The pre-Chapter Meetings
This week's pre-Chapter meetings were held. We were able to get shots from the first of these meetings on Tuesday, January 6th.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to get shots from Monday's Christmas Party & Vespers, but quite a few friars were able to wind their way to the Motherhouse to fill the chapel at the Motherhouse and to enjoy the dinner and fraternity that followed in Epp Hall.
Christmastime was Here
New Baltimore posted some shots of their decorations for the feast . . .
At Cap College, thanks to Joseph Pham who found these "too good not to share with the rest of the Province," we have photos of their sanctuary decorations, flower arrangement and creche executed by Luke Kim and assisted by Ryan Schmeltzer. Brian Stacy was the main celebrant for the Christmas Eve Mass; Tom Weinandy was the homilist, and Bob Herrick coordinated the music which featured Christmas Carols and contributions of various friars, along with Korean Mission Society priest Micahel Yoo, who sang in Korean.
While we're in DC, the friary hosted an Ecumenical Cap Café in the lower room of the Chapel in December. The evening was in collaboration with the The District Church of the friary's Brookland area. The evening started with praise and worship led by worship leaders and the band from District Church. The evening rounded off with Evening Prayer led by Connor Bannon and the friars. A gathering of CUA students were also present. Afterwards, all took part in a social and refreshments in the refectory dining room, prepared by Luke Kim and Josean Castro-Arroyo.
The other Baltimore weighed in with their decorations on December 16th: "This evening our parish Liturgy committee gathered to decorate the parish Christmas tree which is covered with ornaments depicting pictures of our parishioners living and deceased. A wonderful tradition we have continued since 2007. Enjoy the photos and look to see if you can find yourself or someone you know."
Paul also got a shot of the St. Augustine sanctuary display while he was in the 'burgh visiting his mom.
In the Franciscan spirit, The Port hosted a living nativity on Saturday evening, December 18th. "Even with the rain, a well-behaved and adorable Ellie was able to draw a crowd to 'adore' her."
The Port and friends took to the streets of Lawrenceville to spread Christmas joy by caroling house to house on Monday, December 20th.
That last shot was taken outside the house of Alice Zaborowski, Paul's mom. Paul chimed in on Facebook with the photo: "Sending this pic of my mom being greeted at her door on 38th Street by our friars and the young people from The Port caroling through the neighborhood. My mom was so excited and touched that they would do this for her. They certainly brightened her Christmas Spirit. To Ross and Matt and the young people at The Port—thank you and Merry Christmas."
And before we take leave of The Port, on Friday, December 17th (chronologically before the above), the Pittsburgh Artists gathered for the December drawing of the Dream of St Joseph. Matt wrote: "Thanks to our model, Mike, and the great turn out of artists tonight."
Our Newest Affiliate
Dave Schaffner, a friend and supporter of our brothers throughout these years, was enrolled as our newest Provincial affiliate on Friday, December 3, in the St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel of our motherhouse. His family was able to be present for the occasion, as were a number of friars from the Province.
Dave entered St. Fidelis Seminary in the fall of 1977 and was there until the school was closed in 1980. Along with other Juniors who were forced to do their Senior years elsewhere, Dave was able to be among those to receive the last diplomas issued by St. Fidelis in 1981, arranged with their respective high schools.
Dave wrote about his life with the friars on the St. Fidelis Alumni page of our website: "During those high school years at St. Fidelis, I was fortunate enough to also work there in the summers, cutting grass and helping to do general maintenance around the grounds and property. So in essence, I was with the friars almost every day for almost 4 years. Being with them on a day to day basis is when my love of the friars really grew."
Dave worked in several institutions in maintenance departments, in fixing and in repairing. After working as grounds keeper and gardener for Elm Court, a mansion owned by Fred Koch in Butler, and as land manager at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel, PA, he decided "to make the jump to being self-employed." He's headed his own handyman and remodeling business for over 25 years.
