CHRISTMAS TREE

Too good to miss!

 

Pictured above is our friary Christmas tree here at Our Lady of the Angels Franciscan Community;  it is close to 15 feet tall as it stretches up to our second floor room in the friary.  What is remarkable is that it has easily over 200 angels on it.  Enjoy!   We hope that you have a Blessed Christmas season -- Christmas lasts until January 9th this year.   We are praying for you!    (the friars)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(our friary chapel in Christmas 2011 vesture)

 

from your Ava friars:  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

What shall we wish you for Christmas? 

 

"We think the best Christmas wish is that some holy and lovely thought may come into your life with your Christmas celebration, make its home with you and stay to strengthen you and help you ....live as followers of this Child of Bethlehem!  Jesus came and made a difference in the world and asks only that we do the same!"   

 

Merry Christmas and a Grace-filled and Healthy New Year! 

AN ADVENT REFLECTION

 

 

 

This reflection is based on the following Advent scripture: JOHN 1: 19-20

    

     And this is the testimony of John.  When the Jews from Jerusalm sent priests and Levites to ask him: "Who are you?"  John admitted and did not deny it, but admitted:  "I am not the Messiah."

 

THE LITTLE BLUE BOOK for Advent/Christmas Seasons 2011-2012 offers this reflection about prayer based on that quote;  it appears as one of the selections for Dec. 14, 2011; the REFLECTION:

 

John is very good at saying who he is and what he is not.   He is not the Messiah.

 

Sometimes I forget and act as though I am the Messiah.   Especially when I pray.  Perhaps I try to be sure to include everyone in my prayer.   I do this sincerely because I care about them and I want to help. 

 

Perhaps my prayer gets busy and cluttered because I'm trying to remember to mention all the intentions and all the people for whom I've promised to pray.  It's as though God wouldn't be able to remember someone, if I didn't specifically take care of it.

 

Perhaps I feel I have all these people depending on me and I work very hard to include them in my prayer.

 

In all these ways, I am acting as if I am the Messiah.  It all depends on me.  When I do this, I have things backwards.  God is God and I am God's child.  God handles things as God, and I handle things as God's child.  I can simply relax and talk to God.

AN ADVENT PRAYER REFLECTION

REFLECTION FOR ADVENT

 

The reading below appears for a Morning Prayer in Advent; it's from the People's Companion to the Breviary, p. 256.   This book is published by the Carmelite sisters in Indianapolis.  The quote comes from Sr. Teresa Boersig, OCD, in "Christmas Reverie":

 

"Our first home was in the womb of our earthly mother, but the womb of God is our "forever" home … In the womb of God, our Eternal Mother, we can indeed enter and find again the source of our being, the font of life-giving waters, the life of our life. God is pregnant with us -- holding us, nourishing us, delighting in us, bringing us into birth at each new moment -- yet enveloping and embracing us forever in the fold of this Holy Womb. It is our refuge, our place of repose, our home."

MARY as a MODEL of PRAYER

(image of Mary and the Christ Child at Assumption Abbey)

 

MARY AS A PRAYER MODEL

 

In these days between the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (patroness of the U.S.A.) and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (patroness of all the Americas), we pause to reflect upon what Mary can teach us, in the example of her life, about prayer.   This quote appears in the work, "Mary in Luke's Gospel", authored by Joseph Martos and Richard Rohr, OFM. 

 

"Mary is therefore the model of prayer for all Christians.  Prayer is getting in touch with reality, letting it speak to us, and incarnating the word which comes to us.   We let it happen in our lives.  Saying yes to God in prayer ...means changing our lives in accordance with what we have heard.  It means engaging that word with our whole being, and letting it alter our existence.  For prayer is a dialogue between life and life, between divine life and human life, between the life of the Spirit and the life of the flesh.  Unless we enflesh the word of God and let it become incarnate in us, it cannot become real in the world."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

(fall colors over the friary and guest wing)

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from your Franciscan brothers at Our Lady of the Angels Prayer Fraternity in Ava, Mo.  

 

Give thanks to the Lord for all the gifts that you have received!

GIVE THANKS!   GIVE THANKS!  GIVE THANKS!

PRAYER IN TIME OF DIFFICULTY

(crucifix at Assumption Abbey)

 

 

PRAYER FOR DIFFICULT MOMENTS IN LIFE

 

ALL WISE AND LOVING FATHER

 

Let us never forget that in all things

     You send there is blessing.

Make us ever mindful that every problem

     leading us to pray also leads us

          deeper into your presence.

And every trial that takes us to our knees

     also brings us closer to your throne.

Let us always see that every adversity

     is your opportunity,

Every burden a chance to share your cross,

     and that many times our tears

          most clearly reflect the vision of your grace.

 

                                      -- by B.J. Hoff

PRAYER FOR ALL SAINTS' DAY

(cemetery at Assumption Abbey)

 

Amen.   Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever.   Amen.  

 

This prayer from Revelations 7:12 of the saints and angels before the throne of God beckons us also;  it is a beautiful seven-fold acclamation, beginning and concluding with an 'amen'.  This prayer unites us with them and each other as we prepare to worship God and serve brothers and sisters here on earth.  Making this prayer our own here prepares us to join in that prayer ourselves one day before the throne of God in heaven.  What a wonderful thought!

A PRAYER FOR AUTUMN DAYS

(the colors of Fall overlooking Charlie's Hollow between Abbey and Friary)

 

A PRAYER FOR AUTUMN DAYS

                    -- adapted from Joyce Rupp

 

God of the seasons, there is a time for everything;  there is a time for dying and a time for rising.  We need your grace and courage to enter into the conversion process.

