Year: 2013
Franciscan Friday: The Fasting That I Wish
Today is only the third day of Lent, so chances are good that your fast is still going strong. Three days without whatever you “gave up” – be it sweets, television, alcohol, coffee, Facebook – probably has not been too bad. By fasting from temptations and distractions over these 40 days, we can purify ourselves…
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Valentine’s Day – Celebrating the Ability to Love
Do you have a favorite love quote? There are many, too many to sort through. Quotes by saints, celebrities, historical figures…. the list goes on. And it can be interpreted in different ways – love for family, Christ’s love, love is patient, love is kind, etc. But by far my favorite quote comes from a…
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Walking in Solidarity this Lent
“Solidarity” is a word that is often used in social justice circles to describe the unity or oneness we strive to have with others, especially those who are experiencing poverty or inequality. There are many more ways to describe solidarity, and even more ways to live it out. This is something we will continue to…
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Postcard from Bolivia: Carnaval in Oruro
About 28,000 dancers and 10,000 musicians parade over four miles at the Oruro Carnaval. Just because new missioners Annemarie Barrett and Jeff Sved are in language school right now doesn’t mean they can’t have some fun. Our missioners joined about seven other classmates from the Maryknoll Language Institute to experience the most famous of Bolivia’s…
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Franciscan Friday: Look At Our Reality From the Perspective of the Poor
Recently I found myself in a small upper room in a Franciscan Spirituality Center in Tarata, a town about an hour drive outside of Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was sitting in a plastic chair in a circle of Franciscan volunteers from around the world, some from Germany, others from Brazil, and me from the United States.…
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On the Franciscan Mission Service blog, you’ll find moving updates from the mission field, reflections on the world from a Franciscan lens, and tips on living out the values of simplicity, solidarity, peace, justice and caring for creation. Blog content is particularly rich and fulfilling during liturgical seasons, such as Lent. While we always have…
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Preparing for South Africa – Watching “Amandla!”
We’re currently testing a Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip to South Africa, and Domestic Volunteer Anna is participating. However, before she left, she had some studying to do: I am very lucky to be a part of Franciscan Mission Services’ trip to South Africa for a two-week mission and global education experience. Never have…
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Mission Monday: Why We Do Re-Entry
Rhonda Miska, who co-facilitated two re-entry retreats at Franciscan Mission Service this January, talks about the importance of the re-entry process on returning missioners. Co-facilitator Rhonda Miska singing during morning prayer with returned missioners Catherine Giller and Nora Pfeiffer, both of whom served for three years in Bolivia. When I explained to my friends and…
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Franciscan Friday: Preparing for a Green Lent
As we approach the season of Lent, keep in mind these suggestions to add to your observance. It’s hard to believe that Lent is just a few weeks away. It feels like we just finished Christmas, a time of light and hope and new beginnings, and soon we’ll be immersed in a time we often…
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Meet the new Domestic Volunteer: Sarah
It took 12 hours to drive from her hometown of Newton, Illinois, but Sarah Hoffeditz has made it to our headquarters in D.C. to join our staff and become the newest Domestic Volunteer. Sarah graduated in the spring of 2012 from Bellarmine University, a Catholic university where she appreciated the emphasis on social justice and…
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Mission Monday: Wine and Cheese Make a Reunion
To welcome home our returning missioners we held our traditional Wine and Cheese Open House. On this Thursday evening, snow threatened the roads and dark had already fallen, but Casa San Salvador soon filled with friends, new and old, to welcome home missioners who had been away for two to three years. The missioners came…
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FMS Podcasts: History of the Church and Franciscanism
Franciscan Mission Service is making resources from our mission formation available to the public, including podcasts from the classes. Our missioners get to learn some interesting subjects while in formation: history, theology, geography, environmentalism, social justice issues, cross-cultural communication… the list goes on! Now you can also be enriched and inspired by these same lessons…
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What Would Dr. King Say To The First Black President? (Part 2)
Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM shares part two of his message for this historic weekend. For part one, please see Friday’s post. By The White House from Washington, DC (P012009PS-0477 Uploaded by Ekabhishek) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In preparing for today’s homily, I spoke with an African-American Jesuit theologian and asked him what Dr. King…
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What Would Dr. King Say To The First Black President? (Part 1)
By Trikosko, Marion S. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM shares part one of his message for this historic weekend: The coincidence of the Dr.. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and the 2013 Inauguration of America’s first African-American president for a second term must be seen as truly historic. Just 150 years…
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What is an adequate response to the love that I have received?
“What is an adequate response to the love that I have received?” New Missioner Annemarie tries to answer that question after spending the last month saying goodbyes to friends and family before leaving for her two-year mission in Bolivia. How can I not smile? When I am surrounded by so much love from family, from…
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Les Misérables and the Ministry of Presence
Domestic Volunteer Anna didn’t expect to feel the spirit of St. Francis in a movie theater. And yet she couldn’t help but hear a familiar Franciscan message in the context of this pop-culture film. Les Misérables, the movie that everyone seems to be talking about struck an unexpected chord when I finally viewed it a…
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Recommended Reads – Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi
For today’s book review, Domestic Volunteer Anna Robinson shares a title that inspired the first steps of her Franciscan journey. Cover art of Spoto’s Book In 2010 I was selected to go with a group of students from my university to Italy on a Franciscan Pilgrimage. At the time I knew little about Italy and…
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Mission Monday: “Death ends a life, not a relationship”
This week, missioner Nora returns to Casa San Salvador, along with seven other returning missioners, to begin the process of re-entry from her time in Bolivia. As Nora recalls her service abroad, she reflects on the memories that center around life’s biggest transition – death. Memorial in honor of Bolivian Protesters. For me, one of…
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Blessings in the New Year
Just as we are blessed to begin a new day, we are thankful to begin a bright new year! 2012 was a good year for us and we have much to look forward to in 2013. – The homecoming of eight missioners from Bolivia, South Africa, and Zambia. Nora Pfeiffer (Bolivia) Catherine Giller (Bolivia) Lynn…
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