In This Issue
Allegany Franciscans Website
FSA Jamaica Website
Like us on Facebook
 
UPCOMING MEETINGS
 
CL Meetings
February 12-13
March 6-7 
 
 Assembly Planning Committee (APC) Zoom Call
February 5
 
Leadership Day at Mt. Ireneaus
February 2 
 
Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality
February 21-23  
 
FSA Board of Directors Meeting
March 16-23, Brazil 
 
 
Issue 6.02
January 22, 2018  
Feast of St. Francis de Sales (January 24)
 
Known as "The Gentleman Saint," Francis de Sales had spirit of optimism, hope, freedom, and confidence in God's love. He was born in the region of Savoy, France, to a noble family. Francis attended the Jesuit college of Clermont at the University of Paris and received his doctorate in both civil and canon law from the University of Padua. He became known and recognized as a great writer and preacher but his greatest influence was in bringing spiritual guidance and the search for God into the daily lives of people.

In 1604 he met Jane Frances de Chantal who was a widowed mother of four children. Their sharing grew and was respected as one of the great spiritual friendships. Through his guidance, Jane Frances de Chantal founded a religious community, the Congregation of the Visitation.

Francis felt that people in all walks of life were called by God to a devout life and that this type of living was possible and wonderful. May we live with a respect for all life and for the dignity of every person.

Welcome, Tenicea!  
By: Lucy Cardet OSF, Formation Director 
 
  On the afternoon of January 8, our Sisters in Jamaica gathered in the Immaculate Conception convent chapel in Kingston to welcome and pray with Tenicea Hewitt, our newest candidate. I was grateful to join them on this occasion. Tenicea met the Sisters in Kingston and became an affiliate in 2015. Since then, she has come to know our Sisters better through visits and assemblies at Immaculate Conception, being present at the Chapter of 2016 in Allegany, and having recently spent two months with the postulants in AnĂ¡polis, Brazil. The terms "candidacy" and "postulancy" refer to the same stage of initial formation. During her candidacy year, Tenicea will share in the community life and ministry of the Sisters at Immaculate Conception. Sister Angella Harris OSF will be her mentor. We rejoice with Tenicea and her community. Welcome!

Wellness Day at St. Elizabeth's Convent

   The Sisters at St. Elizabeth's Convent in Tampa, FL, took part in a Health and Wellness day on Saturday, January 13. A variety of vendors representing podiatry, audiology, massage therapy, occupational therapy, diabetes education, and eye care were present to answer questions, make recommendations, and even get hands-on with the Sisters.
   A similar event took place at the Motherhouse in Allegany last fall. These programs encourage our Sisters and employees to take an active role in living a healthier life.
 
Jubilee Card Ministry
By: Connie Cooper, Communications Specialist, St. Elizabeth Mission Society    
 
   Help the Jubilee Sisters Celebrate Their Journey with a special Jubilee Mass enrollment card from the St. Elizabeth Mission Society. As members of the Mission Society, their intentions will be remembered at Masses celebrated throughout the year in the Motherhouse Chapel. As always, they will share in the prayers and good works of our Sisters in Brazil, Bolivia, Jamaica, and the United States.
   All Sisters will receive an order form in the mail in January or simply click here to access and review the available cards.
   As a sponsored ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, the St. Elizabeth Mission Society shares in its spiritual aims, one of which is to advance the awareness of God's love. Donations given for the cards are used to support the ministries of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany who work to educate, heal, clothe, and feed those who are desperately poor in Jamaica, Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States.
   Special Jubilee cards as well as various other enrollment cards may be ordered online at www.FranciscanHope.org. Others may wish to call the St. Elizabeth Mission Society office at (716) 373-1130 or e-mail the staff at steliz.pubications@fsallegany.org for more information about ordering the enrollment cards.

"It is in giving that we receive." 
By: Judith Terrameo OSF
The following is the tenth in a series of reflections by the Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee on the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. These reflections will be shared in future editions of the e-newsletter.

  
   As I reflect on this phrase from the Prayer of St. Francis, I am aware of how true it is. I was bemoaning the fact that I had to work on Christmas day. I was up late on Christmas Eve due to Mass and time with the family. Actually, I was feeling a little sorry for myself as everyone I know had Christmas day off. I decided to bring my guitar to the hospital with me in case I got bored. I thought I could cheer up the patients by singing some Christmas carols for them.
   When I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 a.m. Christmas morning and looked at the hospital census which was really low. I decided to visit patients starting on the 6th floor and work my way down through all of the other floors - 5, 3, 2, and ICU.
   As I continued with my visits, I began to realize what a gift I was being given in the visits that I made on this Christmas day. Because of the low census I was able to spend more time with the patients. Some had family members in the rooms with them, but others had no visitors. The visits were light, but profound, as patients and families shared wonderful stories of Christmases past and love of family.
   I had arrived at the hospital at 7:45 a . m . and before I knew it it was 4 p.m. - time to depart. I never took the guitar out of its case; nor was there a boring moment. As I left the hospital my heart was full of gratitude and joy. It turned out to be a beautiful Christmas in which I discovered that "it is in giving that we receive."

Book Review: Just Because 
By: Teddy Altreuter, Allegany Associate   
 
   The book I am recommending is entitled Just Because by Melannie Svoboda SND. Here is an excellent synopsis of this book of poems taken from the publisher's website:  https://www.amazon.com/Just-Because-Prayer-Poems-Delight/dp/1585957747
   "Poetry is a lot like prayer. Prayer is a lot like poetry. Why? Because they both arise from deep attentiveness to life. Reading this book is a uniquely beautiful experience that affirms Melannie's deep attention not only to life, but to God's place within it. She invites readers to experience everything as if for the first time: a rose, a grain of sand, a baby's laugh, a particular hurt, an interior joy or dread. Her prayer poems have the uncanny ability to put readers in the presence of the universal and eternal, thus connecting them with God, others, with nature, and the entire world. All the poems in these pages are invitations to prayer. They are simple, varied in form, diverse in content and theme and deeply prayerful. Each poem is followed by 1) a brief commentary about how the poem came to be; 2) reflection questions for personal pondering and group sharing; 3) suggested Scripture passages that relate to the poem; and 4) an activity or two for prayer and play. Through these lovely prayer poems, Melannie takes the most ordinary things and turns them into beautiful meditations. This is the perfect resource for personal prayer and reflection, and it's also a great book for a gift to all those you love."
    I can only add that it would make an excellent prayer experience for any gathering of Sisters and Associate groups. 



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February 7, 2018 - First edition February e-newsletter
February 21, 2018 - Second edition February e-newsletter
March 1, 2018 - Spring edition Allegany Connections