Minister's Note for September

The Feast of the Stigmata

  The life of the fraternity is filled with the Holy Spirit and we have so much to look forward to! We’ve been given the opportunity of sharing our Franciscan charism with five wonderful people that have been so committed to their Franciscan callings that they persevered in their initial Formation amidst a pandemic and entirely online. At our September gathering, four of these prayerful people participated in the Rite of Admission and become Candidates into the Secular Franciscan Order. We  also formally ‘re-welcomed’ Dottie Hansen OFS, as she Renews her commitment to the Secular Franciscan Order. In October, we will be celebrating the Profession of Heidi Madden. Such joy!!!

    In September, we continue to reflect particularly on the Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi. I love the image of the Stigmata by Domenico Ghirlandaio (below). There’s so much going on with it – including featuring the place of La Verna in the background, one of the many places of hermitages to which Francis and his brothers regularly spent extended time in prayer. Francis was so open to God in deep and regular prayer and so emulated the life and teachings of Jesus Christ that he was granted this most sacred gift. Br. Bill Short OFM, recorded a brief video for us on the Stigmata and Franciscan Spirituality. We shared Br. Bill's talk at our September gathering, and created a new 'home' for both his slides and talk here on our website. Enjoy!

Stigmata of St. Francis - Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted 1483-1485, Florence