Yesterday, Brother David and Brother Leonard were honored in Tarrytown, NY with the “Lighting The Fire For Catholic Education” award. A more well deserved award would have been hard to find for these two dedicated leaders. They live each day in the image of St. Francis and serve as true inspirations for their students, faculty and staff.

Brother Greg Cellini recently visited Sienna College where he was able to give a lecture entiteled: A Franciscan View of Career: Transform Yourself - Transform the World.

St. Francis Preparatory High School started the new school year with a special guest. The first faculty and staff retreat culminated with a keynote address by Dan O'Keefe and a focus on Catholic Identity and Mission.

Our Brother David shares the magic of his leadership during the start of a new school year at Saint Anthony's High School. Hear about the amazing faculty retreat in his own words.

VOCATION: GRACE AND MISSION

This is now the sixtieth time that we are celebrating the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, established by Saint Paul VI in 1964, during the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. This providential initiative seeks to assist the members of the People of God, as individuals and as communities, to respond to the call and mission that the Lord entrusts to each of us in today’s world, amid its afflictions and its hopes, its challenges and its achievements.

This year I would ask you, in your reflection and prayer, to take as your guide the theme “Vocation: Grace and Mission”. This Day is a precious opportunity for recalling with wonder that the Lord’s call is grace, complete gift, and at the same time a commitment to bring the Gospel to others. We are called to a faith that bears witness, one that closely connects the life of grace, as experienced in the sacraments and ecclesial communion, to our apostolate in the world. Led by the Spirit, Christians are challenged to respond to existential peripheries and human dramas, ever conscious that the mission is God’s work; it is not carried out by us alone, but always in ecclesial communion, together with our brothers and sisters, and under the guidance of the Church’s pastors. For this has always been God’s dream: that we should live with him in a communion of love.

“Chosen before the creation of the world”

The apostle Paul opens before us a remarkable horizon: in Christ, God the Father “chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Eph 1:4-5). These words allow us to glimpse life at its fullest: God has “conceived” us in his image and likeness and desires us to be his sons and daughters. We were created by love, for love and with love, and we are made for love.

In the course of our lives, this call, which is part of the fibre of our being and the secret of our happiness, comes to us by the work of the Holy Spirit in ever new ways. It enlightens our minds, strengthens our wills, fills us with amazement and sets our hearts afire. At times, the Spirit comes to us in completely unexpected ways. So it was for me when, on 21 September 1953, as I was on my way to an annual school celebration, I was led to stop by a church and go to confession. That day changed my life and left a mark that has endured to the present day. God’s call to the gift of self tends to make itself known gradually: in our encounter with situations of poverty, in moments of prayer, when we see a clear witness to the Gospel, or read something that opens our minds. When we hear God’s word and sense that it is spoken directly to us, in the advice given by a fellow brother or sister, in moments of sickness or sorrow… In all the ways he calls us, God shows infinite creativity.

The Lord’s initiative and his gracious gift call for a response on our part. Vocation is “the interplay between divine choice and human freedom”, [1] a dynamic and exciting relationship between God and the human heart. The gift of vocation is like a divine seed that springs up in the soil of our existence, opens our hearts to God and to others, so that we can share with them the treasure we ourselves have found. This is the fundamental structure of what we mean by vocation: God calls us in love and we, in gratitude, respond to him in love. We realize that we are beloved sons and daughters of the one Father, and we come to see ourselves as brothers and sisters of one another. Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, when at last she “saw” this clearly, exclaimed, “At last I have found my calling: my call is love. Indeed, I have found my proper place in the Church… In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be love”. [2]

“I am a mission on this earth”

God’s call, we said, includes a “sending”. There is no vocation without mission. There is no happiness and full self-realization unless we offer others the new life that we have found. God’s call to love is an experience that does not allow us to remain silent. Saint Paul says, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). And the First Letter of John begins with the words, “What we have heard and seen, looked at and touched – the Word made flesh – we declare also to you, so that our joy may be complete” (cf. 1:1-4).

Five years ago, in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, I spoke to every baptized person, saying, “You need to see the entirety of your life as a mission” (No. 23). Yes, because each and every one of us is able to say: “I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273).

