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At the invitation of the Provincial Minister of the Province of Christ the King, Canada, Friar Don MacDonald, O.F.M., Bishop Duncan Wallace of the Anglican Church, Bishop Allan Grundahl of the Lutheran Church and Roman Catholic Archbishop Peter Mallon, all of the Regina area, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the future ministry of the Franciscan Retreat Centre, St. Michael's, in Lumsden, SK. The signing took place on 25 January, 1999, at the beginning of the Prayer for Christian Unity Week and on the fortieth anniversary of Pope John XXIII's initial announcement of the Second Vatican Council. As the Pope said in convoking the Council (Humanae Salutis, 25 December, 1961): "The first announcement of the Council made by us on January 25, 1959, was like a little seed that we planted with anxious mind and hand" (Abbot,1966, p707). This initiative among the three Christian traditions is meant to be one of the fruits of that little seed. The project is experimental for three years and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by the new Board of Directors appointed by the Anglican (two representatives), the Lutheran (two), the Roman Catholic (two) Bishops and includes three Franciscan representatives. The mission statement of the retreat house remains the same. A number of lay staff, including an executive director, will work with the Friars who will continue to be responsible for the overall operation of the Centre. The main inspiration behind this endeavor his been Pope John Paul's encyclical "Ut Unum Sint" and the prayer of Christ "That all may be one" (John 17:21).
Province of Christ the King, Canada |
 The Franciscan friars of the Custody of St Anthony, comprising Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei celebrated the ceremony of the Rite of Commissioning on Tuesday, 12 January 1999 at St Anthony Friary. The ceremony was a special prayer service which had as its main thrust the official designation of friars to various forms of service within the Custody. The Minister Provincial, Friar Stephen Bliss OFM flew from Australia to preside at the ceremony. Firstly, Friar Stephen thanked the former Custos, Friar Phillip Miscamble OFM, whom he cited as a 'natural leader' and who made 'personal sacrifices' for the development of the Custody. He then thanked the new Custos, Friar Michael D'Cruz OFM, and his councillors Friars Thomas Mannarakath OFM, Peter Michael OFM, Arul Sagayaraj OFM and John Paul Tan OFM for accepting the responsibility as leaders of the Custody. Friar Stephen exhorted the friars to support their new leaders and reminded them that leadership within the Order was to be modelled on Jesus himself who took time to be with his disciples in John 13:1-5, 12-15. Furthermore, he reminded the friars of the need to continually draw strength and encouragement from the joy of the brotherhood. |
Con mucha alegrìa compartimos la celebraciòn de nuestro CONSEJO PLENARIO y de esta manera los pasos que vamos dando como Provincia joven; y de esta manera estar en sintonìa con la Orden en su universalidad. Dicho Consejo ser del 20 al 28 del pte. mes, en la Casa de Retiro Monte San Francisco (Guatemala). Les compartimos informaciòn sobre el tema, objetivos y el intrumentum laboris:
TEMA:
OBJETIVO GENERAL: OBJETIVOS ESPECIFICOS: INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS: Que el SeEor les siga animando en su trabajo diario en bien de la Orden durante este nuevo aEo. |
Fr. John Vaughn, OFM, former general minister of the Order, has been named vice postulator for the sainthood cause of Blessed Junipero Serra, the Franciscan founder of nine of California's 21 missions. The announcement was made by Fr. Finian McGinn, OFM, provincial of St. Barbara Province, based in Oakland. Father Vaughn, 70, was provincial of the St. Barbara Province, 1969-79, and headed the Order in Rome from 1979-1991. Currently, he is master of novices at the Novitiate House for the friars at Old Mission San Miguel in San Miguel. |
Two Franciscan Centers for Social Concern, specifically aimed at training students for advocacy and direct service to the poor, have been established at St. Bonaventure University and Siena College, according to an announcement by John Felice. Holy Name Province approved an endowment, effective this month, of one million dollars, $500,000 each to St. Bonaventure and Siena, to set up the centers, as well as matching grants of $250,000 to each school over the next three years. Funds will be provided mainly through contributions by members of St. Anthony's Guild, the province's chief fund-raising arm, under Joe Hertel, director. The action creating the two centers was approved by the province's council during the monthly meeting on Jan. 14. The endowment requires each school to establish its center no later than September 1 this year. "Our intention as a council," explained John Felice, "was to provide students, through these two centers, expanding experiences of work with the poor and marginalized of our society. Students will also have available academically credited opportunities to study both causes and solutions to social problems through Catholic social teaching and strategies for advocacy for the poor." Robert J. Wickenheiser, President of St. Bonaventure, said that establishing its center "will help us form future leaders who will be advocates for the poor and marginalized of our society." Kevin Mackin, President of Siena, said its center "will raise the profile, both on and off campus, of the college's commitment to the Franciscan traditions of service and advocacy by our students." "It is the friars' deepest hope," said John, "that these centers will assist our students to intelligently, creatively and generously discover how they might repay the debt they owe especially to their brothers and sisters in need." The two schools will provide, through these new centers on campus, a variety of academic courses and seminars over four years "to build on the students' personal experience," said John, "and seek to enhance their knowledge of root social problems, as well as the systematic cause of alienation, deprivation and the lack of equal opportunity in our society." John said that "strategies for advocacy"which students can bring to "future challenges," will be learned "through hands-on experience, classroom instruction, dialog with those in need, and those who are experts." John voiced the hope that "if we can develop in our students at Bona's and Siena a passion for justice, they can take with them a chance of transforming the lives of those they touch in the years ahead. Given the fact that our Franciscan vision of education seeks to cultivate the development of the whole human person, we believe we can impart no greater gift to our students than a thirst for justice." |
