RSS

Monthly Archives: October 2011

New York, New York

31 Oct

It's hard to believe that this isn't even half of the city!

Despite Mother Nature throwing us a curveball with ten inches of snow (in October no less!), the Postulants are back safe and sound in good ol’ Wilmington, Delaware. It was a fast couple of days with a lot to share about, but I have to be completely honest: everything we did on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday did not compare to all we did in New York City on Friday. The other days were great in their own way, and my next post will definitely be a reflection on some great ministries in our province, but New York just deserves it’s own post.

Arriving at the parking deck in Midtown Manhattan about 9:00, we began our walk through the city to our first destination, the St. Francis Residences. Started in 1980, this ministry offers permanent housing for the homeless, mentally ill population in the city, with room for 240 residents across three locations. Not only is the housing offered at a dramatically reduced rate, the friars and staff offer medical assistance, dining services, entertainment, and general guidance as well. We spent an hour in the morning touring the building on W. 22nd St. and meeting a few of the residents.

From there, we continued south towards the water for a little sightseeing and a walk on The High Line. Built just a few years back, The High Line is an old elevated train track that was converted into a green walking trail, filled with wild plants, flowers, and well manicured grass. Given it’s location (both in the city and heigh above the street), it is a great place to go for a walk and relax in such a fast-paced city.

After a nice walk and a quick lunch, we started walking north for a bit more tourism. Because I’m a huge fan of the NBC show 30 Rock, I made sure we stopped at the Rockefeller Center on our way by to get a picture and in hopes of spotting Tina Fey. Sadly, I left with only the former. Walking just a block to the east, we found ourselves at the gorgeous St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Though both of these destinations were quite breathtaking, and certainly popular for a reason, there is a little known gem right in between them that I found most interesting: St. Francis. Carved into the wall of a shop, he is depicted as a simple man, quietly living out his life of the Gospel in the shadows of enormous power and wealth of both the Church and business. What symbolism of his life and work! I wonder if the person who put it there knew what they were implying…

By then it was time to get on the subway and meet the friars at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus. Built in 1868, this church has a long history of both growth and decline in a city that is always changing. Taken over by the friars in 1990, it has adapted well to changing demographics and population in the city, and is a key element to the life of the neighborhood. It’s school continues to teach grades K-8, they run a thrift shop, and hold outreach meetings for the community almost constantly throughout the day.

With only a few hours left in the day, we rushed around to fit in a few more sights before we left. Since we were in the area, we walked over to St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church, and easily the largest church I’ve ever seen. From there we took the subway all the way down to the water so that we could take the Staten Island Ferry and pass the Statue of Liberty on her 125th anniversary. (Talk about dumb luck on our part! We had no idea!) And as a last hoorah, we took the subway into the Village for some pizza and Italian pastries.

All in all, we got to see two incredible Franciscan ministries and a great view of the city. A suburban kid myself, the city was a great spectacle and a lot of fun. At this point in my formation, though, it seems entirely overwhelming to think about myself a ministry as large as these, but I’m open to the possibility!

Check back soon to see all the places in New Jersey we visited this weekend, and checkout the updated Photos page for new pictures!

 
3 Comments

Posted by on October 31, 2011 in Postulancy, Trips

 

Tags: , , , ,

On The Road… Again!

27 Oct

I'm starting to get used to living out of one of these!

It case it wasn’t apparent enough, the Postulant year has a lot of traveling: in two months, we’ve been to Camden, Philadelphia, New York City, Cincinnati, Esopus NY, and Margate City NJ, not to mention all of the daily traveling we do within an hour of our house. In keeping with this theme, we’re leaving today for a whirlwind tour of northern New Jersey and New York City in hopes of better acquainting ourselves with the ministries of Holy Name Province. Between now and Sunday night, we plan on stopping at seven different sites run by the province, ranging from suburban parishes to an innercity hotel for the mentally ill.

There’s no doubt that this will be a fast-paced trip and I unfortunately see absolutely no opportunity for posting until Monday. Check back then for some reflections and some great pictures!