 

God of Autumn, the trees are saying their goodbyes to green, letting go of what has been.  We, too, have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk-taking.  Help us to let go.

 

God of fallen leaves that lay in colored patterns upon the ground, our lives have their own particular patterns of growth.  We need to see the connections.

 

God of misty days and harvest-moon nights, there is always the dimension of mystery and wonder in our lives, always the need to recognize your power-filled mystery.

 

God of harvest wagons and fields of ripened grain, there are many gifts of growth within this season of surrender.  Harvest must be waited for in faith and hope.  Grant us patience when we do not see the blessings.

 

God of geese going South for another season, it is wisdom which enables us to know what needs to be left behind and what needs to be carried into the future.  We yearn for insight and vision.

 

God of graciousness, you believe in us, you enrich us, you entrust us with the freedom to choose life.  For all of this, we are grateful.

 

As we experience the season of Autumn, may we allow it to speak to us of necessary change and growth and of preparation for seasons that lie beyond the Winter.  Grant us an openness to the continuous process of letting go and moving on, which is part of our human condition.  We know that you are our faithful companion on this journey.  Your presence is blessing enough.   AMEN.

October Reflection on Peace Prayer

(statue of St. Francis in common area)

 

Before we leave this month of October and the Feast Day of St. Francis which was on October 4th, we share with you this Reflection on the Peace Prayer of St. Francis:

 

LORD, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE

 

Let my song be joyful, let it sing of your incarnation in all of creation;

let me see all as holy, let me be a source of peace to others.

 

WHERE THERE IS HATRED, LET ME SOW LOVE

 

Let me love those who hurt me, those who dominate others,

whether through systems they build or as individuals.

 

WHERE THERE IS INJURY, PARDON

 

Let me show forgiveness to others.  Let my heart and mind be free,

to let go of hurts or perceived hurts.

 

WHERE THERE IS DOUBT, FAITH

 

Help me in my faith, may I learn to rely fully on you, my God.

Let me share my faith with others and be a witness of faithfulness to God.

 

WHERE THERE IS DESPAIR, HOPE

 

Help me bring justice and hope to those in need or despair.

Let me be hope for others when they are in crisis and all seems lost.

 

WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS, LIGHT

 

For those sick in mind, spirit, or body, help me bring God's light.

Let me be light for those who walk in darkness.

 

WHERE THERE IS SADNESS, JOY

 

There is great sadness in the world today, help me to bring joy to others.

Let me bring God's joy to others by the way I choose to live my life.

 

DIVINE MASTER, GRANT THAT I MAY NOT SO MUCH SEEK TO BE CONSOLED AS TO CONSOLE

 

Teach me to help others in need, to see the pain that others carry.

 

TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS TO UNDERSTAND

 

Teach me to hear another person's story, to listen with "God's heart."

 

TO BE LOVED AS TO LOVE

 

Teach me to love and respect all of Creation, especially my sisters and brothers.

 

FOR IT IS IN GIVING THAT WE RECEIVE.  IT IS IN PARDONING THAT WE ARE PARDONED.  IT IS IN DYING THAT WE ARE BORN TO ETERNAL LIFE.

 

- AUTHOR UNKNOWN -

 

 

PRAYER REFLECTION

(Sunday mass here at the Prayer Fraternity)

 

Prayer is the place where burdens change shoulders!

 

(Words seen on a Church information board.) 

 

 

Prayer Fraternity Soap Sales

 

PRESENTS for Christmas and other Special Occasions

 

As the upcoming holiday season approaches, this is a good time to be reminded that Br. Joe's FRANCISCAN SOAP might be a unique and wonderful present for family or friends or co-workers.  You can check out the soap video on this blogsite, watching some of the steps in the making of the soap.  

 

The bar soap is made with pasteurized goat's milK, then cured and hand cut;  the varieties available are: 

 

     Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey

     Lemon

     Honeysuckle Hollow

     Woodland

     Lavender

     Lavender and Cedar

     Rain

     Fragrance Free

     Sage, Sweetgrass and Cedar

 

There are two special Christmas soaps this year:

 

     Country Christmas (pink in color with cinnamon, plum and berry scents)

     Christmas Forest  (green in color with spruce, pine, and fir scents)

 

You can order by calling Br. Joe (or any of the friars here) at 417 - 683 - 4303  or emailing Br. Joe at brojofm@aol.com

DISTRACTIONS AND PRAYER

(a fallen tree down on one of the many walking paths)

 

PRAYER REFLECTION FROM YOUR PRAYER FRATERNITY

 

It is difficult to love and to be loved as one would like.  It is painful to realize that there are whole areas in the life of  the human mind that will never be revealed.  Every person, one day or another, becomes aware of one's poverty as a creature.  And since this experience is a crushing one, the natural temptation is therefore distractions, or, diversions.  There is an "impatience with one's limitations," a natural temptation that urges us to flee before such limitations.  We experience a fear in coming face to face with them, and this fear arises again and again inside us.  Distractions, therefore, appear as the opposite of prayer, a refusal of our real condition, an evasion of it in favor of illusion, dream, mirage (recall one's pursuit of different kinds of drunkenness:  evasion by the flesh, art, sports, etc.)

 

However, the first moment of true prayer occurs in the experience and awareness of one's limitations.  We do not know what our real needs are, and we must learn them all over again each day.  In this sense, prayer has the value of pedagogy, it is the great pedagogy of God.  While evasion and distractions draw us away from the road to real happiness, prayer brings us back to what is most authentic in one's quest for happiness.  "The truth will set you free."  Prayer makes us free;  it preserves what is most fragile and most precious in us:  the integrity of our desire, that desire which, in final analysis, is nothing but the need for God.  This is what prayer preserves in us, and must teach us every day, this need for God, which is the distinctive, most profound trait that separates one from the animals.  The human person is the only being who turns to God to obtain what is lacking for one's own fulfillment.