Our shared mission as Christians is to bear joyful witness wherever we find ourselves, through our actions and words, to the experience of being with Jesus and members of his community, which is the Church.  That mission finds expression in works of material and spiritual mercy, in a welcoming and gentle way of life that reflects closeness, compassion and tenderness, in contrast to the culture of waste and indifference. By being a neighbour, like the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37), we come to understand the heart of our Christian vocation: to imitate Jesus Christ, who came to serve, not to be served (cf. Mk 10:45).

This missionary activity does not arise simply from our own abilities, plans and projects, nor from our sheer willpower or our efforts to practice the virtues; it is the result of a profound experience in the company of Jesus.  Only then can we testify to a Person, a Life, and thus become “apostles”. Only then can we regard ourselves as “sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising, healing and freeing” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273).

The Gospel icon of this experience is that of the two disciples journeying to Emmaus. After their encounter with the risen Jesus, they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?” ( Lk 24:32). In those disciples, we can see what it means to have “hearts on fire, feet on the move”. [3] This is also my fervent hope for the coming World Youth Day in Lisbon, to which I joyfully look forward, with its motto: “Mary arose and went with haste” ( Lk 1:39). May every man and woman feel called to arise and go in haste, with hearts on fire.

Called together and convened

The evangelist Mark relates the moment when Jesus called to himself twelve disciples, each by name. He appointed them to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message, to heal infirmities and to cast out demons (cf. Mk 3:13-15). The Lord thus laid the foundations of his new community. The Twelve were people from different social classes and trades; none of them was a person of influence. The Gospels speak too of other callings, like that of the 72 disciples whom Jesus sent out two by two (cf. Lk 10:1).

The Church is an Ecclesia, the Greek word for an assembly of persons called and convened, in order to form the community of missionary disciples of Jesus Christ committed to sharing love among themselves (cf. Jn 13:34; 15:12) and spreading that love to all others, so that God’s kingdom may come.

Within the Church, all of us are servants, in accordance with the variety of our vocations, charisms and ministries. Our common vocation to give ourselves in love develops and finds concrete expression in the life of lay men and women, devoted to raising a family as a small domestic church and working as a leaven of the Gospel to renew the different sectors of society; in the testimony of consecrated women and men who are completely committed to God for the sake of their brothers and sisters as a prophetic sign of the kingdom of God; in ordained ministers – deacons, priests and bishops – placed at the service of preaching, prayer and fostering the communion of the holy People of God. Only in relation with all the others, does any particular vocation in the Church fully disclose its true nature and richness. Viewed in this light, the Church is a vocational “symphony”, with every vocation united yet distinct, in harmony and joined together in “going forth” to radiate throughout the world the new life of the kingdom of God.

Grace and mission: a gift and a task

Dear brothers and sisters, vocation is a gift and a task, a source of new life and true joy. May the initiatives of prayer and of activity associated with this Day strengthen an awareness of vocation within our families, our parish communities, our communities of consecrated life, and our ecclesial associations and movements. The Spirit of the risen Lord dispels our apathy and grants us the gifts of sympathy and empathy. In this way, he enables us to live each day born anew as children of the God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:16) and in turn to offer that love to others. To bring life everywhere, especially in places of exclusion and exploitation, poverty and death, in order to enlarge the spaces of love, [4] so that God may reign ever more fully in this world.

May the prayer that Saint Paul VI composed for the first World Day of Vocations, 11 April 1964, accompany us on our journey:

“O Jesus, divine Shepherd of souls, you called the apostles and made them fishers of men. Continue to draw to yourself ardent and generous souls from among the young, in order to make them your followers and your ministers. Give them a share in your thirst for the redemption of all… Open before them the horizons of the entire world… By responding to your call, may they prolong your mission here on earth, build up your Mystical Body which is the Church, and be ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world’ (Mt 5:13)”.

May the Virgin Mary watch over you and protect you. With my blessing.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 30 April 2023, Fourth Sunday of Easter.

 FRANCIS

Religious Brothers Day is May 1! This is a time to celebrate the vocation of Religious Brothers and to give thanks for the Brothers who have impacted your life!  Take some time and thank an important Brother that has impacted your life!

The Franciscan Brothers sponsored Encounter 23: Celebrating Diversity in Religious Life on April 23 at St. John’s University in Queens.  21 different religious congregations representing 12 different countries/cultures.  The day was a celebration of interculturality as we interacted with each other and the many students from SJU.  The day was a great opportunity to learn about the Consecrated Life!

1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Col 3:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1-9

Reflection:  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad, Alleluia! What a shock it must have been when Mary of Magdala found Jesus’ tomb empty!  Imagine, after Mary went to find Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, how they must have felt upon hearing the news. They took off running and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, ran faster than Peter, arriving first at the tomb. One can imagine the feeling you have when your heart sinks after discovering something shocking, especially after the events of the past week and having witnessed the brutal death and burial of the one you loved so deeply…and now, he’s not there!  They saw and believed, but did not yet realize what that empty tomb meant.

One can imagine how they must have felt as they returned home and as they spent time with the other disciples locked in the upper room: fear, grief, confusion, doubt, and ready to give up, yet full of hope and promise because they had faith.  As we reflect on this experience, what in our life feels like we are looking at an empty tomb? Perhaps it is fear of the unknown as we look at our future. The good news is that God is with us to give us strength as he was with the disciples.

What do we see when we find the empty tomb?  Do we lock ourselves up in the upper room? Like the disciples, let us leave the room and see with eyes of faith to believe in a future filled with abundant hope that the resurrection promises us.

Prayer:  God of love, thank you for the gift of love that you give us in Jesus.  Help us to see with eyes of faith, to feel with hearts of love, and to act intentionally so that we may live in the abundant hope of the resurrection as we make Christ present in the world.

Brother Joseph Bach, OSF

On Good Friday, we will hear the Passion Narrative in the Gospel of John.  This narrative tells us who was at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified: “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.” (Jn 19:25)  Of course, John, “the disciple whom he loved,” was also there as this was when Jesus entrusted Mary to him. (Jn 19:27).  

This week we have an invitation to not only accompany Jesus on the way of the cross during this Holy Week, but to also stand at the foot of the cross with the three Marys and John.  What does this mean for us? Think for a minute about all of the people who were part of Jesus’ life prior to this moment: his disciples, friends, and followers.  During his three years of ministry, Jesus touched thousands of lives, especially those whom society excluded, rejected, and looked down upon. Yet, at the moment of his crucifixion there are only four standing at the foot of the cross.  I think it is important that they were standing, not sitting, not falling on the ground crying out in sorrow, but standing with a strength that was not willing to give up. It is a strength that says I am with you even though you have been rejected, mocked, and stripped of your value, dignity, and worth.

Are we willing to stand at the foot of the cross? If so, for whom are we willing to stand? Blessed John Duns Scotus, the great Franciscan philosopher/theologian, reminds us that God, through the Incarnation, chose to become human in the person of Jesus so that we might know what love looks like as it walks across the room, what love feels like as it embraces us, what perfect love is in human form.  As a result of this great love, we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.  So, it is love that was the reason for Jesus and it is out of love that Jesus suffered and died on the cross.  Jesus showed us this great love as he embraced those who were marginalized, excluded, rejected, and told they were less than human.  As we look up at the face of Jesus on the cross, do we see the face of our brothers and sisters whose value, dignity and worth have been taken away from them? 

Let us accept the invitation this week to stand at the foot of the cross with the same strength as the three Marys and John and let us be that strength for those who need us the most - responding to the call of the Gospel to be a prophetic presence as we stand with our brothers and sisters, made in the image and likeness of God, who have been stripped of their value, dignity, and worth.

In the words of Pope Francis on Palm Sunday, “May Our Lady help us stay close to Jesus, present in the people who suffer, are cast out, abandoned” as we journey toward Easter!

Brother Joseph Bach, OSF

1st Reading: Isaiah 50: 4 – 7

Responsorial Psalm: 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24a

2nd Reading: Philippians 2: 6 – 11

Gospel: Matthew 26: 14 – 27:66

REFLECTION:  Isaiah – “I gave my back to those who beat me; the Lord God is my help.”  Yet in the Garden he prays, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”  What had started off with crowds of followers waving palm branches and cheering for their hero, and Jesus having dinner with his closest friends, all went downhill quickly.  First, a disciple sold him out for pocket change.  Then his loyal friends fell asleep when he most needed their support. 

