1 | P a g e

July/August 2015

The

Franciscan

Joy St. Peter Fraternity 168 John F.

Kennedy Blvd. Somerset NJ 08873

Visit our website : http://sfosomersetnj.sfousa.org/

From the Minister’s Desk.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am filling in for our minister, Mary Frances as she recuperates from knee surgery. She is doing great and is not easy to keep down. She sends her thanks for all the prayers and loving support from all her brothers and sisters.

Blessings and All Good

Penny

Mary Frances Reavey,OFS

Minister

mfreavey@gmail.com

Evelyn Lehr, OFS

Vice Minister

Joe McKenna, OFS

Secretary

jmck4@earthlink.net

Sal Bonfiglio,OFS

Treasurer

salbonfiglio@comcast.net

Penny Gleeson, OFS

Formation

pennygleeson@yahoo.com

Debra Kubeck, OFS

Councilor

kubeckl@optonline.net

Sr. Valenta Akalski,CSSF

Spiritual Assistant

sunshinevalie@aol.com

Rule 21 The ministers' and

councilors' task to lead is

temporary. The brothers and

sisters, rejecting all ambition,

should show love for the

fraternity with a spirit of

service, prepared both to

accept and to relinquish the

office.

Article 32, Constitution-of-the-SFO

2 | P a g e

Profiles of Joy

First Mass Mary Mother of God June 7, 2015

Congratulations Deacon Sal.

“Waiting man” or “servant” is the Greek

translation for Diakonos… “through the

dust", referring to the dust raised by

the busy servant or messenger.[3]

Wikipedia

The definition in Wikipedia for deacon

should read. ..Sal Bongfiglio OFS

Sal Bonfiglio OFS has been patiently and

steadily moving along this spiritual quest

which he accomplished on June 6, 2015.

Sal says it all began in 2007 when he was

professed to the Secular Franciscan Order

here at St. Peter Fraternity.

Sal’s “yes” activated a deep desire to

serve in the way of St. Frances and St.

Clare. Melody, Sal’s wife, has been next

to him all along the way. Going to build

homes for the poor and feed the residents

of the slums in Jamaica on their recent

anniversary is a model for all of us.

As Franciscans, we know how one “yes”

leads to many changes. Sal entered a

Master’s program at Immaculate

Conception Seminary School of Theology.

Looking at a five-year program meant

changes were about to effect his life. Job,

family responsibilities and continuing his

already meaningful service as prison

Chaplin, and visiting Carrier Clinic in Belle

Mead NJ not to mention his assisting at

mass in his parish, Mary Mother Of God,

Hillsborough NJ, and his faithful leadership

at St. Peter Fraternity as Treasurer and

council member would now become a

juggling act. Through prayer and

supported by his family and especially by

Melody, Sal persevered.

In an article for the official newspaper of

the Diocese of Metuchen, “The Catholic

Spirit,” Sal reflects on his spiritual path.

His faith and trust in God grew from

challenges. “They tell you that when you

go through the program, the devil will be

kind of nipping at your heels. He’s not

happy about this…well let me tell you, as

far as I’m concerned, and the people in

my class, the devil came at us with all he

had.” Sal’s faith deepened steadily with

each challenge and obstacle.

Both Sal and Melody are busy with the

work of serving. St. Francis and St. Clare

show us a way that is different , new even

today and as Sal says…”God is going to

shake you out of your comfort zone to do

what He wants and then you find it’s the

most rewarding thing you could have

imagined.” (Catholic Spirit June 4, 2015).

Brother Sal OFS and now Deacon, you are

a source of knowledge through your

studies, a mirror of Christ by your service

to others, and an instrument of peace

through your life of prayer. Blessings and

all good as you serve the Lord in the way

of St. Francis and St. Clare.

Penny Gleeson OFS

Formation Director St. Peter Fraternity

3 | P a g e

Second Installment

Enlightenment

A voice speaks to him from the

crucifix which hangs in the little

church of San Damiano – “Francis,

go and rebuild my church which

you see has fallen into ruin.”

Taking this literally he began repairs

on this church. He takes some of

his father’s possessions, and sells

them to get money for this project.

