Tag: Franciscan

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Warming House provides more than warmth

Since September I have been volunteering at least one day a week at St. Bonaventure University’s Warming House. My friend Br. Kevin Kriso, OFM recommended it as an activity I might like as I transitioned into retirement. Unsure of myself at first in the new surroundings and lacking confidence in my culinary skills I decided that I could best help by washing dishes. Dinner for twenty to thirty people provides along with the cooking pots and utensils to feed them provides enough to keep one busy in the dishwater. The young ladies who serve as Meal Coordinators invited me to make desserts. At first I was hesitant even though I used to bake with my Grandmother when I was a child. No-bake cheesecake, muffins, apple sauce bread, apple crisp and more have made me more confident in the kitchen. Yesterday, Arielle suggested that I could make pumpkin cake and provided me with a list of the ingredients. Two cups of margarine melted, four cups of flour, three and half cups of sugar, four eggs and more along with plenty of stirring resulted in a delicious dessert. Arielle’s delicious turkey soup and fresh chocolate pudding made for an appetizing meal.

The Warming House is the oldest student run soup kitchen in the United States. Meals served there surpass anything I have seen or tasted in other such kitchens. The patrons who come each day bring forth the best in all of us. I am impressed with the cooking skills of the coordinators too. Each day they put together a tasty meal from what they find on the shelves of the storeroom and cooler. But, the Warming House is more than food. It is an community of people, young and old who come together for the common good. It is at its heart very Franciscan and emblematic of the Incarnation itself. It is tangible evidence of the goodness that resides in the hearts of all creation. Those who serve are served by those who come to eat. I am grateful to be a participant in this wonderful experience of love.

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St. Bonaventure University Basketball Rocks the House

Last night our family attended the St. Bonaventure University vs. Canisius College men’s basketball game at The Reilly Center. We sat in Section 10 and had a birdseye view of the court. We participated in a rich tradition that spans decades. My Mom and Dad attended these games at the Olean Armory when I was a preschooler. I’ve been an active St. Bonaventure fan since the days of Bob Lanier, Billy Kalbaugh and Jim Satalin. My first time at the Reilly Center was in 1967, I saw Bonaventure beat Loyola of Chicago. Thirty-two years ago next month my wife and I came on our first date to a St. Bonaventure game at Reilly Center. Coming to St. Bonaventure games is sacramental. Last night as I sat with my father-in-law, wife, daughter Dara and her fiancée Shaun I felt a sense of gratitude and joy for our participation in this rich tradition. The appeal of the Bonnies is inter generational. My wife, daughter and I are all St. Bonaventure alumni too. That’s a point of pride for us. We’ve been treated to many great games over the years and last night’s game against Canisius was no exception. The cast of players changes each year but the mystique continues. Thank you to St. Bonaventure University their opponents the Canisius Golden Griffins and to the coaches for a wonderful evening of memories.

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A great start for the day

Today I began my day at St. Philomena’s Roman Catholic Church. As a young boy I attended daily Mass, often serving as an altar boy. Yesterday I met Fr. Robert Marino, Pastor of St. Philomena’s and he told me that Mass on Wednesday would be at 9:00 am followed by Adoration of the Eucharist. As I entered the chapel at St. Philomena’s this morning I was moved by the ambience. Here a simple chapel adorned by a few statues, one of them of St. Anthony and the Child Jesus. A painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe and behind the altar, the San Damiano Cross. There was decidedly Franciscan tone. The chapel was warm and inviting and there were four ladies who welcomed me as I entered. Mass began promptly at 9:00 am and I was treated to an intimate experience of the Eucharist. Fr. Marino introduced me to the others in attendance and that made me feel welcome too. Following the Mass, Fr. Marino prepared the monstrance for adoration, placed it on the altar and we sang Pange Lingua. As we sat in the quiet and presence of the Eucharist I reflected on my good fortune to be part of this community. Peace.

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Dinner for Twenty-Six

I’ve been volunteering lately at the Warming House, a unique soup kitchen sponsored by St. Bonaventure University Ministries in downtown Olean, New York. I’m not a chef or anything close to it. I am a good dishwasher and errand boy who can respond to the needs of the more talented chefs who come from the University each day to prepare meals for those fortunate folks who come to find nourishment for body and spirit. Today our guests were treated to ziti covered with a rich meat sauce, fresh corn bread, and a salad. Tonight we served twenty-six individuals who without the Warming House would likely go without a good meal. Serving our clients made me grateful for their presence and grateful that I am able to serve. The Warming House is definitely an expression of Franciscan love and care and volunteering there has been a privelege.

