Franciscan Month Reflection Series

It is hard to believe we have already come to the end of October.  And what an incredible Reflection Series it has been for Franciscan Month! We cannot thank enough everyone who contributed to this Series.  We are also grateful to those who subscribed, and anyone who commented on the wonderful depth and breath of the reflections. Special thanks go to Timothy Nagy of our Office.  Without his outstanding coordination, the Series would not have been possible. This Series has greatly assisted in moving forward the dream of October being designated as Franciscan Month.  Our vision includes national and local events in 2024, with global recognition in Assisi in 2026 for the commemoration of the 800 th  anniversary of Francis' reunion with God! Looking forward to continue walking the Franciscan journey with you.  May you do so in God's Peace and Love! Deus Meus et Omnia, St. Francis College Office of Mission, Ministry and Interfaith Dialogue

For me, Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve, has always been magical-- and mystical. While Wikipedia is intent on explaining the difference between these two terms, I will explain how they are intertwined. I vividly remember my childhood Halloweens: the decorations, the costumes, going out after dark, and of course, the CANDY. So. Much. Candy. For me, there was magic in the air. Jack O’ Lanterns glowed on porches, children were transformed into costumed creatures, and did I mention candy? Full disclosure: I trick-or-treated until I was 28 because I loved it so much I didn’t want to let it go. All of this is the magical part. Even now, as fall begins to encroach on summer, I sense Halloween in the air, dark clouds passing over the moon. The wind whispers, “All Hallows’ Eve is coming.” Combine this with the colorful falling leaves, cooler air and pumpkin spice lattes (!?), and I can feel the harvest season ending as the barren winter approaches. Halloween bears the message that All Saints Day

  The Lord GOD has given me     a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary     a word that will rouse them […] He is near who upholds my right;     if anyone wishes to oppose me,     let us appear together. Who disputes my right?     Let him confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help;     who will prove me wrong? ~ Is 50:4-9a For your sake I bear insult,     and shame covers my face. ~ Psalm 69:8 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;     you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor,     and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” ~ Psalm 69:33-34 Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.” ~ Mt 26:25   To act and do good in accordance with our values, principles and beliefs are becoming something difficult in our society because we will find ourselves in situations or with people that will try to silence and humiliate us for not accepting our opinions. There

It has been a distinct honor to be an active part of the St. Francis College community in Brooklyn, NY ever since my son enrolled at SFC in 2016. Having been born in Brooklyn and considering SFC myself as a potential college choice many years ago, I knew SFC was a special place. The energy was different, the people were different – I knew this would be a great fit for my son, but I also couldn’t help but think: “How can I become more deeply involved in this community!” That thought started a journey that has guided me to the Executive Suite at SFC as I now serve as Interim President. During my journey, I have learned a great deal about St. Francis of Assisi and his deeply compelling life of genuine love and the genius of his ministry. Most of us, I’m sure, are familiar with God’s answer to Francis when he was at a point of confusion and indecision in his life. God said: “Francis, go and rebuild my church which, as you see, is falling down.” It is widely understood that Francis thought

On the cusp of my fifth anniversary of working at St. Francis College, I find myself reflecting on the many opportunities I have been given to introduce the Franciscan tradition to students, faculty, and staff. Each time, I feel like my spiel is a bit more refined. The encounter with the leper, the battle of Perugia, the stigmata, a prisoner of war, Clare going out the death door, the voice of God, undressing for Assisi's townsfolk, Greccio, Gubbio, Leo: there are many intriguing, inspiring, and inviting scenes to share which make up the illustrious story of the origins of the Franciscan tradition. I particularly enjoy telling the story of Clare creating a new path for her life. I find that students are captivated by the courage that Clare enacts when she makes the bold decision to deny the path laid out for her and to, instead, do something for which, given her place in society, there was certainly no precedent. This is a captivating scene in her life for us to consider, but what

On his deathbed, St. Francis freed his Brothers by saying, “I have done what was mine to do, may Christ now teach you what you are to do.”  Why did he say this? So that his Brothers would not try to become him.  God created each of Francis’ Brothers to be who they were, not who St. Francis was.  The key for them finding out what was theirs to do was discovering whom God intended them to be.  Now, 800 years later, self-awareness for our students is just - if not - more important.   A Franciscan view of career suggests each of our students needs to know who they are so that they can see the Good inside themselves, and share that Good to maximize their contribution to transform a world desperately in need of their Good. Sadly, for most college students, self-awareness is in short supply.   On my radio show Thank God For Monday, guests advise that today’s college graduates are not self-aware.   Sure, they know accounting and biology and information technology, but are hopelessly cluele

