May the Lord give you peace!
October is one of my favorite months. The weather starts to get a little
cooler, the leaves change color and begin to fall from the trees, the full moon
seems bigger and brighter when it makes its appearance, squirrels are busy
gathering acorns and making nests in the trees, and the daylight gets shorter by a
minute or so each day.
It’s the month of the rosary, Respect Life month, breast cancer awareness
month, and the month in which I was married 45 years ago.
As Franciscans, we celebrate the Transitus of St. Francis and his feast day,
coming together as family, grateful to be on this path of shared spirituality.
We Secular Franciscans are “called to make our own contribution, inspired by the person and message of St. Francis of Assisi, towards a civilization in which the dignity of the human person, shared responsibility, and love may be living realities” (General Constitutions, Art. 18.1).
Catholic social teaching focuses on the dignity of the human person in one of its foundational themes. Every person has value (dignity) because they are created in God’s image and likeness.
In our social environment today, it seems to me that we are seeing, hearing, and experiencing examples that do not value or dignify each and every person.
Our Trinitarian God is relational; and because we are created in God’s image, we, too, are
meant to be in relationship. Article 13 of our Rule guides us in our Franciscan way of relating to people. Two key points, I feel, are accepting people both as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ. It is quite a challenge to live and apply our Rule, in case you haven’t noticed since you began your Franciscan journey.
As this month of October continues, I ask you to reflect upon “Who are my brother and my sister?” and “What steps can I take to accept people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ?”
May God help us to grow and abound in love for Jesus and for one another by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thank you, dear brothers and sisters, for your prayers offered for my recovery from hip
replacement surgery; because of God’s will and your prayers, I’m doing very well. Thank you for re-electing me as your regional minister to serve you for a second term. I am humbled and grateful for your loving support. God bless you and keep you!
Peace and all good,
DorothyAnn
DorothyAnn Rowland, OFS, Brothers and Sisters of St. Francis Region’s minister, is a member of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Fraternity, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Author Archives: Sharon Winzeler
Welcome to 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness! Since the Third Sunday of Advent, the word that God keeps giving to me to ponder is JOY. It speaks to me in various readings in the Liturgy of the Hours, in my daily encounters with life, and in my search for who I am and who God wants me to be.
Our Franciscan spirituality calls us to be joyful in all circumstances. Not always easy, especially when there is disharmony, stress, deadlines, pain, and heaven only knows what else in our daily lives. I trust you are all familiar with St. Francis explaining perfect joy to Brother Leo. If not, it’s in The Little Flowers of St. Francis (Fioretti); or, you can always “google” it. I’m sharing the following from The Assisi Project website, an excerpt from “St. Francis Explains Perfect Joy”:
“Finally, St. Francis said: ‘Brother Leo, please listen to me. Above all gifts of the Holy Spirit, that Christ Jesus gives to his friends is the grace to overcome oneself, to accept willingly, out of love for Him, all contempt, all discomfort, all injury, and all suffering. In this and all other gifts, we ourselves should not boast because all things are gifts from God. Remember the words of St. Paul: ‘What do you have that you did not receive from God? And if you did receive it, why do you oast as if it were not a gift (1Cor 4:7)?’ But in the cross of afflictions and suffering, we truly can glory because as St. Paul says again: ‘May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6:14).’ Amen.”
So, cry out with joy, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness!
And, don’t forget to serve your brothers and sisters in fraternity with gladness and joy; plus your family, friends, Church, and ________________. (You fill in the blank, as the list goes on and on.)
Let’s really live our vocation!
Which reminds me. This year of 2019 is a Chapter of Elections year for our BSSF Region, to be held in August at our Annual Regional Gathering. May the Holy Spirit enrich you to live your vocation more fully by considering serving on your regional council.
Please note that this year’s Annual Regional Gathering is Aug. 9, 10, 11, at Ridgecrest Conference Center, near Asheville, N.C. In response to your requests to have more
interaction/sharing with other fraternities, we are planning opportunities for this. Also note that our National Fraternity Priority for 2019–2021 is “Fraternity Life.” Please see “News from the National Executive Council: National Priority for 2019–2021” on page 18 of the 2019 Winter Issue of Communio.
Your Brothers and Sisters of St. Francis Regional Executive Council wishes you God’speace, love, joy, and all good as we continue our Franciscan journey together!
Joyfully, your sister in Christ and St. Francis,
DorothyAnn
DorothyAnn Rowland, OFS, Brothers and Sisters of St. Francis Region’s minister, is a memberof Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Fraternity, Hilton Head Island, S.C.