The Canticle
January, 2003
Divine Mercy Secular Franciscan Fraternity · Vero Beach, Florida
 web site: www.franciscan-sfo.org

Meetings:  Regular:  Sun., Jan. 12, 2003 - 1:30 pm, Emmaus Room, St. Helen’s Christian Living Center
                   Council:   Sat., Jan. 18, 2003 - 9:15 am, Hibiscus Cafe, Vero Beach

Agenda:

1:00 - INITIAL FORMATION: For inquirers and candidates before the meeting.
1:30 - Opening prayer and Business meeting. Sec'y, Treas., Commission reports; old/new business.
1:50 - Briefing from Donna Haro, Chair of the 10/4/03 Committee
2:10 - ONGOING FORMATION: Article 11 of the SFO Rule. “Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for Himself
            and his Mother a poor humble life, even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly.
            let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying
            their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the Gospel they are stewards of
            the goods received for the benefit of God’s children. Thus, in the spirit of the “Beatitudes” and as
            pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their
            hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power.”

2:40 – Mid-meeting break and refreshments.
3:00 – Divine Mercy Chaplet AND Liturgy of the Hours.
3:30 - Closing Prayer. Dismissal.

Please Note:

· Refreshment Committee for January: Snacks – Jennie Donlin, Sarah Hardy; Soda or fruit drinks – Donna Haro
· Remember our fraternity apostolate, St. Helen's Food Pantry.

 

Remember to include in your prayers:

· our deceased members, Jean Kurtz SFO and Trudy Thomas SFO and all deceased Franciscans..
· all those in formation in our fraternity and in other fraternities of the Five Franciscan Martyrs Region that God will
  "keep them as the apple of His eye and protect them in the shadow of His wings" (Ps.17)
· that our plans for 10/4/03 will be successful.
· my granddaughter, Maria Elizabeth Caldarone (8 mos.), who has pyelonephritis, a kidney infection.
· George Thomas's daughter Trudy passed away. We ask for your prayers. She is survived by her husband and two
   teenage sons.

 

From the Minister’s Desk:
      If our plans for 10/4/03 are to be successful we will certainly need “time and talent” from all of you in order to accomplish all we need to do. Liturgy, music, speakers, refreshments, decorations, publicity, you name it! As you read this newsletter, start to think about what you would like to see included in our celebration of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and be prepared to make suggestions when Donna talks about our plans at the January meeting.

        As I write this, I am so very aware of the coming of Christmas… I pray that each of you and your families experience the true beauty of Christmas. When my sisters and brother and I were very young, my father would give us a special blessing on Christmas Eve. He would trace the sign of the cross on our foreheads and have us repeat “Sweet Babe of Bethlehem, come and take birth in my heart.” That is what I wish for you all!

        Did you know that, when introducing the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary last October, the Pope announced the beginning of the Year of the Rosary. He asks that we say the Rosary every day, from October 2002 through October 2003, for peace in the world. The Pope’s suggestion for incorporating the Luminous Mysteries into the week is as follows: Joyful – Mondays and Saturdays, Sorrowful – Tuesdays and Fridays, Luminous – Thursdays, Glorious- Wednesdays and Sundays. Let’s do it! God bless you all!

 

Page 2 & 3

Reflections on Prayer*
by Fred Schaeffer, SFO

Saint Augustine says that "when we practice faith, hope and charity with continual desire, we pray always." At the same time, we also should set aside specific times for explicit prayer to God. "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." (Phil. 4:6) Although God knows everything about us as well as what needs we have, we continually desire to place ourselves in the presence of God.

Although it is not strictly necessary to pray with words most people do pray in various ways using words. All are effective as long as the strong desire is there to be in God's presence when asking for a particular petition to be granted. It is, for example, highly commendable to pray the Rosary daily and thus petition the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede for us, to ask her beloved Son, Jesus, to grant the request. For some people it is not possible to pray the Rosary during their work or while driving the car and so other means of prayer could be used.

