Month: February 2014
Franciscan Friday: “The Joy of Love through Commitment”
Casa San Salvador is the intentional faith community where Franciscan Mission Service Domestic Volunteers live along with Katie Miller and James Luisi, who work at NETWORK. Today we chat with Casa San Salvador House Manager Slavka Brigantova to learn more about her faith and how it inspires her to live in community. Slavka, you are…
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“Poor and Free”: Not an Oxymoron!
Get ready for Lent! This Lent, Franciscan Mission Service presents “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less”! Beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5, with an interview of social justice activist Shane Claiborne, our weekly series contributors focus on the joyful freedom of spiritual poverty. While Christians are called to value loving relationships over possessions,…
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Visiting Christ the Prisoner: “Plantas”
Editor’s Note: This is Part I a series called “Visiting Christ the Prisoner: A Look into Prison Ministry in Bolivia”. Read Part II and Part III. Jeff shares a story of his time in El Penal de San Sebastián. Home to 800-900 men along with their wives and children, San Sebastián is one of the six prisons that Jeff regularly…
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Franciscan Friday: On Mission with Fr. Tom Washburn, OFM
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, our blog today features a conversation with Fr. Tom Washburn, OFM, on the Sacrament of Holy Orders and Mission. Fr. Tom Washburn, OFM, has been a Franciscan since 1991 and was ordained a priest in 2000. He holds degrees in theology and liturgy…
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Takeaway Wednesday: 3 Questions About Religious Orders
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, our blog today features the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Franciscan Mission Service defines itself through its dedication to St. Francis. While discernment to serve as a Franciscan missioner is different from discernment to religious life, our organization is inspired by the lives and…
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Franciscan Friday: 5 Questions about Marriage as Mission
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, returned missioners Lorenz and Patty Sollmann write today about their faith’s relationship to the Sacrament of Marriage and their call to mission as a married couple. Patty and Lorenz Sollmann were married in September 1989, and were the first married couple to enter FMS in…
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Celebrate Black Catholics: Tradition, Strength, and Cultural Heritage
Celebrating Black History Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the rich and ancient history of Black Catholics. This history is full of inspiring women and men who dedicated their lives to their faith, but it is also a history of shameful racism and persecution often committed by non-Black Catholics against their sisters and brothers…
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Marriage as Mission: “A Love that Hangs in the Balance”
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, current missioner Mary Mortenson writes today about her faith’s relationship to the Sacrament of Marriage with her husband, Nate Mortenson, and her own call to mission. Marriage, one year and some months in, continues to be a perfect mystery to me. Each day, I…
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Franciscan Friday: Fulfilling Anointing the Sick through Civil Disobedience
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, Franciscan Mission Service Communications Associate Michael Carlson interviews Jason Miller, Franciscan Action Network (FAN) Director of Campaigns and Development, on his recent act of civil disobedience in opposition to the southern leg of the Keystone Pipeline. Read his reflection on the event at Acting…
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“10 Things I’m Thankful For”
In today’s blog post, current missioner Valerie Ellis writes in gratitude about the blessings she’s experienced during her first month on mission. Photo by Valerie Ellis on a scenic drive with her host family 10. My host family. They have been incredibly hospitable, kind beyond my wildest dreams, and have the patience of saints. 9.…
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Francis Factor: Pope, Politics, and Policy event at Georgetown University
Photo by Edgar Jimenez, Creative Commons What is Pope Francis’ first possible miracle? That both sides of the political spectrum are talking about the poor, at least according to John Carr, director for the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. Last night, the director moderated a discussion on how Pope…
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On Mission with Hady Mendez: “This is Not Vacation”
Current missioner Hady Mendez writes about the realities of cultural adaptation while on mission and a few successful methods of addressing them. Hady and Caitlin having ice cream This is not vacation. This is my life. Cailtin and I were walking home from language school like we have every day since school started on January…
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Mission Monday: Anointing of the Sick as Mission
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, current missioner Nate Mortenson writes today about his faith’s relationship to the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and his call to mission. Our calling to be present with those around us requires a lot more of me than I often realize. It’s a…
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Returned Missioner Lorraine Kelley on Mission and Reconciliation Pt. III
This is part of a three part series by Lorraine Kelley: “Mission and Reconciliation” Part I Part II Part III Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, returned missioner Lorraine Kelley (Bolivia, 1994-2002) writes about her faith’s relationship to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and experiences on mission. Mission is a very important…
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Lorraine Kelley on Mission and Reconciliation Pt. II
This is part of a three part series by Lorraine Kelley: “Mission and Reconciliation” Part I Part II Part III Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, returned missioner Lorraine Kelley writes about her faith’s relationship to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and experiences on mission. Read Part I. Examining my…
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