Islam

The 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…

Franciscan Friday: Revisiting Ramadan

To celebrate interfaith friendship and St. Francis’ history with Islam, last summer we featured a special series on Ramadan. As our Muslim brothers and sisters once again celebrate this holy time, we encourage you to learn more about it through these posts. As a Franciscan priest and scholar of Arab and Islamic Studies, guest blogger…

Mission Monday: Insights on Interreligious Dialogue (Part 2)

Friday we shared the first half of Br. John Kiesler, OFM’s recent workshop from the United States Catholic Mission Association conference in Los Angeles on interreligious dialogue. Today we finish his talk on how St. Francis of Assisi’s encounter with the sultan can provide us with insight today. How can Francis’ encounter with the sultan…

Ramadan: “My Lord, forgive me”

Today is the last post in our special Franciscan Friday series on Ramadan by guest blogger Fr. Michael Calabria, OFM. “Asking forgiveness for one’s sins is an essential aspect of Islamic prayer and Ramadan.” The last couple of weeks seem to have been particularly violent in the world and in the U.S. In Egypt, tensions…

Ramadan: Being Conscious of God

“Fasting is prescribed for you…that you may taqwa.” (Qur’an 2.183) Taqwa. It’s a hard word to pronounce correctly unless you’ve mastered Arabic pronunciation. The q-sound (qaf) is made far back in the throat, not like the more superficial k-sound (kaf). And because of the q-sound, the pronunciation of the preceding ta- is changed. Taqwa is…

Franciscan Friday’s on Ramadan: Fasting to Reorient

To celebrate interfaith friendship and St. Francis’ history with Islam, Franciscan Fridays is starting a series on Ramadan. Check back every Friday though August 17 for posts by Fr. Michael Calabria, OFM. A late-medieval Qur’an from Spain, opened to Sura (Chapter) 40 which begins: “The revelation of the Book is from God, the Mighty and…