The

ST. CLARE of ASSISI FRATERNITY West Stockbridge, MA

SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

VENERABLE FR. SOLANUS CASEY REGION

Vol. 5, No. 6 June 2016

Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey, Pray for Us!

JANET CANTARELLA, OFS

MINISTER

Box 216

Lanesboro, MA 01237

fpcon@verizon.net

Michael Guertin, OFS

FRATERNITY SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT

Springfield, MA

Fr. Matthias Wesnofske,

OFM Cap.

Patchogue, NY

CAPUCHIN REGIONAL

SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT

Fr. Cidouane Joseph, OFM

Hartford, CT

FRIAR MINOR REGIONAL

SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT

The Fraternity meets

for Teaching, Fellowship,

Prayer and Formation

on the

2nd Wednesday

every month

at

St. Patrick’s Parish Center

30 Albany Road

W. Stockbridge, MA

“The rule and life of the

Secular Franciscans is this:

To observe the gospel of

our Lord Jesus Christ

by following the example of

St. Francis of Assisi, who

made Christ the inspiration

and center of his life with

God and people.”

The Rule of the OFS, 4

We dedicate this publication

and the Apostolate which

brings it to you monthly to the

memory of the beloved

deceased of the

St. Clare of Assisi Fraternity.

JUNE SCHEDULE

Meeting Day/Date: Wednesday 8 June

The Council meets at 12:00 Pm The Fraternity meets at 1:00 pm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH MONTH

Special Presentation

Franciscan Spirituality: The Secular Franciscan Life in Christ

by Fred Conforti, MD, OFS

Fraternity Director of Formation

Fellowship with Refreshments (light pot luck) and Prayer (Fred) to follow.

Last chance to donate a Blessing Bag before the Quinqennial!

CANONIZATION

ST. PIO of PIETRELCINA

JUNE 16, 2002

PROFESSION

PLEASE REMEMBER

ALL PROFESSED

OFS MEMBERS

IN YOUR PRAYERS

BIRTHDAYS

JANICE MIRONCHUK, OFS

JUNE 19

† IN MEMORIAM †

MARIAN FINKE, OFS

6-06-1980

WILLARD FRENCH, OFS

6-28-2012

JOHN PETROCCIONE, OFS

6-13-2005

JUNE ANNIVERSARIES

St. Peter

and

St. Paul

Feast Day

29 June

Ss. Peter and Paul by El Greco, 16th century

Hermitage Museum, Russia

The LETTER to ALL the FAITHFUL

Of the documents that are agreed to be from Francis’ own hand, The Letter to All the Faith-ful figures very prominently into the history and development of the “ordo pœnitentium,” the order of lay penitents, that developed into the Third Order of St. Francis, later the Secular Franciscans. The Franciscan scholar Paul Sabatier discovered the letter in the Guarnacci Library in

Volterra, Italy, in the late 19th-century and it was published for the first time in 1900. The document was studied ex-tensively during the early 20th-century but it was put aside until Kajetan Esser, working in the 1970s, collected and examined all the manuscripts and obtained critical acclaim for the work as one of the definitive writings of St. Francis. It was published as an original work of St. Francis for the first time in 1976. Celano’s First Life relates that Francis gave all who came to him a “norm of life” (I Celano XV, 37). This “norm of life” was imparted to all the lay penitents who came to him, certainly before any formal organization into “orders.” Esser would contend that this “norm of life” took the form of The Letter to All the Faithful in its earliest form (also known as the Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance), a set of written instructions from Francis himself. In the years after 1209 the lay penitential movement may have taken a back seat to the formal organization of the Friars Minor, but the early form of The Letter to All the Faithful showcases Franciscanism’s lay roots, reminding us that Francis himself began his life of conversion as a lay penitent. The Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Pen-ance occupies pride of place as the Prologue to the Pauline Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, approved on 24 June 1978. Sometime around 1216/1217 a second, longer version of the letter appeared. It’s content reflects a maturation in the Franciscan charism:

