Marveling At Matagalpa

Have you ever had a spiritual experience which escapes description by mere words? I was recently blessed with the opportunity to visit our friars in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I was unprepared for what I would see. The life and work of our brothers in this little corner of the world is really inspiring. It was like seeing pages of the Gospel lived out in front of my eyes. Fr. Juan Diego is doing a spectacular job ministering at a national prison. Fr. Augustine was shining as he prayed, blessed and baptized the sick at the local hospital. Fr. Albert is leading a much needed youth ministry which is meeting some special needs in the culture there. Br. Joachim doesn't need to speak Español to communicate the love of Christ with his infectious smile and jovial demeanor as he seems to be present everywhere in the town.

Matagalpa Cathedral in the center of the city.

Every morning as the sun was rising, while drinking delicious local coffee, I would pray and bless the people of Matagalpa. The Kingdom of God is coming in that little place. About two hours from the Managua, Matagalpa is a city surrounded by mountains. Our Convento San Antonio is situated on the edge of town, half way up a peak called Apante, the mountain of peace. Here is what I really want to write about: Responding to some inspirations, dreams and prophecies Fr. John Anthony is coordinating a very special project. Looking down upon the city atop Apante, we are building a 33 meter cross and chapel. During a television interview to announce the project, an earthquake hit the area - a foretaste of what is to come. They will have an outdoor way of the cross which starts at the Cathedral and ends on Apante. The fourth station will be at our friary. Stay tuned!!! (click here if you are interested in helping with the project)

Fr. Luke and Fr. Albert before the rising frame of the Cross.

+ Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
Yonkers, NY
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The Fulfillment of Encounter: Behold the Bridegroom Comes

Here, perhaps, is a new thought for you: processing up the aisle to receive holy communion is like a bride processing toward her groom, with each step she draws nearer to him whom she loves, to him who has given himself for her.  The bridegroom comes freely and awaits her hand; watching her approach he rejoices in her beauty and goodness and love, and she goes freely to meet him; freely to his embrace she goes.

The soul wants nothing more than to be freely and passionately loved by Jesus Christ.  In this way it images the bride.  Her deepest desire is that the bridegroom would freely desire her and choose to deeply love her all his life, and she knows that she can do nothing to earn such love, being aware of her powerlessness her disposition becomes one of expectation so that upon his arrival she cannot contain her joy, for at last, she can rest in her beloved.

This is the mystery of our union with God, this is the poetry of the Song of Songs, this is the experience of the Eucharist.  And once we begin to experience the intimacy of his love, it becomes clear that as much as we may fail him, he will never fail us.  You can never lose that look of love with which he watches you draw near in Holy Communion.  You could turn and walk away from him but that only changes your gaze not His, and at your first repentance he will be awaiting you.

+ Br. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR
Paterson, NJ
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The Fulfillment of Encounter: Eating the Flesh of God

Given Catholic teaching, it is not surprising to learn that a common accusation against early Christians was that of cannibalism.  Non-Christians were not allowed to the whole of Christian worship, but rumors spread about phrases caught like eat my flesh and drink my blood, and in some ways it’s not an outlandish accusation but upon further scrutiny it’s just not applicable.  Eating the flesh of a human being is a very different thing than consuming the body of the living God.  One reduces men to animals, the other elevates man beyond angels.

Jesus is very clear in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink, “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I will raise him up on the last day.”  Sounds pretty important, right?  In fact, he was so clear about it that he lost a large number of disciples over it.  They left.  This is a hard teaching, they said,  who can accept it?  Even the apostles found it difficult to hear, but Peter in a moment of wisdom, instead of leaving, gave the perfect response to difficult teachings, “to whom else would we go? You have the words of eternal life.”  You see, the temptation is to take all the things we like about Jesus and run with them glossing over that which challenges us.