It is useful to memorize a number of short prayers that can be said anywhere either aloud or as mental prayer. Examples of such short prayers are: "Jesus I love You", "Jesus meek and humble of Heart make my heart like unto Thine", and, "Dear Jesus, please be with me always." You can address Jesus or Mary or your favorite Saint in the way you are accustomed to. Perhaps you might like to at the beginning of the day or at Holy Mass, in prayer, state the intention for all prayers of that day.

In a family circle, with spouse and children there are possibilities for prayer as well. As the Rosary priest Father Patrick Peyton, O.S.C. said, "the family who prays together, stays together!" I know of a family where they come together at a specified time and read from Holy Scripture or some other spiritual text and then the family will meditate silently on the subject of the reading for 20 minutes. Meditation is a different type of prayer than short prayers or the Rosary. People who wish to meditate usually read a passage of Scripture or some other spiritual text. Then they think about it for 10-15 minutes. If the reading is on the Passion of Christ, they could meditate on this by imagining themselves at Calvary in the crowd.

Whether in a family circle or single people at prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours is yet a different form of prayer and one that is highly recommended by the Church because it is the Prayer of the Church. Priests, deacons and many religious have a daily obligation to pray these beautiful prayers. Secular Franciscans may also pray these prayers of the Church. Actually, any Catholic can. And perhaps we should, because then, united with the Holy Father, with Bishops and Cardinals and many thousands of priests we share a unity in prayer.

Another method of prayer is "Conversational Prayer." The Monks of Adoration sell a booklet by that name written by Brother Craig. This form of prayer is just what the title implies—the person praying tells everything to Jesus in a conversational style. Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 18:3-4) God exhorts us in prayer to pray as children do. Conversational prayer is one way to do just that.

I located an interesting book, "More Ideas for Prayer" by Dom Hubert Van Zeller, O.S.B. (1967, Templegate Publishers). This book, written by Dom Hubert, a widely known English monk, scholar, author and sculptor, contains 200 suggestions which may prove useful for those who find prayer tedious or seemingly impossible.

St. Thomas Aquinas says that "no gift that is given us is for our own exclusive use." That is certainly true with prayer also. Prayer is a gift of God. Thus we do not pray only for ourselves but for other people and for every need. We also pray to thank God for all He has given us. Sometimes our prayer is very dry and unexciting but nevertheless our prayer is valuable.

Dom Van Zeller says, "Prayer needs preparation. It is necessary to acquire the habit of recollection, the good use of leisure and solitude, the avoidance of deliberate imperfection. Obviously the man who lets entertainment, conversation, physical fitness dominate his day will find himself at a loss when he comes to the set times of prayer."  Although you'll probably think that Dom Van Zeller is addressing himself to monks and nuns, he writes for all people. Given the frenetic pace of the working man or woman these days, or that of a mother with three or four kids at home, it is necessary to relax, to unwind from the workplace before one can pray without mental interruptions or distractions. One needs to settle in for prayer, to slow down the mind. At the same time, people should also pray when they are moved to pray and then ask the Holy Spirit to guide them.

What I haven't yet touched upon is how most people pray. They pray the "prayer of petition." They ask Jesus and Mary to protect Aunt Sophie, and Uncle Ralph, and their children, their parish priest and maybe another dozen different people. Some people think poorly of their own prayer but they shouldn't. It should never be a concern what they get out of the prayer, the main thing is to pray. God will do the rest.

Dom Van Zeller also quotes an old axiom "Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not." There is a danger in pretending to leave God free to work His will in us by not praying or praying very little. Love is expressed in prayer, in conversation with Him. Prayer is the lifting of our minds to God. Other prayers, apart from the Holy Mass, are the Rosary, Novenas, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Stations of the Cross and various invocations to Saints. When you pray without words, the soul may express devotion to Jesus, to the Blessed Virgin Mary or to Saints also. That would be mental prayer. Meditation is a form of prayer too.

* Written while in religious life.