Volume 3 ~ Issue 10; June 15-30, 2018
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- Juntos Como Hermanos 2018
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FROM PROVINCIAL MINISTER DAVID GAA
EXTRAORDINARY CHAPTER 2018
VOTE ON RECONFIGURATION
May 30, 2018
Dear Friars and Ministry Colleagues,
May God give you peace. I am writing to you to clarify information on the recent Chapter votes taken by six Franciscan Provinces in the United States regarding plans for future unification into one new Province. I will continue to send you information about this process as it goes forward. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. These are some facts regarding this process thus far:
- 99 solemnly professed friars of the St. Barbara Province and friars from five other US provinces voted on May 30, 2018 to ask the Minister General in Rome to be united with each other to form a new province. The friars decided to have this vote to unite and consolidate their resources to revitalize Franciscan Life in the United States of America. This vote is the culmination of discussions, studies and provincial meetings over the last six years.
- This was a consultative vote which means that it reflects the desires of the majority of friars in the US.
- For a next step, the Provincial Councils will send a letter to Minister General Michael Perry, sharing their views on the vote taken on May 30.
- The Minister General and his Council will determine the next steps to be taken in this process. This process of national Restructuring and Revitalization (R + R) could take four to five years. In the meantime, the Province of St. Barbara will continue to exist and minister, focusing on its own Revitalization & Restructuring in anticipation of the larger one province unification.
- Please feel free to post this information in parish bulletins, and or share with staff or other media as appropriate.
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PM David Gaa addresses Extraordinary Chapter. Photo: Dick Tandy OFM.
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Friar Ignatius DeGroot.
Photo: Luis Rosario OFM
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Awaiting Vote Results.
Photo: Dick Tandy OFM
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Vote Results
Photo: Dick Tandy OFM
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NEED INFO ABOUT R + R?
US FRANCISCANS. ORG OFFERS
Q & A FACT SHEET
In an effort to help friars and others to understand better the implications of the recent decision to form a single new US province from among the six participating entitites, the US Franciscans.org website offers some helpful information. If you still have concerns, feel free to contact us at
ofm.fyi@gmail.com. Here is the link:
usfranciscans.org/rr.
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FRANCISCAN ICON, RELICS
ON PILGRIMAGE OF PRAYER
THROUGH SB PROVINCE
Thru OCTOBER 28, 2018
As friars will recall, the Extraordinary Chapter concluded on May 30, with a closing Mass and a special blessing and “sending forth” of an icon originally commissioned by Ohio artist Kelly Lattimore for the Interprovincial Novitiate. The image, along with relics of both St. Francis and St. Clare, will “visit” each of the houses in the Province in the coming months in anticipation of the upcoming Fall Convocations. Entitled
St. Francis and the Novices, the artwork takes its inspiration from 2 Timothy-- “Stir into flame the gifts God has given us” – and will serve as the theme for the upcoming provincial Chapter 2019.
Friar Zeno Im has prepared this moving video of the blessing of the icon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpWOzDKy9Y4
In a meditation read at the Mass, Chapter 2019 Steering Committee members
Friars Ray Tintle and Sam Nasada noted that: “Like yourselves, we have been reflecting and praying together long and hard. . . How can we even begin to address the important issues which have the capacity either to unite us or tear us apart ? Where and how can we renew our strength, our trust in each other, and above all-- our confidence in the Lord in order to rekindle our faith and sense of common purpose? We thought to begin by placing ourselves before the Lord, by putting ourselves physically in His Presence, using the icon as a point of departure for our meditation. We found this effort to be a great source of peace and encouragement for us in our work. . . . We now invite you, in the coming months, to spend some time in prayer and reflection with this image as it travels on a pilgrimage of prayer through the Province.” .
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Friars from San Solano Mission receive icon for “Pilgrimage of Prayer”.
(l to r):
Friars David Paz, Peter Boegel, Bill Minkel, and Ponchie Vasquez.
Photo:
Friar Luis Rosado (HNP).
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Icon at San Solano Missions, Topawa, Arizona. Photo: Peter Boegel
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ICON, RELICS
EN ROUTE THROUGH THE PROVINCE
FIRST STOP: TOPAWA, ARIZONA
FROM FRIAR BOEGEL
It was nice having the
St. Francis and the Novices icon and the relics of St. Francis and St. Clare in Topawa while John Gibbons was here on retreat. We enjoyed having the icon in the chapel during morning and evening prayers. We especially enjoyed the icon prayer service that Scott Slattum created.
We also had it in the chapel for Sunday Mass. Some parishioners were interested in what we are doing with this image, and others took photos. I found it unexpectedly moving to transport the icon and relics to Mission San Xavier. The relic of St. Clare belonged to my grandmother, so I asked for her intercession on this pilgrimage of prayer.
