Franciscan Voice Canada - Guest Blog

One Sparrow's Perch - April 10th, 2023

4/10/2023

Series: ONE SPARROW’S PERCH by Margaret Anne Ashfield ofs

Do You Have The Time?

Time!
Stop Time. Standard Time. Leisure Time. Work Time. Make Time. Prayer Time. Quality Time. I sometimes wonder what would happen if all the clocks in the world suddenly stopped!

Our lives are so controlled and possessed by the need to know “what time it is” that the clock, this man-made measurement, enslaves us so that we can’t function unless we know how much time we have to do something. We are always meeting “deadlines”. Even our words “deadline” has a negative, stressed-filled connotation.

Whenever I hear the word “quality time” a little knot forms inside of me. Is there such a thing as booking a space into my already busy life for quality time? Does this mean that the rest of the time I spend with family, friends, co-workers and in prayer, is less than quality time? Last weekend was one of those warm sunny days when one hates to be inside. Mark, who was then an eleven year old, was outside helping his father in the garden. I was sitting on the back porch that night, peeling potatoes for supper and watching them as they worked side by side, alone, yet together. Dale would turn over a piece of sod, then call Mark over to see the “treasure” he had found. For at least 10 minutes they sat on the ground examining the fresh earth and all its hidden mysteries.

As I watched, the phrase “quality time” came to mind. Unlike the modern version of “quality time”, this special time was unplanned and unstructured. It was taking the moment and making the most of it! How often do we do this with God? We tell God when we will pray to Him and when we will be available to listen. It is certainly good to have a special time set aside - a special time to sit and give one’s full attention and be with God - but what happens to the rest of the day? Just like the unplanned discussion on worms, bugs and soil, spontaneously taking place between Mark and his father, we are called to be alert - to listen - to hear God speak in the everyday events of our life.

Every minute, every second, we are alive is quality time. Life is the most precious gift of time that we have. We are not only called to see God in all creation, but also to learn how to deepen our relationship with God and each other. To see God’s loving presence in all of life’s situations - what better quality time can there be?

A Holy Family

1/10/2023

Series: ONE SPARROW’S PERCH by Margaret Anne Ashfield ofs

A HOLY FAMILY

What is a family? What makes a family holy? What does the Feast of the Holy Family have to do with a band concert!

At first glance there seems to be no connection. Perhaps you will find it in this “true” story.

This Christmas our son was to perform in his school band concert. I was supposed to work that evening and although his father and sister were going, he was disappointed because I always attended all his activities.

At the last minute I was able to get the evening off, so joined my family and hundreds of other parents, sitting on the bleachers in the gymnasium attentively listening to their children play. As I looked around, I saw people who had given up their time, their needs and their wants, to be there to share this precious moment with their child. Just like Mary and Joseph, they would do whatever they could to support and nourish their child. They would help and protect each other as they struggled through the pain and joy of family life.

As I listened to the band play, I realized that they too had formed a family. A family where each member, each instrument bringing it’s own unique gift, and through working together, is important in bringing harmony to musical piece. At the end of the concert, small groups of people gathered together throughout the gymnasium, as family and friends, shared the joyous experience.

We belong to many types of families – our biological family – our work-place families – our fraternal families – and by adoption, by God’s great love for us, to the family of God. Like Mary and Joseph, we know all about dying to self for the good of others. We know the love and joy we experience when we are together.

We are all part of a “Holy Family”. How do I know? Because, where there is love, there will be found a holy family.

A Winter Banquet

12/15/2022

Series: ONE SPARROW’S PERCH by Margaret Anne Ashfield ofs
A Winter Banquet

“Then the King said to his servants…. ‘go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding banquet’. So the servants went out on the roads, collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike and the banquet hall was filled with guests.” Mt. 22:10-11

Hurricane Juan had destroyed much of the habitat for the birds and small
animals. In addition, heavy winter snowfall that winter meant the birds had a
difficult time finding food. My husband, being Franciscan in spirit, bought the
type of seed they needed to survive; putting some in the feeder and spread the
rest on the ground.

Our house in not situated on a lake or river, so it was a surprise one day to see
two ducks eating seed under the feeder. The next day there were four duck; and
the following day there were 10!