David has two daughters and a son who "are out into the real world;" he and his wife currently live in O'Hara Township, PA. Congratulations, Dave!
Pictures of the Affiliation have been posted in Matt Hindelang's Provincial gallery.
Patrick Monahan at his "Best"
Deacon Curtis Turner (left on Patrick's right), principal of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore where our brother Patrick Monahan is ministering, wrote our friars there that "the seniors received their rings today, and Patrick preached." Deacon Turner added, “Patrick preached one of the best homilies in the history of our school! He somehow, creatively, referenced Royal Farms fried chicken - which everyone here in Baltimore knows and loves. Good to see a Capuchin is doing well at St. Frances." Amen to that!
Mark Carter's 'Head in the Clouds'
“People often asked me, ‘What has happened since you changed from meteorology to thinking about being a priest?’ And I say, ‘Well, my head’s still in the clouds.'”
That was the lead to an article on Beaver County's radio 99 FM (WBVP and WMBA) website entitled From Meteorology To Theology: Father Mark Carter Talks Weird Weather And Christmas Cheer. It appeared on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, and features the audio of an interview with Mark Carter. In the eight-minute interview that appears at the bottom of their webpage, you can hear Mark share his history of cloud-watching and some of his predictions about our meterological future. Here's a sample from the article:
"Fr. Carter studied meteorology before entering the seminary, and he spoke in detail about the bizarre phenomenon of days where the timing has caused the early morning temperatures to be warmer than the rest of the 24-hour day. Carter says that such patterns are directly related to a steady rise in global temperature; one that he says may lead to Floridian temperatures during Christmas in Beaver County by 2050 – but one that will not last as the global temperatures start cooling into the next century."
We can't wait until 2050 . . . Get out your sunscreen.
Padre Pio Friars Bring Light and Hope for Day-Workers
Reynaldo Frías and the brothers of our Padre Pio friary in Philly's Kensington section of the city were featured in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on New Year's Day. Entitled Pandemic surge chills the prospects of day workers seeking jobs at Northeast Philly site, the article by columnist Joseph N. DiStefano mentions the service of our brothers:
"A squad of brown-hooded Franciscan friars builds a makeshift altar and field kitchen for a Mass they hold for workers once a month, with hot breakfast from the Latin American menu of the Tamay food truck.
". . . The Franciscans, here in pan-Latino and Christian solidarity, are also international. Besides Father Kevin [Thompson], the friars include Father Reynaldo Frías, from the Dominican Republic, and Brother Edgar Pereira, born in El Salvador. They are Capuchin Franciscans, based at the Padre Pio friary at a former Catholic parish in Frankford.
"The Mass was the idea of Marco Osuna, a native of Colombia and lay Franciscan who moved to Philadelphia in the 1980s and works as a union electrician. When he learned of the jornaleros, Osuna went to the Home Depot parking lot on his own to hold lay services, then badgered the friars into joining him.
"Osuna usually arrives early, rounding up men to join the Mass and leading the crowd in the repetitive call-and-response of the rosary. But he’s sick this week, so Frías is doing double duty.
"Frías jams a shopping cart against the folding-table altar to keep its cloth from blowing away. 'We are here to remind everyone that we are all children of the same God and are worthy of respect, even when society does not show this,' he said."
The entire article outlining the plight of these day-workers is well worth the read. Unfortunately, the Inquirer article may be behind a paywall, so you may not be able to access it directly, but we were able to get through once or twice before the paywall kicked in.