...I have possessed a life-long love for education. Well, not so. As a young girl, I constantly complained about school and its drudgery. Nevertheless, my demanding mother, a first-generation American of Japanese parents, took academic achievement very seriously. Her constant reply was, “School is work. Work is good. Now get to work!” As a point of honor, I obeyed. It was not until later in life that I began to sincerely appreciate the real value of education. And, it was not until I began my work as a professional and a scholar in higher education that I could honestly define school in the loftier terms so often used by college educators and serious students. Rather than “work,” I now find myself characterizing the college experience in such high expressions as “the joy of learning,” “the search for truth and beauty,” “understanding the human experience,” and “faith seeking the reason.” These lofty aspects of education are important and too often overlooked. Nevertheless, they are not

I first became aware of the Franciscan tradition when I was 12 years old. My dad got a new job at Alvernia University (then College), a school rich with Franciscan traditions. I was at an age where I could appreciate what that meant, but I was also a pre-teen in middle school, so learning about St. Francis was not at the forefront of my mind. Still, I learned a little. I met the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters and learned about the importance of their role on Alvernia’s campus as the founders and sponsors of the school. Through my dad’s job, I saw the importance of prayer, peace and, my most favorite, service. Eleven years later, I have found myself back at Alvernia in a role where I get to encompass all of the parts I love most about St. Francis. St. Francis was determined to help the poor and to live among them. After experiencing a life of wealth and prosperity, he chose a life of poverty. A great sacrifice for anyone to make. But in doing so, he started a movement that has lasted cen

There are three experiences that profoundly shaped St. Francis of Assis’s life. Two were early: one year spent as a prisoner-of-war (from 1202-1203), and subsequent homelessness living among lepers outside Assisi’s walls (likely 1205). The third, Francis’ journey to Egypt (in 1219), occurred seven years before his death in 1226. Each unfolded differently than Francis anticipated. Seeking fame, Francis joined Assisi’s ongoing fight with its neighbor Perugia. The son of a wealthy cloth merchant went off to war well equipped with horse and armor. When the battle turned against Assisi, Francis’s life was spared because his equipment revealed he came from a family capable of paying a ransom. His poorer, fellow soldiers who survived the battle were likely executed or if wounded “dispatched” on the battlefield. Strangely, Francis wrote nothing about his year-long imprisonment. Released from captivity, he was shell of his former self. Having witnessed men killed in battle, others executed as

My call to the Franciscan life in 2013 was completely unexpected, and since then it has been one surprise after another. In fact, Franciscanism does more than surprise me; it often turns my typical and conventional thinking on its head. The more I dive into the example and teachings of St. Francis and Clare, the more such challenges—sometimes unsettling, often delightful—I find. Last year during Advent I spent some time each day reading St. Francis’ Admonitions, a set of 28 teachings from the saint collected by the early Franciscan movement. This passage stopped me in my tracks: Consider, O human being, in what great excellence the Lord God has placed you, for He created and formed you to the image of His beloved Son according to the body and to His likeness according to the Spirit. And all creatures under heaven serve, know, and obey their Creator, each according to its own nature, better than you. (St. Francis of Assisi, Admonitions V) The first part of this Admonition is beaut

The manger scene evokes our memories of Christmas: sharing delicious holiday dishes with family members, sitting around a Christmas tree with hot cocoa, or roasting chestnuts on an open fire. However, on this night, St. Francis did not partake in the feasting typical at Christmastime in the Middle Ages. Instead, he desired to “…enact the memory of that babe who was born in Bethlehem: to see as much as is possible with [his] own bodily eyes the discomfort of [Christ’s] infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and ass standing by, he rested on hay”. Thus, the manger scene was born. On Christmas Eve in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi had the first live manger scene created in the town of Greccio. He gathered the townspeople from near and far to celebrate Mass and recall the origins of Christ’s humble birth.   Francis saw Our Lord’s birth as fundamental. His Birth is intimately tied to His Death. The two bookends of Christ’s Life on earth form the basis of Francis’ spiritualit