As I watched, I recalled how Jesus sowed good seed, the Word of His
Father and how people who one would not expect to see around Jesus, came to
be nourished by Him. First only two came, Andrew and Peter, then came others
like Nicodemus and Bartimeus. Afterwards they went away, digested what they’d
learned, saw that it was good, then shared their “find” with others. Jesus
possessed the seeds (words) of eternal life. And soon hundreds were coming to
be fed. At first the ducks were nervous in their new environment. The smallest movement
would send them flying . Like the ducks, when we first decide to be fed by Jesus,
we too are afraid, unsure and nervous,. It is a new experience. We are
called to trust, and to feel secure in the One who feeds us.

Just as the ducks had to search for food in an unfamiliar place, so we too, can
experience a “winter” of the heart. When our usual ways of praying leave us
feeling empty and hungry for God’s presence, we find Jesus is for us to come to
Him to be fed in new and different ways by His seeds of love, mercy, compassion,
forgiveness and hope. As I continued to look out over the field of pristine snow,
I asked myself, “Who or what is feeding my soul?”

POPE FRANCIS VISITS BAHRAIN

11/12/2022

The following is the homily prepared by Friar Ed Debono, OFM Conv, for November 13, 2022. His reflection on Pope Francis' recent visit to Bahrain sheds important insight on St Francis and his relationship with other faiths. The Pope is an example for us.

Photo by Yousef

November 13, 2022 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Malachi 4:1-2; Ps 98; 2 Thess 3:7-12; Luke 21: 5-19

I’m going to recount some highlights of Pope Francis’ visit to Bahrain. They are remarkable insights with regard to his thinking, the direction of his papacy and their importance for us as we go forward, with him, as Church.

From the time Pope Francis landed in Bahrain, the King, the Imam and all the people welcomed him and according to journalists it was a wonderful experience. One of the first photos that was sent around the world was of the King of Bahrain and Pope Francis enjoying one another’s company as they were both seen laughing. I think that initial encounter set the tone for the entire visit.
I read excerpts from Francis’ talks to various levels of the State, various groups and the general public. He did not speak of doctrines and theological topics and did not promote the Roman Catholic Church…but in a sense he did project and promoted the Church by his friendship, good humour, his love and respect of everyone.

He spoke of love, ecumenism and dialogue. He pleaded for peace and fraternity in a war-ravaged world. He was strong in saying “no” to the blasphemy of war. Francis promoted peaceful co-existence for all people.

On his second day, Francis joined several Christian leaders from the region for an ecumenical meeting and prayers for peace. Francis lamented divisions among Christians and made reference to “unity in diversity.” He mentioned Christian unity and witness are essential for ecumenism.
Pope Francis said that “God is the source of peace.” “God never brings about war, never incites hatred, never supports violence.” “Peace” he said, “is born of fraternity; it grows through the struggles against injustice and inequality; it is built by holding out a hand to others.”

Pope Francis told the people of Bahrain “I have come among you as a believer in God, as a brother, and as a pilgrim of peace.” “I have come among you so that we can journey together, in the spirit of Francis of Assisi, who liked to say, ‘As you announce peace with your mouth, make sure that greater peace is in your hearts.’

Pope Francis stressed that we need to encounter one another “to get to know and to esteem one another, to put reality ahead of ideas and people ahead of opinions…” He added that we “need to put a future of fraternity ahead of a pasts of antagonisms overcoming historical prejudices and misunderstandings in the name of the ONE who is the Source of peace.”

Francis upheld the power of life, which surrounds the driest desert by ‘drawing upon the waters of encounter and peaceful coexistence.

“Ours, then, is a unique and inescapable duty to help humanity to rediscover the forgotten sources of life, to lead women and men to drink from the wellsprings of ancient wisdom, and bring the faithful closer to worship of the God of heaven and bring us closer to our sisters and brothers for whom God created the world.”

Pope Francis did not talk about Catholic doctrines, the Catholic faith or about building churches, rather he talked about building up relationships, building up friendships and fraternity. His ideas are more profound than they appear. We have to look at them again and dive deeper into their meaning, their faiths, because all of us are children of God and sisters and brothers to one another.

Think about what Pope Francis said, and ask yourself, what can I do to promote relationships, fraternity and friendship with people of other faiths?

