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The Light of One: Welcomed Through Music

Continuing our daily Advent reflection series on the Feast of St. Nicholas, Audrey Sabatini, current undergraduate at Siena College, writes about a woman who positively influenced her life through the gift of welcoming. As a freshman commuting student at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, I preferred to be off-campus rather than having to figure…

The Light of One: Have a Blessed Day!

Continuing our daily Advent reflection series on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Patron of Missionaries. Natalie reminds us that we are all called to witness our faith through mission. Her reflection today focuses on one person’s mission of consecrating simplicity. “Have a blessed day, Ma’am!” It’s a sentence I look forward to hearing every…

Advent 2013: The Light of One

Today’s beginning of Advent coincides with World AIDS Day. The 2013 World AIDS Day theme is “Shared Responsibility”. As we learn the facts about HIV and put that knowledge into compassionate action, we also recommit to our shared responsibility this Advent. We return to the very source of our compassion: the Incarnation. “I want to…

A Window into a Soul

Mateusz Stachowski Missioner-in-training Valerie Ellis reflects on the powerful effect love’s presence has made on her in her relationship with a woman at her volunteer site. I was offered a window into Angela’s* life. I saw a woman who looked much younger than ninety-seven. I heard of a life, just the inklings of understanding about…

Sermon Junkie

Missioner-in-training Mary Mortenson reflects on the influence of sermons on her faith. Photo by ADG Lab I’m going to be honest. I am a sucker for a good sermon. I love going to church, sitting down in a pew, folding chair, or even on a couch, and hearing a man or a woman share their…

Running Our Own Courses

The 13 weeks of our mission formation program is a time of discernment. Candidates come to formation intending that, at the end, they will embark on at least two years of overseas service. But sometimes, during the course of those 13 weeks of prayer, reflection, and discussion, things come to light that make candidates reevaluate…

Welcome Back, Kotter — I mean, Hady

Photo by flickr user Olivier de Sedona Missioner-in-training Hady Mendez reflects on her past and future. You ever heard of the hit TV show “Welcome Back Kotter,” which aired back in the ’70s? It’s a story of a teacher who graduates from a high school in Brooklyn and ends up going back to the same…

Catholic Heroes — Can’t Get Enough of Them!

Missioner-in-training Hady Mendez comments on some of the media she has been exposed to during formation for mission. “There But For the Grace of God” was the name of a funk/disco song when I was growing up. I remember dancing to the song quite a bit yet never giving a second thought to what the…

Photos from My Archives

Nate Mortenson, missioner-in-training, is excited to use his skills of photography to document the life experiences he and his wife Mary share here in D.C. and while on mission. These are some photos from years ago: my family, places, and moments. I’ve been drawn to shooting black and white film photos for their nostalgic qualities…

The Kingdom of God

By flickr connerdowney via Creative Commons Missioner-in-training Brittany Koepke reflects on her experience volunteering in D.C. for mission formation. During group prayer the other night the question was proposed, “In what moment of today did you glimpse the Kingdom of God?” I immediately thought of my volunteer site with the Missionaries of Charity that I…

Shopping for Trust

Missioner-in-training Dae Doseff’s first reflection from formation touches on what life is like in the community house where the missioners-in-training live with our volunteers and other residents. Trust is one of the most difficult things for me to do in life. Trusting myself to make good decisions, trusting that God’s plan is going to be…

Let Your Mercy Light The Path Before Me

Discerning and preparing for mission can be an emotional process, as missioner-in-training Brittany Koepke shares here. “I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave homeI could just stay right where I am and hope to feel YouBut You have called me higherYou have called me deeperAnd I will go where You will…

Mission Monday: Sharing Stories in Sacred Spaces

A watercolor by Annemarie that was inspired by the women of Santa Rosa First-year missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on the conversations she has had with the women she has come to know in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Work. More work. Children. Husbands. Cooking. Cleaning. More cooking and more cleaning. Domestic violence. Machismo. More violence. And no justice.…

Travel Spot: Garden of the Gods in Colorado

While on our Returned Missioner Retreat this past weekend, a small group took the vans to a beautiful andmark. We recommend you check it out! A rusty gateway to the great Rocky Mountains, the Garden of the Gods is a registered National Natural Landmark in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a unique public park…

What’s In a Name?

Pope Francis! Papa Francis! Holy Father Francis! For a few months now people have excitedly called out the name of our new Pope and in many different ways. But no matter how you say it, it refers to the same person and the same mission they are to carry out for the rest of their…

Franciscan Friday: Spring Fugue

This Friday, guest blogger and Secular Franciscan Susan Burke, facing her garden, reflects on caring–or not caring–for things we care for. This morning I made myself a pot of coffee and thought I’d settle down with Morning Prayer. That’s what I thought—until I opened the door to the back porch and remembered I hadn’t watered…

Community Nights and Icebreakers

This week we’ve welcomed a new volunteer into Casa San Salvador, which means it’s time for a community night! Domestic Volunteers tend to have one community night per a week following a community meal. Community nights can be spiritual exercises/discussions, social justice awareness activities, a special event in D.C., or just watching a movie. But…

Mission Monday: Saying Yes

New lay missioner Annemarie Barrett shares what her time so far in Cochabamba, Bolivia has taught her about being open to new opportunities and the unknown. I have been reflecting lately on what it means to live as a lay missioner and to constantly be saying “yes,” and on what it takes to be able…

Jesus is Risen!