Here is the updated itinerary:
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FST GRADUATION 2018
May 26, 2018
Friars, faculty, family, and friends came together at Old Mission San Luis Rey to celebrate this year’s graduating class from the Franciscan School of Theology, Oceanside, California. Four of the five degree recipients—all receiving the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree—were Franciscan:
Friars Mark McPherson (SB), Donghyun Park (Korea), Ruben Melendez (Junipero Serra Province), and
Ivan Cortes (Junipero Serra Province). The fifth recipient was
Eileen Costa, OFS. In addition, the School presented
Dr. Karl S. Pister with the degree of Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa).
In his Commencement Faculty Reflection, entitled “The Duty of Joy, “
Friar Bill Short SThD, Professor of Spirituality, addressed the graduates directly, saying in part : “ . . . we cannot see now where your journey will take you in the future. You will go your separate ways: to serve the Lord and the People of God in Korea, in Mexico, in northern San Diego County and beyond. Your paths will be different, but the One who leads you will be the same, keeping you united, of one heart and one mind, as St Luke tells us of the Church at Jerusalem after the first Pentecost. You will become the "Joy of the Gospel" in different cultures, speaking different languages, in different parts of the world, much like the Apostles who, beginning in Jerusalem, proclaimed the Gospel 'to every creature.'"
The entire content of Bill’s remarks is available here:
https://youtu.be/uVqT0H7e8gw
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ADDRESS BY FST HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENT
DR. KARL S. PISTER
MAY 26, 2018
Dr. Karl S. Pister
has served as FST Regent for the past 15 years and is Chancellor Emeritus of UC Santa Cruz.
I am grateful and humbled by this award, a gift that I could not have imagined receiving. Fellow Regents, members of the faculty and administration, thank you. I would like to offer some thoughts this occasion has brought to mind. Two of the most significant experiences in my life are my long career in the University of California and my affiliation with the Franciscan School of Theology. For me these experiences are connected by two understandings of the word “light”, as sources of energy for understanding and sustaining life in its broadest sense.
In Genesis we read that God said “Let there be light”. I want to share with you what light has meant to me in my life as an academician and in my affiliation with the Franciscan School of Theology during the last sixteen years.
Contemporary cosmology explains that light is a consequence of a singular event, the big bang, from which our universe evolved, including our sun, the source of light on earth, along with space and time, concepts that homo sapiens discovered to explain the reality of the physical universe of which we are a part. A rainbow teaches us that light is a combination of waves of different frequencies and energy levels, manifest in the range of colors that is visible.
I want to suggest another decomposition of light. My academic career has been in the University of California, whose motto is Fiat Lux, Let there be Light. The mission of the University is to shed light on the how and what of creation and its evolutionary history-physical, biological and cultural, as well as the institutions and artifacts created by branches of the tree of life, especially homo sapiens.
The Franciscan School of Theology has a complementary mission in its pursuit of knowledge of light-to discern the breadth and depth of meaning and invitation to commitment expressed by Lumen Christi, the Light of Christ. Pursuit of knowledge here addresses the why of creation-a significantly more difficult task compared to studying the how and what of creation, lacking the confirmation afforded by experimental proof found in natural sciences.
For centuries a tension has existed between scholars pursuing the “what and how” of creation, either ignoring or positing the impossibility of explaining the “why” of creation, and scholars studying the “why” question from a faith-based perspective. One of the richest sources addressing the “why” of creation is found in Franciscan writings, in the works of Bonaventure and Duns Scotus. Contemporary scholars have built on this foundation. Ilia Delio, a Franciscan, has developed new insights connecting the “how and what” to the “why” of creation, influenced also by writings of Theilhard de Chardin. The titles of two of her books,
Christ in Evolution and
The Emergent Christ indicate her placing the Incarnation into a contemporary cosmological understanding of the creation and evolution of the universe. I quote from her
Christ in Evolution:
“If the book of Genesis were rewritten today how would the story begin? In light of what the science tells us, it might begin something like this: In the beginning was God, filled with power and mystery, and God spoke one Word, and the Word exploded into a tiny, dense ball of matter that gave rise to forces and fields, quarks and particles, all joined together like a single strand of thread.”
This aspect of creation is explained by cosmological science, save for the existence and nature of dark matter and dark energy, which control and facilitate evolution of the universe, although not yet well understood. A similar force, shaping the why of creation and evolution of the universe and the tree of life, experienced and observed, but invisible,
Is the force of love. Theilhard de Chardin has expressed it beautifully:
“Some day after mastering the waves, the tides, and gravity we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then for the second time in the history of the world man will have discovered fire.”
Our success in mastering the waves, the tides, and gravity has been spectacular in the last century, while understanding the energies of love associated with God’s creation of the universe and the evolution of humankind as a branch in the tree of life remains a challenge. Taking this challenge-expressed by the two great commandments, is what FST is about. It has been my great good fortune to have had the opportunity to be a part of the FST community and witness first hand the Franciscan expression of
lumen Christi.