[Francis] was not always the gentle, docile, animal-hugging cartoon that he’s been turned into in the public imagination. He could be intense, bordering on harsh. He did, contrary to what some people seem to want to believe, get angry. He did get upset with others, and with himself. There were times in his life when he was dejected, annoyed, frustrated. And while I’m sure you must have realized that prior to reading it, for many people - admittedly, myself included - it’s something that’s easy to forget. When we take a closer look at St. Francis, we also see a man who was filled with seeming contradictions. Francis was both uncompromising in his devotion to Christ and willing to engage in an early form of interreligious dialogue with the Muslim sultan. Unfailingly faithful to the Church while living a very different lifestyle than most clerics at the time. Harshly intense with his expectations for himself and his brothers - as we can see from the opening story - yet often display

It has been 10 years since I was given the opportunity to join Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs on a journey to Assisi and Rome. Each day of my life since then has been touched by those 10 days. Below are a few of the gifts of being welcomed into the Franciscan family: I’ve learned from Francis the rhythm of contemplation and action, and the importance of a heart turned to God. Just as breath is not life-sustaining with solely an exhale or an inhale – we must have both – so we must have both contemplation and action in our lives. And, just as air is the completely necessary foundation for breath – for breath is ‘nothing’ without it – so my action and contemplation must relate to God, the unseen but wholly Good foundation of all. I’ve learned from Francis to embrace that which has been difficult for me to love or understand. Francis’ life changed when he embraced someone of whom he was afraid – a person with leprosy. At the end of his life, Francis said it was that embrace that transf

  When Francis preached love to the birds They listened, fluttered, throttled up Into the blue like a flock of words Released for fun from his holy lips. (Seamus Heaney “St. Francis and the Birds”) Seamus Heaney’s 1966 poem is beautiful verse on a beautiful story of beautiful creatures. It calls out for beautiful visual representations. Yet years ago, our youngest son, almost three, visited campus and concluded, regarding a somewhat abstract framed print of St. Francis and the birds, “He loved butterflies and worms.” Fair enough on the butterflies, in artistic interpretation, birdlike, I thought, but I never did see the worms. I’m not a fan. They wash out onto the sidewalks on rainy days and are slimy and icky and all-around uncanny. Shame for my unfair worm aversion turns me toward another frequently taught poem on Francis,   Galway Kinnell's "Saint Francis and the Sow," and its central line: though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveli

I have been an official Franciscan since 2001 when I joined my community- the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart. One part of Franciscan spirituality that deeply resonates with me is the wonder of the Incarnation. Francis was so amazed that the mighty God of the Universe would become a helpless infant. He contemplated the Incarnation throughout his life, but he could never get over his awe. God became humble; God chose to be human. The Humility of God is a Franciscan concept that sounds like a contradiction. But Francis was able to see the truth in this. Jesus came to earth as an infant born of a woman, like the rest of us humans. He was not born into privilege, in fact, very much the opposite. He wasn’t even born at home. He was born in another city, Joseph’s ancestral home. And why would God send His son to earth as a human? Because He loves us. Francis knew this. He knew that love is God and God is love. God’s love is the driving force of the universe. It is why there is a univ

Our Franciscan values are to Live Lovingly, Care for Creation, Proclaim Joy and Hope, and Be Living Instruments of Peace! My recent visit to the Irish Franciscan Brothers (friends of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn and St. Francis College) missions in Kenya and Uganda inspired me to write this reflection based on the great work they do in their two agricultural colleges and in sustainable farming. They provide a holistic education that is responsive to the needs of the people and their communities. Nelson Mandela Madiba has told us “education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change our world”. But it must be a wholistic education for it to be an instrument of social, economic and ecological transformation. When educators enable instruction to develop these human, social, spiritual, natural, physical, and financial abilities, then such individuals will be able to live up to their core values and, in this case, care for creation. As Franciscans we are mandated to nurtu

God created us with an inner thirst, desire, longing to want to be someone, to want to make a difference.  As a youth, Francis of Assisi possessed a yearning to be a knight.  His first experience as a knight resulted in becoming a prisoner of war.  Francis continue to hang on to his dream of being a knight. Right before he joined the Papal Army, he had a dream where a guide led him into a palace of unspeakable beauty, filled with military arms. Its walls covered with shinning shields emblazoned with crosses.  Francis inquired: “To whom does all this belong?”   The guide told him: “All this belongs to you and your knights”.   For Francis this dream was a confirmation of him becoming a famous knight.  On his way to join the Papal Army, he had another dream in which he heard a voice asking him: “Who can do more good for you – the master or the servant?”   Francis replied: “the master.”   The voice, then, asked: “ Why are you abandoning the Master for a servant?”   Francis asked: “Lord,