Alleluia, Jesus is Risen! But are we? After a Lent spent looking at how we are called to be “Walking in Solidarity” with others, we celebrate on this joyful spring day how all is made new in the Lord. For if we follow Jesus’ example of dying to ourselves, we can also experience a risen…

Outreach and Charity: Reflections and Answers to Why

For our week of Outreach and Charity, Domestic Volunteer Anna Robinson shares the lessons she has learned through multiple years and ways of volunteering, encouraging everyone to look at service in a new light. Volunteering was a requirement of me and my siblings growing up. Trips to the food pantry, the history museum, group highway…

Outreach and Charity: Help Finding the Right Ministry

As we continue this journey of “Walking in Solidarity,” we take a moment reflect on how we might act. To go along with this week’s theme of outreach and charity, we have some suggestions, traditional and nontraditional, on how you might impact others. Lent is a time of personal reflection and prayer, of reexamining our…

Mission Monday: I Saw God in the Smile of Strangers

This week as part of our Lenten “Walking in Solidarity” series, we focus on practicing outreach and charity. This past Wednesday our Domestic Volunteer Sarah began her direct service work at Miriam’s Kitchen and she reflects on her first day for this Mission Monday post. I saw God in the smiles of strangers. It was…

Franciscan Friday: Coming Together to Be Good Stewards

We wrap up this week’s Walking in Solidarity theme of “Investing in Solidarity: Stewardship of Resources” with a reflection by Br. Hermann Borg, OFM, a German friar serving in Kenya with the Mother Earth Network. Some of Mother Earth Network’s ministries include planting trees, environmental conservation and restoration, community mobilization, education and raising awareness about…

Stewardship of Resources: Recycling Old Clothes

This week of Lent we continue Walking in Solidarity, and this time towards a green, sustainable future! Explore these tips on recycling old clothes and share with friends and family to make a bigger impact. Spring cleaning is upon us, and this may be the year you decide to tackle your closet. What to do…

Mission Monday: Being Good Stewards of Resources

Twenty-seven days into our Lenten journey of “Walking in Solidarity,” we turn our attention to this week’s theme of Investing in Solidarity: Stewardship of Resources. “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Pt 4:10) We’re going to focus mainly on stewardship…

Franciscan Friday: Solidarity with Workers

Continuing this week’s Walking in Solidarity theme of “Living Solidarity: Work, Family and Citizenship,” Secular Franciscan Susan Burke offers a reflection on what her work has taught her about solidarity. When I went to work for a union almost 18 years ago, I wasn’t as excited about it as I might have been. It didn’t…

Living Solidarity: Tools for Faithful Citizenship

The theme for this week’s Walking in Solidarity Lenten Series is “Living in Solidarity: Work, Family and Citizenship.” Today we talk about some wonderful resources provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that can help you understand your position as a citizen who can affect change for others. For the 2007 election, the…

Franciscan Friday: What My Travels to South Africa Taught Me About Lent

Domestic Volunteer Anna Robinson has recently returned from a Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip in South Africa. She thought she could escape from Lent, but instead Lent found her in new and enlightening ways. I’ve always dreaded Lent. To me it’s this bleak, dull, weary time of year. As a kid, giving up sweets…

Teaching Solidarity: See-Judge-Act Model

As we continue this week’s Walking in Solidarity theme of education and formation, we share with you one of the tools we use to “teach” solidarity to our long-term missioners and short-term trip participants: the See-Judge-Act model. This Lent, we encourage you to use See-Judge-Act in your own social justice analysis so that you may…

Mission Monday: Teaching Solidarity

Each Monday during our Lenten “Walking in Solidarity” series we look at how Franciscan Mission Service is striving to live out the theme for the week. This week’s theme is solidarity through education and formation. “Teaching” solidarity is at the very core of Franciscan Mission Service’s work. We have two programs in particular that embody…

Franciscan Friday: Following Jesus’ Example of Prayer and Preaching Solidarity

For this week of reflecting on “Solidarity as Prayer, Worship and Preaching,” we asked one of our favorite preachers, Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM, to offer a Lenten reflection on solidarity. Please join us throughout the season as we reflect on how “Walking in Solidarity.” On the First Sunday of Lent we hear the fascinating Gospel…

Tools for Fostering Solidarity Through Prayer, Worship, and Preaching

On Wednesdays during this Lenten series, “Walking in Solidarity,” we offer tangible ways you can live out the theme for the week. We offer tips and resources, and encourage you to post in the comments your own suggestions. This collaboration fosters even greater solidarity. This week we’re looking at solidarity through prayer, worship and preaching.…

Mission Monday: Praying for Solidarity

During this first full week of Lent we start our “Walking in Solidarity” series by looking at how we can be in solidarity with others through prayer, worship and preaching. On Mondays during this series we share how Franciscan Mission Service – be it our staff, missioners, board or volunteers – is striving to live…

Preparing for South Africa: Watching “The Power of One”

Last “Preparing for South Africa” post, Domestic Volunteer Anna talked about her familiarity with South African culture and a documentary she saw prior to departing. For this post she reviews additional material she covered before going on the Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I had little…

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…

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…

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…

Subscribe to Our Blog – Get the Most Out of Our Posts

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Encountering God in the Face of Missioners

While our missioners encounter God in those we serve, we often find ourselves experiencing God through our missioners themselves. Development Director Br. Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, shares how our missioners inspire him: Br. Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, with some of our missioners in Bolivia: Kitzi Hendricks, Lynn Myrick and Joel Vaughn “My ministry with Franciscan Mission Service…

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