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Millennial Lenten Reflections: Offer your Gifts
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. I’ve always been my own harshest critic. My perfectionism has waned as I’ve…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Sharing the Grace of God
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “For everyone who asks, receives.” I can’t remember when I realized I wanted…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: New Life
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: The Lord’s Prayer
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. Today’s gospel gives us the Lord’s Prayer. A staple of Christian tradition, the…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Do it for the team!
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “We need to get back to basics.” It’s something you might hear a…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: “Filled with God”
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: To Serve Others
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. Sometimes the question comes up of why we should even pray, fast, or…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Give and Receive
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. When I read today’s first reading, I was reminded of our human weakness.…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Our Daily Cross
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Ash Wednesday
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. The ancient and holy season of Lent comes upon us once again. The…
Read MoreSan Damiano Servant Leadership Award Winner Announced
Editor’s Note: Award winner Emma Laut pictured on far left of featured image. Franciscan Mission Service is proud to present the first-ever San Damiano Servant Leadership Award to Emma Laut of Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Through her extensive work with several social justice-minded organizations and her dedication to her faith in Christ, Laut embodies…
Read MoreLearn to play Cacho
Annemarie Barrett, missioner in Bolivia, spends much of her time gardening to help the community in Cochabamba. Surprisingly enough, she does have down time. “Cacho is a game I often play with friends here in Cochabamba,” she said, “and I loved sharing the tradition with my family as well when they came to visit.” To pass…
Read MoreBonds of Friendship
Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Mariam is a former employee and close friend of FMS. My two closest friends from childhood are Marjie, a Conservative/Orthodox Jew, and Sehreen, an Ismaili Muslim. As an Orthodox Christian, I have always been thankful to have their perspectives along my…
Read MoreA Journey of Love
Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Akisha Townsend Eaton is a friend of FMS and Candidate for the Secular Franciscan Order. Shortly after getting married this past summer, my husband Jack and I set off for what would be a European honeymoon adventure of a lifetime. Despite…
Read MoreLessons in Sainthood
I chose St. Cecilia as my confirmation saint when I was only thirteen years old. I can’t remember what drew me to her, but I know I didn’t recognize the significance of her martyrdom at my young age. Church Tradition tells us that St. Cecilia was a noblewoman whose parents arranged her marriage to a…
Read MoreStaying thankful – and healthy – on mission
This post is about my health. Now before you get all squeamish, even though this is regarding the stomach and all sordid details, I promise to leave out the gross ones. It starts with amoebas. Yes, they are little creatures living in your stomach, but I assure you that this is not the gross part.…
Read MoreGetting Over ‘Otherness’
Program associate John Quense tells how he ended up teaching yoga every Wednesday at Miriam’s Studio, an art therapy program in Washington, DC. I find that God often draws me to Himself using very personal and uncomfortable methods. This particular encounter began in my bed (pretty comfortable) while I read about the conversion of St.…
Read MoreLearning to Be in Bolivia
Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip participant Jennifer Peresie reflects on her experience of going with Franciscan Mission Service to Bolivia in May 2014. When I signed up for this trip, I think I had illusions – no delusions! – of changing the world. That is a lofty goal for anyone, but certainly in a…
Read MoreOFM Congress: Enzo Bianchi’s Three Elements for Evangelization
Communications Manager Bridget Higginbotham blogs about her experience last month at the Order of Friars Minor first international congress on mission and evangelization. What does “evangelization” mean and how do we do it? According to Enzo Bianchi, one of the first lecturers at the OFM Congresso, evangelization means to give witness and bear testimony, but not necessarily…
Read MoreDonor Story: Leadership and Service of Art McNeill
Arthur T. McNeill Franciscan Mission Service is grateful for the support of our donors from around the world and of all walks of life. This Father’s Day, we honor Art McNeill, a father of three whose life of service touched many. In 1963, Arthur McNeill took his 8-year-old son Thomas to the National Mall to…
Read MoreCommunity 101: Prayer
For the next four weeks, we will feature a four part series on faith in community every Franciscan Friday: “Community 101: An Introduction to Intentional Living”! It will feature weekly contributors highlighting specific features of intentional-living in faith communities: Prayer, Listening, Sharing, and Learning to Love. Today’s post about prayer is by Paola Piscitelli, President…
Read MorePoor and Free: “Beyond Detachment”
Franciscan Mission Service presents: “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less” every Friday in Lent Series contributions: Shane Claiborne: Part I, Part II, and Part III Gigi Gruenke: “Invest in God’s Dream” Jack Jezreel: “The Simple Math of Voluntary Simplicity” Amy Echeverria: “Saying ‘Yes’ to Love” Sr. Marie Lucey (OSF): “Faith Keeps Hope Alive” Marie Dennis: “Beyond Detachment” Fr. Martin…
Read MoreFranciscan Friday: 5 Reasons Epiphany Matters
public domain Fr. Jason Welle (OFM) breaks it down: 1. Nature obeys Christ from before his birth and speaks a message of hope. – By the light of a star, those who worshipped the stars learned to worship the Sun of Justice and to know the Dawn from on High. 2. The magi come to…
Read MoreThe Light Remains: 2013 in Review
public domain Many thanks to the Advent reflection series contributors. Below are reflections our readers particularly enjoyed, listed again in case you missed them: The Light of One: The Gift of Yourself by Hady Mendez The Light of One: Confessions of a Bad Listener by Sarah Hoffeditz The Light of One: Preparing to Be Overwhelmed…