Well4Africa Update - thank you OFS Canada

2/7/2022

Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre is situated in Mashonaland, in the eastern province of Zimbabwe. The Centre is supported by the John Bradburne Memorial Society (JBMS), founded in memory of the OFS brother from the United Kingdom. The beatification cause of John Bradburne, who lived in Mutemwa for the last 10 years of his life taking care of leprosy patients and was killed in 1979 during Zimbabwe independence war, is open and under way. Since the JBMS, as a registered charity, is based on our common Franciscan charism, “Well4Africa” decided to fund the water project in the Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre and to ensure stable supply of clean water to the community.

The Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre is home to dozens of patients with a variety of illnesses ranging from leprosy to mental and physical disabilities. Sadly, leprosy is on the increase in Zimbabwe again, although it is a totally curable disease if detected early. Each patient has his/her own living quarters and is cared for individually at the Centre. The homes surrounding the Centre belong to the families of the patients. The settlement has a managerial group of Franciscans with trained carers and nurses on site. JBMS supports the Centre on a monthly basis by covering the costs of wages, medicines, food, etc.
The situation in Zimbabwe is dire and people are suffering greatly all over the country. Water is a high priority right now with all the droughts they have been having in that part of Africa. Zimbabwe faces hotter summers and increasing water shortages every year.

Mutemwa water project was delayed due to Covid lockdown regulations and rainy season which was not a right time to drill the borehole in order to get to a real water table. The drilling began on 22 July 2021. At 70 metres a low yield was found and a capacity testing was recommended. This test was carried out on 30 July, and afterwards it was recommended to deepen the borehole to 106 metres. The deepening was done on 3 September and water yield was much better this time. The installation of the borehole and construction of the fencing were completed in October-November. On 13 December Eremenciana Chinyama OFS, the newly elected CIOFS Presidency Councilor, and fr. Tawanda Chirigo OFM, national spiritual assistant, visited Mutemwa for a final evaluation of the project.

The whole length of 106 metres of Mutemwa borehole is double-cased in order to prevent collapse. It is equipped with a pressure tank to enable pumping into the reservoir tank. A digital pump is programmed so that it pumps in the exact amount of water that has been pumped out. It ensures that the reservoir tank is always filled to capacity. The borehole is enclosed by a mesh fence and there is a guard post with a guard patrolling daily. The drilling company provided one-year service warranty and free training for those who will do the maintenance after the warranty expires.

This constant and sustainable source of fresh water is a vital lifeline to the entire community of Mutemwa. The borehole project benefits 34 patients, 17 destitute people, 4 Franciscan friars and a staff compliment of 24 employees and all their families. Against a background of perennial water shortages, the borehole will add value to the garden project which was almost obsolete due to lack of water. The patients and homeless people are guaranteed nutritious meals due to the water. Workers who had long been burdened with the

task of finding water to feed and care for the patients now can focus on ensuring quality service to those in their care. Having a reliable source of water from the borehole is invaluable in a country like Zimbabwe where water can be scarce, especially in the hot weather. We can hope that the fruit of this project would please our brother John Bradburne who loved Mutemwa so dearly and our father St. Francis of Assisi who lovingly cared of lepers.

The works were implemented by Skylake Borehole Drilling and Mutoko Tile Centre from July to November 2021. The amount donated to the project was EUR 14,008. A video about Mutemwa water project is available here.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the National JPIC Team of the OFS in Canada. Their fundraising campaign was intended for a particular Mutemwa water project at the Leprosy Care Centre in Zimbabwe and has raised CAD 20,740. In January 2021, “Well4Africa” received the donation of EUR 12,822.67 which was almost the whole amount needed for Mutemwa water project. May the Lord bless our brothers and sisters in Canada for their incredible generosity!

We are very thankful to all OFS national fraternities who regularly transfer their donations. Since the awareness of the social initiative “Well4Africa” is growing among the Franciscan Family members in Africa and we receive more and more applications every year, your constant promotion and help is invaluable.

All news and reports of the social initiative are available on well4africa.eu website which is available in 8 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Hungarian and Lithuanian. We kindly ask you, if possible, to place the “Well4Africa” logo on the homepages of your national fraternities with a link to the official website of the social initiative. Your support to this initiative of the Secular Franciscan Order can also be expressed by following, liking and sharing our social media: Instagram profile @well4africa.eu and Facebook page Well4Africa.