 
2 Comments

Posted by on October 27, 2011 in Postulancy, Trips

 

Franciscan Funnies

25 Oct

Religious life is not all about work and prayer: laughter and joy are just as key to a healthy religious life, if not more! One of the things I love about the Franciscans is that they are very down-to-earth, enjoy having a sense of humor, and rarely put on a face of false piety. Because of this, we’ve often been depicted as foolish or simple minded in many jokes, looking less serious and organized than our Jesuit or Dominican counterparts. Obviously there’s some historic truth to this, but I think what it says most is that we embrace our sense of humor as much as anyone. I hope that the three jokes I’ve picked will bring a little laughter and joy to your busy day!

Stranded on a deserted island: A Dominican, a Jesuit, and a Franciscan were stranded on a deserted island for many years. One day, they found a lamp buried in the sand, and out popped a Genie. The genie said to them, “Thank you so much for setting me free from my lamp! I will grant each of you one wish to show my gratitude!”

The Jesuit spoke first: “I long to be back at the university where I study and teach once more. Please, send me back, away from here!” Poof, he was gone. The Dominican spoke next: “I long to be back with the people, preaching the word of God in the streets and in the church. Please, send me back, away from here!” Poof, he was gone. After thinking long and hard, the Franciscan spoke last: “I kind of miss those guys. Can you bring them back?”

Power Outage: A Franciscan, Dominican, and Jesuit were concelebrating the Mass when the power suddenly went out in the church. The Franciscan took great joy in opportunity for simplicity, and sat in quiet prayer in the dark. The Dominican took the opportunity to give an eloquent sermon about how God is the light for the world, leading all out of darkness. Seeing the responses of his two concelebrants, the Jesuit went downstairs to the basement and fixed the fuse.

The First Charism: Saints Benedict, Dominic, Ignatius, and Francis were in heaven arguing over which of their charisms was most primordial. Saint Benedict said: “All the way in the garden of Eden, all that existed was work and prayer, ‘Ora et Labora,’ therefore we are first.” Dominic jumped in, “Hold on. In order for Eden to be created, God had to speak, and so the Word was first. Dominicans are older.” Ignatius, feeling quite confident, said, “But even before that, there was chaos, and the lord gave creation structure and order. The Jesuits are clearly first.” Chuckling to himself, Francis agreed: “You’re right. First came chaos!”

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 25, 2011 in General Reflection

 

Tags: , , , ,

The Test Results Are In…

24 Oct

As if my personality could be contained by letters, numbers, and lines!

Though driving ten hours both ways in a mini-van with five other guys and then spending a week with twenty other men can be an experience in and of itself… there was a more practical agenda to our trip to Cincinnati: Inner reflection and community life. Led by Br. Tim Lamb, OFM, we spent the week taking personality tests and analyzing the results so that we could better know ourselves and our brothers. Here’s what I found out about myself:

Myers-Briggs: Of the 16 possible personality types, mine is INFJ, meaning that I’m introverted, tend to look at the big picture rather than the details, act more subjectively than objectively, and prefer a plan rather than “play it by ear.” I’m told that INFJ’s are driven by their values and take great stock in their insights, leading them to be outspoken about meaningful topics. With a strong compassion for others, IN’s are a bit more inclined to reading people than others, and are good as leading by persuasion. Combined with the emphasis on planning, INFJ’s are usually seen as visionaries that seek social change, for better or for worse (I’ve seen both Ghandi and Hitler as famous INFJ’s). My favorite description of this personality type is that of a “friendly antagonist,” something that I’m sure many of you that know me will find very entertaining.

FIRO-B: The three pairs of numbers on the bottom of the page represent my expressed and desired amounts of Inclusion, Control, and Affection. The first thing you’ll notice is that I changed my control scores to make them higher. Typical… and ironic. Like most, I have a need for affection but am very hesitant to show it, and have a high desire to be included in others’ plans, whether I have to make the first move or not.

Leadership Matrix: The final test is depicted by the zigzag line in the center. Based on four categories, Assertiveness, Sociability, Emotional Response (to change), and Readjustment (or how much outer authority is preferred), the scale ranges from Low to High based on one’s preferred leadership style, with the red line representing work and the black line representing home. The high A suggests that I like to take control, but the even higher S means that I do it in a persuasive, rather than dominating, way. I’m confortable with change, but am more willing to look to the authority of others before acting.