 

(by  Fr. Bernard Bro, O.P.)

 

 

FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS - 2011

TRANSITUS & FEASTDAY GREETINGS

 

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS!

 

The friar community here at Our Lady of the Angels held its annual TRANSITUS service on the evening of October 3rd, prayerfully and gratefully remembering the life and the death of St. Francis.   Across the world, on the evening before the feast of St. Francis which is October 4th, Franciscans -- friars and sisters and lay Franciscans -- along with friends, gather to retell the last years and hours of St. Francis' life.  In every language and custom imaginable, the story is retold.  It's a wonderful annual service which prepares us to celebrate the feast the next day.

 

Here at the Prayer Fraternity, the Trappist monks from Assumption Abbey, the hermits from Nazareth Hermitage and other local friends are invited to join in this special memorial service.  Twenty plus friends joined our community in the celebration both in the chapel and in the social that followed.    

 

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS TO ALL OF YOU!

 

 

CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT is well received

 

September 26-30 saw 6 friars from the provinces of St. John the Baptist and Sacred Heart join the core community at the Interprovincial Prayer Fraternity in Ava, Mo for a contemplative retreat.

 

Fr. Ray Gunzel, sP was the presenter and developed for the 10 friars the theme of contemplative prayer as a 'journey from the center of the self to the Center of the Divine'.

 

He spoke of prayer as a lifting of the mind and heart to God and that the end of all prayer is a surrender to be taken into God as we are, as God knows us and accepts us (loves us) in the present moment.

 

Two of the pillars for contemplative prayer, and for the retreat, are 'solitude', the sanctuary that protects and nourishes our prayer and 'silence', the wellspring of living water from which our prayer flows.

 

Fr. Ray developed the biblical foundations of prayer, discovering in the creation events of Genesis the seed of our inner life of prayer as well as the foundation for an understanding of sin. He reflected on the writings of St. Paul, the life of Mary, and the Gospels, esp. the Gospel of John, as source materials to understand contemplation. He spoke of the radical Jesus who is the new Adam, a new creation, modeling for us a way of living in the world and relating to other persons.

 

      "Jesus must be taken seriously in all his actions, his way of living and acting. Jesus stands radically against         conventional values and perceptions of right and wrong. He calls us to follow him and take a stand against the false perceptions, the unredeemed values that seduce and imprison the hearts and minds of man and woman."

 

He spoke of a new Pentecost and how the community of believers is the Body of Christ through time. To genuinely commit ourselves to the Eucharist, we are called to relinquish our culturally given identity and take on a new persona that represents a transformed heart that rejects and indicts the unredeemed values and beliefs embedded in our culture.

 

Afternoon sessions were structured to be "Contemplative Sits' introducing us to centering prayer and contemplative walks. Evening sessions provided an opportunity for those interested to engage Fr. Ray with questions that flowed from the day or our own life experiences.

OUR SOAP MAKER ATTENDS LOCAL CRAFT SHOW

On Saturday, September 24th, Br. Joe was invited to be part of a new venture for the city of Ava, MO -- their first annual Fall Festival.  Pictured above is Br. Joe and his display and several interested persons.  Br. Joe indicated that his soap was quite an interest, both in the 'how it's made' as well as the finished product.  

September 27th -- Prayer reflection on feast of St. Vincent de Paul

SERVICE OF THE POOR and  PRAYER:

 

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible.  If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind.   Offer the deed to God as your prayer.   Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor.   God is not neglected if you leave him for such service.  One of God's works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out.  So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God.  Charity is certainly greater than any rule.  Moreover, all rules must lead to charity.  Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands.  With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars.  They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

 

(from a writing by St. Vincent de Paul)

PRAYER REFLECTION FROM YOUR PRAYER FRATERNITY

(our statue of Mary is surrounded by crepe myrtle)

 

Every Man's Life is a Continual State of Prayer

 

 

Every man's life is a continual state of prayer; he is no moment free from it, nor can possibly be so.  For all our natural tempers, be they what they will, ambition, covetousness, selfishness, worldly-mindedness, pride, envy, hatred, malice or any other lust whatever, are all of them in reality only so many different kinds and forms of a spirit of prayer which is inseparable from the heart as weight is from the body.

 

For every natural temper is nothing else but a manifestation of the desire and prayer of the heart, and shows us how it works and wills.   And as the heart works and wills, such and no other is its prayer.

 

If, therefore, the working desire of the heart is not habitually turned towards God, if this is not our spirit of prayer, we are necessarily in a state of prayer towards something else that carries us from God and brings all kind of evil into us.  Pray we must, as sure as our heart is alive; and therefore when the state of our heart is not a spirit of prayer to God, we pray without ceasing to some or other part of the creation.

 

(written by William Law, an Anglican author from the 1700's in England)

POSTULANTS VISIT

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PROVINCE POSTULANTS VISIT

 

Our Prayer Fraternity welcomed the 6 new postulants (for the 2011-12 year) and their directors from the Province of St. John the Baptist headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.   They arrived on Sunday, the 18th of September, and were with us until Tuesday morning, the 20th.  They begin their year of formation with a two week trip around the province visiting a number of the friars and their ministries.  

 

We are grateful for their visit and we wish them blessings on their upcoming year of formation.

Prayer Reflection from your Prayer Fraternity

(flower garden at Ava - butterflies love it)

 

Prayer Reflection from St. John Vianney

 

Recommending liturgical prayer, St. John Vianney would say:

 

"Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there:  If you set it on fire, it makes a lot of little flames.   But gather those straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky;  public prayer is like that."