We are so grateful to all our brothers and sisters who constantly serve by providing us multilingual translations, particularly to Nadia Rudolf von Rohr OFS from Switzerland for coordination of this process. Our special thanks go to Tadas Ringys OFS from Lithuania for creation and administration of the “Well4Africa” website. May the Lord bless you all for your tireless work!

We wish to express our appreciation to the OFS national fraternities which have assigned their “Well4Africa” contact persons by country. Like every year, we kindly ask the National Councils to revise the contact list and confirm the details (indicated person and email) representing your national fraternity by email well4africa@gmail.com until 31 January 2022. New contact persons for other countries are very welcome to join our team!

Please be informed that all three former CIOFS Presidency councilors (Attilio Galimberti OFS, Jennifer Harrington OFS and Michel Janian OFS) will continue working on the “Well4Africa” coordination team after finishing their service in the Presidency. Although the newly elected Presidency Councilors for African areas do not belong to the “Well4Africa” coordination team, both of them will always be involved with regard to water projects of OFS national fraternities in their areas. And finally, we would like to add that the task of “Well4Africa” is not only to ensure a safe potable water supply for our brothers and sisters, but also to enable OFS members in African countries to take responsibility and commit themselves during all the phases of the project, from application to implementation and maintenance.

Virginija Mickute OFS
National minister and international councilor of the OFS Lithuania
Main coordinator of the social initiative “Well4Africa”
Attilio Galimberti OFS
“Well4Africa” coordinator of the technical implementation of the projects

This is a wonderful example on how our Canadian OFS family rallied together to help realize this project. "Good well done faithful servant" - FVC

Be prophetic and speak “with courage and love.”

1/31/2022

By Friar Ed Debono, OFM Conv.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
The Creator knows each one of us intimately from the time before we were born. And the Creator consecrated each one of us when we were born. Each one of us, every woman and man, is appointed a prophet. Some are prophets in their families, some are prophets in their relationships, and there are prophets for the whole world to hear what is in their hearts. Pope Francis is a prophet on the world stage. But the prophet I want to talk about today is Reverend Mari Valjakka. She is the pastor of the Sami people. The Sami are an indigenous nation in Finland. Reverend Mari Valjakka is a leader and a spokesperson for her indigenous people.

On Sunday, January 16, the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Reverend Mari Valjakka was part of the delegation.
In an interview with Benedetta Capelli, of the Vatican News service, Reverend Mari spoke about the connection she feels with the Pope and about the ecumenical journey in Finland, a journey of renewal and reconciliation with the indigenous people. Her community of indigenous people have suffered discrimination and injustice.

Mari Valjakka is a Sámi pastor at Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Photo: Dinesh Suna

Reverend Mari said “I think the protection of Creation is central to the mission of the Church. As human being we were created in the image of God and as the image of God we are called to care for creation.”
Reverend Mari said: “that 80 % of the planet’s biodiversity is to be found in areas populated by indigenous people. These people have been custodians of their lands so they have a centuries-old tradition with respect to that.”
Reverend Mari noted that the Arctic is warming up much faster than anywhere else on the planet. “So when I heard the Pope touch on these essential issues it gave me so much hope because I think the Gospel needs to be spread, and by spreading, it can have a beneficial impact. We have a task to pray and also ask the Lord to show us how indigenous people can communicate their wisdom to others.”
“There has been an attempt to assimilate us into the dominant culture. However”, she said, “we have begun a process called ‘truth and reconciliation’.”
“The fact that I am a woman and that I come from a minority group within the Sami minority itself, means, I find myself “fighting windmills.” But being here (in Rome) to meet Pope Francis and also being able to talk and exchange views with Catholics…gives me the feeling that maybe the windmills are not so strong, so powerful” she said.
Reverend Mari is a woman of conviction. She is like a “strong fortress”. She spoke from her hope, the basis for her trust. From the time she was in her mother’s womb God has been her strength and gave her and still gives her strength to speak up for her people, for Christian unity and care for creation. She spoke from her heart about her dreams of the future for her people, the Christian community and the environment. I felt she spoke like a prophet for our time.
As Sisters you strive to be prophet leaders in our Church, in Canadian society and in the world. All mothers, all women, have touched many lives over the years.
Canadian women and men have been and are prophetic. You have concerns about the present day Church and its future. You have concerns about the effects of climate change on our country and on all creation. The rights of our indigenous people, migrants and refugees, food insecurity, stress on our health care, domestic and sexual violence to women are some of the current topics.
Don’t stop expressing your views, ideas and your prophetic stance for a Gospel based church and a better world. Be prophetic and speak “with courage and love.” Your views and concerns are prophetic, and should be heard.
What are your prophetic concerns for our time, for the Catholic Church and the environment?