Though I find these results to be fairly accurate to my own perception of self, I think it’s important when taking them to remember that they’re only an outward expression, even symptom, of a much more complex inner self. To use these results as a form of categorization or even limitation of relationships would be of no service to anyone. To prevent this sort of thing from happening, it’s important that we use the results as a very basic first step in truly getting to know ourselves and our communities. The better questions might be: Why am I driven by my intuition rather than my senses? Why do I find it difficult to be in situations without a clear plan or leader? Why am I hesitant to show affection but have no problem receiving it? If we don’t move beyond the simple “what” of these results into a relationship that seeks to know “why” a person scores the way they do, we are living a superficial relationship at best, and risk limiting our relationships to boxes and easy categorizations at worst.

For us in community, the test results are in: how are we going to use them? How would Francis use them?

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 24, 2011 in Postulancy, Workshop

 

Tags: , , , , ,

“And The Lord Gave Me…Cousins?”

23 Oct

My future "cousins"

There is a friar in our province that shared with us a bit of playful advice prior to traveling to Cincinnati and meeting the other postulants: “Just remember, the guys from your own province are your brothers. The ones from the other provinces are just your cousins… you don’t have to love them as much.” Even typing here in the room, by myself, I find myself laughing out loud.

Though this friar was [mostly] kidding, this sort of statement is clearly a sentiment held historically among the provinces. Almost every American province was founded independent of one another, and because they were originally organized based on language and culture, not geography, there was little cooperation even between different friars living in the same city. Over time, each province began to develop a distinct personality, each of which was Franciscan, but each of which was unique to each other. Even today, despite losing the majority of our cultural ties, there is still a distinct philosophy to each province that is evident in the way new members are formed, which ministries are emphasized, and so on. They’re part of the same family, but probably don’t have the same parents as us.

To say that I didn’t notice these differences, even in a short week, would be a lie. After meeting 15 different guys from four other provinces and hearing about their experiences in the past two months, the friars they know, the ministries they offer, and their plans for formation, I can see very clearly a difference in culture. But to say that we are all fundamentally different, enough so to reserve for each other the title of “cousin” rather than brother, is simply nonsense. The existence of workshops like these and an inter-provincial Novitiate next year says to me that the leaders of each province think the same.

All-in-all, I found this week to be a great experience in community building. I found the differences based on province, as well as different individual personalities, to be both challenging and enriching. I met people that I’m very exited to get to know better and live with; I met people that I could not stand to be near and dread the idea of living with them. In both cases though, I had to remind myself that brotherhood is not about being best friends or hanging out with like it’s a freshman dorm: it’s about upholding one another in faith and sacrifice, mutually existing for the sake of the Gospel.

When Francis famously wrote, “And the Lord gave me brothers,” I can imagine him with great elation, overjoyed with the joy of such a gift. I can also imagine him saying it with a bit of sarcasm, wondering why his life was burdened with such annoying men all around him. I imagine he spoke from both perspectives throughout his life as a brother. In the end, though, he never said, “And the Lord gave me cousins.” They were all his brothers, as all of these men will be mine.

 
5 Comments

Posted by on October 23, 2011 in Fraternity, Postulancy, Workshop

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Road Trip!

16 Oct

Yeah, it's a long one today.

So it's 5am here in Wilmington and we are packed and ready to go on our first long road trip! Hopefully arriving before dinner tonight, we'll be in Milford, Ohio until Friday afternoon for a profiling workshop. What's different about this workshop is that it is a gathering together of only OFM Franciscans in our first year. I'm excited to get to meet all the other Postulants across the country, as it is highly likely we'll be living together next year at the Novitiate.
I'm not bringing my computer with me so don't expect a post until at least Saturday! Have a great week everyone!
 
2 Comments

Posted by on October 16, 2011 in Postulancy, Trips

 

Ecological Justice

15 Oct

You'd never see a sight like this where the rich live, would you?

When Catholics speak about “justice,” we tend to think about things such as the fair treatment of workers, peace, living wages, freedom from enslavement, etc. The images that come to mind are almost exclusively economic and peace related. For many, ecological justice is a secondary concern.

Attending the RFC Philadelphia region workshop today, we were convinced otherwise. Led by Sister Maria DiBello, RSM, and attended by about 30 men and women in religious formation, the workshop was in part a viewing of a documentary by the Pachamama Alliance called “Awakening the Dreamer.” After watching the documentary and listening to her lecture, it’s impossible to see how ecological justice could ever be overlooked.