Pace e Bene, e grazie mille! / /
All photos, courtesy of FST. Thanks to Gigi Bettancourt, FST Office of Development, for her gracious help.- ct
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Friar Bill Short delivers Faculty Reflection at Commencement.
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Left to right: Dr. Karl S. Pister with
Friars Mark McPherson and
Donghyun Park; Eileen Costa, OFS, along with
Friars Ruben Melendez, and
Ivan Cortes.
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FROM FRIAR ALVIN TE
PLENARY COUNCIL
“Those who have ears, let them listen to what the Spirit is saying …
to the Friars Minor today”. (cf. Rev 2:7)
Nairobi, Kenya
JUNE 12-28, 2018
A member of the Immaculate Conception Province and part of the Communications Team for the General Curia in Rome, our brother Alvin writes: As you may know, from June 12-28, 2018 the Order will gather for its Plenary Council (PCO) in Nairobi, Kenya, to reflect on what's happening in the world, the Church and the Order. We will spend time in prayer, study, and discussion and hope to make decisions that will make us more effective in spreading the Gospel in a world in desperate need of it. Sign up, if you haven’t yet, to our PCO newsletter and receive updates -
click on this LINK to subscribe.
As the theme suggests, the PCO is being viewed as a listening opportunity, allowing us to better welcome the voice of God and to hear whatever He wishes to say to us today. We want to pay attention to and discern God’s will so that we may be guided along his paths. In addition, we wish to listen to one other as brothers and to deepen our awareness of the many changes occurring in the Church and in societies in every continent — in all the places where the Order has a presence. Note:
Friar Keith Warner
is serving as one of the Moderators (chairs) for the event.
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“PADDLE OUT”
IN HONOR OF
FRIAR CHRISTIAN MONDOR
Huntington Beach, CA
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Thanks to Kevin Murray for much of the information contained here.- ct
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T-shirt w/ Christian medallion
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FROM SANTA BARBARA
NEW OUTREACH ANNOUNCED:
FR. VIRGIL CORDANO, OFM CENTER
A COMPANION (SHIP) CLUB
Friars at Old Mission Santa Barbara are involved in cooperation with the Daughters of Charity in a new community outreach effort. This homeless drop-in center is to be named the Fr. Virgil Cordano OFM Center: A Companion (ship) Club. The Daughters have signed the lease on the building and
Friar Bradley Tuel will be working there this summer for five weeks. Novices participating in the Interprovincial Novitiate at the Old Mission will also do ministry there during the year. All the friars are excited about this collaborative ministry with the Daughters and will help out when they can. The Daughters have been in Santa Barbara for 150 years and have worked with the friars in various ways during this time.
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FRIAR TOMMY KING
25th JUBILEE CELEBRATION
GUAYMAS, SONORA, MÉXICO
May 5, 2018
Friar Tommy King celebrated his jubilee in style at Casa Franciscana in Guaymas. Viewed here are: Tommy (preaching); Tommy and
Friar Raúl Diaz with Junípero Serra Province postulants and friars; and finally, Tommy with Casa Franciscana employees. Ad multos annos, Tommy!
All photos: Tommy King OFM
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FROM FRIAR DICK (DT) TANDY
PHOTOS FROM THE
ST. ANTHONY FOUNDATION
San Francisco, California
In addition to his day job at St. Anthony Foundation, our brother,
Friar Dick (DT) Tandy
is often called upon to use his gifts as a photographer to document a variety of events. Here are some recent photos DT took at the Foundation’s annual gala at the San Francisco City Hall (April 24), as well as its Annual Volunteer Appreciation Day event (May 12). Congratulations, DT, and thank you! -- ct
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Gala. (l to r)
Friars: Vicar Provincial Martín Ibarra, Ray Bucher, Tom West.
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Gala. (l to r)
Friars John Luat Nguyen, Eric Pilarcik, Franklin Fong.
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Gala.
Friar Chris Best chatting with friend.
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Volunteer Appreciation Day. Jedi
disguised as
Friar Zeno Im, prepares
to do battle with evil.
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JUNTOS COMO HERMANOS CONVOCATORIO
Lay Collaboration in the Ministry of the Church
Washington, D. C.
September 17 – 20, 2018
OFM friars who currently serve or who are interested in serving in Hispanic ministry are invited to attend this year’s Juntos Como Hermanos convocation to be held at the Washington Retreat House (Washington, D.C.) September 17-20, 2018. This years speakers are
Friar Gino Correa and Carman Nanko Fernández, PhD. Questions and/or register with
Friar Edgardo (Lalo) Jara
before August 31:
eejara14@gmail.com.
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Friars at 2017 Juntos Como
Hermanos event.