 We judge very harshly those who surrounded Jesus at his arrest and trial.  How could they choose a murderer, Barabbas, over the Messiah?  How could his followers abandon him, or, in the case of Peter, the “Rock”, how could he deny knowing him three times?  But even this betrayal would be forgiven.  I have often felt pity for Judas, not believing that he could be forgiven.  But I have often pictured Peter, standing somewhere in the crowd on the road to Calvary, waiting and hoping just one more time to get a glimpse of his struggling Master falling under the weight of the Cross, and Peter looking into the eyes of Jesus with tears of sorrow.  We know well that Peter was not just forgiven, but after the resurrection was told by Jesus to feed the Lord’s sheep. 

 Matthew takes us through the whole gamut of Jesus’ suffering:  physical pain, betrayal, abandonment, humiliation, uncertainty and fear.  Yet deeper than the pain for Jesus was the awareness of the God who loved him.  And so it is with us!  Stronger than any of our suffering and sinfulness must be our deeply rooted trust that ours is a God of never ending Love. 

 PRAYER:  Lord, remind us often that your kingdom comes whenever your will is done.  As the days draw near to the commemoration of your Passion, death and resurrection, may we recall that you, Lord, our Emmanuel, not only entered this world to suffer for us, but to suffer WITH us.  As your mother Mary stood at the foot of the Cross, may we too stand with her, close to Jesus to the last.

 Brother Vincent J. Adams, O.S.F.

Reflection: As confusing as it may seem, liturgically, the solemnity of the Annunciation is really a good feast to celebrate during Lent. It reminds us that our reflections during Lent are possible because Mary responded YES to the Archangel Gabriel’s interruption into her own life, becoming pregnant, giving birth to the Savior,and forever altering the course of history. Her YES led us toGood Friday, Jesus’ YES to God and humanity. Our faith, our observance of the liturgical calendar, our prayer lives are all elements of evangelization, the evangelization of the good news of Jesus. Mary, Jesus’ mother was the first to receive this good news. She heard and received God’s Word in her heart before she accepted the incarnation of that Word in her womb. Each of us is extended that same invitation, to hear and received God’s Word so that it becomes incarnate in our own lives.

Mary’s YES to God at the Annunciation was harmonized by her son’s YES to God on the cross. This yes, becomes real for us every time we celebrate the Eucharist.

The Annunciation was a quiet, modest glimpse into theincredible beginning of God’s active presence and engagement with humanity. God didn’t make a demand of Mary, nor was the announcement made with trumpets blaring or a full press conference. God softly, almost inaudibly invited Mary and in turn all of us, into a promise of love. In an era and social time where so many feel despair and helplessness, the Annunciation breaks through our sorrow and sadness, revealing God’s love for every single person, inviting us to be a member of a beloved community.

In his book The Prophetic Imagination Walter Brueggemann, a prolific Old Testament scholar and theologian, beckons us to consider what the beloved community - an acute awareness of messianic time - just might look like. It’s hard for us to envision the possibility of a better, more just community when we are living in a time when it seems impossible to achieve. Brueggemann suggests, “We need to ask not whether it is realistic or practical or viable but whether it is imaginable.”

The Solemnity of the Annunciation is an invitation for us to pause, reflect and imagine Mary’s humanity as a prelude to Jesus’. Mary’s initial response of trepidation and bewilderment to Gabriel’s message is understandable. What was being said was physically impossible, yet Gabriel shows Mary that with God anything and everything is possible. Mary’s reply reflects faith, trust, and a willingness to participate in God’s plan, even when sense cannot be made of the situation. But to imagine the possibilities of what could happen…that is faith and the Holy Spirit in our midst.

The gospel story of Mary’s YES to God comes at a time during Lent when we might be feeling “Enough, there is no more to give of myself, I am empty.” Perhaps at this point in our Lenten journey we can reflect of the emptiness we feel as an opportunity to be like Mary and say YES to the joy and the possibility of being filled with God’s promise, allowing “the power of the Most High” to overshadow us. May the incarnate WORD and presence of God continue Mary’s YES in our own lives.

Prayer: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

Dr. Alexandria Egler, Partner in Franciscan Mission

1^st Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalm: Psalm 130: 1-8
2^nd Reading: Romans 8:8-11
Gospel: John 11:1-45

 Reflection: As we pass into the fifth week of our Lenten journey, our penitential practices may be starting to wear thin.  The fervor of Ash Wednesday is waning and our longing for the joy of Easter is palpable.  But we are still in the desert, and our God still has some things to teach us before we can partake in the glory of the Resurrection.

