On June 22, 2022, our Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception (Brazil) commemorated the 23^rd Death Anniversary of +Friar Martinho de Porres (Matthias) Ward, OFM Conv. Our Provincial Custos, Friar Ronaldo Gomes da Silva, OFM Conv. presided with most of the friars of the Custody concelebrating the Mass.

Sunday, June 26, 2022: Our Elmhurst, NY province pastoral ministry ~ St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church, celebrated a “Come Together” parish picnic celebration, which included a Santo Nino Statue Blessing, held during the 2:00 p.m. Filipino Mass. Our Lady of the Angels Minister Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., was on hand to preside at the Mass, bless the statue, and enjoy the parish fellowship. The parish took the opportunity to also celebrate the 30th Ordination Anniversary of their pastor ~ Fr. Mirosław Podymniak, OFM Conv. and the belated 60th Birthday of Fr. Michael. The parish enjoyed a day filled with live music, dancing, food and fellowship. More Parish Photos

The pastoral leadership of St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church (left side front row – left to right) Fr. Ericson de la Pena, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar), Fr. Lucjan Szymański, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar), Fr. Mirosław “Mirek” Podymniak, OFM Conv. (pastor) & at right of the Santo Nino Statue, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial)

Fr. Herman Czaster, OFM Conv. (friar in residence at St. Adalbert Friary) can be seen behind Friar Michael.

Friar Eric assists Friar Michael for the blessing.

Full Mass Video Link

Photos and Mass Video Cred: Saint Adalbert Parish in New York

Podcast and Q&A on Faith and Service With Father Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. – Syracuse University Catholic Center Chaplain

The THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, June 26, 2022
(Sunday Mass Readings: 1 Kings 19:16-21; Psalm 16; Gal 5:1;13-18; Luke 9:51-62)
“SPEAK, LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING.”

We have ended another Liturgical season. We celebrated feasts and mysteries which changed the meaning of our life and world.  These are neither phony fairy tales, nor magic moments meant to offer brief relief from the humdrum of our ordinary times.

Holy Week and Easter reminded us how our Savior entered His own creation to suffer and die in reparation for the misbehavior of God’s people.  He did not come to curse and punish, but to save and revive.  Jesus’ Resurrection confirmed His role as Savior, and His Ascension into Heaven was a sign of our very own rising over and above our weakness and failures.  At Pentecost and the Feast of the Holy Trinity, we celebrated the gift of the God-Spirit who enters us who are baptized into the Family of God our Father, and to the life and mission of Jesus, our Brother and Savior.  The Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord reminded us that Jesus continues to live with us and within us.  He is real, not just a memory.  The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this past Friday reminded us that love, symbolized by the human heart, motivated our loving God to redeem His people, and of Jesus’ legacy: “Love one another as I have loved you.”   On Saturday, the Gospel on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary recalled Mary and Joseph’s relief in finding Jesus in the Temple, and how “she kept all these things in her heart.”

We also celebrated the Birth of John the Baptist.  He was destined “to go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” The Baptist’s destiny is the mission statement of the Church and each of its members. In the coming days, the Gospel for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul will recall St. Peter’s profession of faith: ”You are the Christ, Son of the Living God.” It may remind us of the story where some of Jesus’ disciples left Him because following Jesus is hard.  When Jesus asked Peter if he would also leave, Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”

The Feasts and Gospels might be our Annual Retreat, helping us remember, reflect, and confirm our identity as baptized Christian people.  Our liturgists designed the schedule of liturgical feasts to remind those who were baptized at Easter what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  It is also an effective way of confirming the confirmed – that is – us, the lifers, who also need to be reminded.   Following Jesus is hard.  We need God’s grace and the support of our brothers and sisters in the faith to “keep the faith,” and to spread it.

So, what now!  We return to “Ordinary Time.”  “Ordinary” is not to be distinguished from “extraordinary,” like in yawn–time:  nothing special going on!   No! No!  The Liturgical Calendar “Ordinary Time,” uses ordinal numbers to identify the weeks, e.g. first, second, or thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.”   There is nothing “ordinary” about time spent with God!

Now that we have celebrated what God has done for us, it’s time for us to do something for God.  The Mass texts for this, the 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, provide inspiration.  In our first reading, from the Book of Kings, Elisha is unexpectedly called to succeed Elijah as God’s prophet.  He could not even say goodbye to his family.  God’s work was urgent.  He had to go – and go quickly!  In our Second Reading, St. Paul teaches the Galatians that God’s law is quite clear: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  In a suggestion that might be relevant for us today, St. Paul warns his listeners: “If you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.”  What a response to the oratory of mutual destruction that we hear today!  And, in the Gospel, Jesus, now “determined to journey to Jerusalem,” and his fate there, reminds His listeners that following Him requires immediacy, determination, and perseverance!

