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We wish everyone a happy and safe Independence holiday!

Wednesday, July 4: Mass at 11:00 AM

No confessions; the church offices and the St. Francis Adult Education Center will be closed.

Our regular schedule will resume on Thursday, July 5.

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Join us for our annual
United in Love Pre-Pride festive Mass
5:15 PM Saturday, June 23, 2018.

Join us for THEOLOGY ON TAP: MASS 101

Wednesday, May 23rd at 6:30 PM
(The talk will begin around 7:00 PM)

The Australian
20 West 38th Street
Between 5th & 6th Avenues

Speaker: Fr. Santo Cricchio, OFM Conv.

What actually happens at Mass? Why do we go? What do we get out of it? What keeps us coming back?

Join the Young Adult Ministry at St. Francis of Assisi for a lively discussion of Mass:101

We’ll kick things off with our speaker, Friar Santo and break out into small groups to discuss, meet new people, and enjoy some yummy food and drinks.

About Fr. Santo:

Friar Santo entered the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor Conventual) in Ellicott City, Maryland in1984.

He completed his theological and pastoral at the Washington Theological Union and received a Masters of Theology.  On October 12. 1991 he was ordained a friar-priest in Baltimore, Maryland.

From 1991 to 1996 he served as an associate pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church, a Latino parish in Brooklyn, NY.  From 1996 to 2001 as associate pastor of St. Clement Mary Parish in Baltimore, Maryland.  In the summer of 2001 through the spring of 2005 he served as one of five associate campus ministers at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

In the summer of 2000 Friar Santo became a Reserve Chaplain for the United States Navy.  As a Navy Chaplain he has served the men and women of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. He was deployed in service to Operation Enduring Freedom in Dijibuiti for a year.  Upon completing his deployment Friar Santo returned to Brooklyn as Pastor, and together with a great pastoral team merged two parishes into the combined identity of Most Holy Trinity-St. Mary, a trilingual parish. After eight years of ministry in Brooklyn he was transferred to the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia where he continued to ministered to the Latino community until the summer of 2017.

Currently he is using his Post 9/11 G.I. Bill to earn a Masters in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University.  As of 2018, Friar Santo will have completed thirty-three years of religious profession as a Franciscan Friar, twenty-six of which as a friar-priest and sixteen as a Navy Reserve Chaplain.

This is a Young Adult Ministry Event. It is open to all NYC young adults in their 20′s and 30′s!