One of the reasons that it deserves as much attention as the other forms us justice is that it is intimately related to the well-being of humanity and the protection of the poor. For instance, at one point, a woman on the documentary said something to the effect of, “What does it mean to throw something away? There’s no such thing as away. All we’re doing is displacing our waste to another place.” That place is almost always the home of the poor and oppressed. Pollution in the First World causes the destruction of vital resources for the already poverty-stricken Third World, dangerous water and living conditions, and leaves them highly susceptible to erratic fluctuations in climate. Lack of ecological justice, in the form of overconsumption and waste, hurts more than just the polar bears; it directly effects humanity. For a specific example, take a look at the effect of plastic water bottles.

Though the majority of the day was a reiteration of material I studied in college, I found it all to be a great reminder of the great responsibility we have to protect all of God’s creation, and how our mistreatment of it hurts us more than we think. Often times we find ourselves in the First World becoming complacent and entirely ignorant of the world around us. The truth is, what we do effects others in the world around us. When we look at the dire state of our planet in the long run, as well as the horrific effects it is causing in the present day, we can begin to see the “justice” that is needed in the world.

 
2 Comments

Posted by on October 15, 2011 in Formation, Justice, Workshop

 

Tags: , , , , ,

A Brother, Even When Busy

12 Oct

As Franciscans, we sometimes have to take a break from our work to be a good brother.

It would appear that the vacation is over, and life is back to the status quo that I once knew in college. With the relaxation of this past summer fading into ancient history, and the “orientation” grace period of our postulancy long passed, we’ve been handed a full load of tasks that leave me wondering, once again, “How am I going to fit all that in just 24 hours a day?”

Along with our “normal” daily schedule of prayer three times a day, mass, and meals, our weekly schedule of ministry three days a week, Franciscan class twice, Spanish class once, and two additional trips to the Poor Clares for prayers, everything has been amped up a bit: we’ve been given additional homework assignments for class, a bit of a “I can tell you haven’t been doing your chores” reminder, our ministry sites now expect us to be regular employees, and on top of that, we have the task of finding some free time to meet with a spiritual director. Phew! Talk about a run-on schedule (and sentence!).

As a result, I’ve certainly cut back on a few things to make it all work, for better or for worse: my reading as slipped a bit (though I’m still reading the Bible every day), my room was a little messy this morning before I decided to clean it, my blogging has diminished, and my personal reflection has almost disappeared (that will change tomorrow).

All that being said, it is honestly still a great joy! If I had my choice, I’d rather have too much to do than not enough, and I think most friars would agree. There’s just too much to be done in the world to relax all the time, and I get a real sense of fulfillment from a long days work (we’ll see if I say the same thing when work actually starts cutting into my sleep time…that’s a completely different story). This was true in college when I was swamped with classes, practices, and meetings, and I’m sure it will be true for the rest of my life as a friar. When push comes to shove, our true priorities come out and we learn a lot about ourselves (and sometimes we don’t like what we see, and we reassess our priorities!)

For a lot of friars, there can be a tendency to put work above all things, even brotherhood.  I think the main reason that we have such busy schedules is just that: learning to be a good brother, even when busy. If work was the highest aspiration of Francis, he would have never sent out his brothers two by two because it meant half the work was being done. Certainly our work is important, but I think for our Postulant year, being busy is much more of a test and training of our priorities: even after a long day, how are we going to find time for our brothers? I’m loving the busy schedule, and the wonderful opportunity to be a brother, especially when busy.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 12, 2011 in Fraternity, Postulancy

 

Tags: , ,

An Italian Masterpiece

09 Oct

Why wouldn't you put an apple swan in the middle of a caprese salad?

One of the perks of living in a large formation house is that it’s possible to hire a cook to take over a few meals a week, leaving the friars free to work, travel, or pray up until the time of dinner. Not to mention the fact that at least half of us would not be able to produce edible or satisfying meals for that many people, friars do not work 9-5 jobs: sometimes the guys will come back for dinner and be back to their ministry until late in the night. In a lot of ways a cook is a necessity for a house this large and active.

That being said, we’re still responsible for our own breakfast and lunch everyday, and dinners on the weekend. Generally speaking, our director Ron will take one day and the Postulants are responsible for another, rotating among those confident enough to prepare a whole meal. Tonight, Sergio (whose parents are from Italy) made an Italian meal so good it was worth writing about on the blog.

