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OCTOBER SCHEDULE
Sunday 1 October, 10:30 AM Sacred Heart Church,
Elm Street, Pittsfield, MA
The Fraternity will gather to celebrate Mass together in honor of St. Francis. Fellowship to follow at the Misty Moonlight Diner
on Dalton Avenue, Pittsfield, MA.
Tuesday 3 October St. Patrick’s Parish Center
Albany Road, W. Stockbridge, MA
The Council will meet at 12:00 Noon The Fraternity will meet at 1:00 PM
Fellowship at 1:30 PM
2:00 PM: Fraternity Chapter of Elections
2:30 PM: The Ritual of the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi
3:00 PM Evening Prayer (Corinne)
The
ST. CLARE of ASSISI FRATERNITY West Stockbridge, MA
SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER
VENERABLE FR. SOLANUS CASEY REGION
Vol. 6, No. 10 October 2017
Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey, Pray for Us!
JANET CANTARELLA, OFS
MINISTER
Box 216
Lanesboro, MA 01237
Michael Guertin, OFS
FRATERNITY SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT
Springfield, MA
Fr. Matthias Wesnofske,
OFM Cap.
Patchogue, NY
CAPUCHIN REGIONAL
SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT
Fr. Cidouane Joseph, OFM
Hartford, CT
FRIAR MINOR REGIONAL
SPIRITUAL ASSISTANT
— –
The Fraternity meets
for Teaching, Fellowship,
Prayer and Formation
on the
2nd Wednesday
every month
at
St. Patrick’s Parish Center
30 Albany Road
W. Stockbridge, MA
“The rule and life of the
Secular Franciscans is this:
To observe the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ
by following the example of
St. Francis of Assisi, who
made Christ the inspiration
and center of his life with
God and people.”
The Rule of the OFS, 4
We dedicate this publication
and the Apostolate which
brings it to you monthly to the
memory of the beloved
deceased of the
St. Clare of Assisi Fraternity.
P.P., OFM Cap.
MY GOD
AND
MY ALL!
“. . . FROM GOSPEL
TO LIFE AND LIFE TO
THE GOSPEL.”
OFS RULE, 4
“Welcome, my Sister Death!”
The ADMONITIONS OF ST. FRANCIS
ADMONITION V
NO ONE SHOULD GIVE WAY TO PRIDE BUT BOAST ONLY IN THE CROSS OF THE LORD
T ry to realize the dignity God has conferred on you. He created and formed your body in the image of his be-loved Son, and your soul in his own likeness (cf. Genesis 1: 26). And yet every creature under heaven serves
and acknowledges and obeys its Creator in its own way better than you do. Even the devils were not solely re-sponsible for crucifying him; it was you who crucified him with them and you continue to crucify him by taking pleasure in your vices and sins.
What have you to be proud of? If you were so clever and learned that you knew everything and could speak every language, so that the things of heaven were an open book to you, still you could not boast of that. Any of the devils knew more about the things of heaven, and knows more about the things of earth, than any human be-ing, even one who might have received from God a special revelation of the highest wisdom. If you were the most handsome and the richest man in the world, and could work wonders and drive out devils, all that would be some-thing extrinsic to you; it would not belong to you and you could not boast of it. But there is one thing of which we can all boast; we can boast of our humiliations (cf. 2 Corinthians 12: 15) and in taking up daily the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(continued next month)
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OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES
BIRTHDAYS
Betty LaVigne 10-21
PROFESSION
Mary Boland 10-16-1977 Theresa Murphy 10-16-1977
† IN MEMORIAM †
St. Francis 10-4-1226
HAPPY PROFESSION ANNIVERSARY
TO OUR 40-YEAR JUBILARIANS
To Our Dear Sisters Mary and Theresa,
With the greatest respect for your dedication to seeking lives of Chris-
tian perfection in the manner of Francis, we ask Father, Son and Holy
Spirit to bless you abundantly on this splendid occasion. We pray that
our Blessed Mother, Mary, our Seraphic Father, St. Francis, Ss. Clare,
Catherine Labouré, Elizabeth Seton and all the Saints may intercede for
you, your families and loved ones with the greatest fervor.