His father hunts him down. Francis

hides in a cave – praying and

seeking God’s will. After some

time he emerges, now he knows

what he needs to do.

In the town square he renounces his

inheritance and states that he will

now only call God his father.

Francis strips and the bishop covers

him with his mantle.

Francis cares for the lepers, does

manual labor, gives away what he

earns and begs for food for himself.

He restores three churches –San

Damiano, San Pietro and the

Portiuncula.

He puts on a “tunic” and a cord; a

beggar’s outfit; not a religious habit.

He begins to preach the Kingdom of

God.

“LIFELINE” OF FRANCIS OF ASSISI

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS

FORMATION MANUAL

In Sept. /Oct.: Brotherhood

I began the Time Line of St. Frances’s Life and Spiritual

Journey in the May /June newsletter.

Review the 1st installment: Awakening. Penny

4 | P a g e

The Franciscan Character of 'Laudato Si''

LAUDATO SI

Jun 18 2015 - 6:00am | Daniel P. Horan

Perhaps it is no accident that, after opening

his encyclical letter "Laudato Si’" with a quote from St.

Francis of Assisi’s famous Canticle of the Creatures,

Pope Francis cites Pope St. John XXIII’s encyclical

"Pacem in Terris" (1963) as the model for his audience

of “all people” (No. 3). Shortly after "Pacem in Terris"

was published, the renowned Trappist monk and author

Fr. Thomas Merton wrote an article commenting on the

text, stating that, “the whole climate of the encyclical

[Pacem in Terris], in its love of man and of the world,

and in its radiant hopefulness, is Franciscan.” Now we

are privileged to witness the publication of another

powerful encyclical, one that is without a doubt even

more “Franciscan” and one authored by a pope named

Francis!

What marks this authoritative teaching as particularly

“Franciscan” is more substantial than the mere

references to the Saint from Assisi. Pope Francis clearly

“gets” both the letter and the spirit of the Franciscan

theological and spiritual tradition. From among the many

Franciscan themes that arise in "Laudato Si’," at least

three are worth highlighting from the outset: leaving

behind “naïve romanticism,” recognizing the inherent

value of all creation, and seeing the connection between

abject poverty and environmental degradation. What I

offer here is only a preliminary response, for the richness

of this encyclical letter exceeds the limits of initial

commentary.

Leaving Behind ‘Naïve

Romanticism’ In the early section of "Laudato Si’" under the

subheading “Saint Francis of Assisi,” Pope Francis calls

the Christian community and those people who admire

the history and legacy of St. Francis to take seriously the

medieval saint’s deeply theological convictions about

the relationship of the human person within and among

the rest of the community of creation. We read: “[St.

Francis’s] response to the world around him was so

much more than intellectual appreciation or economic

calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister

united to him by bonds of affection…Such a conviction

cannot be written off as naïve romanticism, for it affects

the choices which determine our behavior” (No. 11).

Whereas some people have viewed Francis of Assisi’s

poetic Canticle of the Creatures and romantic depictions

of him as a nature lover in the birdbath, Pope Francis

understands that his medieval namesake recognized a

profound truth of revelation: that you and I are deeply

interconnected and inherently related to all else that

exists. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are part of

a family of creation and not kings or queens over and

above nonhuman creation.

Near the end of "Laudato Si’" Pope Francis exhorts us to

follow the example of Francis of Assisi whose own

experience of “ecological conversion” helped open his

eyes to this reality. “I ask all Christians to recognize and

to live fully this dimension of their conversion. May the

power and the light of the grace we have received also

be evident in our relationship to other creatures and to

5 | P a g e

the world around us. In this way, we will help nurture

that sublime fraternity with all creation which Saint

Francis of Assisi so radiantly embodied” (No. 221). This

vision of creation is far from one associated with the

overly romantic and easily dismissible caricature of the

“saint who loved animals.” Instead, it calls to mind the

real complexity of Christian discipleship that extends

beyond communion with God and other humans to

include all of creation.

