Assisi International Youth Meeting

Friars hosted the 6th annual ASSISI INTERNATIONAL MEETING 5-12 August. Members of our community joined the fun and helped out organizing the liturgy and doing translation for non-Italian speaking participants.

More photos can be found by following the links below.









Young people arrive








Each group presents their country









Hanging out and morning prayer at St. Peter's - Assisi













Saturday night mass and evening festivities


More photos...

Photos courtesy of friar Martin Breski

We are "Reserves of Love"

Serving the Sick in Assisi

I spent the month of July at the Sacro Convento in Assisi living with brothers in need of care. It was an intense experience that helped me to discover the value of caring for the sick. In a recent admonition given to all health workers, Pope Benedict XVI said that, yes, professional competence is necessary, but that this must also be accompanied by much humanity, in other words, love. Our elderly brothers give us the possibility to be “reserves of love.” I feel that this statement sums up well my own experience.

In caring for the sick, I can say that I give very little compared to that which I receive by listening to their experiences of religious life, lived out as a complete offering of themselves to their brothers. For me this is a treasure that I guard jealously, a treasure that enriches my experience of faith.

Our great saint Maximilian Kolbe said: “only love creates.” I can experience this love through my work at the front desk of the friary, receiving people who need the chance to talk, opening their hearts in asking the brothers to pray for a wide range of personal situations. It’s an important service that helps me become more grounded in vocation and at the same time makes me aware that the vocation is not a personal gift only for myself, but a gift to be placed at the service of my brothers. In this spirit and with certain faith in the help of God, I continue my life journey.

Peace and all good.

Friar Nicola Solente

Prayer

Most high and great God, Father

Creator of heaven and earth

In the name of your only begotten son Jesus Christ,

Through the Holy Spirit

And with the intercession of Mary our mother

We ask you to teach us to prepare the good soil of our souls

To receive the seed of your Word which you desire to give us today

Through events, people and Holy Scripture;

That this Word may not fall on the path of our distractions,

Nor on the rocks of our superficiality

Nor among the thorns of our anxieties

But that it may bear abundant fruit for eternal life

And for the good of the Kingdom of Heaven.

friar Alfonso

Servant of the Word

Friar Alfonso recounts receiving the ministry of lector

I received the ministry of lector Sunday May 13 during the 10:30 a.m. mass in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Concretely this means that the Church, through the hands of father Giuseppe Piemontese, custos of the Sacro Convento who presided in the liturgy, officially and publically gifted me with the responsibility of proclaiming the Word of God during the liturgy, especially during the Eucharistic celebration, and the missionary mandate of carrying the Gospel of salvation to those who have not yet heard.

For me this ministry is gift that has its source in the love of God the Father. It is a sign of the trust and of the esteem that He has for me, and that requires of me a daily decision to meditate on, pray, and put into practice the Holy Scriptures, such that I can announce and testify to the Christian faith above all through my life, day after day.

This moment of grace and personal commitment is the fruit of a journey that has lasted several years, beginning with my service as a catechist for children preparing for first communion in Silvi Marina (PE) and Brescia, then later in Assisi with young people preparing for confirmation. Most recently in Cannara, Perugia, I have served as the spiritual assistant to OFS, the Third Order Seculars founded by st. Francis. In addition to these pastoral experiences, I have been formed by serving during liturgical celebrations in the Basilica of St. Francis, through my own journey of Franciscan formation, and through the diocesan mission in Assisi and the mission in Pavia, during which I met many who were fragile in the faith or who were not believers. Last but not least, my interaction with Jehovah’s Witnesses, present in my own family, has influenced me.

In conclusion, I can say that the ministry of lector has caused me to grow in enthusiasm to serve and do good for the Kingdom of God. And it has also instilled in me a tiny sliver of pride, because the Church has placed in my hands one of the greatest treasures that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has given to the world: his Word! I entrust my service to the intercession of Mary, especially to Our Lady of Fatima, whose memorial was celebrated the same day that I received the ministry, as well as to the prayers of everyone who reads this blog.