Prayer Reflection from your Prayer Fraternity

 

(rocking chair waits in our chapel here at Ava)

 

Prayer reflection based on Romans 9:26-27:

 

"At times, human beings wrestle with the process of prayer because there is too much "I" and not enough "You."  There is too much talking and not enough listening;  too many demands and not enough surrender.  In those moments, as St. Paul has reassured us, the Spirit comes to our aid, and with "inexpressible groanings" brings to birth in us the faithful, patient, trusting hope that is prayer.  Believers are caught in the tension of being finite creatures with infinite desires and unimagined potential.  We can rely on the Spirit to intercede with God on our behalf and in accord with the divine will.

 

Not only does the Spirit enourage believers to call upon God as Jesus did -- as "Abba,"  "Daddy," "Papa"  (Romans 8:15) -- the Spirit can give eloquent expression to our desire to share in the very life of God.  If your childhood spirituality was anything like mine, then you may have thought that God could be impressed by the multiplication of prayers.  To that end, you may have (as I did) bombarded God with a series of rote prayers, rather than simply bending your ear and your spirit to the will of God.  Fortunately, the Spirit, who comes to our aid, encourages in us simplicity and single-heartedness, allowing us to minimize the wordiness and emphasize the silent, patient waiting where God can act and dwell and be heard to speak.

 

Walter Burghardt was fond of calling for preaching and praying that issue forth from "fire in the belly."  Similarly, Ralph Waldo Emerson insisted that the Spirit-filled preacher's sermon and the prayer-er's prayer be "rammed with life."  By virtue of the indwelling Spirit, those who preach, as well as those who listen and pray, allow God's word to take hold of them.   Within its holy grip, believers will be calmed and challenged, critiqued and encouraged, informed and inspired.  But the gift of the Spirit is never solely for ourselves; it is a gift that must be paid forward in caring encouragement for and loving service to others."

 

(reflection on prayer based on Romans text is by Patricia Sanchez in Preaching Resources from July 17, 2011) 

Prayer Reflection from the Prayer Fraternity

PRAYER and SPIRITUAL LIFE

For the lifelong Christian, prayer is too often felt as a task or a responsibility.  Sometimes it is fulfilled with great effort or even discouragement.  On the other hand, when a person is "surprised by grace," he might find that his first real experiences of prayer are without effort and seem to be, themselves, gits of divine grace.

 

When we have difficulty praying, we need to recall that this is not uncommon, that holy people such as Mother Teresa often had to struggle and work to pray.  Prayer is the lifeblood of the spiritual life.  Whether it comes to us easily or only after much struggle, it is absolutely necessary for the soul.  Without prayer, there can be no real spiritual life.

 

We must also recognize that prayer comes in many forms.  Someone may say regretfully,  "I cannot pray at all."  But this is not entirely true, for those very words are at least the beginning of prayer, and as he utters them, that person is praying.  He has "lifted his heart and soul to God."

 

(by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., in Praying Constantly:  Bringing Your Faith to Life)

HAPPY 4th of JULY

(a pot of flowers on the deck)

 

from your Franciscan brothers here at the Interprovincial Prayer Fraternity:

 

 

HAPPY 4th of July!

 

You, your family, and friends are in our prayers!   Let us remember to pray gratefully for the freedom that we know as a nation!   Let us also pray for our nation today that we will serve the cause of freedom around the world as God calls us to!

 

 

PRAYING WITH NATURE

(last year's beautiful sunflowers here at Ava)

 

PRAYING WITH NATURE

 

(Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, has more to tell us about praying with nature in her June MONASTIC WAY)

 

Nature teaches us many things.   It is coming to hear this language, that is beyond language, which is the language of the soul.

 

When we see things only en maase, in great, large, sweeping entities, we lose the mystery of life.  "The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificient world in itself." (Henry Miller)

 

There is a call to nature in all of us -- the challenge of the mountains, the enormity of the ocean, the cry of the clouds, the stolidity of the trees -- that both calls us beyond ourselves and into ourselves.  Each of them is already in us, one more powerful than the other, attempting to teach us what we need to know.

 

Water calls us to explore the depth of the self.  It washes away, wave after wave, the seismic shocks of the day upon our souls.  It soothes the riled self.

 

Fire drives us out of ourselves, it touches the spark within us that leads us to create new worlds in the face of the years gone to ashes before us.

 

Earth, the vast expanse of the plains, the colors in a far away meadow, beckons us to explore, to know, to touch, to grow with the environment around us.  It makes us its own and teaches us what home is about.

 

Air, fresh and soft, teaches us how little it takes to live, to go on, to be pure of heart, to begin to live all over again, to believe.

 

What nature has to teach us, if we wll only take the time in this technological world to listen, is the very rhythm and richness of life.  "Climb the mountains and nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." (John Muir)

 

We live, most of us, in a boxed-in world, secure from the wind, away from the water, shadowed from the sun, free from the rain, cemented a distance from the woods.  We live totally unnatural lives and wonder why we feel out of place here.  "Come forth into the light of things; let nature be your teacher."  (William Wordsworth)

 

TRINITY SUNDAY

(An image of the Trinity in a painting in our friary.)

A THOUGHT TO TAKE TO PRAYER FOR TRINITY SUNDAY:

 

"The Trinity becomes a reality in us as the guest of the soul.  Why go on searching for God beyond the stars when God is so close to us, within us?   Don't try to reach God with your understanding;  that is impossible.   Reach God in love; that is possible."

 

(Carlo Carretto in his Letters from the Desert, Orbis, 1972)

PRAYING WITH THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR

(winter at the Franciscan Prayer Fraternity)

PRAYING WITH THE SEASONS

The spiritual life is more than doctrine.  It is coming to see God in the works of God.