In this longer edition, the later experiences of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance are considered and taken into account. Corrections and stronger directives are inserted in order to guide readers to a more orthodox following of a life of penance. Furthermore, the post-conciliar period of the Fourth Lateran Council [1215] can easi-ly be seen as forming its background, as the accents on the correct understanding of Christology and the Eucha-rist indicate. All of these differences appear to be directed toward curbing and repelling contemporary errors that threatened the movement of the penitential groups at the beginning of the thirteenth century. *

Over the next 12 months the longer version of The Letter to All the Faithful will be serialized here in its entire-ty. This is one of the most important documents in Secular Franciscan life, composed by Francis himself. The versifica-tion follows the work of Kajetan Esser and is transcribed here as an aid to the practice of lectio divina; the double daggers separate paragraphs.

* From Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, Armstrong, OFM Cap., Regis J. and Brady, OFM, Ignatius C., trans., Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ,

©1982, p. 66. Excerpts from the letter that will appear in our newsletter over the next year will all be taken from this same source, pp. 67-73.

Epistola ad Fideles: The Letter to All the Faithful

St. Francis of Assisi

1. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. To all Christian religious: clergy and laity, men and women, and to all who live in the whole world, Brother Francis, their servant and subject, [offers] homage and reverence, true peace from heaven and sincere love in the Lord.

‡

2. Since I am the servant of all, I am obliged to serve all and to administer to them the fragrant words of my Lord. 3. Therefore, on reflecting that, since I cannot visit each one of you in person because of the infir-mity and weakness of my body, I have proposed to set before you in this present letter and message the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Word of the Father, and the words of the Holy Spirit, which are spirit and life (John 6: 64).

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‡

4. Through His angel, Saint Gabriel, the most high Father in heaven announced this Word of the Father — so worthy, so holy and glorious — in the womb of the holy and glorious Virgin Mary, from which He re-ceived the flesh of our humanity and our frailty. 5. Though He was rich beyond all other things (2 Corinthians 8: 9), in this world He, together with the most blessed Virgin, His mother, willed to choose poverty. 6. And, as the Passion drew near, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples and, taking bread, gave thanks, and blessed and broke it, saying: Take and eat: this is My Body (Matthew 26: 26). 7. And taking the cup He said: This is My Blood of the new covenant which will be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26: 28). 8. Then He prayed to His Father, saying: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me (Luke 22: 42). 9. And His sweat became as drops of blood, falling on the ground (Luke 22: 44). 10. Nonetheless, He placed His will at the will of the Father, saying: Father, let Your will be done (Matthew 26: 42) ; not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26: 39). 11. And the will of the Father was such that His blessed and glorious Son, Whom He gave to us and [Who] was born for us, should, through His own blood, offer Himself as a sacrifice and oblation on the altar of the cross: 12. not for Himself through Whom all things were made (cf. John 1: 3), but for our sins, 13. leaving us an example that we should follow in His footprints (cf. 1 Peter 2: 21). 14. And [the Father] wills that all of us should be saved through Him and that we receive Him with our pure heart and our chaste body. 15. But there are few who wish to receive Him and be saved by Him, although His yoke is sweet and His burden light (cf. Matthew 11: 30).

(to be continued next month)

BE SEALED WITH THE

GIFT OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT . . . Seven Sacraments Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden,

14th century: Confirmation

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Bishop Emeritus Timothy McDonnell of the Diocese of Springfield presided over the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Mary, Mother of the Church, in Lee, MA, on Sunday 1 May. Among the confirmands was Olivia Conforti (daughter of our Formation Director Fred Conforti, MD, OFS), seen, left, with Bishop McDonnell and, center, with her sponsor Corinne Mays, OFS, of the St. Clare Fraternity. Olivia took the name Catherine (of Siena).

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FRATERNITY NEWS

The Calendar Shapes Up

The calendar for the remainder of 2016 (and beyond) was a major topic of discussion for the Council at our last meeting, and here’s the latest:

JUNE: Community Outreach month was launched in late May with mailings to our local communities of worship which included announcements to be placed in their parish bulletins just prior to our June gathering, with an open invitation to all interested to experience Secular Franciscan fraterni-ty life, beginning with a visit to our meeting on 8 June, when Fred Conforti, MD, OFS, will speak on Fran-ciscan Spirituality.

