Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their celebrations, presentations and ministry events. 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 information to communications director Jocelyn Thomas.
Lawrence Anderson, OFM, participated in an information night on Feb. 1 about upcoming trips being offered by St. Mary’s Parish in Pompton Lakes, N.J., where he has been based since 2009 Lawrence is leading a trip to Greece in November called “In the Footsteps of Paul the Apostle.” Information is provided in the Jan. 30 parish bulletin.
David Bossman, OFM, will participate in a lecture with Luna Kaufman on Feb. 10 at the 92Y Tribeca on Hudson Street in Lower Manhattan. The talk, titled “Luna’s Life,” is scheduled for noon on Thursday. David encourages friars to view the latest issue of Biblical Theology Bulletin. “I’ve served as editor of BTB since 1981. Free one month trials are available. Individual subscripts for this peer-reviewed quarterly journal are available from Sage Publishers for $54.”
Michael Carnevale, OFM, has announced that Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York will visit the St. Francis Breadline on West 31st Street on Ash Wednesday, March 9.
Roy Gasnick, OFM, of St. Petersburg, Fla., commented on the quality of the recent reflection by Archbishop Timothy Dolan about St. Francis of Assisi that appeared in the Jan. 27 issue of Catholic New York. “This is the finest description and appreciation of St. Francis yet to appear in the 21st century, a Franciscan gem which friars can use in explaining Francis, his impact on history, and his continual attraction for those examining their vocation. This a powerful personal statement coming from the Archbishop of New York who is putting his love and admiration for Francis on the line.”
Two articles by student friar Daniel Horan, OFM, were recently published. One titled: “Profit or Prophet? A Franciscan Challenge to Millennials in Higher Education,” appeared in The AFCU Journal 8. The second, “Identity and Ministerial Cartography: The Impact of Dean Hoge’s Work on a Millennial in Ministry,” appeared in special edition of Seminary Journal dedicated to the life and work of the late sociologist of religion, Dean Hoge. The winter 2009 issue “was delayed for a little more than a year due to the sudden illness of the executive editor and the search to replace him,” Dan said, adding that “the article has just appeared in print.”
An article about St. Camillus Parish, in Silver Spring, Md., where Michael Johnson, OFM, is pastor, and the Langley Park Mass appeared in a recent issue of Barrio Langley Park bulletin. Jud Weiksnar, OFM, of Camden, N.J., alerted the HNP Communications Office to this feature.
Thomas Kelly, OFM, is offering information about a weekend retreat, “Seek the Lord” that he is helping to lead. The event is March 4 to 6.
St. Anthony Friary in Butler, N.J., where John Mahon, OFM, is guardian, hosted the first of two winter retreats for Holy Name Province friars. The theme of the Jan. 17 to 20 event was “Is St. Francis Too Saintly for Us?” A second retreat will be Feb. 14 to 17.
David McBriar, OFM, encourages friars to attend next month’s Evangelizing Youth and Young Adults workshop, reminding them the deadline to register is March 1. The March 19 event, sponsored by the HNP Evangelization Directorate at San Damiano Hall in New York, will be facilitated by Dominic Perri. Completed registration forms should be mailed or faxed to the Provincial Office. The workshop is open to friars and lay volunteers and staff members who are involved with youth or young adult ministry.
Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM, is organizing a volunteer project at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Midtown Manhattan through which meals are being prepared and served at The Meatloaf Kitchen at Cardinal Spellman Center on East 2nd Street in New York. He welcomes participants on March 5 from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to help prepare food, serve meals to guests and clean up.
Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, returned to Wisconsin on Feb. 8 to continue his visitation of the friars of the Assumption BVM Province and to take part in a Chapter Planning Committee meeting. He will return to New York February 15. He will be in Wisconsin again Feb. 26 to March 4 for another series of meetings, including a joint meeting of the Councils of Assumption and St. John the Baptist Provinces.
An interview with Joseph Nangle, OFM, is posted on the website of Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. On the web page of the Center for Catholic Thought, Joe discussed how his experiences in Latin America led him to a deepened sense of the connection between spirituality and social justice.
Several weeks ago, Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, gave a retreat for Seculars in Formation at St. Francis of Assisi Parishon Long Beach Island , N.J., titled: “Understanding Family Systems Theory: The Quest for Spiritual Maturity.” Thirty seculars in formation and their sponsors gathered for a day-long retreat which included several talks, group sharing, and lunch, he said. “The afternoon discussions were lively and focused on forgiveness and healing of unfinished family systems issues.”
Paul Santoro, OFM, campus minister at Santa Fe Catholic High School in Lakeland, Fla., participated in a variety of Catholic Schools Week activities. “Two alumni spoke about their experience on the Nicaraguan Mission Trip in 2009. In the traditional Santa Fe Catholic generosity, we received many toiletries, candies, medications, and baby clothes that will be taken to Nicaragua,” he said. Paul will travel to Nicaragua later this month with the school’s president and two students. “The HNP Franciscan Missionary Union helped finance this trip,” he added.
Xavier Seubert, OFM, director of St. Bonaventure University’s Fine Arts Program, gave a talk on Jan. 15 at The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The title of his lecture was “The Virgin Mary as the Matrix of Medieval Emotion.”
Vocation director Brian Smail, OFM, is hosting a meeting of the HNP regional vocation directors on Feb. 11 at the Provincial Office. In the coming weeks, he will be visiting several college campuses: Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., Feb. 13 and 14, University of Georgia in Athens March 5 to 7, and Furman University in Greenville, S.C., April 5 to 7. Also as part of his vocation role, he will be leading a Come and See Weekend at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh, N.C., March 18 to 20 and a Lenten Discernment Retreat Weekend April 8 to 10 at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston.
A letter to the editor by Ignatius Smith, OFM, pastor of Holy Cross Church, Callicoon , N.Y., appeared in the Feb. 1 issue of the Sullivan County Democrat. “The Franciscan community of Sullivan county would like to thank the Sullivan County Democrat for the wonderful articles they published on the deaths of our brothers, Fr. Anthony Moore, OFM, Fr. Gus Richardson, OFM, and Fr. Robert Nee, OFM. These three Franciscan friars were dedicated to the love of God and their neighbors.”
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Feb. 16 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date). Updates about Province ministries and friars can be found on the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province Facebook page, which has more than 600 followers.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· Music ministries around the Province
· New staff members at HNP ministries
· Profiles of student friars participating in internships
· websites of the Province’s creative friars
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas