Franciscans and the Nativity

Throughout Christmas and up to Epiphany, God’s word proclaims Jesus’ mastery over creation.  In the Gospel readings he can heal the sick; he multiplies the loaves and fishes; he walks on water.  These miracles demonstrate and remind us of Jesus’ almighty power and how much he emptied himself when he became one with us.  Not as a man, but as an infant. 

The Creator of the world could not walk, talk, or even roll over.  The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity weighed just a few pounds; he shivered, cried, and nursed at his mother’s breast.  The message of Christmas and God's incarnation is shocking. He who created the billions of galaxies with billions of stars, who created the countless creatures of our world, became completely dependent on us for his safety, well-being and nourishment.

It seems almost blasphemous to suggest that God became human. Yet, he did so out of love for us.  A testament to who “I” to who “We” are.   That are goodness far out weights our brokenness.  That we are much more than our sinfulness.  So much so that God placed his trust and faith completely in us.  And given our track record of violence he probably should have feared us. 

Jesus, became one with us, out of love for us, and amazingly as scripture points out, "we must have the same love for one another" (1 Jn 4:11).  One of the great Christian apologists of our time, G.K. Chesterton, once wrote a parable to illustrate this point:

“A man who was entirely careless of spiritual affairs died and went to hell.  And he was much missed on earth by his old friends.  His business agent went down to the gates of hell to see if there was any chance of bringing him back.  But though he pleaded for the gates to be opened, the iron bars never yielded.  His priest also went and argued:  “He was not really a bad fellow; given time he would have matured. Let him out, please!  The gates remained stubbornly shut against all their voices.  Finally, his mother came; she did not beg for his release.  Quietly, and with a strange catch in her voice, she said to Satan:  “Let me in.”  Immediately the great doors swung open upon their hinges.  For love goes down through the gates of hell and there redeems the dead.”  

The incredible graciousness, power, and mercy that came into our world in Jesus is still, at least potentially so, in our world in us, the Body of Christ. What Jesus did we too can do; in fact, that is precisely what we are asked to do as Christians. We are called to enter the world of another; to enter their pain and suffering. We are to be reminders that their goodness far out weights their brokenness. That they are much more than their sinfulness. We are to remind others that they are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God and they are GOOD!

This is the true message of Christmas and the primary mission of the followers of St. Francis of Assisi.  A powerful message of our goodness and the message we are called to share with others. 

Peace and All Good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

Join the Franciscan friars of the Province of Saint Barbara in praying the "Collect" and
reflecting on the Gospels of Advent leading up to the powerful message of Christmas.

Personal Reflection:

If you feel called to religious life as a Franciscan friar of the Province of Saint Barbara are you willing to enter the world of another, to enter their pain and suffering?

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/OFMvocation
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org

Care for Creation

"Saint Pope John Paul II named Francis the patron saint "of those who promote ecology" in 1979. Ecology in Europe refers to what we in the United States call environmentalism and not just the science. Francis is the patron of those who cultivate ecological consciousness, but that means a lot more than being the patron of environmental educators. His example really points to a mystical or a spiritual vision for all of the creative world as brother and sister, as he describes in his Canticle of the Creatures." - Br. Keith Warner, OFM

As Franciscan friars and followers of St. Francis we are called to cultivate this spiritual vision for the natural world as brother and sister and our need to care for creation.  If you are interested in our way of life you'll need to clarify your willingness to serve the poor and marginalized through caring for creation.  The poor and care for creation are linked together.  It's the poor and marginalized who are the first to suffer the consequences of the abuse of the earth's resources. 

While discerning our way of life you'll need to test your desire and abilities to promote and practice this vision within your family, neighborhood, community, etc....  Look for local opportunities to get involved in your community around environmental issues.

As you volunteer or work in this field you'll need to become aware of the movements of consolation and desolation before, during, and after engaging in this work. As you reflect on your experience you'll ask:  Did I experience desolation?  Did I feel weary, dry and dissatisfied?  Did I feel consolation?  Did I feel cheerful and satisfied?  Was I able to engage in these activities with a joyful and generous heart?  These two movements well help reveal the movement of the Holy Spirit in your discernment process.  Read the blog post "Consolation and Desolation" for more information on using this discernment tool.

Next, take your experiences and engage in theological reflection.  Theological reflection is an essential ingredient in the process of spiritual discernment.  It holds the possibility of discerning God's presence and/or direction.  It's the process of standing before your experience 'open' to what may or may not be revealed through the lens of faith.  Read the blog post "Theological Reflection" for more information on using this discernment tool.

Next, share you experiences with your spiritual director and/or vocation director.  This person will listen to your story with an ear for the movement of the Holy, of the Divine.  They will also help you discern between your voice, the world (family, culture, and society) and God's voice within your experiences and theological reflection.  Read the blog post "Spiritual Direction" for more information on using this discernment tool.

Remember to be nourished by the Word and the Eucharist at Mass in order to be sent forth in mission to love and serve the Lord.  Read the blog post "Freely You Have Received, Freely Give" for more information on why Mass is important for discernment.

Lastly, at this stage in the journey you are trying to put on the "habit" of serving the poor and marginalized by promoting care for creation and living in balance with the earth and her resources.  You're trying to see if you have the abilities and the desire to live within and promote this spiritual vision as a religious brother or priest.  The work is not easy, but it's the love of God that sustains and nourishes us in this work.

Peace and all good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

Reflection:

For more information on St. Francis' vision of the created world as brother and sister and how it  informs our understanding of "Care for Creation" read Franciscan Keith Warner, OFM article published in U.S. Catholic Magazine.

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/OFMvocation
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Franciscan friars of the Province of Saint Barbara spent the week giving thanks because it's at the heart of what it means to be Franciscan and a Catholic Christian.  We see all of life as "Gift". We are thankful for this gift and in turn share it with others out of gratitude.  To give thanks is at the heart of our Catholic faith.  Which is why the Church calls us a Eucharistic People because Eucharist is Greek for thanksgiving.  We are called to be a people of thanksgiving.  

Share and read the blog post, "Freely you have received, freely give" to reflect on the message of thanksgiving and how it relates to our common vocation to love God and our neighbor as ourselves.

Freely you have received, Freely give.

Peace and All Good,
Bro. Scott Slattum, OFM

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
1500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/OFMvocation
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org 

The Faith Journey of Eddie Fronske, OFM

Fr. Eddie Fronske, OFM shares his faith story with the Franciscan Renewal Center (The Casa).  He was honored with their Peace Award.  The following is his acceptance speech given on September 21, 2014.

The Beginning
 
I am grateful and humbled to be receiving this peace award from the Casa today.  My Franciscan journey began here in 1954, when I made a men's retreat.  I'd never even heard of Franciscans before.  One morning I had served Mass for a friar, and when asking my dad who those guys were-Franciscans, and what they did, he signed me up for a men's retreat here at the Casa.  And at the end of the retreat, I was signed up for the seminary in Santa Barbara.

My parents, each of my eight brothers and sisters, and Isabel - whom I nicknamed 'Bika', who worked for the family during my childhood, have had - and still have - a wonderful influence on my friar journey, as have the friar community.  In 1967 I was ordained in my home parish of Nativity, in Flagstaff.  I told my family I was going to pray for snow so people would remember - 83 inches!  My little sister, Beth, met me at the train station with:  "You overdid it!

Work with Cesar Chavez

My first assignment was Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Delano, California.  Bishop Manning asked the friars to take over because of the escalating tension there.  So, I went from the theology classroom to Delano - no year of intership for me!  The Farmworker Union under Cesar Chavez's wonderful leardership, had its hands full with the strike.  Cesar had a gift of leadership and a passion for justice like I'd never seen.  You would never know he only had an 8th grade education.  His commitment to nonviolence equaled his passion for justice.  His deep faith, which I got to witness on many occasions, truly inspired me.  His love for our Lady of Guadalupe was like none I'd ever seen.

But what most challenged and inspired me was his passion for justice.  I remember when a couple of ruffians from another union - who gave the farmworkers a hard time - got into a fight with each other and were arrested, roughed up in jail and given a heavy fine.  Cesar heard of it, and sent two of his lawyers to take their case.  The fine was lessened and each of the men giving an apology.  This was hard for the young union members to handle, and even threatened the union's unity.  But Cesar did not budge.  I believe one or two of those men became Cesar's bodyguards.  Cesar's faith and courage, the farmworkers' loyalty in the midst of so much violence and injustice, had a profound effect on me!

Work with Undocumented Immigrants 

Though I'd asked to go to the Apache nation, my next assignment was Las Vegas, to live in the Black ghetto and minister to the Hispanic parish of St. Christopher.  On arrival, I was asked to take a vacated parish out in Overton, sixty miles north of Las Vegas.  Here I ministered to St. John's parish, half Anglo, half Hispanic.  Invitations to baptize from an area north of Overton, introduced me to a community of undocumented Catholic families, and I began having Mass in a little motel, room 6, which we called the cathedral of Cristo Rey.  Soon I was ministering to undocumented families in the wider area.  How I cam to love them!  On one occasion there was a raid, during which  the immigration officers flagrantly broke the law.  I was enraged!  We met that night in one of the homes that had been affected.  As I sat there, I was thinking: Let's just get one of them and show them that they can't hurt people like that.  Imagine!  I had said nothing as I sat simmering, but the mother, whose house it was, looked directly at me and said:  "Father, as long as you hate immigration people, you're no good to us.  You have to help us fight their injustice, but you have to love them, or you can't help us."

Work with the Apache American Indians

You see what great teachers I had!  They prepared me for the ministry I am in, and have been for the last thirty-one years, pastor of one, and then three White Mountain Apache parishes.  And what great teachers they have been!  I can vividly remember sitting in the hospital emergency room with a mother whose daughter had been shot through both legs at a dance.  Her mother said to me when I came and sat next to her:  "Father, I'm trying to forgive the man who shot my daughter, but I am having a hard time!" Talk about teachers!

With Pope John Paul II's visit in the 1980s, I heard him apologize to the Native Americans for our misunderstanding and persecution of their religious beliefs and traditions.  He asked for forgiveness and told them to go back to their own spirituality, which was given by God and sacred, and bring those tradition to Christianity so both could be enriched. What an incredible blessing that was!  And my bishop, Pelotte, our first Native American bishop, encouraged me to combine the two spiritualties as much as I could.  Again, what a blessing!  How it has enriched our liturgies!  And I've been invited to participate in their ceremonies, and been so enriched by them!  As the Pope and Bishop encouraged, we use parts of their spirituality in our Eucharistic celebrations; they use our rituals - blessings, Eucharistic, prayers - as part of their ceremonies.

In the 31 years I have been with the White Mountain Apaches, I've seen so much injustice and prejudice, so much oppression, from within and without.  I have seen their woundedness, divisions and addictions.  I see them struggle to keep alive their sacred traditions and ceremonies.  

And I have been so blessed by a number of parishes,  including here at the Casa, and St. Thomas More in Glendale.  You help Anna - who has ministered with me for over 11 years - and me, to reach out to those in great need, and great need there is!  Because we have won the trust of so many in the community, we are in a position to reach out.  We do so with the help and support you give us.  For example, the food cards you have sent, are so important, and enable us to be there in a quite, sometimes critical way to help ease some of their burdens.  We have won the trust of so many, Catholic and non-Catholic.  But without your most generous support, we would be helpless to reach out to them. 

And they have been such an inspiration in so many ways.  One of our parishioners, Deedee, came upon a scene where an inexperienced driver from the Valley had slid off the road in the snow and hit a tree.  Deedee was the first on the scene.  She stopped, saw that the mother - the driver - was dead, and that her son was in bad shape in the back seat.  Her prayer of what to do was answered by the Lord asking what she would want someone to do if that were her and her son in the back seat.  So, she crawled in the back seat, held the boy and began to sing to him in Apache.  They boy later told the doctor who was stitching him up that an angel had come along, crawled into the seat with him and sang to him, but he didn't know what she was singing.  Years later, as her own son was dying, after two lung transplants, I was there as she held him in her arms and sang to him:  "This little love of mine, I'm going to let him shine..."  She is now in our music ministry. 

Reverse Mission

I have been so blessed to have been with the White Mountain Apaches for these 31 years!  The Apaches in our three parishes have embraced me - and now Anna - so well; have been such wonderful teachers.  An now we have begun bringing in outside groups for an immersion experience that has dramatically influenced the lives of those who come!  This now includes friars in our formation programs.  I call it "reverse mission":  "those who used to receive the missionaries, are now the missionaries, and the role of the missionary - me - is to build a bridge of trust so others can come and experience the richness of their lives and spirituality."  Reverse mission is truly one of my passions!

I am deeply touched by this award!  It came as a complete surprise, and it will encourage me to continue to work in the midst of such overwhelming odds.  My love and respect for my teachers, mentors, friars, and friends along the way, makes me most grateful to our provident and loving God, who writes so well with crooked lines.  Thank you for this most amazing gift!

Jesus, Francis, Cesar Chavez, Fr. Alan McCoy, my undocumented brothers and sisters, my fellow friars, the White Mountain Apaches, my family and many friends, have reminded me that each of us is called to struggle for peace and justice in our very hurting world.  Each of us is gifted.  Each of us is a part of a faith community; we can, and are called to witness, pray, and continue to work for peace and justice.  Jesus encourages us:  "With Me you can do all things."  So, as my father St. Francis told us:  "Preach always, and if necessary, use words."

Thank You!
 

Contact Information:

Franciscan Friars
Office of Vocations
21500 34th Ave
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone:  (408) 903-3422
Email:  vocations@sbofm.org
Facebook:  www.facebooks.com/SBFranciscans.Vocations
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/OFMvocation
Website:  www.sbfranciscans.org