The response to this initiative is vitally important: The Council need to insure that the presence and role of Secular Franciscans in the community is made abundantly clear, and especially with regard to the will-ingness to engage in aspects of ministry that may lighten the strain that our reduced number of clergy are experiencing in their daily duties;

JULY: Fraternity Chapter. Each Council member will report on their activities for the year from August 2015 thru July 2016;

AUGUST: Important! Our regular meeting will be held on Thursday 11 August to coincide with the Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi. Prayer for that day will include recitation of the ritual of the Transitus of St. Clare. In addition, we are looking forward to a refresher on Lectio Divina by our Minister Janet Cantarella.

SEPTEMBER: Our Day of Recollection on the second Wednesday (14 September, the Feast of the Holy Cross, when St. Francis is reputed to have received the Sacred Stigmata) examines Mercy. The af-ternoon will begin and end with prayer, and interactive periods of discussion will be highlighted by DVD presentations, two lectures by Fr. Dan Horan, OFM, on How St. Francis Discovered Mercy and Mercy in the Writings of St. Francis. Program notes will be distributed with the mailing of our August Newsletter.

OCTOBER: Important! We will meet on Sunday 2 October for Mass together as a Fraternity at Sacred Heart Church in Pittsfield as we have done for many years to celebrate “St. Francis Month,” and afterwards a repast at the Misty Moonlight Diner on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield is planned. We usually don’t have a regular monthly meeting in October, but this year will be different. We plan to have a meeting at St. Patrick’s Parish Center on Monday 3 October when we will celebrate the Transitus of St. Francis in addition to conducting regular business (both Council and Fraternity), and formation with The Imitation of Christ.

NOVEMBER: The Regional Council is conducting an evaluation of every Fraternity in the Region this year, and we have requested a Fraternal Visit for this purpose in either November 2016, April 2017 or May 2017. The request has been submitted and we are awaiting a response. If a Fraternal Visitation is de-ferred until next year, we will continue formation with The Imitation of Christ.

DECEMBER: Christmas celebration? Fahgedaboutit!! It’s much too early to go there.

With Poverty of Spirit . . .

Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit — three equal persons and equally eternal in one all-powerful di-vinity, take pity on me, a miserable, despicable, and detestable sinner, who before your sovereign majesty confesses his ever-sinful life. Just as you make a gift to me, good and clement Lord, of the grace to acknowledge my sins, grant me also that I may lament them not only in words but also with all my heart, and that I may forsake them entirely. Forgive, I beseech you, also those sins which, through my own fault, my bad qualities, and low habits, I fail to recognize as such because my reasoning is so blinded by sensuali-ty. Illuminate, Lord, my heart; grant me your grace to see and recognize all my sins, and forgive those I have forgotten through carelessness; in your clemency recall them to my mind so that I may be purified of them completely.

St. Thomas More (Third Order Secular of St. Francis, Feast Day 22 June) as recorded by Andrés Vázquez de Prada in Sir Tomás Moro , 3rd edition (Madrid, 1975), p. 468.