Read MoreThe Light of One: How It Starts
Continuing our reflection series “The Light of One”, Community of Sant’Egidio member Charlie Gardner writes about a graced insight toward gratitude. On one morning commute, I detoured to a grocery store to pick up a few items, but somehow ending up grabbed a blueberry muffin from the bakery. Then I spotted a chocolate pastry. In…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Owen
Continuing our reflection series “The Light of One”, Susan Burke (OFS) writes about the amazing gift of her grandson, Owen. The person who sent me on a different way will be three years old in January. If he had been born as scheduled, he would be three in May. Owen, my grandson, arrived four months…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Preparing to be Overwhelmed
Continuing our reflection series, “The Light of One”, Communications Associate Michael Carlson writes about the spiritual strength of facing the reality of our own limitations. As a former high school teacher, the students I remember most clearly are the ones I still worry about. I’ll refer to this former student as “Hannah”, after the mother…
Read MoreThe Light of One: From Tourist to Traveler
On the Feast of St. Stephen, Fr. Jason Welle, OFM, continues our reflection series today writing about how his faith grew stronger after a gentle challenge. As we continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us be open to the gentle challenge of Christ who constantly makes Himself present to us. I traveled to…
Read MoreThe Light of One: The Gift of a Mentor
Merry Christmas! Continuing our daily reflection series “The Light of One”, Casa San Salvador community member and NETWORK Lobby Associate James Luisi writes about the impact a mentor’s faith had on him. As I ponder the blessings of Advent, I want to reflect on how grateful I am for the guidance of one mentor in…
Read MoreThe Light of One: God’s Presence
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, returned missioner and former board member, Doug Garofalo, writes about a woman named Sonia who led him to a deeper faith by example. Upon my return to Uberlandia from Brasilia after completing a language and culture course for foreign missionaries, I still felt inept speaking Brazilian-Portuguese. Fortunately for me,…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Diary of a Young Southern Catholic
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, Secular Franciscan and Franciscan Mission Service Board Member Patrick Martin writes about the impact meeting Franciscans had on his faith as an impressionable Catholic college student in the South. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, southern Catholics were not part of the national Catholic culture. We didn’t talk like the…
Read MoreThe Light of One: An Angel’s Message
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, Communications Coordinator Bridget Higginbotham shares how her life has been shaped through the message of her grandmother’s life. This time of year brings about a host of angel decorations, and each time I see one I am reminded of my grandmother who loved angels. The word “angel” is derived…
Read MoreThe Light of One: The Common Denominator is Hope
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, former Domestic Volunteer Susan Zagar highlights the foundation of relationships in faith: hope. A person who touched my life in a positive way was Thelma, a woman who traveled the halls of the Baltimore City Adult Learning Center in a magenta electric wheel chair. I had just begun tutoring…
Read MoreThe Light of One: The Mother Teresa of El Salvador
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, returned missioner Beth Riehle writes about a woman whose tireless service brings love and comfort to El Salvador. SOWING LOVE I had always wanted to go to India to work with Mother Teresa, but God had something else in mind. I was called to El Salvador where I met…
Read MoreThe Light of One: The Wire Man
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, Katherine Menezes writes about a humbling encounter with a man and how whose memory continues to inspire her. I was blessed to take part in an FMS trip to South Africa this past summer where I met someone known as “The Wire Man” in a craftsmen complex, a lure…
Read MoreThe Light of One: A True Missionary
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, Fr. John Ullrich, OFM, writes about a woman whose generosity showed him the spirit of a true missionary. I met Lee D’Amico about ten years ago. She was about 75 years old then. The first thing that struck me about her was that she was happy – and shared…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Bridge to Forgiveness
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series on the Feast of St. John of the Cross, Bree Haler writes about man named John Sage whose radical forgiveness inspired her toward greater appreciation of God’s grace. When I was living in Houston, Texas I volunteered for a restorative justice program called Bridges to Life. The mission of…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Witness to Friendship
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series on the Feast of St. Lucy, Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM, writes about his relationship with a woman named Olga whose accepting friendship challenged him toward greater understanding of Christ in poverty. My relationship with Olga was improbable. She was a desperately poor Peruvian indigenous woman while I was a…
Read MoreThe Light of One: Choosing to See the Gift
On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Kate Ackert continues our daily Advent reflection series by writing about the power of a simple encounter with optimism. This past summer, I had the privilege of embarking on a two-week journey to South Africa with the Franciscan Mission Service and the Franciscan Center for Service and…
Read MoreThe Light of One: To Be and Not To Do
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series, Associate Director Mariam Kaldas writes about discipleship as presence, not accomplishments. I hadn’t heard the phrase “ministry of presence” before I came to Franciscan Mission Service. It seemed like a revolutionary concept, until I realized that it had already been modeled for me during my own mission in Zambia.…
Read MoreThe Light of One: The Gift of Levity
Continuing our daily Advent reflection series on the Feast of St. Ambrose, Br. Tony LoGalbo, OFM, writes about a formative experience of a lesson learned through humor. It was the beginning of July, 1983. I had completed the Portuguese language program for new missionaries in Brasilia, and I had arrived at my new assignment in…
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