Homily for January 30, 2022 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; Ps 71; 1Cor 12:31-13:13; Luke 4: 21-30
By Friar Ed Debono, OFM Conv.

Where to begin?

10/12/2021

Laudato Si’ Action Platform -
Calling for a new way of thinking, feeling, understanding and living.

In our October 2021 edition of the Common Good, we present the book, Climate Generation, Awakening to Our Children’s Future by Lorna Gold, 2019. It focuses on the climate crisis we are currently facing. This blog takes several passages from the chapter titled Embracing the Earth. I pass on these thoughts, now in the light of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. Over the next several months Franciscan Voice Canada will endeavor to highlight the Laudato Si’ Action Platform and help us focus on “Calling for a new way of thinking, feeling, understanding and living.” This has been the message of Pope Francis that was particularly poignant in Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti encyclicals.

We begin with the reporting that if we continue to live the way we are living, we would require up to five planet earths to give everyone a standard of living like ours. As an environmentalist, member of Trócaire, and vice-chair of the Laudato Si’ Movement, Lorna Gold names Pope Francis as her hero. The Earth is our common home and like a sister with whom we share our life, a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. It is with this image that could hold the power to heal the deep fracture we feel between ourselves and the beautiful earth we live on. We have forgotten the utter dependence we all have on the earth often living with the myth that we are its masters. But we remain dependent on our

Photo from Pexels by Leonid da Nilov

one small planet made of the same elements we are made of. If we continue to destroy its life support system in our quest to master our fate, then in the end we also lose.

We need to allow ourselves the time and space to rediscover ourselves as part of this earth and to be deeply grateful for it. We are less likely to destroy something we love deeply, something we see as part of ourselves. We can look to St Francis of Assisi who had a deep bond with all of creation. We need only look at his Canticle of the Creatures to see the right relationship we should have with creation. All parts of creation are our sisters and brothers! There is far greater happiness in being than in having, to free ourselves from excess and to realize what is ‘enough’. It is in cultivating that deep gratitude for all life especially the natural world, a precious gift in itself. As Pope Francis tells us, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise, Laudato Si’.

Photo by İbrahim Özdemir on Unsplash

Where to Begin? We begin where Laudato Si’ tells us that we must repent of the ways we have harmed the planet, to acknowledge our contribution to the disfigurement and destruction of creation. Only then can we begin our ecological conversion to ask the earth, our mother for forgiveness where we neglected to protect her and forgotten to notice and appreciate her beauty.

Spend time in nature, which could be as simple as your backyard and notice the magic that is everywhere, whether the tiniest bug, a weed’s flower, a bird and begin to notice the web of life, the cycles of birth, death and rebirth in an endless resurrection, the mystery of God’s creation. Use all your senses to allow your attention to settle on one creature or plant. Despite all that is happening in the world, the bee continues its work only concerned with the moment and its purpose. For Lorna Gold the bee was telling her ‘don’t fret so much that you can’t live … you need to do your work, but do it serenely, without seeking to control the future.’ Spending such time is healing and restorative. We come to realize that buying stuff is not. Sharing this joy and welcoming others into this precious space has become even more special particularly for our children. Developing such an appreciation is something they will carry for life.

The awesomeness of creation is found in stargazing, seeing the majesty of a mountain whether from its top or the bottom, seeing the beauty of a little stream, a river or the endless sea fills one with the utter sense of littleness, that we are stardust, fragile yet part of the magic of life and aware of the miracle of being alive. From this perspective, a place of love, God’s love, we want to protect our mother earth, but we must act quickly.

Photo by Natalia Slastnikova on Unsplash
Peace and Joy!
George Guimond ofs

Save our Forest + Cut Toilet Paper

5/10/2021

A year ago COVID was turning into a worldwide concern. People could not tell where this virus might take us, thinking it would be a 3 or 4 month hiccup at worse. Social media quickly spread the notion that toilet paper would become the rarest commodity in the western world with imaginations of having to revert to newspaper (given that Eatons catalogues are extinct) to wipe up our bathroom visits. We soon saw overfilled shopping carts of supersized bundles of toilet paper exiting the stores and as seen in the TV commercial with people yelling “start the car”! Stores were selling out. Imagine! …it all seemed ridiculous. We even asked ourselves, “maybe we should be worried”? Could we get caught without this critical tool of the trade?