Today’s readings illustrate God’s plan to resurrect our lives through God’s saving power by using the graphic images of old graves and putrefying bodies.  We are reminded how different the Divine thinking is from ours. 

We sometimes feel that there may be parts of our lives beyond redemption.  Like Ebenezer Scrooge, we claim that we are “too old to change.”  How often do we choose to dwell in the shadows, entertaining attitudes and behaviors that deaden us?  Yet we read that God will “open our graves and bring us back.” God is able to shine light into the “graves” of our narrow existences in order to show us a path to new life.  The prophet Ezekiel proclaims that there is no place too unclean for God to do work miracles.

In the same way, the story of Lazarus shows us the lengths that God will go to in order to bring us life.  Here we have Jesus breaking many of the laws in the Torah in order to bring back his friend from the dead.  Neither the stench of rotting flesh nor Death itself can stand against Jesus’ love for his Lazarus.  What an awesome God we have – one who makes the rules, and then breaks them in order to illustrate the extent of the loving care available to us.

 As we prepare for the great drama of the Paschal Mystery, it is time to let God shine a light into our darkness, so that we can prepare a place for the Lamb of God.

 Brother Damian Novello, OSF

Brother Robert Schaefer was the oldest of three children born to Gerard and Marion (Remsbecker) in New York City in 1932. He grew up in Brooklyn attending St. Jerome’s Parish Elementary School and St. Francis Prep. At the Prep, he was on the Optimates Honor Society and enjoyed playing varsity football and baseball. Upon graduation, he attended St. Francis College for one semester and transferred to St. Bonaventure’s Postulate of Smithtown, Long Island. On August 15, 1951 he received the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis and received the name Brother Canisius. After Vatican Council II, he returned to his baptismal name. After a two year Novitiate in Wyandanch, Long Island, he professed his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and on August 25, 1953, he was assigned to teach at St. Francis Xavier Elementary Parish School in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

In 1957, he was assigned to teach the eighth grade at Notre Dame Parish Elementary School in New Hyde Park. He also coached the athletic teams that competed in the Catholic Youth Organization. On one day, his grammar school basketball team won two trophies. Early in the afternoon at the Chaminade H.S. Christmas tournament, they beat St. Catherine’s for the consolation trophy and later in the day, at the St. Francis Prep Christmas Tournament, they beat Our Lady of Consolation for the Championship trophy.

In 1961, he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics from St. Francis College and was assigned to teach mathematics at St. Francis Prep where in the summer months he was director of Camp Alvernia in Centerport, Long Island.

In 1964, he earned his Master of Arts Degree from the School of Education at New York University and was assigned as Principal of St. Anthony’s H.S. and Juniorate located in Smithtown, Long Island. During his tenure, the school was first accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. With the help of community leaders and parents, he also fielded the school’s first football team. Today, that team is a powerhouse in the Catholic High School Athletic Association. 

In 1970, he accepted the position of Registrar at St. Francis College. It was a position he held for twenty-eight years. He was recognized as the Administrator of the Year by the Alumni Association and the Student Government Association.  He was inducted into the Duns Scotus Honor Society and later awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree. Upon retiring from that office, he was designated Dean Emeritus of Registration and Academic Records. In 1998, he returned to the classroom to teach mathematics to the college students until 2016. 

Brother Robert was elected to the Superior General’s Council on two occasions. The first term he served as Director of Apostolates and the second term as Secretary General. He has been a member of the congregation’s finance committee for over thirty-five years. For many years, he delivered meals to the homebound for the Heights and Hills Community Center. Brother Robert lived at Our Lady of Angels Friary in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Brother Robert is survived by his sister Dorothy Seery and her husband Tom and his nieces JoAnn C. Stonier, Christina Cocco (husband Victor M. Cocco), Suzanne M. Seery, nephews Paul T. Seery and Eric Stonier, great nieces Alexis Seery, Amanda Cocco, Olivia Seery, and Lauren Stonier and great nephews Victor Cocco, Parker Stonier, and Michael T. Seery.   He has numerous cousins from both the Schaefer and Remsbecker extended families.  He is also survived by his Franciscan Brothers.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Brother's memory online here.