Intrinsic Value of all Creation Pope Francis highlights many of the ways in which

nonhuman creation has been and continues to be

assessed according to its instrumental value or

usefulness. Arguments, Christian and secular, have been

advanced in favor of conservation in order to provide for

future generations. However, as Pope Francis notes at

several points, “it is not enough to think of different

species merely as potential ‘resources’ to be exploited,

while overlooking the fact that they have value in

themselves” (No. 33). Later, in a paragraph invoking the

work of Teihard de Chardin, Pope Francis states that,

“The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be

found in us” (No. 83), suggesting that just as human

beings have their source and goal in God, so too does the

rest of creation. It is, in other words, not all about us.

In addition to the respect, value, and dignity with which

Francis of Assisi approached all aspects of the created

order, from the smallest worm to the largest mountain,

there are other Franciscan resonances present in the

affirmation of the intrinsic value of all creation found in

"Laudato Si'." For instance, it is the medieval

Franciscan philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus

who advanced a principle of individuation (popularly

referred to as haecceitas, literally meaning “this-ness” in

Latin) that suggested that all aspects of the cosmos are

individually loved into existence by God and their

particularity is no accident or afterthought, but

coextensive with their very being.

Furthermore, Pope Francis relies heavily on the thought

of St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan theologian and doctor

of the church who affirmed the inherent dignity of all

creation due to each creature being a vestige of the

creator and mirror of the Trinity. As a vestige (from the

Latin Vestigio, literally meaning “footprint”), each

aspect of creation bears an imprint or mark of its creator.

As a mirror, all of creation reflects the Trinity. Pope

Francis references this latter point when he says that,

“The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature

bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure, so real

that it could be readily contemplated if only the human

gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile” (No. 239).

The Holy Father calls us to follow the example of St.

Bonaventure in terms of contemplation, coming to

“discover God in all things” and continues, noting:

“Saint Bonaventure teaches us that ‘contemplation

deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace in

our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in

creatures outside ourselves” (No. 233).

The Connection Between Poverty

and Creation One of the most striking, and seemingly controversial,

dimensions of "Laudato Si’" is the explicit connection

that Pope Francis makes between abject poverty and

environmental degradation. The truth is that this is not a

new idea, but goes back as far as Francis of Assisi, if not

earlier. Pope Francis writes early on that, “The poverty

and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of

asceticism, but something much more radical: a refusal

to turn reality into an object simply to be used and

controlled” (No. 11). This statement points to the heart

of St. Francis’s embrace of evangelical poverty as a

means toward deepening solidarity. What the saint from

Assisi recognized in his time was how not just things but

also women and men began to be valued in financial

terms. One’s worth came to be determined by how much

money one had, rather than by the inherent value that

comes with being lovingly created by God. Francis’s

refusal to play by the rules of the rising merchant

economy led him to embrace a voluntary poverty that

allowed him to draw near to all people and, eventually,

all of creation.

There are numerous early legends that testify to Francis

of Assisi’s continual call for the friars in particular and

society in general to care for their sister and brother

animals and other creatures that were often ignored or

disregarded. They, like the lepers of his time or the poor

and unwanted of ours, did not count according to the

standard of economic valuation. Pope Francis draws our

attention to the interrelationship between the reality of

global climate change (largely caused by the affluent and

powerful of our time) and the poor who suffer the

devastating effects disproportionately. Pope Francis

states: “Its worst impact will probably be felt by

developing countries in coming decades” (No. 25). The

6 | P a g e

category of “the marginalized” extends beyond the

human species to include our very planet, or as Pope

Francis says: “the earth herself, burdened and laid waste,

is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our

poor” (No. 2).

For Francis of Assisi radical lifestyle change was

required to authentically follow the Gospel. Embracing

evangelical poverty as a means of protest against social

injustices and a means toward closer solidarity led him

among the poor and outcast of his day. Concurrently, his

renunciation of the power systems of his society allowed

him to—like St. Bonaventure—see God in all things and

become a nature mystic. Today, we too are called to

change our lives to follow the poor man of Assisi who

has so inspired the present bishop of Rome to teach us

with such authority and clarity rarely seen before.

