A Collection of prayers: I

I believe You are near to me, and that to find You, I can remain here, alone.  Yet still, I am not content with this stillness.  My soul cries out for more and longs for that which I cannot understand.

What can I do?  Where can I go?  I am helpless.  I can only wait on You and be patient.  My God, I am in need of You.  Jesus come, come more deeply, overwhelm me.  Drown me in Your love.


God bless you,

Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
St. Felix Friary, Yonkers, New York

The Rosary

There is an one-legged old man in our neighborhood. He walks slowly with the help of a walker. When we see each other we laugh and say, "One step at a time!" He is a tremendous example of patience and joy.

It can be hard to pray in our busy modern world. I think that the rosary is a remedy for our dilemma. Each Hail Mary is like a step towards heaven, calling to mind the Divine Mysteries of Jesus' life. Slow down, pray and take one step at time.


God bless you,

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
Saint Joseph Friary, Harlem, NY

Lectio Divina

We recently had an excellent Lectio Divina retreat with our new Postulants. We spent the weekend at the hermitage in upstate New York amidst the silence of the woods. A little silence and space for the Lord to speak is greatly needed - and doable! We simply prayed and slowly read a few passages from the Gospel of St. Luke (a personal favorite). It was beautiful to hear what the text was saying to each one.

I highly recommend the Catholic Prayer Bible, Lectio Divina Edition. Paulist Press has done a great job with this aid to praying with God's Word.

found here


God bless you,

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
Saint Joseph Friary, Harlem, NY

We Remember

The call came to our friars from the firemen next to our friary on 156^th Street in the Bronx. “Please get down to Ground Zero – we need you there.” It was the day after 9/11. The plan was to meet at the Bronx firehouse and take a bus with the firemen who would be transported to help at Ground Zero.

So a group of us friars, priests and brothers, waited at the firehouse with the firemen the morning of 9/12 to head across the bridge by bus to Manhattan. The firemen sat in silence while watching the news on the television. Also, a fireman was writing a list of names on a chalkboard, the names of their confreres who had died.

Pain was written on their faces. There were no words that seemed appropriate. We just sat praying silently next to them and waited. The bus was delayed so we were encouraged by the firemen to take the subway to Manhattan as far as could and then to walk the rest of the way. That we did – we passed two barricades at which we simply said, “The firemen asked us to go to Ground Zero.” We were given the OK.

Before we knew it we were at a place that seemed surreal. Somehow we were there, yet it didn’t seem real: skeletons of buildings, broken glass, water pouring down escalators, grey soot up to our ankles, most of all the pained faces of heroes trying their best to do something, anything.

My responsibility was to bless the bodies which were being removed from the rubble. The unmistakable orange body-bags were carried with great dignity. I stood next to a Rabbi and a Protestant Minister. As the bodies were being carried to the first temporary morgue the bearers paused, we prayed, gave a blessing and cried.

Other friars prayed with small groups of firemen, policemen and other responders. Only prayer and simply being present seemed to be appropriate. Some brothers gave out rosaries and offered their shoulders to cry on. Noting Saint Francis’ love for animals we were asked to bless the specially trained dogs which were helping with the search for remains.

On the way back to the Bronx we rode the bus with the firemen. We rode through Manhattan as crowds of people waved and showed signs of support. We sat in silence. Only prayer and simply being present seemed appropriate.

Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR
Community Servant
Most Blessed Sacrament Friary, Newark, NJ


Letter from Pope Bendict to US Bishops
Sept. 11, 2011

Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI at Ground Zero
April 20, 2008

An Eternal Perspective

Often times we are guilty of being nearsighted, therefore we can only see what is in front of us and everything further away is foggy and unclear.  Since we cannot see too far in the distance we tend to concentrate on what is only directly in front of us.  The danger here is that we are not embracing all of reality, but only a very small portion of it.

In this life it is easy to be overwhelmed by sufferings, trials, disappointments, fears and a million other things that stand directly in front of us.  Our faith reminds us there is a greater part of reality we are not seeing.  There is a greater part of reality that we often ignore.  It is the reality of heaven!

This world, with all of its struggles and disappointments, does not contain the complete picture of our lives.  The Catechism says that “heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1024).


Without this eternal perspective we will be overwhelmed by this life and all its drama.  Happiness, peace, joy and fulfillment are not simply part of a fairy tale.  We can experience them in pieces in this life, yet in heaven they will be ours in abundance.  Let us keep heaven before us always and remember that by doing so we are not neglecting anything, but in fact are embracing the fullness of reality.


God bless you,
Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
St. Felix Friary, Yonkers, New York

Final Vows 2011

On Sunday, July 31, 2010, four of our friars professed final vows.

(left to right) Br. Francesco Mary Gavazzi (Sydney, Australia), Br. Pius Marie Gagne (Meriden, CT), Br. Giles Maria Barrie (Kankakee, IL) and Br. John-Mary Johannssen (Poughkeepsie, NY) radiate joy on the big day.

United we stand, divided we fall. Saint Francis thanked the Lord for sending him brothers. Following Jesus together as brothers brings great support and strength.

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.

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.

In a gesture of surrender and humility, the brothers lie prostrate before the altar as the congregation invokes the intercession of the saints.

