I learned this week that the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States is no longer officially supporting the Franciscan Action Network. I was very saddened to learn this. Franciscan Action Network(FAN) actively engages in peace making, care for creation, human trafficking, money in politics, stopping gun violence, racial justice and compassion for immigrants, refugees … Read more
Today’s Gospel in Catholic churches everywhere is drawn from the Matthew 20: 1-16. It’s a familiar parable of the landowner who is hiring people to work in his vineyard. You’ve heard it many times I’m sure. The landowner goes out at 9:00 AM and hires folks to work and agrees to pay them a the … Read more
Many years ago a pastor friend of mine delivered a sermon titled, “You can’t out give God.” I never forgot it and it’s animated my life ever since. There are many scriptural references around the theme of giving but this one from Malachi 3:10 has stayed with me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there … Read more
This afternoon I returned to Mount Irenaeus for the first time in over three months. It’s been the longest absence in the past twenty plus years of my life. It was Sunday March 8, 2020 when I last walked the grounds here. That Sunday was the first time that we didn’t share a hug at … Read more
I was up early this morning and following a shower I dressed and went for a walk. I carry the rosary while I walk and begin each day saying at least one complete Franciscan Crown Rosary. Today I prayed for peace and healing for our torn land. I prayed for our president and other leaders. … Read more
When I joined the United States Naval Reserve in June of 1972 I could never have imagined how that would change my life. I was a draftee who was looking for a better option than going in the Army and possibly going to Vietnam. I had just finished my first year of college and being … Read more
I have been praying the Franciscan Crown Rosary almost everyday since the quarantine began. I have not missed a day in the month of May trying my best to follow the example of Pope Francis. I use a five decade rosary which is the one most folks are familiar with and then after the fifth … Read more
There’s a difference between loneliness and solitude. In this time of social distancing it is easy to become lonely and there are many folks who no doubt are starved for human contact. Fortunately I am not alone in this time. I am walking four or five miles each day and frequently praying the rosary during … Read more
“What Christianity requires now, especially in view of developments in science, is not “no God,” as scientific naturalists propose, but a “new God,” as Teilhard provocatively announces” — From Teilhard to Omega: Co-creating an Unfinished Universe by Ilia Delio, OSF Up until now I’ve been trying to reconcile what Teilhard and Ilia have written with … Read more
“He did not hold to original sin by a single couple and instead opted for the notion of the primacy of Christ formed by the Franciscan theologian Duns Scotus. Scotus held that God’s love could not be undermined by a defect in creation such as original sin. Rather, from all eternity, God willed a creature … Read more