This long Covid experience has brought us many changes. We have more people than ever working from home, children homeschooling, major reduction in restaurant spending, lumber shortages with sky-rocketing prices.

And then there was the toilet paper crisis and it got us to wondering, "are we tackling this human need with right thinking"? We are cutting down ancient and delicate boreal forests to make ultra-soft toilet paper. In the midst of a climate crisis we are clear-cutting our forest with its storehouse of oxygen and carbon along with destroying animal and wildlife species at alarming rates..

Many decades ago when travelling to Europe my wife

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

and I were introduced to the bidet. We had no clue what it was for or how it was to be used. Maybe it’s a footbath? In the years since we did figure it out but never brought ourselves to add this plumbing fixture to our home largely because of cost. Several months ago following the toilet paper madness, we checked out the options for a bidet-style replacement toilet seat. Sure enough, they exist. They are simple or as high-class as you want with features like heated seats, heated water, a warm air dryer and more. The simpler model requires no electricity, just connect it to the toilet tank water supply – simple. We found a local dealer who had the American Standard toilet seat, Model 5900A05G.020 Aqua Wash Non-Electric Bidet Seat that cost approximately $150 ($100 at Amazon.ca). Then recently we noticed the Brondell non-electric bidet toilet seat at Costco for $80! (Note: the Brondell has options for elongated or round toilet bowls. Check your toilet before you buy.)

Bidets are more environmentally sound
saving trees and water.

What does the typical annual toilet paper cost? We estimate that at $1.00 per roll it would likely cost a family in the order $100/person/year for toilet paper. In the US it is estimated that the country uses 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper every year, and in 2014 spent $9.6 billion on it. Scientific American stated that, “It takes 37 gallons of water to make just one roll of toilet paper.” Producing one roll of toilet paper also requires approximately 1.5 pounds of wood. This adds up to a lot of trees and water. By contrast a bidet only consumes about one pint of water per use.

The bottom line is that using bidets saves a lot of trees and a great deal of water making it a far more ecological solution. After using the bidet toilet seat for almost a year, we would never go back to the old way. So here is a simple idea that everyone who owns a toilet can help the environment, save money and feel better all at the same time. Learn more...

Peace and joy!
George Guimond ofs

JPIC is Gospel

4/13/2021

For a few years now the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) has placed increased focus on justice, peace and integrity of creation (JPIC). But from time to time comments surfaced from our own OFS family that too much attention is being placed on JPIC in the OFS and is too often seen as an extracurricular activity. This thinking is unfortunate and it is also unfortunate that the acronym “JPIC” need exist at all. This short essay will highlight some of Jesus’ action from beginning to end.

“Justice, peace and integrity of creation” (JPIC) was coined in 1983:

“The term JPIC came out of the Sixth World Council of Churches Assembly in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which initiated the Conciliar Process for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC)… “JPIC is a set of values, a spirituality, which inspires us with the call of Jesus to share with him the work of establishing God’s kingdom on earth.” (Rozansky and Felipe, 2009, 33). JPIC is a dimension of living Franciscan spirituality, of our vocation to live as Secular Franciscans according to the OFS Rule. All of the dimensions of our life such as prayer, fraternity, evangelization and apostolate are permeated by the values of JPIC i.e. JPIC transverses all aspects of our lives. Transverse literally means to cut across and JPIC values are inextricably linked together and their transversality affects everything we do and they are an essential element of our Christian life in trying to live the OFS Rule.”
From Understanding JPIC by Andrew Conradi, ofs.

The more I continue to read and better understand the Gospel the more I am convinced that JPIC is not an extra-curricular activity of the Secular Franciscan Order, but is in fact who we are all called to be as Baptized Christians and members of the OFS. In my recent read and study of the book, The Last Words of Jesus, A Meditation on Love and Suffering, author, Dan Horan, OFM, who many of you may know, explores Jesus’ words and how they may have been miss-interpreted over the centuries. As a theologian and scholar, he digs into their translation. He shows us how the Last Words are more hopeful than they appear at first glance. He then goes beyond The Last Words of Jesus and reflects on His first words relating them to His last.