The Province at the beginning of the triennium has undertaken seriously and reflectively initial steps towards responding concretely to the Priorities of the Order. After an honest assessment of our life as friars minor and in relation to the important dimensions of our Franciscan life e.g. Contemplative, JPIC, Mission and Evangelization, Formation and On-Going Formation both in the provincial and community level, the provincial Council, Animators and the local Guardians have drawn out recommendations, plans and activities to best respond to the said priorities of the Order. Contemplative Life: For our monthly recollection, the entire fraternity has been provided with the serialized topics on the priorities of the Order and with the document Prayer and Devotion. Each month, every community gathers together for a day of prayer, reflection and sharing. JPIC: Through the local communities, JPIC have initiated coordinated ways and means on responding concretely to local, national and global issues. For greater involvement and participation, every Parish and community is directed to contribute funds for the JPIC programs. Mission and Evangelization: Our Parishes, Schools and Mission for Dialogue Ministries have drawn out a common Pastoral Thrust that would effectively implement the Charism-Vision-Mission of the Province and the Priorities of the Order. Formation: The Province has created an Integration Year as a Intensification Program f or Franciscan Living on the Post Novitiate Formation. On-Going Formation: The On-Going Formation committee has designed Renewal Programs for the Senior, middle age and young professed friars of the Order. The local Guardian as animators of the community life meet regularly to ensure the implementation of the resolutions and activities that deemed necessary in responding to the Priorities of the Order. |
"Sorry that I have been out of touch, but this artillery battalion keeps me deployed - even though it is only to the big island of Hawaii. We returned from South Korea last month by way of Sapporo, Japan and Anchorage, Alaska. We deplaned for a couple hours, so I had to get a cup of coffee and step into the Alaskan air to have "breakfast" because I knew I was going to have dinner in Hawaii later that evening. Now that we're back in Hawaii, we get ready for the next trip which is 6 weeks on the big island of Hawaii. We camp in between the two dormant volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. There, at 7000 feet elevation, there is snow! Snow in Hawaii! Thank goodness we'll come back to Kaneohe until our next deployment - two months in Australia. "The Marines do their business, and I, the only priest in the regiment (there are 8 other chaplains who are Protestant) do all the Catholic ministry. I have to appoint Eucharistic ministers to assist with the 5,000 personnel in the unit. That number increases in joint exercises that involve the Army and Air Force who, (#2: E) many times, come with no priest There is a lot of work, but their interest and participation make it all worthwhile. The Marines really take care of me; even on my 50th birthday, they made sure I fired the howitzers - now who can say they did that on their 50th? "Hawaii seems to be overcrowded here on the island of Oahu. The natives seem to feel there are too many mainlanders who do not have the spirit of Aloha. The spirituality of the Hawaiians is evident in their hula, the Ohana (family), the keikis (children) and the luau These are truly beautiful people and I admire their history. We would like to visit all the islands, we were at Kaua'i and I didn't think such beauty existed on earth! Next, we would like to go to Moloka'I where Father Damien (now Blessed Damien) worked with lepers. The religious history is profound. Our Franciscans staff the co-cathedral in Honolulu and now are becoming very involved in the diocese." Conrad Targonski |
"The Country closes down a bit for their holidays between Jan. 1st and the 7th. Our post offices and banks were closed more last week than open. Everything sort of stops (#1: B) and so we prepare for it by getting all important things out of the way before the 1st of Jan. One of the most important things we were concerned about was to have enough diesel for our furnaces during this time. Igor, the man who drives the truck, comes when we call and tell him we need fuel. We called the last week of December to make sure that he would fill up our tanks before the holidays. He came on the 30th and filled us up so that we didn't have to worry about it for a while. "Now it's the 10th and we're all starting to get back to normal. Our postulant, Peter, returned yesterday from his vacation in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. He resumes his classes in the seminary here tomorrow. Corrado is in Rome. He left last Monday to attend a meeting with Giacomo Bini and the Definitorium. One of the things they're going to discuss is our future novitiate. Peter should start his novitiate in September sometime and we don't know where he'll go. "After Christmas we bought a sewing machine for our house. Corrado asked me if I could make habits and of course I said I could. I'm happy to say that we were able to find Singer here. In fact the brand is quite popular. It cost only about $240.00 which I thought was quite cheap. Of course in rubles it's very, very expensive. Corrado and Gratian have already asked me for a habit too. I'm in the process of setting up a room to sew in. Then, I have to go searching for material, which is abundant too, but just the right kind for habits......I'm not too sure if I can find it that easily. Mario Nagy |
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