Daniel P. Horan, OFM is Franciscan friar, a columnist

for America, the author of several books, and is

currently writing a doctoral dissertation titled:

“Imagining Planetarity: Toward a Postcolonial

Franciscan Theology of Creation.”

http://americamagazine.org

From the internet on July 18, 2015

For more information on this …

Please copy these links into your

browser.

http://www.news.va/en/news/la

udato-si-a-press-guide-to-the-

new-encyclical

http://www.usccb.org/about/lea

dership/holy-see/francis/pope-

francis-encyclical-laudato-si-on-

environment.cfm

http://peaceandallgood.org/2015/

06/laudato-si-praise-be-pope-

francis-new-encyclical/

http://francis35.org

7 | P a g e

Profiles of Joy

Fraternity Life

Holy Hour May 30,2015

“The solemnity of Holy

Hour provided a wonderful opportunity for

reflection and prayer. The deep intimacy with

GOD, HIS mercy and GOODNESS flooded my heart

and mind with love, gratitude and peace. Thank

you for the privilege to be amongst my brothers in

CHRIST.” Darryl Du Bose OFS

“The Holy Hour was an excellent blend of

Adoration and Meditation. I could feel the power

of the prayer that was flowing throughout the

church. Each one there had his or her own private

issues for which they were praying but the sum of

all those prayers was a meaningful expression of

our adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Thanks to Sal for leading us as as a prayerful

fellowship and thanks to

Mary Frances for everything

that she did to make the event possible.

Francis Cryan OFS

June 6th Celebration

Members celebrate our Brother Sal and his

accomplishments on becoming a Deacon.

June 20, Visitation

Fellowship and sharing is always a

part of our fraternity meetings.

8 | P a g e

July 11 –

St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic

Forane Church in Somerset NJ.

Kay Francis Kunjamma OFS is a

member of St. Peter Fraternity. On

July 11 some members joined her

to celebrate the Consecration of St.

Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic

Forane Church in Somerset NJ.

“The Syro-Malabar Church is an Apostolic

Church in India which traces its origin to

the Apostolate of St. Thomas who,

according to the tradition, landed in India

at Kodungallur in 52 AD…”

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 22

sui iuris Oriental Churches in Catholic

Communion with its own particular

characteristics expressed in worship,

spirituality, theology and disciplinary laws.

The early Christian community in India

was known as St. Thomas Christians.”

http://www.stthomassyronj.org/

Center: Bishop of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar

Catholic Diocese of Chicago : Mar Jacob

Angadiath, Fr. Thomas Kadukapillil ,Vicar and

next to Fr. Thomas is Kay Francis OFS

From the internet July 18, 2015

Procession

All the clergy and religious in front of the

beautiful mural of Christ. Bishop: Mar Jacob

Angadiath of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic

Diocese of Chicago and Bishop Paul G.

Bootkoski Diocese of Metuchen( third and

second from the right)

Congratulations to our Sister Kay Francis. Your

faith, hard work and love of Christ has brought

you and your community to this wonderful day .

Thank you for inviting us to be a part of this

historical and glorious event.

9 | P a g e

Anthony Marinelli July 29

Events and Up Coming

Meetings

Events in August.:

Pope says he will canonize Blessed

Junipero Serra in Washington

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/150025

4.htm

Prayer for the Year of

Consecrated Life

O God, throughout the ages you have

called women and men

to pursue lives of perfect charity through

the evangelical counsels

of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

During this Year of Consecrated Life, we

give you thanks

for these courageous witnesses of Faith

and models of inspiration.

Their pursuit of holy lives teaches us to

make a more perfect offering of ourselves

to you.

Continue to enrich your Church by calling

forth sons and daughters who,

having found the pearl of great price,

treasure the Kingdom of Heaven above all

things.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-

teachings/vocations/consecrated-life/year-of-consecrated-

life/year-of-consecrated-life-prayers.cfm

eting on http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-

and-teachings/vocations/consecrated-

life/year-of-consecrated-life/year-of-

consecrated-life-prayers.cfm

August

•Aug. 15

•Formation at 9:30 am

•Reg. Meeting 10:30 to 12

•Planning for Transitus and Elections

Sept

•Sept. 19

•Elections 9:30 to 12

•Planning for National Conference

Oct

•Oct. 3

•Holy Hr. Transitus.

•OCT 8

•National Conference