With Love and the Lord’s Peace,
Your Brothers and Sisters of the St. Clare Fraternity
Mary and Theresa became Perpetually Professed to the Order on the same day (16 October 1977), making them the first members of the St. Clare Fraternity pro-fessed subsequent to the Fraternity’s canonical establishment on 12 June 1977.
Mary Boland, OFS
Catherine Labouré
Theresa Murphy, OFS
Elizabeth Seton
FRATERNITY NEWS
OCTOBER: We Celebrate Francis
October is the month in which we traditionally, as a Fraternity, celebrate in a special way the life and glorious passing into eternal life of our Seraphic Father Francis. On Sunday, 1 October (the Sunday closest to the memorial of Francis), we will meet for the celebration of Mass and the Holy Eucharist at Sacred Heart Church on Elm Street in Pittsfield, MA, at 10:30 AM. Fellowship will follow at the Misty Moonlight Diner on Dal-ton Avenue in Pittsfield.
On Tuesday, 3 October, we have a busy afternoon. The Council will meet at 12:00 PM, the Fraternity at 1:00 PM followed by fellowship at 1:30 PM. The Ritual of the Transitus of St. Francis will begin around 2:30 PM, followed by Evening Prayer.
NOVEMBER: Formation Activities
Formation will be the focus of our November gathering. On-Going Formation will continue with read-ings from The Imitation of Christ followed by roundtable reflection. Inquirers will gather for an Initial Formation session led by our Formation Director Fred Conforti. Details will be in next month’s newsletter.
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1. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Virgin 2. Guardian Angels 4. Francis of Assisi 6. Bruno, Priest 7. Our Lady of the Rosary 9. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs 14. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr 15. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor 16. Hedwig, Religious Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin 17. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr 18. Luke, Evangelist 19. Isaac Jogues and John De Brebeuf, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs 23. John of Capistrano, Priest 24. Anthony Claret, Bishop 28. Simon and Jude, Apostles
FEASTS of the GENERAL ROMAN CALENDAR
for OCTOBER
3. St. Marie-Joseph Tossello, Virgin, † 1880 6. St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds, Virgin, † 1791 8. St. Bridget of Sweden, Virgin, † 1373 20. Bl. Contardo Ferrini, Confessor, † 1902
SECULAR FRANCISCAN FEASTS of the TRADITIONAL FRANCISCAN CALENDAR
for OCTOBER
ST. MARY FRANCES OF THE FIVE WOUNDS 6 October
DID YOU KNOW?
The OFS Fraternity based in Bristol, CT, here in the Fr. Solanus Casey Region is named for St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ. Anthony Cumia, OFS, is the Minister.
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SERAPHICUS ATLAS
FRANCIS IN ART: SERAPHICUS ATLAS
There are many interesting representations of St. Francis in art, but one of the most intriguing is a series (see samples at right) based on a work executed during the 17th century by Peter Paul Rubens (Antwerp, Belgium, depicted above) and converted to a superb engraving by his collabo-rator Paulus Pontius I. In this depiction, Francis is identified as “Seraphicus Atlas.” He holds aloft three globes represent-ing the three divisions of the Franciscan Order. The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception stands atop the globes. She is flanked by the Spanish and Austrian members of the royal Habsburg ruling dynasty (on her right) and (on her left, at top) the four Cardinal Virtues in a cart drawn by a Franciscan monk.
Recall that the Doctrine of the Immaculate Concep-tion was not dogmatized until 1854 by Pope Pius IX (the pa-pal bull Ineffabilis Deus). Those who supported the Immacu-late Conception of Mary (“Immaculatists” ), however, exist-ed ever since the 14th century. In Rubens’ depiction, the famous 13th-14th century Franciscan Blessed John Duns Sco-tus is to the right of Francis. Hailed as “Prince among Theo-logians, Scotus” in the engraving under his image, Scotus pokes at Satan with a trident. Referred to as the Doctor sub-tilis, Scotus is the only non-canonized Doctor of the Church. His brilliant arguments explaining the Immaculate Concep-tion of Mary were largely responsible for the declaration of the Immaculate Conception as dogma in 1854. Thanks to our Inquirer Scott Barker for bringing this image to our attention.
Above, Bl. John Duns Scotus, OFM. Refer to accompanying text
for explanation
