The missioners visited the White House in their free time to take advantage of living in DC!

Welcome to the FMS e-newsletter! Each week, our newsletter will be highlighting what our missioners are learning through their mission preparation at Casa San Salvador, the FMS missioner house. Enjoy these stories from the missioners' tenth week!

Join us in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land on November 11th at 2:30 PM to celebrate our lay missioners at the Commissioning Mass.

RSVP by November 6th

Stress and trauma can often manifest in chronic pain, which the missioners discussed with former FMS Program Director Emily Norton and returned missioner Becky Kreidler. They learned some stretches and exercises to help alleviate pain arising from this tension, and particularly were reminded not to take on secondary trauma. While we often think that our emotions and thoughts are in some way separate from our body and physical experience, it's important to remember that we are embodied creatures, and so interior stresses can have exterior effects.

Catholic Social Teaching

Last week, FMS Director of Mission Integration Meghan Meros led the missioners in a conversation about Catholic Social Teaching, looking at its history and the ways it impacts our decision making process, especially when trying to live in solidarity with the most marginalized members of society. What we call Catholic Social Teaching today emerged in the 19th century in part as a response to the industrial revolution and the poor working and living conditions of the working class. It was a call to just labor relations and a reminder of the rights and duties of both labor and capital. Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum is considered one of the founding documents of CST, though the tradition has grown exponentially in the last hundred years. Today, CST is a consensus-building voice for the dignity of human life, just labor practices, human rights, and the common human responsibility for eradicating poverty and promoting peace.

Each week the missioners will learn about different styles of prayer as part of their faith formation. We encourage you to enter into this journey; hopefully it can assist in your own spiritual life as well.

Journaling is a prayer practice that allows oneself to gather one's thoughts in order to gain clarity in ourselves, with others, and with God. Over time patterns of thoughts and actions may emerge as catalysts for self-understanding. Journaling can serve as a way to find God in one's thoughts and feelings. Journaling can exist as a gratitude journal, Mass journal, a conversation with God, or can be inspired by a place, such as nature. The missioners began each prayer session this week listening to a poem or a passage from the Bible before being invited to meditate and write down what emerged as they prayed.

The Franciscan tradition is brimming with Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables included in the Roman Canon. Each week, we will highlight a different Franciscan who lived a notable life of holiness.

St. Anthony of Padua was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195 to a wealthy family. He joined the Augustinian canons at an early age, where he was ordained a priest and put in charge of his community's hospitality, but upon hearing of the deaths of five Franciscans in Morocco he became inspired to join Francis' recently founded Little Brothers. He received permission and became a Franciscan, adopting the name Anthony. His ill health prevented him from spending much time in Morocco, eventually being consigned to a convent in Italy, where he spent much time in prayer and study.

In 1222, a group of Dominican friars were visiting the town of Forli for an ordination, and there was a mix-up over who was supposed to be preaching. The Franciscans expected one of the Dominicans would be preaching, given the order's renown for the task, while the Dominicans expected a Franciscan to deliver the homily. Given everyone's lack of preparation, the Franciscan superior asked Anthony to preach, suspecting that he was the most qualified and entreating him to call on the Holy Spirit to guide him. Anthony reluctantly submitted to the superior's request, and his sermon left everyone astounded, both for the quality of his oratory and the profoundness of his reflection.

Anthony's skills and humble disposition made him the obvious choice to serve as the teacher for the younger brothers, a position which Francis assigned him in 1224. While he occasionally took up theological posts, his preaching was considered his greatest charism.

Anthony died at the age of 35, and is now often invoked as the patron saint of lost items. According to legend, a novice stole Anthony's psalter before leaving the order. Anthony prayed for the book's return, and moved by this prayer the thief not only returned the book but returned to the Franciscans. Anthony's feast day is celebrated on the 13th of June.

St. Anthony, pray for us!

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