The Scripture Readings on these Sundays in Ordinary Time require more than a polite listening.  When we go to church, we expect to hear a sermon.  Listening is important, but let’s be serious.  How many sermons have YOU heard that changed your life?  Hearing is one thing.  More is needed.  Priests, ministers, and televangelists blast the “Good News” from pulpits, stages, and TV screens.  The Alleluia verse in today’s Mass is “Speak, Lord, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING.”  Are we?  Do you remember any details from the sermon you heard last Sunday??????  How much of that “Good News” is reflected in the 6:30 Evening News?

The teachings of Jesus Christ are not just words to be heard.  They are intended to change our vision of the world:  to see the world as God sees it; to see people as God sees people; to see the created world and all it offers as God sees it all.  God created the world – and us – with a Divine purpose.  Conversion is all about converting our ways and our goals to God’s ways and God’s goals.  It’s as simple – and as critical – as that.  That explains the urgency in the lives of Elisha and those people to whom Jesus said, in today’s Gospel, hey, we have to do this NOW!

St. John tells a beautiful story of Jesus healing a man born blind (Ch 9).  In that story, Jesus identifies Himself as the “Light of the World.”  Without light we see nothing.  When the power fails, we are completely lost, even with 20-20 vision.  A flashlight might help us find the fork which fell from the table, and we may find our way upstairs. But in darkness, there is no perception of distances or dangerous obstacles.  When the sun rises – or the power restored – we can see clearly.  Jesus IS the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  Or, imagine driving into a city where there are no street signs or traffic signals. You can ride around in circles, but where are you going and what danger might lurk around the corner?  When we “see” with The Light of the World, our way is clear and obstacles avoided.  FOLLOWING Jesus means being “enlightened” by Him.

In the weeks ahead, “seeing things as God sees them” will direct our reflections. By all means, “SPEAK LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING.”   The LIGHT OF THE WORLD gives us the vision to see things as God sees them.  Ordinary Time is, indeed, an extraordinary time.

Meanwhile, enjoy the lazy, crazy days of summer, and GOD BLESS…..         

A Fresh Start to a Culture of Life

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for Us

June 24, 2022 will never be forgotten by anyone who believes in God as the origin, development, and final goal of all life. The Supreme Court of the United States of America made a decision that the Court overstepped its power on 22 January 1973. The Supreme Court has returned the power to the people in the fifty states. Citizens can echo: “we rule ourselves.” The truth about our Constitutional Republic is brought out by many minds exercising the power of the vote. The citizens of each State now have the power to make decisions about life. For forty-nine years, the Supreme Court was exercising a power they did not have deep down and strangled free action and free thinking about life.
Second, how many took note that this decision was handed down on the day that we Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Vigil of the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Does that have any consequence? Think about the prayers since the unstable Roe was decided in 1973. Think of Roe’s replacement by another unstable holding based on the burden that followed in Casey in 1992. Think about the many broken hearts upon recognition of their own grave error in failing to recognize God as the giver of life. Remember that Franciscans teach a beautiful Scotistic “condetermination” which means that the indescribable act of the generation of life as ordered by God has a man and woman along with the presence of God!  One sacrament is matrimony for a husband and wife to freely assume the rights and duties of marriage. We have rights because we have duties. Our Savior-Redeemer gave us the foundation for the Church’s seven sacraments.
Third, it is also no small coincidence that the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus coincides with the Church’s universal day of prayer for priests. Every priest has to deal with sympathy, gentleness, love and mercy for sinners, since he himself is one in every respect (Heb 5: 1-10). None of us doubts, or makes lame excuses, or worst of all gives free passes to priests whose sins and failures for a half century have driven good folks away from the Church and participation in the tremendous gift of the sacraments. Good folks have lost understanding that God gave the sacraments for our sanctification and justification.
There can never be enough prayers for priests. Judgments which priests have to make by the nature of their ordination, one of the seven sacraments, have become more difficult than ever. Priesthood is not for the weak. Priesthood requires teaching and preaching what Christ wants. Priesthood is not for one who lacks compassion but requires wise judgments. Priesthood is not to hide behind canon law, but knowledge of canon law. Priesthood requires intelligence and courage in applying the rule of faith to the sinner. The Letter to the Hebrews explains that no one takes the honor of the priesthood upon himself unless called by God. There are years of discernment. “Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by the one who sent him. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard from his godly fear. He learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” As a priest gets older, this truth humbles him. Without the grace of God, a disaster is in the making.