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DEVELOPMENT

As an adjunct to our annual Community Outreach Program, vocational materials were placed, with the permission of Pastor Fr. Jack Sheaffer, in Our Lady’s Oratory in St. Mary, Mother of the Church, Parish in Lee, MA. The display, above, consisted of a note of introduction to the Fraternity; free information pamphlets about the OFS; free copies of our most recent Fraternity newsletter; business cards to facilitate conatct, and; a binder containing a copy of the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order and copies of our monthly newsletter for the year 2016. A copy of our information pamphlet in both English and Spanish is a attached to the e-mail version of this month’s newsletter. Development is a priority of the Fraternity Council, which seeks to animate the Fraternity, in conformity with Rule 21 of the OFS. Prayer remains the mainstay of our initiative to cultivate vocations, and we recognize the need to empower the Holy Spirit to assist us in our endeavors. Please keep us in your prayers as we discern our role in bringing the charism of living the Gospel directives in the manner of Francis to those who seek the true and lasting peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Bl. John Pelingotto, Confessor, † 1304 4 St. Francois Caracciolo, Priest, had been a tertiary before founding or joining another religious Institute, † 1608 7 Bl. Himiliana Cerchi, Virgin, Franciscan Third Order Secular, † 1246 10 Bl. Edouard Poppe, Priest, † 1924 14 Bl. Zephirin Jimenez, Martyr, † 1936 15 St. Vincenta Gerosa, Virgin, had been a tertiary before founding the Sisters of Charity of the Little Child Mary in 1832, † 1847; and Saint Mary Bartholomea Capitanio. 16 Bl. Marie-Therese Scherer, Virgin, had been a tertiary before founding or joining another religious Institute, † 1888 17 Bl. Peter Gambacorti, Confessor, † 1435 20 Bl. Micheline de Pesaro, Virgin, † 1356 22 St. Thomas More, Martyr, † 1535 23 St. Joseph Cafasso, Priest, † 1860 27 Bl. Marguerite Baeys, Virgin, † 1879 28 St. Barthelemie Capitanio, Virgin, had been a tertiary before founding or joining another religious Institute, † 1833

Secular Franciscan Saints and Blesseds from the Traditional Franciscan Calendar for June Mosaic medallion of St. Thomas More

Feast Day 22 June

CONGRATULATIONS

Inquirer Tom Rubino was admitted to the OFS at our meeting last month in Our Lady’s Chapel in St. Patrick Center in W. Stockbridge, MA. More next month on Tom’s exciting plans for missionary work in Spain starting in July.

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You send forth your spirit and they are

created: and you renew the face of the earth.

Psalm 104: 30

Robin’s egg blue: Crayola® crayons? Pantone® digital color generator? Even

in this digital age, it is a color that emerges only, and ONLY from the hand of the Creator; and the picture, Left, absolutely doesn’t do it credit. After Olivia Conforti’s Confirmation on 1 May (see page 3) friends gathered at the Confortis. A robin pair was seen to be building a nest in the cross-pieces under an umbrella on the Conforti’s deck. Dr. Conforti was not pleased; but one of his cherished friends put the situation in perspective: What would St. Francis do? Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Robin were allowed to set up house. About two weeks later the nest cra-dled the four eggs seen at Left.

Above Left, cock robin is minding the nest. His beak is a gorgeous yellow, his breast a bright orange. He will sit, and sit, and sit until . . . well, until the Will of God is made manifest — stay

tuned for the astonishing results.

1 ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR

2 STS. MARCELLINUS and PETER,

MARTYRS

3 ST. CHARLES LWANGA and

COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

5 ST. BONIFACE, BISHOP and MARTYR

6 ST. NORBERT

9 ST. EPHREM, DEACON and DOCTOR

11 ST. BARNABAS, APOSTLE

13 Τ ST. ANTHONY of PADUA,

PRIEST and DOCTOR

14 SACRED HEART of JESUS

15 IMMACULATE HEART of MARY

Saints of the Traditional Roman Calendar for June

19 ST. ROMAULD, ABBOT

STS. GERVASE and PROTASE

21 ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, RELIGIOUS

22 ST. PAULINUS of NOLA, BISHOP

ST. JOHN FISHER,BISHOP and

MARTYR

Τ3 ST. THOMAS MORE, MARTYR

24 BIRTH of JOHN THE BAPTIST

27 ST. CYRIL of ALEXANDRIA

28 ST. IRENAEUS, BISHOP and MARTYR

29 STS. PETER and PAUL

30 PROTOMARTYRS OF ROME

Τ = Order of Friars Minor

T3 = Third Order of St. Francis, Secular

An embroidery of the Sacred Heart of

Jesus in Saint Nicholas' Church,

Ghent, Belgium.

A painting depicting the Immaculate

Heart of Mary in Peterskirche,

Vienna, Austria.

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