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A school called to model Francis

Recently I met with the principal of a local Catholic high school who is attempting to resurrect the Franciscan tradition upon which her school was originally built. Declining vocations meant that the school had to be staffed with lay people and administered by them too.  There are members of the school’s governing board who would like to see a return to the school’s roots. There are few reminders of its rich Franciscan heritage nor of the Franciscan friars and nuns who once walked its corridors. But aren’t we all called to follow Christ and couldn’t we model this charism for faculty and students. Could this rebirth of the Franciscan Intellectual tradition be a model for others. Could the creation of an authentic community of teachers and learners modeled on the care of creation point and the celebration of the uniqueness of each individual mark the way forward?    The following quotation taken from the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order points the way.

“Together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively. Mindful that anyone “who follows Christ, the perfect man, becomes more of a man himself,” let us exercise our responsibilities competently in the Christian spirit of service. Let us individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of our human lives and our courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, we should make definite choices in harmony with our faith. Let us esteem work both as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption, and service of the human community.”

Aren’t all students and teachers whether in public or private education called to conversion where knowledge becomes more than mere learning and instead begins to animate the life of the students and the faculty?   Franciscans celebrate life and creating a school where life in all its forms is celebrated and respected would provide a unique experience for the students. Imagine a school where care for all creation became a theme around which the school could unite.

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Warming House

In the past couple of weeks I’ve found myself volunteering at The Warming House. It’s a soup kitchen in downtown Olean, New York run by University Ministries of St. Bonaventure University. As a recently retired person I’ve found ample opportunity and time to help brothers and sisters who come to dinner each day. Some I know, while others are strangers. The Warming House is staffed by students and folks like me. Food is donated by the local community and provided free to our guests who find their way each day to our door. A half dozen years ago I had the chance to volunteer at St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, PA. The Warming House is not on the scale of St. Francis Inn, but it provides all who come there as hosts or guests with an opportunity to share a meal and some love. I’m grateful to the University and it’s ministry that has provided this blessing in my life.

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Promoting justice by the testimony of their lives

Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith. — Secular Franciscan Rule, Article 15

I think of this often and in fact this principle has animated much of my life and led me to the Secular Franciscan Order thirteen years ago when I began my formation. I read a quote yesterday attributed to Pope Francis that was an invitation to just this sort of living.

“(Christ) is a true revolutionary and we are revolutionaries of this revolution, because we walk on the path of the greatest transformation in the history of mankind. A Christian, if he is not a revolutionary, in this time, he is not a Christian!” — Pope Francis

If we’re following Christ that means an interior transformation that calls us to the edge of society and to the marginalized and the poor.

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Franciscan Institute

In a couple of weeks I’ll be attending classes at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute. In preparation for that I received an instructive email from the liturgist yesterday. Each day begins with morning prayer and ends with evening prayer and in between is the Eucharist. I loved this quote taken from the mail.

Institute liturgies set a rhythm for our life on campus and give us time to come together, as the Body of Christ, from all of our different classes. We hope that your academic life comes to a culmination in the liturgy and that you leave the Institute with both new wisdom and a renewed spirit.

I look forward to my time at the institute with longing and hope for a renewed spirit. Peace!

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A more fraternal and evangelical world

After completing my last post and walking along the Allegany river I thought of the words of our Secular Franciscan rule.

Secular Franciscans, together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively.

Then I came across a great blog from Our Lady’s Fraternity of Secular Franciscans that expands on the rule nicely.

Article # 14 of our Rule of Life in structs us that we Secular Franciscans are to go about our God-given task of “building a more fraternal and evangelical world” not just for ourselves, & not just for the community of other Christians. Rather, we are to work “together with all people of goodwill” in a common endeavor to “build a more fraternal and evangelical world”. Some of us must say to ourselves, “surely this attitude of radical, open-armed inclusiveness has got to be some kind of mistake!” What about those people who don’t look & think & act the way we do? What do those people who don’t have the same set of values & beliefs that we do, who don’t pray the way we do? Do we have to include them, too, in this equation? The answer is YES! Our rules does not give us the option of choosing to work with just a few people of goodwill or just some people of goodwill or even just most people of good will. The challenge for us as well as the hope & the promise is to be willing to find common or at least complementary initiatives with all people of goodwill.

Click here for a link to that blog.

I see the calling I am discerning as compatible with my vocation as a Secular Franciscan.