New York, New York

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 on October 31, 2011 by

 Postulancy, Trips

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On The Road… Again!

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 on October 27, 2011 by

 Postulancy, Trips

Road Trip!

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 on October 16, 2011 by

 Postulancy, Trips

Retreat to the Beach

Great guys, great food, and a great view!

Up until only recently, friars were not allowed to spend the night with family or friends outside of the friar community: when visiting home, they were required to sleep at the local rectory and commute to wherever their family lived. This, along with the vow of poverty, made it very difficult for many friars to take much needed vacations or retreats from their ministries.

It was because of this, that the province decided in the 1960s to buy a house in Margate, NJ. Centrally located to a lot of friars back then, this 13 “bedroom” house offered a free and comfortable getaway whenever anyone needed it. (I put “bedroom” in quotes because it was probably designed as a seven bedroom house, but walls were added to trade quality for quantity, and each one is probably about 6×15 ft.) Throughout the summer, and even the off-season, friars fill the house on personal vacations, community retreats, and overnight stays in place of a hotel.

What was great about this trip was that the entire community of Wilmington friars attended it. Though we’ve been living with Fr. Chris, Fr. Todd, Br. Bill, and Fr. John since August, we never really had a chance to formally get to know them. It was a great opportunity to hear their vocation stories, discuss our different experiences in the friars, possible visions we have for the future, and general ideas related to living together. Along with prayer, mass, meals, and a good amount of free time to spend on the deck and beach, it was a refreshing weekend.

Given the free time to just sit by the ocean and think, I think a few things were made a bit clearer in my mind. Over the next few days/weeks, I’d like to post my reflections on a few topics that have grabbed my attention over the past month: Gods role in suffering and why bad things happen to us, the necessity of keeping the sabbath and how difficult it can actually be for a priest/religious brother, and what it means to be a spiritual death valley or dead sea. Though we’re given a lot of time during the day for prayer and reflection, there’s just something about being at the beach and looking out at the wonder of the ocean that is so conducive for epiphanies and revelations. Hopefully I’ll be able to articulate some of the things I realized this weekend in a way that will be helpful to others. I hope you’ll check back in a day or so and see which one I’ve decided to tackle first! Thanks again for reading!

Pictures are up on the shutterfly website!

 2 Comments

 Posted on September 27, 2011 by

 Postulancy, Trips

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New Community at the Castle

Mount Saint Alphonsus was built in 1907 as a seminary

Given the history and nature of religious orders in the United States, the majority of the communities spread across the country are either headquartered or have distinct roots in the northeast. Thus, one of the advantages of having our formation process in this area is that there are numerous groups of men and women at the same stage of formation as we are here in Wilmington, allowing for us to form a larger network of support and overall growth.

For example, this weekend we attended a workshop organized by the Religious Formation Conference (RFC) in Esophus, NY. About 20-30 men and women (ranging in experience from 2 days to 3 years in formation) spent the weekend learning about different prayers, discussing our experiences in small groups, practicing each prayer in private, and getting to know the groups and individuals represented on a personal level.

The workshop portion of the weekend, and by that I mean the organized activities, was a bit broad and lacked the depth that I was expecting (if I can be completely honest). The speaker was obviously experienced in each of these prayers, and had a lot to offer. The problem was that she tried to fit a lot of different types of prayers into a day and a half rather than focusing on just one prayer and giving it a lot of attention. Part of it is certainly the limitation of the group: because it is made up of a wide range of experience levels, and because each religious order has different expectations for their formation students, there needs to be a broader, one-size-fits-all atmosphere in order to include everyone.

This is not to say that I was disappointed in the experience; far from it! What was missing in the organized activities was more than made up in private conversations, fellowship at meals, new relationships, and my own personal broadening of “vocation.” In talking about our religious calls, our vocation processes, the struggles we were facing, and our visions for the future, I found myself taking part in the “catholic” aspect of our church: though unified in our call from God and mission to uphold the life of the Church, we went about expressing each of these in entirely different ways. I was fascinated beyond imagination to hear about the different spiritualities, how each group was coping with a changing world, the vision of the founder, and their day-to-day lives.

In hearing each of them speak, I was also more than reaffirmed of my own Franciscan spirituality, the order I am joining, the way we do things and the way we don’t do other things. There is certainly a reason why people join one group over another! As we go to these workshops throughout the year, I have no intention of switching groups or changing spiritualities; but I do hope that in building these relationships I may be able to enrich my faith with new ideas, as well as to enrich others’ with a Franciscan way of looking at something.

Given the title I chose for this post, I couldn’t close without saying a world about the retreat house. WOW! Just look at it. It’s enormous! It was built in 1907 by Redemptorist Congregation as a seminary for its aspiring priests. I’ve added my own pictures to the shutterfly page, and you can learn more about it’s history here. We’re going back in November, so look forward to pictures of the place surrounded by fall leaves!

 4 Comments

 Posted on September 12, 2011 by

 Formation, Trips, Workshop

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