On Sunday, August 1, 2010, six of our friars professed final vows.(Click here to see the whole album)
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| (left to right) Br. Nicholas Joseph White, Br. Justin Jesúsmarie Alarcón, Br. Felice Maria Gavazzi, Br. Gabriel Joseph Kyte, Br. Ignatius Mary Shin and Br. Dismas Marie Kline radiate joy on the big day. |
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| "The first has to do with the stained glass windows, which flood the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor. Many writers – here in America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne – have used the image of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the Church herself. It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s communion, are called to draw all people into this mystery of light" Pope Benedict XVI, New York City, 19 April 2008. |
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| In a gesture of surrender and humility, the brothers lie prostrate before the altar as the congregation invokes the intercession of the saints. |
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| After professing final vows, the friars sign the official documents upon the altar. The life of religious consecration is an intimate sharing in the one sacrifice of Jesus which is renewed daily at Mass upon the altar. |
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| Imitating Jesus who prayed from the cross, "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit", the friars symbolically place their hands into the hands of our Community Servant as they profess their vows. |
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| A theologian once wrote, "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God." There is great joy in serving the Lord. Jesus said, "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt 10:39). Commenting on this passage, Vatican II taught, "Man can not fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." |
Fellow servants of His Majesty,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with me, the joy of this blessed occasion when 6 of your Brothers professed final vows. I desire very much to enter into your Order but first I must wait on the Lord to grant a miracle. I broke my neck 8 years ago, leaving me a quadriplegic. What most people would consider a tragedy, was actually the greatest day of my life. My becoming paralyzed was the two by four God used to turn my focus from myself to Him. No to say He caused my injury but He definitely used it.
Around five years ago, out of the blue, I found myself with the very strong desire to become Catholic, I had been a backslidden Protestant. So we contacted the local Parish and found that RCIA was just getting ready to begin. I had been baptized Catholic as an infant but, had never been confirmed. Between RCIA and EWTN, I began, like a sponge, to soak up everything I could learn about the Faith and fell deeply in love with Jesus and His Church. I think the most miraculous aspect of my conversion was that I didn't have any hang-ups with Catholic teaching(I'm Irish). The only real uncertainty I had was the devotion to our Holy Mother, only because I worried about somehow depriving the Lord of devotion that should go to Him. But I found that by trusting that the Catholic Church teaches the truth while devoting myself to prayer, especially the rosary, my love for the Mother of God began to grow. After all, she desires only to help us each to increase our love and devotion to her Son.
My eyes quickly tear up when I start to contemplate how powerfully the Lord has been moving in me, sometimes the joy is almost overwhelming. Because of my paralysis, I find that most of my time is spent in bed, which is okay because it gives me a lot of time to pray and study. Thanks to EWTN, I am able to enjoy Daily Mass on TV (as well as Sunday Night Live) and on the Sundays, when I'm able to get out to church, my Parish offers the Tridentine Mass every Sunday, which I prefer to the Novus Ordo.
Around two years ago, I started working the Divine Office into my daily schedule, and with the help of Father Thomas Dubay and St. Teresa of Avila, I've been learning a lot about discursive meditation and contemplative prayer, although, it's sort of slow going without a spiritual director. No worries though, the Holy Spirit is good to me.
A few months ago, I ran across the name of a girl, Chiara Badano, who had died of cancer a number of years ago and for some reason, I added her name to my daily prayer journal. A few weeks ago, I learned that a miracle had been attributed to her intercession and that her beatification is scheduled for the end of September. So I decided to begin asking her to pray for my healing. After all, nothing is impossible for God and all things are possible for those who love God and live according to his purpose, right? Besides, I figure, closed mouths don't get fed. If the Lord's will is for me to remain paralyzed, my days will continue to be filled with joy as I offer up my sufferings for the salvation of others but, if the Lord would grant me a physical healing, I will immediately move to give myself to Jesus in a new way by seeking entry into your Order. Either way, my consecration to Jesus remains the same and by the Grace of God, I will continue the daily task of dying to self, so that it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.
I am curious, does your Order have a Third Order Secular attached to it for people in my situation?
Father Groeschel, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal are in my daily prayers.
I have every confidence that if we don't meet here, in this life, we will meet in the Lord's presence, in the next.
Your brother in Christ,
Christopher
Irishquad@gmail.com
The Friars are a wonderful inspiration and encouragement to prayer.
ReplyDeleteStay true to your vows. You are saving many souls--maybe mine!
lynn
auntilynn@gmail.com
congrats to the friars. i actually know br. gabriel joseph kyte personally. hes a great friend.
ReplyDelete