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6 – 7, 10 – 13a

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23: 1-3a,3b-4, 5, 6

Second Reading: Ephesians 5: 8 – 14

Gospel: John 9: 1 – 41

Reflection: So often we take our senses for granted. A friend of mine was just struck with an illness that has left her deaf…I cannot imagine what a challenge it must be with that sense removed – hear the doorbell, listen to the wind, all the odd noises of our daily lives – music and song, a child’s laughter – hearing someone say “I love you!”. Yet she has hope that theywill find a miracle cure and her hearing will be restored.

The readings focus on the sense of sight and all that it encompasses. How often do we judge someone on their appearance or clothing or the color of their skin. What a wonderful secret we are given to hear “man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart”. To look beyond the external is a gift like looking into a crystal…there are so many facets of the human spirit that we can see if we just take the time to look.

Darkness and light are only for the seeing…but our humanity leads us into the darkness of the passive life. We are challenged to be “children of light”, to be awake and lead the flock. Many days the last thing you want to do is be the shepherd…but we are called to a higher sense. I believe social media is the best example of this that too often people tear things down instead of lifting them up. It’s much easier to see the negative than the positive. Do not take the easy way out by saying nothing…”fearno evil; for Jesus is at your side giving you courage”.

The miracle of the man born blind challenges us on so many levels…judgement, ignorance, faith, sinfulness and belief. Jesus cures a simple man, but the man is chastised for being cured on the Sabbath. Who among us is not deserving of a cure whatever day of the week it is? We are all sinners and to be forgiven of our sins is the greatest gift. This man sees the light and gives glory to God because he has been cured and his sight restored. Who among us has limited sight or no view whatsoever and is in need of a cure? If you believe then it is your duty to help others see…all the beauty around us, the richness of diversity, everything in God’s creation. “I do believe Lord”.

Prayer: God of light, help me to always be a sign of your light in a world that so often is dark. Let me reflect your love in everything I do and see the good you have put in every person. Let me be a shepherd to those who believe and expand the flock to bring the lost sheep home.  Lord I do believe, help my unbelief!

 Brother Philip Augustine Herte, OSF

1st Reading Exodus 17:3-7

Responsorial Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

2nd Reading Romans 5:1-2,5-8

Gospel John 4:5-42

 Reflection: Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure. (Canticle of the Creatures, St. Francis)

 Parched or Thirsty?

 The 1st Reading and the Gospel are about water! Water is necessary for all living creatures including you and I. Without water there can be no life. Francis of Assisi saw such a necessity when he praised the gift of water as useful, humble, precious and pure.

 Speaking of water, we see in today’s readings two images of one being parched or thirsty. Parched literally means dried up while the word thirsty can suggest a strong desire for something. Our 1st Reading is about being parched. Being parched we are struggling, annoyed, irritated with a situation just like the Hebrews who grumbled against Moses and against God. They yearned not for the Promised Land but for the comfort of what they had while in their captivity in Egypt. This complaining, this grumbling and quarreling dried up the Chosen People and they became parched. They tested God at Massah and Meribah.

 The Gospel offers a scene at the well and the request from Christ for a cup of water. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is an encounter where there is a desire, a thirst and a hunger for something that she is aware is missing in her life. Her conversation with Christ leads to a recognition of what that thirst is and that Christ can satisfy the true thirst of her heart and soul. This encounter and conversation lead to evangelization as she proclaims what I yearn and desire for I have found in Jesus.

This Lent are you parched or thirsty? Are you testing the Lord or yearning for the Lord? If today you hear God’s voice harden not your heart which can become parched but instead allow the living waters of Christ to fill your heart’s thirst for a deeper intimacy with Christ this Lent.

Prayer: O God, you are my God, for You I long; For You my soul is thirsting.

Brother Richard Contino, OSF

2nd Sunday of Lent

1st Reading:  Genesis 12:1-4a

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

Second Reading:  2 Timothy 1:8b-10

Gospel:  Matthew 17:1-9

Reflection:  Reflecting on today's Gospel, I especially related with how Peter, James, and John must have felt about the Transfigured Jesus - confused, fearful, shocked. Matthew clearly states Peter, James, and John, "fell prostrate and were very much afraid."  It is very easy to let fear prevent our growth and actions.  For a long time, I was so afraid of failing that I never took a risk.  Consequently, I was minimally fulfilled and rarely contributed.  It was not until I took the risk to enter the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn that my life finally felt fulfilled by my willingness to contribute to life.  When dealing with fear, we may wish to ask what are we afraid of and take our fear and turn it over to God.

