A Collection of prayers: V.

(Adam’s Song)


If only I could return to that place where I once felt your hands, calm and serene, fashioning me in Your image.  That place where Your voice, tranquil and easy,
breathed over me.  That second where Your eyes, fervent and beautiful, revealed Yourself to me; that moment in time when I first saw her.

How different would I respond now; because this time, I am not afraid?

Even though I must toil and suffer here on this earth I will not leave her again.  She, my sister and my bride, reveals to me who I am and who I am supposed to be, because through our love we are led to You, the Author of love.

A Collection of prayers IV.

Whether I realize it or not I am constantly longing for You. My mind hungers for Your peace and my heart refuses anything but Your presence. I am numb without You, frozen in time, waiting for You to touch me and bring me back to life.

Where could I go if You were not here?  I could not find You on my own nor could I discover something more beautiful than You.  I have searched and found words, turned words into sentences, and sentences into poetry, only to become bored by its rhyme and meter.  But in Your Passion You have burned those pages and now You are the poet leading me into eternity.

Without You Lord my life is a tragedy, for in Your sonnets You have revealed to me the love that I yearn for.


God bless you,

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

A Collection of prayers: III.

The leaves, once so strong and independent, have changed colors as they prepare for their end.

And here am I, watching the restlessness of my youth fade away.  Only You my God know when my end will be.  Like these autumn leaves all I can do is surrender to Your providence.  It is a simple act of faith in Your love.


God bless you,

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

Collection of Prayers: II.

You have enabled me to write about “our experience,” an experience often disguised as ordinary, yet varying in colors and seasons.  We have touched persons scattered throughout this world proclaiming Your Kingdom and a destiny of spontaneous joy.

I feel like we have only begun.  Dawn appears on the horizon and the hours of light are before us.  It is time to run, to sing, to love.  But where do I begin?  You are quiet these days which makes me wonder if this whole thing is a dream.  My God, please save me from another illusion!

For so long I have only lived and thought about myself.  Is the same true with my writing?  I am tired of all these false gods, and of all the incense that is burned before them.

I will write only for You, because without You, even the stars fall asleep and nighttime is devoid of romance.


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

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.