Chosen

Being chosen is never a random act.  It is an act filled with purpose.  The one chosen is singled out, identified and desired by the other.  Though we might wish to believe that our faith is the result of our own intelligence, righteousness or talents, and that it was an act that we ourselves made, the Lord reminds us, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you” (John 15:16).

Since we belong to Him we are saved from the terrible fear of loneliness, of living this life in isolation from everyone and everything.  It means that we do not have to create meaning to our lives or search endlessly for some kind of hope or direction.  Truth, love, beauty and everything else we truly desire has “chosen” us.

Before we were created God wished to share himself with others.  He wanted to share his love, power, creativity, tenderness, His fatherly concern and all the other qualities that God possesses.  In choosing who or what he would share himself with He made a conscious decision not to reveal himself to other creatures.  Rather, he chose to reveal himself to us.

God does not make mistakes.  We are chosen by God, chosen to experience in him all the beauty, love, happiness and peace that we truly desire.  By choosing us God has saved us from the misery of those who view themselves merely as strangers and their life as a waste of time.


God bless you,
Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR

The Eucharist- The Supreme “moment of transcendence.”

Every person experiences in their life what I call “moments of transcendence.” A moment of transcendence is an experience where our hearts, minds and souls are lifted up away from ourselves, and for a moment, often only a very short moment, we experience the presence of God in a deep and profound way. They can occur while we are walking on the beach as the sun begins to set, while a parent holds their newborn child in their arms for the first time, or even when we are simply enjoying a meal with a friend who we love dearly. These moments do not follow a strict pattern or method, they can occur anywhere and at any time.


What do these moments tell us about ourselves? Are they merely just psychological projections resulting from frustration with our daily lives or are they tiny glimpses into the destiny that we are all a part of?


These moments, though they are often rare, remind us of our destiny. They whisper to us of a future life, a life we are slowly moving towards each day. A life where suffering and pain are extinguished, a life where confusion and anxiety is replaced by clarity and peace, and a life where God, no longer “hidden” beyond the distractions we have placed before him in this world, stands before us with arms ready to embrace us. In short, these moments are little glimpses of heaven, that “place” of ultimate fulfillment, peace and joy.


Yet these moments, as wonderful as they are, do not have to be rare occasions for us. They occur everyday in the Eucharist, because it is there where we not only encounter God and adore him from a distance, but it is there where he allows himself to be consumed by us and enters into the very depths of our being. He who is the creator of the universe “hides” himself under the appearance of bread so that we would not be afraid to approach him.


The Eucharist is a foretaste of heaven because it is Jesus Christ we receive in the Eucharist, not a symbol but a person, and it is that same Jesus Christ who is heaven itself. At each Mass we have the opportunity to experience the ultimate “moment of transcendence,” that moment where we are lifted up from ourselves and this world and kneel before the destiny that awaits us all, the destiny which we are all created for.


There is nothing greater in this life than the Eucharist. Though there are many “moments of transcendence” that we experience in this life, the Eucharist is that supreme moment of transcendence because it reveals God himself. The good news is that we do not have to search far and wide for this experience, it is available to us each day in the Mass.


God bless you,
Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
St. Felix Friary, Yonkers, New York

Holy Spirit Inspiration

In the early days of the order, Saint Francis and the friars would gather for a special meeting (chapter) around the feast of Pentecost. This was a time to pray together as brothers, invoking the help of the Holy Spirit as they discussed various questions concerning the direction of the order. This became a tradition which continues to our day.


In our little community we have our General Chapter every three years. All of the friars in final vows gather to pray and discuss various items. We also elect the leadership for the next three years. This year our General Chapter will be held for one week beginning on June 12, the feast of Pentecost. Please pray for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we gather together.

Giotto fresco of the Pentecost chapter meeting of 1232 in Arles.
Saint Anthony of Padua (l) had an apparition of the recently deceased Saint Francis (r).

God bless you,
Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
St. Joseph Friary, New York, New York

Jesus - The Good Shepherd

One of the images Jesus uses to reveal himself is that of the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11). This shepherd not only takes care of the physical needs of his sheep but in fact “lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). Jesus is the shepherd who exceeds all the demands that one could naturally place upon a shepherd. His mission is much deeper than mere commitment to a task and much greater than simply fulfilling one’s obligations. He is motivated by pure love for his sheep and his desire to spend eternity with them. Dying for them is his way of expressing the profound love of the Father. There is never a moment’s hesitation, only the willingness to fulfill all that the Father desires, “not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).


How does this love of the Good Shepherd make us feel? Does self-hate and false humility prevent us from receiving the tremendous love the Good Shepherd offers us? Why is it that so many times we can speak of God’s great love to other people but then when it comes to us we have such a difficult time believing it? All the reasons we create and the excuses we make for why God should not love us are exactly that, excuses. They are not the truth. God looks at our list of excuses, simply smiles at them, and then throws them away. They are not good enough for him.


He is the Good Shepherd, who even if one of his sheep goes astray, will leave the ninety nine other sheep to rescue the one that is lost (Mt 18:10-14). Let us stop running, let us stop making excuses as to why we are not good enough. Let us humbly receive His love and allow Him to place us on His shoulders and carry us away to the secret recesses of His heart where His love can replace all of our insecurities.


God bless you,
Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
St. Felix Friary, Yonkers, New York


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