When I first heard the idea, I have to admit it sounded ridiculous, but I knew that if it were true, I could not be any closer to the Lord than to receive him into my very being, and I knew that if it weren’t true then Catholics were worshipping a piece of bread, and this is a very bad idea.  It turns out its true.  Jesus unites himself to us through this sacrament in a way that provides for a foretaste of Heavenly communion, the union with God that is the goal and joy of the Christian faith isn’t something we have to wait for, salvation isn’t something that comes after we die; eternal life isn’t something to be hoped for only after this valley of tears but amidst it.  We live eternal life now because Jesus is made known to us in the breaking of the bread and as he himself said, “eternal life is knowing [God] and him whom he has sent.”

+ Br. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR

Paterson, NJ

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Red Sox beards and friars

The Red Sox, beards and the friars. Sampson like strength and Franciscan tradition.

Franciscan Beatitudes

“Blessed are the imperfect, for they reveal the power of God.”

“Blessed are the weak, for God himself is their strength.”

“Blessed are those who fail, for they alone can succeed.”

“Blessed are those who surrender, for they alone will be victorious.”

“Blessed are those who obey, for they have chosen the better part.”

“Blessed are the humble, for the truth has set them free.”

+ Br. Ignatius Pio Mariae, CFR

Bronx, NY

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The Fulfillment of Encounter: When the Eucharist became Real for me

Surprisingly, I don’t remember much of that day. I remember the church and I have an image of me sitting towards the back—wooden pews peppered with college student and town’s folk and I, among them, heart pounding and eyes wetting, am sitting—or am I kneeling? Either way my head is certainly buried in the palms of my hands and quietly, maybe even inaudibly, I am tearful. Jesus Christ is somehow inside of me. He was placed in my hands and I put him on my tongue, chewed him with my teeth and swallowed him. It was the first time ever that presented to me, I recognized him—his sacramental presence—and it was the first time I ever held, tasted and consumed him with understanding and that encounter would go on to change everything. Yet for now I am seated in a place of wonder wrapped in a blanket of trepidation, for he has captured me and I have allowed myself to be caught. Only he’s not who I thought he was; no, he is more intimate and more radical than I had ever dreamed. I would go on to learn three things from this experience.

1) I had been worshipping God as if in exile; 2) His flesh, as he says, is in fact, true food; 3) He sees me as would a bridegroom his bride; which means that 1)I have not only returned to the temple but have become the temple; 2) eternal life begins right now; 3) there is nothing I could ever do to cause him to look away and cease loving me.

Surprisingly vague is my memory of that day, but I can say this: I left the church after Mass stepping into a world where the sky was bluer and the leaves greener on trees that seemed almost to breathe, and I, with a ball cap snuggly fit, walked home on my hands—or was it that I could now see how everyone else in the world was living standing on their heads?

+ Br. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR

Saint Michael Friary, Paterson, NJ
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The Missing Piece

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28)

The Word of God, Jesus, is the missing piece to the puzzle of our lives. Without Him we try to rearrange the other pieces of our life hoping that somehow we can complete the puzzle. Yet there is only one piece, Jesus, who can complete the puzzle. If we hear and obey His word our lives will be complete, and we can stop trying to rearrange everything to make our life perfect. All the pieces will fit, just as they were intended to.

+ fr jeremiah myriam shryock cfr

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“Holy Hands: Uniting Prayer & Charity in a Cool Catholic Lifestyle” (2 of 2)

“Holy Hands: Uniting Prayer & Charity in a Cool Catholic Lifestyle” (2 of 2)

Remember the “two tables” of the Liturgy as expressed by Vatican II? The Eucharist and the Word. They are both important and form a unity. Christ Himself, though one Person, has two natures: divine and human.

Why is it that there often seems to be such a radical dichotomy in the Church, similar to that of the separation between West and East, so that “conservative” (or ‘right-wing’) believers prefer adoration while “liberal” (or ‘leftist’) believers prefer service of the poor, to the exclusion of the other? The enemy of souls must really love this. (One can think of other such ‘apparent contradictions’ like traditional prayer in Latin versus charismatic prayer - both of which, by the way, are approved by the Church.)

