ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – More than 30 Lenten missions in 10 states were held this season by the Province’s Ministers of the Word, according to Kevin Cronin. He reports that one of the highlights of the annual meeting of the Province’s Ministers of the Word at the Friary here was a discussion about modifying the format of the missions to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Order of Friars Minor.
Attendees at the February meeting brainstormed the idea of using a specifically Franciscan format for a mission, Kevin said.
Revising the format would “be a way of celebrating Francis and our charism, as well as a way of engaging people in it,” he said. “Something we think people would very much welcome, but we seldom seem to offer them an “explicit” Franciscan theme…even though the spirit always comes through.“
“We had a very lively brainstorming session at the meeting,” Kevin said. “We talked about titles for the new mission. Some possibilities are “Going on retreat with St. Francis,” “Rebuilding the Church with St. Francis,” “Beginning again with St. Francis,” and “Becoming an Instrument of Peace.” .
“We were grateful for the wonderful welcome we received from the friars in St. Pete,” Kevin said.
“We were also happy to have our Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti lead us through the regional workshop. None of us could attend the fraternal gatherings that were scheduled during our busy Lenten season.”
The MOW friars conducted 34 missions in the following 10 states: Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina.
“Two of us gave missions at two former parishes of the Province with wonderful responses at each,” Kevin said. “I presented at St. Elizabeth Church in Wyckoff, N.J., and Claude Lenehan was at St. Anne’s in Fair Lawn, N.J.”
MOW Dan Lanahan gave a mission at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Information about the Ministers of the Word, coordinated by John Anglin and Raphael Bonanno, is available on the MOW Web site.