In the Fall of 2018, our Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD) added a Young Adults Community program. Throughout the year, this community of friars & pilgrims host spiritual and social events, as well as bring awareness of the shrine and its facilities to the greater area Young Adult Ministry programs of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington DC and their neighboring diocese.
Recently, our young adult friars and our friars in formation, led by the shrine’s Young Adult Community Animator – friar Franck Sokpolie, OFM Conv., along with the Director of the Shrine – Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv., hosted a social night with night prayers. The group gathered in the Shrine’s Glass Room for games, snack and socializing and then ended the night with night prayers in the Shrine’s Chapel.
The Next upcoming event is an Ecumenical Taizé prayer service April 17, 2019, the Wednesday of Holy Week. Open to everyone, come share an evening service of prayer, song, and contemplation by candlelight, from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.
Franciscan Friars Conventual Responding to Real Needs –
Helping to Turn Strangers into Neighbors
On February 21, 2017, Pope Francis in an address to the VI International Forum: Migration and Peace, felt compelled to address the nature of contemporary migratory movements, which increases challenges presented to the political community, civil society and to the Church, and which amplifies the urgency for a coordinated and effective response to these challenges. Our shared response, according to our Holy Father Francis, “may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate.” Have you ever wondered what it is like living in a world, city, or local neighborhood, where your very presence arouses contempt, suspicion, prejudice or common indecency? Where judgements are made of you based on the tone of your skin, the first language you speak or the accent present in your words? Where you as the stranger are literally untrusted, despised or rejected? Where your description begins with a negative – illegal? Where the term friend, neighbor, brother or sister are unspoken?
Sometimes we forget that the words we choose to identify another person do make a difference in whether they meet with our approval, are treated with respect and dignity or vilified and turned away.
Ever given a second thought, to what is to be in hand to enter your child’s school, pick-up a pharmacy prescription, enter a hospital, sit in a library or present when you use a credit card?
Ever question, why we do what we do to others who like ourselves are merely looking for opportunity and means to provide for themselves and those they love and care for?
Most of us perhaps fail to ponder and take for granted that when a person, be they an officer of the law, pharmacist, teacher, sports coach or cashier, ask for a picture identification we readily show a driver’s license, passport or BJ’s / Costco ID which has a picture, address and baseline information stating who we are and where we live. It is not so easy for everyone. Essentially, it is the reality of tens of thousands reaching into the millions now living within our country’s borders, cities, villages, towns and rural areas. They are the souls we greet in the market, on the streets, in our churches, work places and gatherings. They are the anawim of God, loved and cherished by Jesus, and named by him as our brothers and sisters.
As part of small but growing effort, the Blessed Sacrament Faith Community and the Franciscan Friars Conventual together with the local Burlington Police Chief, law enforcement officers, and a dedicated group of volunteers representing various religious traditions and families came together two years ago – May 2015 – hoping to make a meaningful dent into a lived problem. Namely, “How to help turn strangers into neighbors”. The result of our coming together was the formation of the Faith ID Card Task Force of Alamance County.
With financial and moral support from the Conventual Friars of Our Lady of Angels and Our Lady of Consolation Provinces and the approval of Bishop Burbidge, then Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh, we setup a specialized FAITH ID CARD PROGRAM linked to an expanding program here in North Carolina known as the FaithAction Network.
So What Is A Faith ID Card Program? An ID card is just a piece of plastic until a person gives it a face and story, and our community gives the card value. We believe each person in our community, regardless of race, culture, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration or socio-economic status has inherent dignity and worth, and is deserving of a valid form of identification. At this particularly divisive time in state and national politics on issues of immigration and diversity, community ID programs bring greater dignity, access and hope to our newest neighbors, while building safer, more inclusive and united communities for all.
The Faith ID Card Program is a connected group of faith communities, nonprofits, and grassroots movements that recognize the urgency of valid ID cards for members of our community who may have limited access to government issued forms of identification, and the importance of creating a unified model and vetting process that community partners (law enforcement, health centers, schools, businesses, and other city agencies) can trust and use to better identify, serve, and protect all residents in cities across North Carolina and the United States.