 Returning to the Transfiguration scene, imagine the shock of Peter, James, and John seeing images of Moses and Elijah, and hearing the Father's voice.  It is this kind of shock Francis experienced as he prayed in front of the San Damiano Cross and Jesus told him to “Rebuild my Church, which you see is in need of repair."  It is this kind of shock I experience time after time when I witness God's miracles for Brothers, family, countless others, and myself.  This Lent, more than ever, we need to open our hearts to God so we can experience the shock of these miracles.

 Confusion, Fear, Shock. On this second Sunday of Lent, may we overcome any confusion by learning, fear by courage, and embrace the shock of the miracles God has in store for us.  During this Lenten Season, on our journey to Calvary, let us recall the Prayer of Discernment which St. Francis prayed before the San Damiano Cross:

 Prayer: Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart.  Give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out your holy and true command.

 Brother Gregory Cellini, OSF

(Each week, a different Brother will write a reflection.  Thank you, Brother Greg, for contributing this week's reflection!)

FVP 2023: Making Christ Present by Rebuilding His Church! 30 Students from St. Anthony’s High School on Long Island, St. Francis Prep in Queens, and Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau, MO, arrived at St. Anthony’s to spend February break week serving those in need as part of the Franciscan Volunteer Program. The Franciscan Volunteer Program began over 20 years ago as a way to bring our students together to promote Franciscan service and vocations to Religious Life.  Let us pray that some our our young people gathered will consider a call to the consecrated life - as a Sister or as a Franciscan Brother of Brooklyn! Thank you to Ms. Denise Creighton and Brother Mark Waldmann, OSF, FVP Director, for your hard work and planning to make this week a success and thank you to the chaperones from St. Francis Prep and Notre Dame Regional High School for your time and commitment!  The charism of the Franciscan Brothers is to Make Christ Present by rebuilding His Church, sowing seeds of Christian consciousness and brotherhood, and living together in peace! Our Charism definitely came alive this week in the students, faculty, and Brothers in our schools!

Reflection for the 1st Sunday of Advent

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7

Psalm 51:3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 12-13, 14

Romans 5:12-19

Matthew 4:1-11

Reflection: Each year, when the Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, we are given an invitation to enter into the desert with Jesus for 40 days and 40 nights.  In today’s Gospel, we hear about Jesus being led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  It is no coincidence that Jesus goes into the desert after his baptism.  Jesus recognized the importance of taking time away to prepare himself for his ministry and all that he would experience.  

The new year recently started and many of us were looking at what changes we might make in this new year.  This time invites us to take some time away to look at how we are doing so far with the new year.  The invitation to take a look inwardly is the work of discernment and also penance.  For the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, also known as the Third Order Regular of Penance, reflecting inwardly is what leads to conversion or change of heart and this is what true penance is when it is taken seriously.  As we enter into this penitential Season of Lent, let us remember that penance is not just denying ourselves certain food or treats, nor is it just saying a number of prayers to atone for our sins.  When we do the true work of penance, we take time away, as Jesus did, as St. Francis did, to inwardly reflect - to discern how we can live differently in this world, how we can view the world differently to see through the eyes of Jesus and turning from self towards God and the needs of others.

Jesus was tempted three times in the Gospel.  Each temptation asked Jesus to rely on his own resources by showing the devil what he could do rather than to rely on God to make it through this long time in the desert.  We, too, experience temptations.  What we do with these temptations is what is important.  Do we take the easy way out of this hard work of penance or do we do the work that it requires for a true conversion of heart? Let our “time in the desert” during this Lenten Season be a time when we do the difficult work of true penance by inwardly reflecting to embrace a conversion of heart to see God in everyone and everything in the world around us.

Prayer: Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out your holy and true command. Amen.

Brother Joseph Bach, OSF

As we celebrate our 165th Anniversary, The Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn welcomed Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, for mass and dinner.  Our Superior General, Brother Gabriel O’Brien, OSF, presented Bishop Brennan with a check for $10,000.00 to support Futures in Education that helps to ensure that Catholic education is a viable option for students in Brooklyn and Queens, which is very much our founding charism! #brooklynfranciscanvocations #makingchristpresent #abundanthope #FuturesInEducation #dioceseofbrooklyn