The Canticle
July, 2003
Divine Mercy Secular Franciscan Fraternity
Vero Beach, Florida
 www.franciscan-sfo.org

 Meetings: 

   Regular: Sun., July 13, 2003 - 2:00 pm,
            South Rm., St. Helen, Christian Living Ctr.
   Council: Sat., July 19, 2003 - 9:15 am, Hibiscus
            Cafe, Vero Beach

Agenda:
   Note: Initial Formation will be held during
              regular meeting in Jun., Jul., & Aug.

2:00 - Regular Meeting begins with our Opening
         Prayer
2:05 - Secy/Treas./Commissioners Reports. Old
         and new business.
2:30 - Initial/Ongoing Formation: The chapters of
         "Fully Mature in the Fullness of Christ" being
         studied by our Candidates and Inquirers will
         be the focus for Professed members as well. It will provide a good opportunity to
         review or to be introduced to the material covered in this great Formation Study
         Guide. Chapters to be covered are: I-4,5 and C-9. Professed members are asked to
         review the material beforehand, if possible.
3:00 - Mid-meeting break/Refreshments/Library Time
3:15 - Update on plans for 10/4, election, visitation, etc.
3:25 - Franciscan Crown Rosary
3:45 - Liturgy of the Hours, if time allows
4:00 - Dismissal

Please Note:
▪ Refreshment Committee for July: Snacks - Donna Haro, Carmela LaMattina
                                               Soda or fruit drinks - Elaine Matthews
▪ Remember our fraternity apostolate, St. Helen's Food Pantry. Your silent generosity and quiet faithfulness is a beautiful things - "when we give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Mt. 6:3-4)
 

Remember to include in your prayers:
▪ A truly beautiful program on 10/4/03. . . and for the full commitment it will require from each of us.
▪ Our Inquirers and Candidates: Ed, Pauline, Kathleen, Julie, and Peter.
▪ Peace and stability in the Middle East. . . efforts to stabilize and rebuild Iraq will not be easy. Pray and fast.

From the Minister's Desk:

▪ We were recently introduced to a wonderful website: <theresemovie.com> It provides information, pictures and background on a motion picture about St. Therese of Lisieux (the Little Flower) currently being produced by Leonardo DeFillipis and his company, "Luke Productions" - the same group who produced the films about St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. John of the Cross and St. Francis of Assisi (The Troubadour of God's Peace). It is a very beautiful website and according to Fred, uses high-quality (read: expensive) design techniques. As I understand it, the site is being closely monitored (in terms of numbers of visits) in order to determine how wide a distribution it will receive. So if you have access to a computer, please visit the website. After seeing it, I am very motivated to see the movie. Wouldn't it be great if it was shown in our local movie theaters! (It couldn't hurt to pray for its success, as well).
▪ Gene and I will be in Ohio, New York and Massachusetts between June 27 and July 13 visiting family and friends. We expect to be back in Vero for our meeting on July 13th. Pray for our safety and for the safety of everybody on the road during the summer and do have a grand and glorious (and safe) Fourth of July!

On July 9^th, Franciscans celebrate the Obligatory Memorial of St. Nicholas Pieck & companions. Since we’ve just celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the death of these holy people who died at Gorkum, the Netherlands, at the hands of a warring faction of Calvinists tells us how these people felt about the Body and Blood of Christ. “The following holy people lost their lives as a result of the Calvinist' revenge upon the Catholic clergy in that area. The Calvinists banded together into a lawless band of armies and pirates, unpaid, disillusioned, foraging in the seaports, looking for plunder. They blamed the clergy and turned upon the Church and one such army led by Gueux laid siege to the city of Gorkum, capturing it on June 26, 1572 after a struggle. For reprisals, because of the city's determined defense, they gathered all the members of the clergy in Gorkum into one awful prison and took out their grievances against the Spanish crown on the innocent priests and religious. Mobs of angry Calvinists roamed the land, plundered churches and persecuted the clergy, monks and nuns. The priests were tortured, subjected to great physical abuse and indignities, and offered their freedom if they would denounce the pope and reject the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

When they continued to refuse these demands, despite a letter from Prince William of Orange ordering their release and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum, they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship on July 6 and removed to another city where they were killed in the presence of Admiral Luney at Brielle, a man who hated Catholics.

The following were martyred and later beatified or canonized:

Saint Adrianus of Hilvarenbeek, O.Pream; Saint Jacob Lacops, O.Pream; Saint Andreas (Andrew) Wouters, OFM; Saint Antony of Hoornaer, OFM, Saint Antony of Weert, OFM, Saint Antony of Willehad, OFM (Danish). Saint Cornelius of Dorstad, OFM (also listed as Cornelius van Wijck); Saint Godvaerd of Mervel, OFM; Saint Godfried of Duynen; Saint Jerome of Weerden, OFM (also known as Hieronymous van Weert). Blessed John van Hoornaer, OFM. Blessed John van Oosterwijk, OSA (also known as Johannes Lenartz). Saint Leonard van Wechel, OFM. Saint Nicolas Janssen Poppel (van Heeze), OFM. Saint Peter of Asche, OFM; Saint Theodore van der Eem (Theodoric of Emden), OFM; Saint Franciscus de Roye, OFM; Saint John of Gorkum, OP

Saint Nicholas Pieck, OFM was a Franciscan friar and Guardian of the house at Gorkum. He made the conversion of Calvinists his life's work. Nicholas along with 10 other Franciscans and 8 other clergy, was savagely murdered at the town of Briel. The Calvinist soldiers commanded them to renounce the Blessed Sacrament. These good people and Saint Nicholas Pieck refused to blaspheme the Sacred Host and were viciously put to death in 1572. They were hanged by their feet and set ablaze, a gruesome way to die. We pray that all Catholics take an example from these martyrs who died for their faith and for Jesus Christ.”

Text taken from “Holiness in Holland” by Fred Schaeffer (2001). This work as well as the translation in the Dutch language is on our website. The work was completed while I was with the Monks of Adoration.

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