The Blessed Sacrament Faith ID Card Program is part of the FaithAction ID Network. We are proud to say we are the first franchise so to speak. We call ourselves In the past two years the network has experienced tremendous growth and community ID programs now exist in Guilford, Alamance, Forsyth, Randolph, Orange, and Mecklenburg counties, and may soon be expanding to Wake, Moore, Montgomery, and other counties throughout North Carolina and there is a satellite sponsored by Catholic Charities in Cincinnati, Ohio. Network members agree to utilize the same community ID model to ensure the integrity and further the growth of new and existing programs. Shared hallmarks of FaithAction ID network programs include:
Ensuring each program has a strong home base that can effectively communicate and coordinate a community ID drive with staff and volunteers
Utilizing the same policies, procedures, and vetting process to receive an ID card
Ensuring partnership with local law enforcement and other community partners who formally agree to support the program and attend ID drives
Utilizing the 4 stage ID drive model in a large, safe space (welcome, orientation, document check, photo/computer intake)
Facilitating dialogue throughout the ID drive between ID participants and law enforcement and other community partners with the goal of building greater understanding, trust and cooperation
Providing the same or similar look as other network programs on the front of the card, and signifying you are a part of the FaithAction ID network on the back
Printing and distributing hundreds of ID cards within two weeks of each drive, and securing the personal information of all participants
Participating in monthly calls to share experiences and best practices with other network programs
*There may be some flexibility and unique characteristics of each program, depending on the needs of each community. *All participants must attend a mandatory orientation at an ID drive, and provide proof of photo identification (passport, foreign national ID card, driver’s license, matricula consular) and proof of address (utility bill, bank statement, current rental agreement, medical record) in order to receive an ID card from a FaithAction ID Network member.
Finally, network members believe it is crucial we continue to work for a driver’s license for all residents at the state level, as well as lasting immigration reform at the federal level. In the meantime, we believe community ID programs represent a very important step forward in creating safer, more inclusive, and united communities for all – a much needed example of positive collaboration at this divided time in our nation’s history.
In closing let me say, Thank You, to our Conventual Franciscan Provinces’ leadership and members for helping make this program possible. To date, the Faith ID Card Program here in Burlington, NC, has distributed over 5000 Faith ID Cards. Without your financial and fraternal support, the effort might never have gotten off the ground. The challenge now is to keep moving forward towards the realization of its mission and vision, a place where strangers become neighbors.
An article entitled, “Community ID Program Builds trust between migrants and police,” by Maria Benevento, appeared in the April 5, 2019 online edition of the National Catholic Reporter. To read the full article, click on the following link: ID Card Program
Congratulations to our own Friar Michael Duffy, OFM Conv.! March 29, 2019: Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (DNP, APRN, ANP-BC)
received the 2019 “Community Service Award”
from the American Nurses Association (ANA) Massachusetts,
during a banquet ceremony, in Boston.
The ANA Massachusetts “CommunityServiceAward” is for a registered nurse whose communityservice has a positive impact on the citizens of Massachusetts. We friars are proud of Friar Duffy’s ministries at The College of Our Lady of the Elms, Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen, the Elms’ caRe vaN, and serving our own Senior Friars as a consultant and guide to many.
Bravo Friar Michael Duffy! “Quis ut Deus?”
Co-Editor, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. presents the two-volume Practical Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which was almost five years in the making, and will be available for purchase by the end of April 2019.
The Stations of the Cross are of Franciscan origin and are attributed to St. Leonard of Port Maurice, a saintly Franciscan Friar who preached on the sufferings of Christ. For those who cannot get to a church location but want to pray the Stations of the Cross, our pastoral ministry at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr’s website shares an online version featuring the finely sculpted and painted figures in each of the Stations of the Cross which are attractively set in large niches around the Basilica. These begin in the front of the church with the first through seventh stations on the right and the eighth through the fourteenth on the left side.
In English with Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. – Our Lady of the Angels Province JPIC Chairman
St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church (under the pastoral leadership of Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Fr. John Zoziol, OFM Conv. – Pastor, Fr. Vincent Gluc, OFM Conv. – Parochial Vicar, Fr. Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv. – Parochial Vicar and Fr. Martin Breski, OFM Conv. – in Residence) celebrated a Lenten Parish Mission on March 23-27, 2019 with the theme: “Racism: Moving through Resistance to Reconciliation.”
The Parish Mission was presented in English by Friar Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. (Our Province Chairman of JPIC – Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation) and in Spanish by Fray (Friar) Fabián Esteban Arrieta Botero, OFM Conv. (Vocation Director for the Franciscanos Conventuales Friars – Columbia – and Parochial Vicar for Immaculate Conception Parish in Filandia, Colombia). Friar Michael and Friar Fabián began the Mission by preaching during all of the weekend Masses, then preached during the Morning Masses, Monday-Wednesday, followed by Mission talks after each Mass. The 7:00 p.m. evening presentations were followed by a reception.
In Spanish by Fr. Fabián Esteban, OFM Conv. – Franciscan Friars Conventual of Columbia Vocation Director
Photo and Video Credit:
Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Martin Breski, OFM Conv.
who is currently in residence at the friary, assisting at the parish.