Horan reflects on the teachings of Jesus in the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son both from Luke. These stories are stories that challenge us. Horan writes, “The place of the poor and marginalized in Luke’s version of the Gospel as well as the significance of table fellowship for Jesus’ ministry and mission are important to me, calling me to be more open and accepting of others – particularly the forgotten, the voiceless and the poor – in living the Christian life.”

In Luke 16:21 Jesus reads from the scroll, “…The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free…” Horan writes, “[This is] a summary of what his mission (and by virtue of our baptism, our mission [and our OFS profession] is all about: social justice.”

Horan continues, “What Jesus has been anointed to …do is proclaim the in-breaking of the kingdom of God, which is seen when justice and mercy reign in our world. Those who are bound by the shackles of injustice, discrimination, marginalization, oppression, fear, and violence are captives … [and] conversely, those who are blinded by greed, selfishness, lust for power, desire for wealth, obsession with control, are granted new sight so they can see the world as it really is … to see the world as God sees it and to change one’s life so as to live as a true follower of Christ.”
The early words of Jesus found in Luke’s “…Gospel present us with profound insights … the way of Christian living is to work for social justice.”

On the Cross Jesus’ dying words tell us of His love for the Father and us. Jesus was obedient to the Father and knowingly died for us. In the same way, we need to die to our self-interest and self-preservation and offer our skills and abilities to God and our neighbour, where ever we find her/him. Among His last words Jesus calls out, “It is finished” and a while later says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”. Jesus was obedient to the end but we know that Good

Friday was not the end. It only leads to the “good news”. The Word is our way to do the same, which we all know as, “going from Gospel to life and life to Gospel”. The Gospel instructs us to work for justice, peace and care of creation!

Peace and joy!
George Guimond ofs

Good News for the Peacekeepers: The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

3/8/2021

During the second Vatican Council, the bishops gathered in Rome issued only one severe condemnation: “Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas of population is a crime against God and humanity.”[1] As Terrence J. Rynne has observed in Jesus Chris,: Peacemaker, this pronouncement “condemned retroactively the carpet and obliteration bombing that both Germany and the Allies did in World War II, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States, and all future destruction of population centres.”[2]
All who agree with this condemnation of wartime atrocity have reason to rejoice at the good news that, as of January 22nd of this year, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has come into force. Although it has not been embraced by the world’s nuclear powers, who have indeed actively opposed its development and ratification, the treaty represents an important step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. By banning “the development, production, storage, transportation, threat of use, and use of nuclear weapons, the treaty delegitimizes these weapons and makes them illegal under international law,” thereby pressuring them to eliminate their arsenals of mass destruction.[3]
All Canadian peacemakers, including members the OFS, should know that Canada, along with other NATO nations, is refusing to join the TPNW, presumably because our federal government still endorses NATO’s long-standing but mistaken conviction that “nuclear weapons remain the supreme guarantee of the security of the Alliance.”[4] As members of the Franciscan family called to be instruments of the peace of Christ, we should remind the leaders of our country that the only genuine guarantee of national security lies in a culture of peace built on the foundation of right relationship. We might also remind them that the vast resources now being devoted to maintain and modernize the world’s nuclear arsenals would be much better used to cultivate such relationship. Better yet, we might follow the example of Catholic peace activist John Dear by sharing with them the joyful hope that, with the coming into force of the TPNW, we have seen “the beginning of the end for nuclear weapons.”[5]

By Paul Vanderham ofs

[1] “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” (“Gaudium et Spes”), 7 December 1965, 80.
[2] Jesus Christ, Peacemaker: A New Theology of Peace (New York: Orbis Books, 2014), 173.
[3] “NATO countries including Canada thwarting new nuclear weapons ban treaty,” Toronto Star, 28 January 2021 (https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/01/28/nato-countries-including-canada-thwarting-new-nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty.html).
[4] Toronto Star, 28 January 2021, as above
[5]https://wagingnonviolence.org/2021/01/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-nuclear-weapons/#:~:text=The%20beginning%20of%20the%20end%20for%20nuclear%20weapons,effect%20today.%20Rev.%20John%20Dear%20January%2022%2C%202021

SPEAKING UP FOR THE VOICELESS IN OUR WORLD
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