To be Catholic means to be open to ALL that is good and serves to build up Christ’s Kingdom, while remaining radically faithful to the sacred deposit of faith and the teaching of the Magisterium. (Catholic means universal!) Why not unite both hands in prayer and service like Mother Teresa did? People are often shocked when they discover many such ‘paradoxes’ in a person or a community…

Pope Francis is clearly showing us, by a most splendid example, that to be truly Catholic we need to be BOTH devoted to God and our neighbors in authentic Christian love. I would even go so far as to say that he is showing us BOTH AND – the ‘AND’ being that we also need to grow personally in our own continual conversion in order to be pure vessels of Christ’s love to others as His priests, prophets and kings.

Let us each examine our own conscience. Where am I strong and where am I lacking? Am I praying often and well enough? Going out of my comfort zone to serve the needy? Too full of myself? Too busy about my own cares and concerns and not those of God and others?

Let us all strive, like Mother Teresa and Pope Francis, to be humble, prayerful, and loving. Then we too will have “holy hands”, becoming a blessing and not a burden to all we meet. (We could also add holy eyes, ears, tongue, feet, etc.!) Let us be totally consecrated to God. Amen – so be it!

+Br. Philip Maria Allen, CFR

St. Felix Friary

Yonkers, NY, USA

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“Holy Hands: Uniting Prayer & Charity in a Cool Catholic Lifestyle” (1 of 2)

“Holy Hands: Uniting Prayer & Charity in a Cool Catholic Lifestyle” (1 of 2)

Mother Teresa is one of my great inspirations, a true heroine of Christian virtue. I ask her intercessory help every day, especially as I serve the homeless, drug-addicted, mentally ill and displaced persons who come to our little outreach called Casa Juan Diego.

Look at Mother Teresa’s hands. What famous hands they are! Why are they so famous? Because they touched Christ’s body every day.

But wait – Mother was not a priest! What do I mean? How can I rightly say this?

Although Mother was not an ordained minister of the Holy Eucharist (i.e. a ministerial priest of Jesus Christ), she indeed touched Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, in His members. She became configured to Christ not only by the beautiful Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation & frequent Holy Communion, but also by imitating Him in the way she lived each and every day.

Mother made of her whole life a “eucharist”: a loving sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. We are called to do the same.

As a holy missionary priest has often related: “The more you look at something, the more you get into it; the more you get into something, the more you become like it.” This could be television, movies, internet, some activity or hobby, nature, people, or Jesus!

Yes, we need to adore Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament in order to become like Him; but we also need to love, serve, and feed His broken body in our neighbors, especially the poor and needy. For we only know ourselves before God when we recognize Christ present in the least among us; and we only prove our love for God by loving our neighbors in a concrete, incarnational and personal love that is not limited to the pew, the pulpit, or the ‘pay pal’.

+Br. Philip Maria Allen, CFR

St. Felix Friary

Yonkers, NY, USA

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The Fulfillment of Encounter: Returning to the Temple

When the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon, they longed to return to their native land. Being captives in a foreign land among foreign people and their foreign gods was the darkest hour since their captivity in Egypt. But still, they were able to worship God—those who hadn’t already abandoned him for pagan idols—they were able to carry on familial traditions and heritages. God still sent prophets to them and heard their cries and pleas; so, you may ask, what’s the big deal? Why be so dramatic about it?

All that is left of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, The Wailing Wall.

They longed for Jerusalem because in Jerusalem dwelt the Temple of God, the Living God. In Jerusalem God was uniquely present in a part of the temple called the Holy of Holies, so in a tangible way they had been removed from his presence and the true worship that God himself had established in the temple where he had chosen to live among them. And as far as they could see their children would never know, would never experience the closeness with which they had lived with God. And this is painful to a heart that knows the difference. So you can imagine their joy when after seventy long years of exile they were given leave to return to their home, rebuild their temple and resume their worship, living again among the presence of the living God in Jerusalem. 

And this, I can say, was my joy in embracing the Catholic Faith. God became tangible, the worship he had given us to make was resumed in my life and I knew Him like I had never known Him before. In coming into the Catholic Church we not only return to the place where he has chosen to dwell among us, the tabernacles of our churches, but we become living tabernacles, new holy of holies, because God himself dwells now within us, and so in returning to the temple, we become temples and God dwells even more fully in the world today.

+ Br. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR

Paterson, NJ

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