 

Realize that mysticism is the gift of learning to see Life under life, behind life, and beyond life.  Nature teaches us many things.  It is coming to hear this language, that is beyond language, which is the language of the soul.

 

SPRING teaches us patience.  Things -- and we, as well -- grow slowly.  Do not overvalue the speed that races to produce what the heart is not yet wise enough to use well.

 

SUMMER teaches us that to have the fullness of life -- great tastes, good fun, warm sun and wild abandon -- we must have less of it than we expect.  Too much of anything sears the soul.

 

FALL teaches us the value of resting our minds as well as our bodies, the value of readiness,  the value of transition.  In all the in-between phases and places of life, we are given the time to allow our souls to catch up with our restless energies, to take stock of the present, to get sight of all our possible futures and choose between them.

 

WINTER teaches us what it means to close one phase of life so that we can begin something else, totally different, totally new.  It gives us the joy of beginning over and over again throughout the whole of life.

 

To live in rhythm with the seasons was natural in an agricultural society.  Now in the technological age, it has become a spiritual discipline, a sign of maturity yet to be developed.  Everything that grows in us in life is an experience from which we are meant to grow.

 

(taken from FOR A LISTENING HEART, June's reflections for THE MONASTIC WAY by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB) 

Prayer for the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua

(statue of St. Anthony is down near our little pond) 

MODERN PRAYER to ST. ANTHONY

        to FIND WHAT IS LOST

 

St. Anthony, when you prayed,

     your stolen book of prayers was given back to you.

Pray now for all of us who have lost

     things precious and dear.

Pray for all who have lost faith, hope or

     the friendship of God.

Pray for us who have lost friends or

     relatives by death.

Pray for all who have lost peace of mind

     or spirit.

Pray that we may be given new hope,

     new faith, new love.

Pray that lost things, needful and helpful to us,

    may be returned to our keeping.

Or, if we must continue in our loss,  pray that we may

     be given Christ's comfort and peace.   AMEN.

 

(this prayer appears in the 1993 St. Anthony Messenger Press book:

   St. Anthony of Padua)

PRAYERFUL REFLECTION ON JESUS

CHRIST JESUS IS OUR EVERYTHING!

 

Hope, Life, Way, Salvation,

Understanding, Wisdom, Light,

Judge, Door, Most High, King,

Precious Stone, Prophet, Priest,

Messiah, Sabaoth, Teacher,

Spouse, Mediator, Scepter,

Dove, Hand, Stone, Son, Emmanuel,

Vineyard, Shepherd, Sheep, Peace,

Root, Vine-stock, Olive Tree, Source,

Wall, Lamb, Victim, Lion, Intercessor,

Word, Man, Net, Rock, House!

 

(Damasus from the 4th Century)

FAREWELL TO EASTER

 

FAREWELL TO EASTER

 

For these 50 days of Easter it was given for us to live in the Paschal Joy, much as those early followers of Jesus did in those post-resurrection days.  And then comes the "last and great" day of Easter, Pentecost, and with it our return into the real time of this world.   (In the church year we call it Ordinary Time.) 

 

COME, HOLY SPIRIT, FILL OUR LIVES AND CREATE OUR WORLD ANEW!   MAY THERE BE MANY NEW PENTECOSTS!

 

As we move from Easter time into Ordinary Time,  may we allow the life of the Holy Spirit to use us to birth a new Church in ever new and exciting ways.  The great gift of Easter for the world is the Risen Christ;  the great gift of Pentecost is the Spirit of that Risen Christ who comes ever anew to make each of us a temple, a dwelling, a church for the purposes of God in the world of today.   As much today as 33 A.D. we need new Pentecosts, new apostles, new disciples, new gospel writers, new everything for the service of God in the world.   Open your life daily to that Holy Spirit's power and see what great things God can accomplish through you!

A PRAYER REFLECTION

 (the above image of Mary is in front of the Hermitage here at Ava Prayer Fraternity)

 

OPEN HANDS / CLENCHED FISTS   &   PRAYER

 

On praying with open, outstretched hands:  On one occasion, I gained new insight into this ancient gesture, when I read somewhere that the Assyrians had a word for prayer which meant:  "to open the fist."   The fist, and especially a fist raised threateningly, is the sign of a high-handed, even violent person.  People grasp things in closed hands when they are unwilling to let go of them;  they use clenched fists to assault and hurt and, even worse, to beat others down so that they cannot get up.

 

Those who pray, however, are saying before God that they are renouncing all highhandedness, all pride in their own sufficency, all violence.  They open their fists.  They hold up their empty hands to God:  "I have nothing that I have not received from you, nothing that you have not placed in my empty hands.  Therefore, I do not keep a frantic hold on anything you have given me; therefore, too, I desire not to strike and hurt but only to give and to spread happiness and joy.   For I myself am dependent on him who fills my empty hands with his gifts."

 

(Balthasar Fischer in  Signs, Words, and Gestures,   Pueblo Publishing Co,  1981)

A THOUGHT FOR PRAYER

This quote by Madeleine L'Engle offers us much to reflect on when we think of the witness we want to be for the world as a disciple of Christ:

 

"Evangelism is not what we tell people, unless what we tell is totally consistent with who we are.  It is who we are that is going to make the difference ....  If we do not have love in our hearts, our words of love will have little meaning.   If we do not truly enjoy our faith, nobody is going to catch the fire of enjoyment from us.   If our lives are not totally centered on Christ, we will not be Christ-bearers for others, no matter how pious our words."

