Pastoral Musings . . .
By Fr. William Spencer, OFM

A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS....

                    The newsletter of one of the seven Franciscan (O.F.M.) provinces in the United States alerted  friars throughout the nation to something that’s happening on St. Francis Day, October 4th, this year.  I think that you might find the information both interesting and challenging, so I gladly share it with you. 

A Day of Restwas founded in 2008 by Jennifer Sekar, an 8th grade student at Hopkins Junior High School, Fremont, California with the support of friends and family.

The main goal of this non-profit organization is to encourage people across continents to take rest, a true rest for at least one day a year and spend time with friends and family.  True rest means not driving any type of powered vehicle on that day.  Our long term goal is to make the first Saturday of October of every year to be A Day of Rest, a true day of rest.  This year we are celebrating A Day of Rest on October 4, 2008.

The near term goal of A Day of Rest is to get at least one million families who own and operate powered vehicles normally to take true rest on October 4, 2008 and get one million cars off the road on October 4, 2008

We could prevent 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission in just one day!

          Most people don’t plan on “throwing a party” and hope that people won’t show for the festivities; but, somehow, I think that St. Francis might be pleased if all sorts of people decided to observe his feast day with A Day of Rest.   We will be celebrating this holy and happy day with a noon-time festive Liturgy here at St. Peter’s that Saturday; and you’re all certainly most welcome.  If you do decide to join us for the occasion, we hope that will be the only journey you make that day.  Once our Franciscan family has come together and after we’ve gone our separate ways, we need to make sure that we take the time to appreciate the presence of God in our lives, to enjoy the people God has placed there and to find in all of creation reason to praise our God..  Francis of Assisi found his way to holiness in doing just that and so will we.

If you would like more information about this movement, you can find it at www.adayofrest.org.

          St. Francis, of course, would encourage us not only to live Saturday, October 4th, as A Day of Rest, but would want us to renew our resolve to live each of our Sundays in such a way.  We would give God glory and do ourselves, one another and our world a favor if each of us took two familiar expectations of our Church more seriously.  Canon 1247 of the Code of Canon Law phrases them this way:

On Sundays and holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass; they are also to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body

It doesn’t happen as often as it once did; but all sorts of people have wondered “whether it was a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass,” and some still do.  However we’ve answered that question, Catholics stay away from the Sunday Eucharist in great numbers, and even those of us who are regularly there, can miss Mass without giving it a second thought.  There certainly have been discussions among us about “what constituted ‘servile work’”; but the way most of us live our Sundays would suggest that we’ve answered that question with a resounding “not much of anything.”  Our Church continues to hope for better than that from us.  Perhaps, this can be the Sunday when we begin to  take both obligations more seriously, joyfully and restfully.
                    
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          The Franciscan Outreach Association (www.franoutreach.org) understands and expresses its mission in the following way:

We, Franciscan Outreach Association, strive to be the heart and hands of Jesus in the Spirit of the Gospel and St. Francis of Assisi.  We provide for basic human needs such as food, shelter, encouragement and assistance in creating a better life for the homeless and the marginalized, especially those who are underserved.  We pledge to walk with them by being vulnerable, by advocating for them and by being reliable.  We wish to provide an open, respectful, welcoming, secure environment, and to affirm the dignity of our guests.  We, the donors, board members, staff, volunteers and guests are looking for the transformation of ourselves and our society.

          Fr. Philip Marquard, O.F.M. was assigned to St. Peter’s Church when he and members of the Secular Franciscan Order began to minister to people in the Chicago area who had need of assistance in some special way.  From 1963 until his death in 1986, Fr. Phil and his fellow Franciscans encouraged one another to reverence the presence of Christ in people who were regarded as nuisances by many of the rest of us.  Fr. Albert Merz, O.F.M. succeeded Fr. Phil as Director of the Franciscan Outreach Association, and St. Peter’s own Br. Herb Rempe, O.F.M. assumed that responsibility after him.  Fr. Larry Janezic, O.F.M. has dedicated the last nine years of his life to this ministry.

          Fr. Larry has lived with his Franciscan brothers at St. Peter’s for the those nine years.  Since his primary ministry has been elsewhere, many of you won’t be able to “put a face with the name.”  For you, he’s just that, a name that appears on the first page of our weekly bulletin.  However, if you regularly attend St. Peter’s 7:15AM weekday Mass, Fr. Larry is no stranger to you.  He often joined you in prayer at that Mass.  If you’re a member of the St. Francis-St. Louis Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order, you also know Fr. Larry well.  Some of you have served on the Franciscan Outreach Association Board or worked with Fr. Larry in other capacities, and you consider yourself blessed by that association.  That’s certainly the case for those of us who are privileged to call Fr. Larry our Franciscan brother.  We’ve share our faith and our lives with one another over these last nine years.  We’ve prayed together, laughed together, talked about serious and silly matters with one another; and if there’s been any frustration in our relationships, it’s been that the rabid Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinal fans among us couldn’t make this diehard Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians fan “come to his senses.”

          Fr. Larry leaves us this week for a new Franciscan fraternity and ministry in Washington, D.C.    Eight provinces of Franciscan Friars, one federation of Poor Clare Sisters, 28 Congregations of Franciscan Sisters, the National Secular Franciscan Order, two provinces of Third Order Regular Friars and two ecumenical Franciscan groups have joined together in a Franciscan Action Network.  This new ministry identifies its purpose with these words:

Inspired by the lives of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi and the long heritage of men and women who follow in their footsteps as present day disciples of Jesus Christ, the Franciscan Action Network is designed to bring a coordinated and effective voice to matters of Justice, Peace and Care for Creation in our world.  The particular focus of the Franciscan Action Network’s advocacy is the U.S. Government and related Washington, D.C. based institutions, (e.g. World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States...).  The advocacy topics will be both international and domestic in scope.  In these areas, the Franciscan Outreach Network hopes to bring a spirit of healing and reconciliation as they advocated for the transformation of the world, as inspired by the Spirit of God.

          It will be Fr. Larry’s personal responsibility to pursue that purpose as a member of the staff at the Franciscan Action Network.  As he leaves our St. Peter’s Church and Franciscan communities for this new venture, we pray God’s blessing on him and his efforts to be an “instrument of peace.”  Thank you for all of the ways in which you’ve been a blessing in our lives, Fr. Larry.  Your new home may be inside Washington’s Beltway, but you’ll always have a home here in the heart of Chicago’s Loop.  God give you the wisdom and the skills to do well the work he now entrusts to you.

          If you’re interested in more information about the Franciscan Action Network, you can learn more at www.franciscanaction.org.

            Peace and everything good,
                                                   Fr. Bill

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