May the Lord grant you peace and all good!

With much love,

fra Alfonso Di Francesco

TV Interview with European Friars in Formation

Minister General fr. Marco Tasca and young friars gathered in Assisi for European youth conference discuss franciscan charism in interview on RAI1, TG1 Dialogo (in Italian).

Young Friars Fill Assisi

European Franciscans in formation meet for renewal and fellowship

With religious life in Europe declining, the sight of 300 young Franciscan friars filling Assisi’s narrow medieval streets the week after Easter almost seemed out of place, a page out of a glorious past.

From April 10 to April 14 the Order of the Brothers Minor Conventual called together in Assisi all of its European friars who have not yet taken life-long vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Franciscan seminarians from Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Austria, England, Italy, Czech Republic, Malta, France, Spain, Turkey and Lebanon were present for a week of prayer, fraternal sharing and testimonies in the small Italian where the order was originally founded in the 1200’s.

Yet despite the “success” of the large number of participants, I did not sense that the week was about glorying in our numbers.

Rather, two prevailing sentiments flavored the entire week: a realistic awareness of the order’s need for renewal, and a contagious joy at discovering the breadth of our fraternity that crosses linguistic and cultural barriers in a united desire to follow Christ.

“We need friars who are in love with the Lord, not friars who are good at doing things,” stated Minister General Marco Tasca in his homily at the week’s closing mass, held on Mount La Verna. Tasca said that he feared that within the order in Europe the focus of “being” in a deep relationship with Christ has shifted in the direction of “doing” lots of activities that are not essential.

Life testimonies of friars from unique mission experiences were one way that the event’s organizers attempted to stimulate new thinking within the young Franciscans gathered in Assisi. One of the most controversial testimonies was the experience of a Franciscan community in Cholet, France which has attracted thousands to its family conferences and youth meetings with its deliberate poverty, community oriented lifestyle, and charismatic worship.

The French model was praised by many of the friars gathered in Assisi, but raised questions for others. “How can you refuse to receive a salary and then ask for money from others, especially during this economic crisis,” said one friar. “It’s not real poverty and it’s not right.”

The second theme that flavored my experience of the week was the richness of being together with brothers from all walks of life who are seeking to follow Christ. Whether meeting up with old friends, or talking with a Polish brother from a Catholic rock group about various worship bands, or listening to an English brother who had previously been part of a monastic order share about the grace of silent Eucharistic adoration, I was struck by a deep joy at being a part of this diverse Franciscan family.

a brother from the community

Spiritual Exercises

Franciscan Missionaries in Today's World

From March 30 to April 4 our community went on retreat for a time of spiritual exercises. The exercises are an opportunity to take a break from our daily routine. They are a “holy” time, a time set apart for God in which He chooses to “speak to the heart.” Blessed John Paul II described the spiritual exercises as an “experience of God that is born out of listening to the Word, a listening that becomes concrete in one's life. Through silence, contemplation, prayer, and with the help of a guide, it gives us the capacity to discern in order to purify the heart.”

The theme of the exercises was: “Being Franciscan Missionaries Today.” Friar Domenico Paoletti led the exercises, guiding our meditation with his reflections on the story of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10, 25-37). The passage contains multiple themes, including the meaning of being a good neighbor. This is one aspect that highlights what it means to be a Franciscan missionary, to draw near to the other in various areas of life, especially in the area of faith. This parable takes us to the heart of Christian life: love that reaches out to one’s neighbor. In this love, mission acquires a deeper significance: to love and embrace everyone. The Good Samaritan was a model for Saint Francis of Assisi, who, with his embrace of the leper, became an overpowering image of this love that accepts everyone.

During the exercises each day was filled with two reflections friar Domenico, Mass, community prayer and time for personal meditation and silence. It was a time of grace for each of us, a space for meeting God by entering into ourselves. Before this unconditional love one can only remain silent, in awe, and like the Samaritan seek to share this love with one’s brothers.

                                                                                                             Happy Easter!