NEW YORK — Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their presentations, outreach and celebrations. More information can be obtained by visiting links to the parishes and organizations mentioned, by contacting the friars by phone or e-mail, and by connecting with the Communications Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, e-mail Communications Director Jocelyn Thomas at communications@hnp.org.
Michael Calabria, OFM, lecturer of Arabic at St. Bonaventure University, was featured in the Aug. 29 issue of the Olean Times Herald. The story, “Local Muslims Join in Observing Ramadan,” included a quote by Michael, as well as a photo of him praying at the Olean, N.Y., Islamic Center with his Arabic teaching assistant, Anouar El Younssi. Michael said the article was written by one of his former Arabic students, Chris Chapman.
Michael Carnevale, OFM, Jerome Massimino, OFM, Timothy Shreenan, OFM, and Alan Thomas, OFM, are pictured in a recent mailing of St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York City. The letter featured the St. Francis Breadline, founded in 1930 by Gabriel Mehler, OFM.
On Sept. 15, Kevin Cronin, OFM, spoke about “St. Sera Tonin” at St. Luke’s Church in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. Kevin said the title is a play on words, referencing the brain chemical serotonin that stabilizes mental health. He discussed serotonin’s relationship on the body and spirit, how the two interact, and “the wonderful gift from God in our brains and bodies.” He said, “When we laugh, there is a release; when we do a kind deed, there is a release — in the giver, in the receiver and in anyone who witnesses the act of kindness.” Kevin added, “This should tell us about how God created us and how he wants us to live.”
Kelly Ann Lynch of Mychal’s Message, submitted a photo of Xavier De La Huerta, OFM, at St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, peeking out a door with a sign that reads “Smile: Jesus is at the door.” Lynch said, “Br. Xavier opened the door and gave a man some bread. The back of his T-shirt said, ‘Whoever drinks what I give will never thirst.’ Br. Xavier came back inside. The question is: Which side of the door was Jesus on?”
Thomas Gallagher, OFM, pastor of St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in Hartford, Conn., is featured in a recent issue Church Street Life, the publicaton of the parish and the Franciscan Center for Urban Minstry. The article describes his family, his minsterial experience, and his love for cooking.
“Those Going Among the Saracens and Other Nonbelievers: Thomas Merton and Franciscan Interreligious Dialogue,” by Daniel Horan, OFM, was published over the summer in the scholarly journal The Merton Annual, Volume 21. It is usually available on Amazon.
Richard Husted, OFM, pastor of St. Bonaventure Church in Allegany, N.Y., described the parish’s new theme — Seasons for Celebration — in the Sept. 6 bulletin. “Our God is a God of all times and seasons, and we journey as his people through the joys and sorrows, the cold and heat, the wonder and the mystery,” he wrote.
Stephen Kluge, OFM, commended the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island (LBI) in New Jersey in the Sept. 6 bulletin for doing “a great job of hosting our summer visitors: the liturgies were prayerful, the music uplifting, the programs at the (Franciscan) Center educational, and the concerts and lectures life giving.” Stephen is pastor of the four-church parish that experiences an influx of vacationers in the summer months. He and the other friars of the LBI parish — James Scullion, OFM, Thomas Conway, OFM, and Jeffrey Jordan, OFM, summer visiting friar — participated in last month’s annual Festival of the Sea, a fundraiser for the parish.
Kevin Mackin, OFM, president of Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., welcomed students at a Mass of the Holy Spirit last month. Classes at the mount began on Aug. 31.
Aubrey McNeil, OFM, pastor of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Anderson, S.C., reports that Thaddeus Sapio, OFM, is appreciating visits from friars at Hospice of the Upstate, where he has been living since Sept. 4. Thaddeus and Aubrey were featured in the last issue of HNP Today.
Emeric Meier, OFM, presented a seminar about “Storytelling — Packaging the Product” on Sept. 12 and 13. The shrine will host seminars by David Convertino, OFM, Hugh Macsherry, OFM, and Charles Finnegan, OFM, in the coming weeks.
All Holy Name friars received a mailing earlier this month from the Provincial Office that included a letter from Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, and two resources: the HNP Strategic Plan 2008 to 2013 and a report from the Province’s strategic planning committee. In his letter, John told friars that the Provincial Council meeting in August focused on reviewing the status of implementing the strategic plan in preparation for the next Provincial Chapter, scheduled for January 2011.
An opinion piece by Steven Patti, OFM, of Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham, N.C., appeared in The Herald Sun newspaper on Sept. 12. His topic was health care reform. He wrote: “Should the Catholic Church have anything to say about health care reform? Or should the Church just stick with religion and leave policy discussions up to the government? Our tradition says ‘No.’ Our tradition says that we bring certain values to the conversation. We look, for example, to the civil rights era, and how leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. drew upon the Old Testament prophets to advance the cause of equality and justice. Religion, used in the right way, has a place at the table.”
An article by Christopher Posch, OFM, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., was published in the Aug. 27 issue of The Dialog, the diocesan newspaper. In “Happy Encounters, Sad Events at Migrant Camps,” Christopher shares two stories of his ministry to migrant workers. He wrote of his encounter with a married couple: “We shared in a prayer and the Gospel of the day, which was the feeding of 5,000. We offered them a sack of soft rolls to share with their companions. José and Olga gifted us with about a dozen watermelons and buckets of zucchini, tomatoes and corn. Later that Sunday evening, as I brought José’s and Olga’s gifts to the Hispanic congregation, I was delighted to discover that some of the migrant nurserymen brought vegetables from their own garden to share. It was a contemporary feeding of 5,000.”
Vocation director Brian Smail, OFM, is in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week, participating in a vocation conference of representatives of all Franciscan communities including the OFMs, Capuchin, Conventual, and Third Order Regulars. He reports that the location, the Franciscan Renewal Center, is beautiful and the presentations have been interesting.
Patrick Tuttle, OFM, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Greenville, S.C., appeared on WSPA News Channel 7 after a staff member recently found a counterfeit bill in the collection basket. In the interview, Patrick said he believed someone unintentionally donated the counterfeit money after receiving it elsewhere. He added, “We’re not going to miss $20. I’m going to miss the opportunity to teach this person how to be a good citizen.”
Christopher VanHaight, OFM, of Paterson, N.J., returned Sept. 10 from the Chicago Conference on Immigration Action, sponsored by the Franciscan Action Network and co-sponsored by the English-speaking Conference of the Order of Friars Minor. Russell Testa, HNP director of JPIC, also participated.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Sept. 23.
People and topics that will be featured in upcoming issues of this newsletter include:
· Anthony Moore, OFM
· Alfonso Guzman, OFM
· Brian Jordan, OFM
· John Felice, OFM
· Young adult ministry programs
· JustFaith programs
· Long Beach Island parish’s recent festival