Tage, Andrew and John Paul on the road for Damascus
From Tage Danielson: From Thursday, December 16 to Sunday, December 19, Andrew Corriente, students from IUP's Catholic Student Association (CSA) and I attended Damascus Empower, a young adult conference held in Centerburg, OH. Four days of prayer, worship, talks and fellowship brought together more than three hundred men and women, ages 18-28, and dozens of Damascus missionaries and staff members. John Paul Kuzma was there on the 18th, and we were able to enjoy lunch with him. I concelebrated Mass and celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Andrew served the Lord well as Deacon at Mass and talked to people who needed counsel. On Friday night, there was a cornhole tournament, but sadly, both Andrew and my team lost our first game. Saturday night featured Silent Disco, where we danced to music from headphones, and whose night was capped off by a hymn to Our Blessed Mother. The conference was a wonderful opportunity for young Catholics, united in Jesus Christ, to be together and grow in love of our Lord. I thank God for Damascus and a blessed few days there!"
Potpourri
From December 3-18,our brother Joe Tuscan was visiting the friars in the Province of Tanzania and gave a retreat to 34 of the friars from December 8-15 at the the Mbagala Capuchin retreat center in Dar Es Salaam.
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At the Annual Christmas parade in Solvang, CA, on Saturday, December 4th, Franco Chávez, a novice of the Sigmata Province, was chosen to represent St. Francis in the living creche. Here he is seen giving advice to Mary and Joseph on how to raise their child. Pablo Lopez, a novice of our Province, can be seen in the photo. While pretending to be occupied with other things, Pablo is covertly telling Franco what he should be saying to the holy family.We couldn't find photos of our other friars/novices in the parade pictures, so below you'll see the novices of 2018 featuring then-novice Luke Kim (in his cowboy hat). That group somehow managed to get in the Solvang webpage photos.
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Not too many days later, Kip Ledger celebrated the first snows of the season in the mountains above the novitiate to gather some recently fallen snow. He took his bounty back to San Lorenzo so that novices who had never seen snow would not be denied the opportunity to do so. We've got plenty back east, Kip, but, there's a chance it wouldn't survive the journey.
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The Aleteia Catholic News site featured a slideshow on 12 Hidden joys of having a priest in the family on December 19th. Mike Herlihy and his family are pictured among the joyful (anticipators).
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Keith Clark, a friar of the St. Joseph Province, passed to the Lord's eternal life on December 4, 2021; he was 82. Keith was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer three weeks before his death. Keith was a fixture at formation meetings and conferences over the years and served the Province of St. Joseph on the Novitiate team in Huntington, IN, and later at Mt. Calvary and Burlington, WI. After serving as the Province's Director of Personnel, Keith was made President of St. Lawrence Seminary from 1986 to 1997 and continued as the Director of Institutional Advancement until 2005. A well-known and popular preacher, teacher, educator and formator, Keith's final assignment was Director of Monte Alverno Retreat Center in Appleton, WI, until he retired in 2014. His books Being Sexual and Celibate and Make Space, Make Symbols: A Personal Journey into Prayer were best-selling works offering guidance and accompaniment to beginners and searchers. Rest in the Lord's peace, dear brother.
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On Sunday, January 2nd, the community of St. Ambrose in Baltimore celebrated the retirement of Colette Attenoukon who has cared for the church and rectory buildings with loving care for 20 years. Colette's goodness and graciousness touched many a friar at St. Ambrose Friary for those years. We join our prayers for her and her family with those of the parish while we thank the Lord for those women and men throughout the Province who not only help us in our life and work, but who actually perform tasks which we could not have accomplished or attended to without them. Brava, Colette! Du fond du cœur, nous te remercions!
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The Province of St. Mary has posted a number of videos on YouTube relating to their ministries. One highlights their Capuchin Mobile Ministries, the Province’s ministry to homeless men and women, while a second highlights various ministries of the Province asking "Are All Capuchins Parish Priests? Or Do They Have Other Ministries?"
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The Diocese of Pittsburgh will be celebrating the ordination of Bishop-elect Mark Eckman on January 11, 2022. In the commemoration/souvenir edition published by the Pittsburgh Catholic, a picture appeared of the new bishop's seminary days. We're not sure exactly where that future auxiliary is in the photo; we do have an idea of who the feminine presence is in the shot. Still, we can certainly make out a glimpse of our brother Mike Greb in those seminary days. Can you?