Friar Michael presents the 1st Night of a four night Pastorate Lenten Mission – Church of the Annunciation
This week, (Monday, March 25th until Wednesday, March 27th) a Lenten Mission entitled “Go To Your Inner Room,” was hosted by the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Pastorate which includes the three parishes of Church of the Annunciation, St. Michael the Archangel Church and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church, and led by Fr. Michael E. Heine, OFM Conv ~ Vicar Provincial of the Our Lady of the Angels Province. The faithful gathered for 7:00 p.m. Mass each of the three days of preaching and on the fourth day of the Lenten Mission (Thursday evening, March 28th) they will gather to celebrate a “Pastorate Penance Service,” all with the hope of renewing faith in Jesus on a journey together through the Lenten Season.
Friar Michael presents the 2nd Night – St. Michael the Archangel Church
After the Wednesday evening Mass, Friar Michael stopped for a photo with former Conventual friar-seminarian and current permanent deacon candidate John Micciche! On March 27th, Friar Michael preached the third night of the Pastorate’s Lenten Mission at St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church. John Micciche is a devoted parishioner of St. Clement, who ministered as an Acolyte for the Mass. John will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate by Baltimore’s Archbishop Lori at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, on Saturday, May 25, 2019. This will be a great moment for John and his family, for the Parish of St. Clement, Mary Hofbauer, for our “Franciscan Pastorate,” and for the Province of Our Lady of the Angels! Let’s pray in gratitude for John’s and his wife’s marital vocation, for their children, for his deaconal vocation, and for his continued friendship and fraternal love for the friars of our province!
Sunday, March 17, 2019: The Sisters of the Good Shepherd were honored at the 10:30 a.m. Mass at Ascension Catholic Church, in Halethorpe, MD, celebrated by Bishop Adam J. Parker, an Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore. Our Lady of the Angels Province Secretary ~ Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. (pictured far left in both photos) was invited to attend. The Mass was highlighted by the work of the Good Shepherd Sisters who left the Archdiocese of Baltimore last year, after 153 years of service (specifically in Halethorpe for over 50 of those years). The Sisters from the Baltimore area now reside with the Sisters of Cyril and Methodius in Danville, PA.
Through the years, our friars living and serving in the area, provided spiritual care (Mass, Confessions, and Spiritual Direction) for the sisters of St. Joseph’s Residence as well as the residents of Good Shepherd Services. Due to their move to Danville, the Sisters serving in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have gifted several of the beloved statues and other artwork to parishes and other sites and organizations with whom they served; including a beautiful portrait and landscape gifted to our friars. To the parishioners of The Catholic Community of Ascension and St. Augustine, they gifted their statue of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd.
After the Mass, Bishop Parker blessed the outdoor statue of Our Lady of Good Shepherd, which was on the property of the Sisters, in Halethorpe. A reception was held in the church hall for the Sisters and their invited guests, many of whom had been on the staff at their facility.
Friar Richard-Jacob (far left), Most Reverend Adam J. Parker (top center) and Fr. John A. Williamson (far right) – Pastor of Ascension Catholic Church [Vicar Forane for The Catholic Community of Ascension and St. Augustine], along with Sr. Jude Ellen Golumbieski, RGS (middle standing) [US Contemplative Councilor] and the other Sisters of the Good Shepherd who were on hand for the Mass and Reception for the Blessing of the Our Lady of the Good Shepherd outdoor statue.
Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Tim Kulbicki, OFM Conv. has been busy of late beginning the process of helping the friars to “receive” the new Constitutions. He presented at two academic occasions: on the Feastday of the Faculty of St. Bonaventure on “Narbonne and Nemi: Bonaventure’s Franciscan Constitutions and the New Ones,” and at a conference on the particular law of the Order sponsored by the General Procurator “The Criteria and Process for the Revision of the Constitutions;” both will eventually be published. He also presented workshops to the friars of the Custody of the East in Büyükdere (Turkey) and Sin-El-Fil (Lebanon), and to the friars of the Sacred Convent in Assisi; he will do the same next month in Dar-Es-Salaam for the friars of the Custody of Tanzania. His commentary on the new Constitutions (co-authored with Friar Robert Leżohupski, OFM Conv.) was recently published by the Friars’ Press of Niepokalanòw, and is being translated into several other languages.
Read more on on the March 24th “Day of Prayer and Fasting in Memory of Missionary Martyrs” celebrated in Turkey, as well as the March 15th icon blessing: “Turkey: Missionary Martyrs’ Day“