SOMETHING TO PRAY FOR

A GRACE TO PRAY FOR

 

In this 6th Sunday of Easter's homily reflection:  A REASON TO HOPE,  Patricia Sanchez, in  Preaching Resources, offers this thought which is a good 'reason to hope', or 'something to pray for' for ourselves and for others:

 

"In today's second reading, the author of 1 Peter encouraged readers always to be ready to explain the reason for their hope.  That reason was and always will be the person of Jesus Christ, who has loved us and revealed himself to us.  (bold and underline is ours)  In the strength of that love and by the power of his presence, we have hope despite the wars that continue to wrack this world with pain and grief, despite the calamities of nature, despite the diseases that seem to defy any attempts at a cure, despite the poverty that goes unchecked, despite the homeless, the hungry, the lost and the lame of body and spirit.  Despite all those whose sorry lot attests to the weakness of our efforts, we have a living, breathing, loving and caring reason to hope.   The witness of our hope can speak louder than any evil and truer than any grief ... until the One who is our hope comes again."

HAPPY EASTER

    (picture is of our chapel with its Easter look)

 

A GLORIOUS EASTER TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES

    from the friars at our Franciscan Prayer Fraternity

 

SOME EASTER REFLECTIONS:

 

"It's all about life!   It is Easter!   Easter is about life: life where we least expect to find it, life that overcomes the power of evil and death .... as Christians, we are Easter people -- people who support, uphold, and proclaim life.  Like Mary, Peter, and the other witnesses to the resurrection, we are invited to recognize life in new ways, even where all seems to be darkness, for our God is the God of resurrection, the God of life."  (Sr. Barbara Bozak, CSJ)

 

"Jesus rises whenever power is used well, cargo dispelled, earth shaken at its core by the tremble of a trumpet sounding,  "This is enough."   You sing Alleluia.  You are trumpeted and twinkled into another version of time.  The late author, May Sarton, talks about how she finally became herself.  For too long, she says, she wore other people's faces.  Not everyone is free to wear his or her own face.  When we begin the Easter experience, we wear our own faces, and those whose faces we can barely look into also wear their own.  All are free from death.  Alleluias ring out, even in the world of lies and maybes.  This is resurrection.  This is Easter."  (Rev. Donna Shaper)

 

 

 

              

REFLECTION FOR GOOD FRIDAY

(The crucifix shown above is hanging at Assumption Abbey)

 

THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS

 

"On this, and every Good Friday, we witness our salvation as Jesus died for the sins of humanity.  But the crucifixion, as a major symbol of salvation, has always been an event that defies comprehension.  Even the great St. Paul struggled here as he preached nothing other than Christ crucified, which became a stumbling block for Jews and absurdity to the Greeks.  Indeed, how can death lead to life?   How can sins be forgiven through the mystery of the crucifixion?

 

Many individual in Western culture see no need for "salvation."  They claim to live respectable lives, not guilty of any heinous crime.  They are good to their neighbor, do not steal or lie, refrain from greed and anger.  So, what's the big deal?

 

The big deal is that fullness of life and freedom flow out of grace;  the big deal is that the reality of evil is ever present, both outside us in our culture, and deep within us in our souls. God desires that all people be saved, that they are to be set free from every sort of evil and that they live up to their full potential through the bestowing of grace."

 

   (by  Bishop Robert F. Morneau in NOT FOR BREAD ALONE 2011)

REFLECTIONS FOR HOLY THURSDAY

WE ARE TO BE A PEOPLE OF THE TOWEL AND WASH BASIN

 

"The law of love demands that we become people of the towel and water, that like Christ we wash the feet of our neighbor.  This simply means that we wash the feet of one another when we implement the gospel.  That and that alone is the true revolution that will change the face of the earth.  It is late in the day.  What does it means to be a Christian?  It means to revolutionize the world the way Christ wanted it to be revolutionized.  When shall we begin?"

 

       (from  THE GOSPEL WITHOUT COMPROMISE   by   Catherine de Hueck Doherty)

 

 

 

"Enter into the mystery of being master and servant.  Look at your neighbors and pick up the towel.  With authority grounded in humility, kneel before them and wash off the dirt of daily living.  If you are the neighbor in need of washing, lay aside your pride and, like Peter, accept the service of the one kneeling before you.   Then go, and do likewise.  Be blessed as you wash the feet of others and reveal the face of the Master through the towel in your hands."

 

               (from   MASTER AND SERVANT by Alma L. Maish) 

Prayer Reflection for your 5th Week of Lent

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT REFLECTION:

 

"Today, as the praying assembly listens once again to the words of Paul, Ezekiel and the Johannine evangelist (in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead), will we also hear the summons to life issued by God in Jesus?  During the life span of any human being, there is, of course, one conclusive and ultimate death.  Everybody dies.  But there are also many little and large experiences of dying along the way.  There are the losses of friends and family whose absences create a dying in our hearts.  There are the losses of oppressed and needy brothers and sisters throughout the world whose deaths continue to assault the consciences of those more fortunate.  There is the dying of a friendship as it is surrendered to an argument that cannot or will not be resolved.  There are the deaths that come as the distances between us grow larger and our times of communion less frequent.  There are the inevitable deaths when memory fails, when bones break and muscles ache with the loss of youthful vigor.  There are also deaths that come with the loss of a job or a home.  In all these experiences of death, believers are assured that these deaths are but a prelude to that final act of surrender to God.  Each helps us prepare for the moment that is not an end but a passage to a new and endless beginning.  In that final moment, and in all the little preludes of dying that lead up to that moment, Jesus will say to us as he said so long ago at the tomb of Lazarus, "Come out! Unbind him and let him go free!"   

 

(this reflection is by Patricia Sanchez in Celebration's  Preaching Resources)

 

 

Prayer Quote from your Prayer Fraternity

April 4th quote from Saint of the Day:  St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor

 

When we pray, we talk to God;

when we read, God talks to us!