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FROM FRIAR JEFF MACNAB
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Upcoming Events at the Interprovincial Novitiate
Santa Barbara, California
Rite of Reception
Monday July 16, 2018, 10 AM
First Profession
Monday August 6, 2018, 10:30 AM
There is limited guest room at the Old Mission and we have not yet received many RSVP's from friars who will be attending. So if you plan to attend either of these celebrations please contact: Jeff Macnab at
Macnabj@gmail.com or Jason Damon (Novice) at
Jddamon2@gmail.com.
All photos by: Dick Tandy OFM
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Novice Antonio (Tony) Luevano, SB
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Novice James LaGrutta, HNP
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Novice Luis Manuel Rosada, HNP
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FRIAR EVAN HOWARD
70th Jubilee of Profession
San Damiano Retreat
Danville, California
July 8, 2018
All friars are welcome to attend the celebration of our brother Evan Howard’s 70th Jubilee of Profession on July 8 at San Damiano Retreat. The tentative schedule is below. For information about accommodations, contact: San Damiano Retreat at: (925) 837-9141.
Sunday, 8 July, 2018
San Damiano Retreat Center, Danville, CA
3:00 PM Mass in chapel
4:00 PM Reception in Fireside Lounge (& courtyard, weather permitting)
5:00 PM Dinner in the Dining Room
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ZENO IM
SOLEMN PROFESSION SET
Los Angeles, CA
September 8, 2018
Our brother,
Friar Zeno Im, will make his Solemn Profession on Saturday, September 8, 2018, at 11 am. Location: Holy Trinity Church, 3722 Boyce Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Congratulations, Zeno!
Photo: c. Peter Jordan
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IN MEMORIAM
Mr. Heberto Galindo, the brother of Fr. Antonio Galindo, OFM died in Aguascalientes, Mexico on Saturday May 26, 2018. The Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated by Bishop Jose Maria, on Sunday May 27, 2018 in Pabellon Aguascalientes, Mexico.
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BIRTHDAYS:
- Vitale, Louis ~ June 1
- Harvey, Michael ~ June 6
- Mendez-Guzman, Oscar ~ June 11
- Baldonado, Luis ~ June 14
- Guzman-Martinez, Luis ~ June 15
- Gosselin, Larry ~ June 17
- Ibarra, Martin ~ June 20
- Kirwin, Peter ~ June 21
- Gonzales, Leo ~ June 21
- Jurisich, Melvin ~ June 23
- Paz, David ~ June 28
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FEAST DAYS:
- Michael Dallmeier ~ June 9
- Barnabas Hughes ~ June 11
- Antonio Gregory ~ June 13
- Anthony Lavorin ~ June 13
- Martin Ibarra ~ June 20
- John Gutierrez ~ June 24
- John Kiesler ~ June 24
- Nghia Phan ~ June 24
- William Short ~ June 24
- Daniel Barica ~ June 25
- Guglielmo Lauriola ~ June 25
- Peter Boegel ~ June 29
- Peter Kirwin ~ June 29
- Pedro Umaña ~ June 29
- Peter Verheggen ~ June 29
- William Shaughnessy ~ June 30
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2018 Calendar
~ From Lara Hansen ~
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~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~
Evan Howard Jubilee
July 8 ~
San Damiano Retreat, Danville, CA, 3-5 pm
Rite of Reception of the New Novices
Monday, July 16 ~ Serra Chapel, Old Mission Santa Barbara, CA, 11am.
First Profession of Current Novice Class
August 6 ~ Mission Church, Old Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 10:30 am
Guardians & Vicars
August 7–9 ~ St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista, CA
SPUTY
August 7–10 ~ Holy Name College, Silver Springs, Maryland
Discernment Dinner & Prayer/Discussion
August 18 ~ St. Elizabeth Friary, Oakland, CA - 5pm
Zeno Im Solemn Profession
September 8 ~
Holy Trinity Church, Los Angeles, CA, 11am
Fall 2018 Convocations (2 sessions)
October 23–25 ~ St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista, CA
October 29–31 ~ Franciscan Renewal Center, Scottsdale, AZ
Chapter Agenda Assembly
January 7–10, 2019 ~ St. Elizabeth, Oakland
Spring Convocations (2 sessions)
March 12–14, 2019 ~ St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista, CA
March 26–28, 2019 ~ Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA
Chapter 2019
June 23–28, 2019 ~ Franciscan Renewal Center, Scottsdale, AZ
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OFM.FYI,
the bi-weekly newsletter of the Franciscan Friars Province of Saint Barbara, is published on the 1st and 15th of each month. Editor: Charles Talley, ofm.
Relevant submissions of texts, photos, etc., are welcome at any time
and will be placed in the next appropriate issue.
Send submissions to: ofm.fyi@gmail.com
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