            On the solemnity of Pentecost, 22 May 1994, Pope John Paul II wrote:^[1]
Priestly ordination, which hands on the office entrusted by Christ to his apostles of teaching,
sanctifying, and governing the faithful, has in the Catholic Church
from the beginning always been reserved to men alone.
This tradition has also been faithfully maintained by the Oriental churches.

Since then, in conversations, more often heated than not, I turned searchers for truth to John Paul II. He answered the question of the ordination of women in the Anglican Communion by quoting Pope Paul VI who, “out of fidelity to his office of safeguarding the apostolic tradition, and with a view to removing a new obstacle placed in the way of Christian unity, reminded Anglicans of the position of the Catholic Church.”
Given the historic Supreme Court decision on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, coinciding with the Universal Day of Prayer for Priests, painfully aware of the calamity of modernity, searching for a way to transcend a culture which evacuates Christianity, the antidote to living in fear and anxiety is at hand. Could any cure offer more complete healing for the Catholic living by faith and in hope of salvation than the seven sacraments and sound existential formation for exercising faith and reason? They serve as backdrop for free choice.
After thoughtful inquiry about the entire statement of Pope John Paul II, some understand. Not everyone has put out what he said with the trash. Others refuse to accept the Holy Father’s teaching. It is fitting to repeat: “in order that all doubt be removed regarding a matter of grave importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of the ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32), I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”
No priest has a right to change or soften the teachings of the Church or he does real harm. When a thinking, praying person awakens to the altered truth, that person has every right to be angry. In truth, our hearts break to hear: “I could have been a grandmother.”  Regret for having been duped by the cultural backdrop of free choice is integral to the anatomy of a culture of vacuity. In reply, Franciscan teaching is on free action which means: voluntary action enjoys priority over natural, love over understanding. For free action, love is both necessary and free, as well as free and rational.

            eondrako @ alumni.nd.edu, University of Notre Dame, 24 June 2022

^{_____________
[1]} John Paul II, De Sacerdotali Ordinatione Viris Tantum Reservanda (Apostolic Letter, 22 May 1994).

Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
June 24, 2022

For the Summer of 2022, friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv. is participating in the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Swedish Hospital in Chicago, IL, while staying with the friars at our InterProvince Postulancy ~ St. Bonaventure Friary. Friar Edgar is one of eleven students in the program, from different religious denominations, ages, and cultural backgrounds. Their main goal is to be present for the patients and their loved ones by offering a listening ear and prayer.

Friar Edgar asks that you all please pray for them
as they strive to bring God’s presence
in these different encounters with His children.
Peace and all good. 

Friar Edgar is one of eight currently simply professed student friars of our province.  If you would like more information on life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, email our Province Vocation Directors, Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. & Fr. Manny Vasconcelos, OFM Conv., at vocations@olaprovince.org. More information can also be found at FranciscanVoice.org.

Our province’s Fonda, NY Shrine Ministry ~ Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site will hold a “World Peace and Prayer Day” today, June 21, 2022:

Itinerary of the Day

Welcome: Fr. Joe Angelini, OFM Conv., Shrine Chaplain
Smudging: Explained & led by Terry Steele, Shrine Advisory Council Member and Member of the Algonquin Nation, as group sings “O Great Spirit”
Thanksgiving Address and a few brief words: Tom Porter, (Sakokwenionkas – “The One Who Wins”), Elder of the Mohawk Bear Clan
Prayer for Our Earth by Pope Francis: Layna Maher, OFS, Shrine Advisory Council Member
Those Present Sang “Canticle of Sun”
Litany of Gratitude for All Faiths: Sue Cridland, Shrine Advisory Council Chair
The True Peace Prayer by Black Elk: Melissa Miscevic Bramble
Closing Prayer: Friar Joe

Be sure to visit the Shrine’s website for more information on upcoming events and for the history of the establishment of Shrine, and for more information on St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lilly of the Mohawks. During the Summer Season (April 30 – October 31), the Shrine grounds are open from sunrise to sunset daily.  St. Peter’s Chapel and Native American Exhibit are open 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Saturday – Wednesday) and 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Thursday – Friday). The Gift Shop is open Saturdays (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Sunday -Wednesday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Thursday by appointment (518-853-3646) and Friday, (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.), with a limited online version also available. The Shrine Office is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Mass Schedule: Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m., with the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation available a half hour prior to Mass.

The Shrine’s Candle Chapel, Outdoor Sanctuary, and Hiking Trails are open sunrise to sunset year-round!

Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial) and Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. (Vicar Provincial) concelebrated the 11:00 a.m. Corpus Christi Mass with Archbishop William E. Lori, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Among those concelebrating the Mass were His Eminence Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien (Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore & Grand Master Emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem), Most Reverend Adam J. Parker and Most Reverend Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R. (Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore), and Fr. Louis A. Bianco (Rector of the Cathedral).