Though we don’t partition the meals into courses, the meal started with two types of salads: standard house salad, and a caprese salad pictured above, complete with an apple carved into the shape of a swan (why not, right?). The main course was a linguini with marinara sauce and Italian sausage. Though none of this was made from scratch, he did a great job of adding a few spices here and there to make it extraordinary. On the side we had sauteed carrots and broccoli rabi, with a homemade loaf of bread. For dessert, a simple sugar free strawberry Jello with a few slices of strawberries on top. Not only was every dish prepared to perfection, Sergio had a lot of fun experimenting with the garnishes and creating little works of art on the food.

Though I can’t say that I did much more than lend a hand here and there (I handled the Jello all by myself), it was great to be in the kitchen most of the afternoon providing a service to the rest of the community. It can be a great place to talk while you pass the time, and it comes with a great sense of fulfillment when everything is plated and served for the others. Sometimes we’re Mary, other times we’re Martha, and I think it’s a sign of a great community when we can take on either role from time to time.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 9, 2011 in Postulancy

 

Tags: , ,

Why Do We Suffer? Pt. 3

07 Oct

Where is God in our suffering? Right here with us.

After a long and busy week that allowed me almost no time to write, I finally present to you my concluding reflection on theodicy: the existence of evil as a source of suffering. As I outlined in the previous two posts, I believe that suffering can be caused by a number of sources, both good and evil, and that God can certainly play a role in the former category. But what about the latter? Is the Holocaust all a part of God’s plan for humanity? Do people get murdered, raped, or abused because God willed it? In situations like these, and in others that are much less dramatic, i.e. gaining or losing money on the stock market, I refuse to accept that God has even an ounce of responsibility in the suffering that ensues.

My conclusions are based on what I come to know as the definition of evil and sin: any act, whether fully realized by the actor or not, that breaks from the divine will of God for the sake of one’s own will. The original sin was the choice by the primordial humans to disobey God and eat the fruit of the tree. In doing this, they brought into the world something that God did not create: a “no.” Like a stone thrown into still water, this act of disobedience caused a ripple in human history than could not be contained. Each act of saying “no” to God offered the same possibility to the next person, leading humanity to live in a culture of sin and separation from God. This is the imperfect world in which we live, and this is the world in which suffering is caused by evil.

If we accept this foundational thought, the next logical question is, “Even if God didn’t bring evil into this world, why doesn’t he use his omnipotence to get rid of it?” Those in the midst of suffering often ask this in their despair. “Where was God when X happened?!”

The problem with this demand is that it in order for God to intervene, he would have to remove the very thing that separates us from the rest of creation: our free will. Without it, we become like animals, working within a system of instincts and stimulus/response, unable to truly love God and one another. Of course it feels really bad when a friend or family member hurts your feelings, but would you rather them not have the ability to do such things? In the same way, God respects our autonomy from him and allows us to act against his will, hoping that we will choice to love him as he loves us.

But just like his creation in the last post, this does not mean that God stands idly by, refusing to intervene. On a very basic level, he has intervened in human history by inspiring his priests, prophets, and kings to act out of justice and to reorient the people of God back to their Lord. He continues to do so today as he inspiring each one of us through our consciences, his living word found in the Bible, and the sacraments, each of which are channels of God’s grace in the world.

In a much more climactic way, God intervened in human history by becoming part of it in the person of Jesus. How could he have possibly intervened more than becoming human himself? Through the incarnation, God not only shepherded his lost sheep in a concrete, physical way, he actually took on suffering himself. This is an incredible revelation of which we must remind ourselves every time we ask in disgust, “Where is God when X happened?” The answer is that he suffers allow with us. In situations such as these, we might be better off asking, “Where is humanity when X happened, and why did we let this happen to our brothers and sisters?”

Unlike suffering that comes as a result of God’s will, I do not believe that there is any divine purpose or ultimate plan for suffering caused by evil. It is not true that anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger: evil causes despair, hopelessness, and loss of faith, none of which God ever wants us to experience. I believe that God has, and will continue to intervene on behalf of humanity, but will always respect us as autonomous beings created in his image. This is the only way that we can truly love and be loved by God.

 
2 Comments

Posted by on October 7, 2011 in General Reflection

 

Tags: , , , ,

← Older posts
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 49 other followers