 

Some Thoughts on Gardening

 

The Spirituality of Gardening

 

Spring, according to the calendar, has been with us for a week now.  Mary has said her saving and self-less "yes" to God to bear his Son.  It is time again to think and act on new possibilities;  gardens to plan, soil to turn, water hoses to hook up to life-giving hydrants.  The frozen waters of winter are once again flowing at the merciful and forgiving breath of God.

 

Here in the Ozarks the annual late-winter ritual of burning brush and other dead vegetation is taking place.  This process rids the area of unwanted growth and also provides the stimulus and life-giving nutrients to dormant plants.

 

St. Bonaventure, writing of the spiritual journey in his LIGNUM VITAE (Tree of Life), uses the three-fold method of ascent (purgation, illumination, and union) which he describes as a means of reaching God.

 

As we friars continue to expand our own garden area, we, too, recently burned additional ground of unwanted plants, leaving the garden bare to new possibilities.  Reflecting on our endeavors, we become illuminated in seeing the garden as our souls being purged of winter stagnation and unwanted clutter that would prohibit our journeying to God.  It gives our souls a blank slate in which new "fruit" can grown and mature.  It seems we garden for our souls' sake.

 

This Lenten season, which the Church provides us every year, gives us that opportunity to begin again, to wipe the slate clean, to marvel at the humility of God, and to strive once again to find our way back to the Creator of all.

 

"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible:  the soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.  If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul."  (last quote here from Thomas Moore,  The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life.) 

 

 

PRAYER OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

PRAYER OF MARY STUART, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND

 

Keep us, O Lord, from all pettiness.

Let us be large in thought, in word, and in deed.

Let us be done with fault-finding, and leave off all self-seeking.

May we put away all pretense and meet each other,

Face to face, without self-pity, and without prejudice.

May we never be hasty in judgment, and always generous.

Let us take time for all things.

Make us grow calm, serene, and gently.

Teach us to put into action our better impulses,

Straight forward and unafraid.

Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life

That create differences,

That in the big things of life we are as one.

And, O Lord God, let us not forget to be kind ....

    let us not forget to be kind.

Prayer Quote from your Prayer Fraternity

 

A quote by Fr. Joseph Krempa on The Lord's Prayer:

 

 

"The Lord gives the disciples an example of how they are to pray:  with economy, trust and intimacy with God.  Like making love, prayer is one of the things we all have to do on our own.  Nobody can do it for us.  Speaking with God is an intensely personal event.  Lent is usually our annual attempt to improve our prayer life in some way.

 

We should have a set time for personal prayer.   In addition to our regular prayers, we should find a time when we are most at ease to simply communicate with the Lord and not be interrupted by anything else.  Some people even set aside a place of prayer in their homes.  

 

Secondly, our prayer should be authentic.  There is no need for us to posture before God or recite prayers written by a great saint which we think God will like to hear. 

 

Thirdly, we should await the Lord's response.  After a while, we will not be greeted by silence.  We will slowly tune in to the Holy Spirit.

 

An important meaning of the Lord's Prayer is that we can contact the God of the universe.  Reading a great deal about prayer is not initially helpful.   Like teaching,  litigating,  preaching, driving or swimming we have to start at some point and will improve slowly.  After several months of experience, books will be more helpful.

 

 

(This comment is from a book called Daily Homilies and is for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent where the Gospel is the Lord's Prayer.  Fr. Krempa closes with this point:  "Through prayer, we locate the still point inside ourselves.  When we locate that point, there we will find the Spirit of Christ.")   

Prayer Quote from your Prayer Fraternity

 

Quote by Bishop Robert Morneau on Prayer

 

"On our spiritual journey, we all need mentors and models.  So we turn to the saints and prophets, to theologians and religious, to faith-filled people to understand the various dimensions of our life in God, especially in our need to learn about the nature and methodologies of prayer.   And, of course, we turn to Jesus, who is the teacher of prayer and the one we are to emulate.

 

What does prayer do, we may ask?   This mutual dialogue deepens our relationship with God;  it fosters unity and intimacy.  Prayer refines the heart and broadens the intellect.  Prayer reveals our true self before the living and true God.  Prayer basically does one thing: connects us to the truth, the Truth who is Jesus."

 

 

(This comment is from the Lenten daily reflection book:   Not by Bread Alone 2011.   It's for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent where the Gospel is Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer.)

Prayer Quote from your Prayer Fraternity

PRAYER OPENS THE HEART TO GOD

 

"Year ago, the late Bernard Haring, who was described by Charles Curran in his July 17, 1998, eulogy as 'a moral theologian whose soul matched his scholarship,' addressed this very process.  Haring insisted that it is only thourgh the believer's prayerful responsiveness to grace that the process of integrating faith and life can continue.  Prayer opens the heart to God;  it is an eschatological activity, says Haring, in that it is directed toward the kingdom.  In prayer, we beseech the God of the future with the request that all the marks of God's reign (liberation, forgiveness, providence, and salvation) break into our present need and inspire all our efforts.  As we pray, we become God's hands and eyes and feet and ears for others.  Through prayer, we move history toward that day when all will know the blessings of God's reign.  Therefore, we are to cry out, 'Lord, Lord' while at the same time serving and praying in a manner that never contradicts the One who is at home within us."

 

(This quote is by Patricia Sanchez in the Celebration Preaching Resource for the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time -- Cycle A.)

 

 

POWER OF PRAYER

A true story about the power of prayer!

 

Recently, the Gospel at our daily Eucharist here at the Prayer Fraternity was about Jesus blessing little children and saying that to enter the Kingdom of God, one must become like little children.