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), the friars, parishioners and surrounding community of our Elmhurst, NY pastoral ministry ~ St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church gathered for their annual Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession around the church block. Especially encouraged to attend were the parish’s 1st Communicants and Confirmands, who were invited to process in front of the Blessed Sacrament while strewing flower petals before the processional canopy, under which the monstrance holding the Body of Christ was elevated. The Gospel was proclaimed at four altars during the procession (see photos below): the back of the church, the front of the convent, in the school yard, and on the front steps of the church. Served by the pastoral leadership of Fr. Mirosław (Mirek) Podymniak, OFM Conv. – Pastor, Fr. Ericson de la Pena, OFM Conv. – Parochial Vicar, and Fr. Lucjan Szymański , OFM Conv. – Parochial Vicar, St. Adalbert Parish is a thriving community which includes Mass in English and Polish, and a special 2:00 p.m. Filipino Mass in English, the last Sunday of each month.

Photo Credit: St. Adalbert Parish in NY

The four altars:

In the bulletin, Fr. Mirek wrote this reflection:

Dear Parishioners,
The Feast of Corpus Christi, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is observed every year after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Corpus Christi procession is a centuries old tradition of the Catholic faith to process the Real Presence of Jesus – the Eucharist – in public. The feast was established in Liege, Belgium, in 1247. Pope Urban IV extended it to the universal Church almost two decades later, and the Corpus Christi procession followed soon after. Centuries later, the tradition continues at many parishes around the world.
St. John Paul said of Eucharistic processions: “Our faith in the God who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings” (Mane Nobiscum Domine, No. 18). And, Pope Benedict XVI said, Corpus Christi processions allow us to “immerse [Christ], so to speak, in the daily routine of our lives, so that he may walk where we walk and live where we live.”
The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ and its Eucharistic Procession give us, as Pope Francis notes, “the joy not only of celebrating” the glorious mystery of the Eucharist, “but also of praising him and singing in the streets of our city.” They allow us to “express our gratitude for … nourishing us with his love through the Sacrament of His Body and the Blood.”
This Sunday, June 19, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., parishioners of St. Adalbert celebrate a Eucharistic Procession around the block of the church. All are invited to follow the Blessed Sacrament as we sing hymns of praise to Our Savior. The procession will conclude with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament upon returning to the front of the church.

____________

NOTE: Upcoming parish event – “Come Together” Parish Bar-B-Que
On Sunday, June 26, 2022, the parish will celebrate being able to join together as a parish family and give thanks. The celebration will begin with 2:00 p.m. Mass celebrated by Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province – Minister Provincial), who will bless the parish’s new Santo Nino statue. The parish will also celebrate the the 30th Ordination Anniversary of Fr. Mirek (pastor). Learn more about this ministry on their parish website.

On July 1, 2022, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv. will begin his new assignment as the pastor of our newest pastoral ministry of the province ~ Our Lady of Fatima Parish, in Ludlow, MA. The parish campus is comprised of the Main church, Parish Rectory, Parish Center, Chapel of the Little Shepherds, Fátima Museum, outdoor Shrine to Fátima, and an outdoor Chapel (a replica of the Fátima chapel in Portugal, used for outdoor Mass). Inaugurated in 1949, Our Lady of Fatima Parish celebrates Mass in both English and Portuguese. On the July 2-3rd “Welcome Mass” weekend, Friar Pedro will celebrate the 4:00 p.m. Vigil Mass (English), the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass (Portuguese), and the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass (English) for the first time.

In May 2022, Most Rev. William D. Byrne (Bishop of Springfield) and the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Minister Provincial Emeritus) announced to the people of Our Lady of Fatima Parish that effective July 1, 2022, Friar Pedro would serve as their new pastor. Born in 1972, on the island of São Miguel, Azores, Portugal, Friar Pedro emigrated as a child, with his parents and siblings, to Massachusetts. He professed his Simple Vows as a Franciscan Friar Conventual in 1994, and was Ordained as a friar priest in 2000. Since 2018, Friar Pedro has been serving as pastor of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, in Pt. Pleasant, NJ. Later in the year, Our Lady of Fatima Parish will also welcome a friar of our Province’s Immaculate Conception Custody (Brazil) ~ Frei Luiz Fernando Lina Rangel, OFM Conv., to serve as parochial vicar.

Get to know our new pastoral ministry: This year marks the 74th Anniversary of the Parish’s FESTA; a special celebration preserving the memory of Fatima, Portugal. FESTA will be held Thursday – Monday, September 1-5, 2022, and all are encouraged to gather for live music, food, and dancing, as well as Sunday’s Open Air Masses and candlelight procession. More Details