 

A retreatant here shared the following story from her ministry experience as a chaplain in a hospital where she worked with pre-mature babies:

 

"I walked into a hospital room to visit a mother.     Sitting on a loveseat in the room was a 4 year old girl.   The little girl took one look at me, and exclaimed:  'I know you!   I know you!'   

 

I was about to say:  'No honey, you can't possibly know me!'  when the mother spoke up and said to her little daughter:  'Sweetheart, Sister came into our room and prayed for you every day when you were a sick little (premature) baby here!' "

 

 

This story begs us to reflect upon how God works through us in prayer often when we are unaware.  It begs us to trust in the power of our prayer for people that we encounter in life.    What does the story say to you about the power of prayer?

 

 

 

 

 

A SUPERVISOR'S PRAYER

 

A SUPERVISOR'S PRAYER
                               ---  by John Luther

 

Dear Lord, please help me --

 

To accept human beings as they are --  not yearn for perfect creatures;

 

To recognize ability  --  and encourage it;

 

To understand shortcomings --   and make allowance for them;

 

To work patiently for improvement -- and not expect too much too quickly;

 

To appreciate what people do right -- not just criticize what they do wrong;

 

To be slow to anger and hard to discourage;

 

To have the hide of a elephant and the patience of Job;

 

In short, Lord, please help me be a better boss!

Prayer Quote from your Prayer Fraternity

From the book:  WITH OPEN HANDS  by Fr. Henri Nouwen

 

(We reach back 40 years -- this book was first printed in 1972 -- for this timeless quote from popular author, Fr. Henri Nouwen.)

 

"To pray means to open your hands before God.  It means slowly relaxing the tension which squeezes your hands together and accepting your existence with an increasing readiness, not as a possession to defend, but as a gift to receive.  Above all, therefore, prayer is a way of life which allows you to find a stillness in the midst of the world where you open your hands to God's promises, and find hope for yourself, your fellowman and the whole community in which you live.  In prayer, you encounter God in the soft breeze, in the distress and joy of your neighbor and in the loneliness of your own heart.

"Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air.  Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land.  Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday morning or as a frame to surround mealtimes.  Praying is living.   A Benedictine monk living in India writes: 

 

"There are no part-time contemplatives, just as there are no part-time Christians, nor part-time men.  From the day that we begin to believe in Christ and acknowledge him as Lord, there is no moment -- awake, asleep, walking, sitting, working, learning, eating, playing that is not marked by God's hold on us, which is not lived in the name of Jesus in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

 

"Therefore, a life in prayer is a life with open hands where you are not ashamed of your weakness but realize that it is more perfect for a man to be led by the other than to seek to hold everything in his own hands.

 

"Only within this kind of life does a spoken prayer make sense.  A prayer in church, at table or in school is only a witness to what we want to make of our entire lives.  Such a prayer only recalls to mind that praying is living and it invites you to make this an ever-greater reality.  Thus there are as many ways to pray as there are moments in life.  Sometimes you seek out a quiet spot and you want to be alone, sometimes you look for a friend and you want to be together.  Sometimes you'd like a book or some music.  Sometimes you want to sing out with hundreds, sometimes only to whisper with a few.   Sometimes you want to say it with words, sometimes with a deep silence.

 

"In all these moments, you gradually make your life more a prayer and you open your hands to be led by God even to where you would rather not go."  (pages 154,157, 158)

ICE STORM COMES TO OZARKS

A STUDY IN CONTRASTS

 

This past week, the hills and hollers of the Ozarks where we live received a measure of the storm that has swept the nation, especially the Midwest, bringing ice and sleet and snow everywhere.   We were spared the real onslaught, receiving mostly about a 1/2 inch of ice covering everything followed by an inch of snow.   Nothing compared to others.

 

Our electricity held, our road opened rather quickly, and we were spared much of the wrath that many other people experienced.

 

In the two pictures above, we see the statue of Our Lady who graces our front steps.  In mid-August, she finds herself nestled between rose bushes, a love crepe myrtle bush, and a backdrop of pompous grass.   In early February, she finds herself ensnared in ice-laden pompous grass bending down to take a closer look at our Patroness, perhaps even showing a bit of veneration to her as they bend low.   

 

ASSUMPTION ABBEY FRUIT CAKE baking begins for 2011

PRAYER FRATERNITY HELPS IN FRUIT CAKE BUSINESS

 

 

This week of February 1st signals the start of the fruit cake enterprise at Assumption Abbey starting in earnest for the 2011 year.   For probably close to 20 years now, the Trappist monks at Assumption Abbey here in Ava, MO have been supporting themselves with a very successful fruitcake business.

 

Each year the monks set a target of roughly 25,000 cakes to be made and sold for the year.  To achieve that goal, from now till mid-December, roughly 45 weeks, the monks bake, decorate, box and store 125 cakes a day, 5 days a week.   Each cake is 2 lbs, made of traditional fruitcake ingredients, each injected with about an ounce of rum, glazed and decorated with pecans and cherries, wrapped and sealed in clingwrap, and then stored in tins for 2 months before they are ready to be sold.

 

In the picture above, you see Fr. Alberic,  who is one of the two bakers.   He is taking finished cakes out of the oven, which bakes all 125 at the same time.  

 

For most of the past year, one of the Franciscans here at the Prayer Fraternity has assisted each morning in the decorating phase of the business.   It gives help to the monks and also helps us in the support of our House of Prayer.

 

Cakes can be purchased on-line from the Abbey by going to their website at www.AssumptionAbbey.com and accessing the section where they talk about their fruitcake business.   It's also possible to order a cake over the phone by calling 417 - 683 - 5110.    They are really good; honest!