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QOP Regional Fall Retreat

September 22, 2012
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Queen of Peace Regional Fraternity

Food for Thought

"Our Lord, Jesus Christ, says: “I am the bread of life.

No one who comes to me will ever hunger;

no one who believes in me will ever thirst.”

John 6:35
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                                                          Peace,  
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Last Updated on Saturday, 01 October 2011 14:50
 
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Welcome...please linger awhile with St. Francis and St. Clare...fall in love with... 

The Secular Franciscan Order

The Secular Franciscan Order, or SFO, gives the religious life to Catholic men and women who cannot leave home and family for monastery, seminary or convent.  It offers to people of all occupation and conditions a Rule that makes their life rich and peaceful by centering it on God.  Secular Franciscans profess the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, to “follow Christ in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi” (Rule, Article 1),  preaching the Gospel…using words when necessary.   It fills them with the charity of St. Francis, engaging them in apostolic work, which flows out into the community, offering help and comfort to those in need.

Individual Secular Franciscans gather in local fraternities to share fellowship, pray, witness to one another and grow in the knowledge of the Lord increasing their Faith.  The local fraternities in the United States are organized into Regions.  Queen of Peace Region under the patronage of our Blessed Mother Mary, whose feast we celebrate on December 8th, includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and the western section of Wisconsin.

From the days of its founding, the Secular Franciscan Order of St. Francis of Assisi has been the inspiration not only of the poor and the humble, but also of some of history’s towering geniuses.  It has developed the spirit of St. Francis in outstanding men like the artists Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Murillo; musicians such as Palestrina, Liszt and Gounod; explorers like Christopher Columbus; the writers Dante, Cervantes, Johannes, Jorgensen and Francis Thompson; such scientists as Galileo, Galvani, and Volta.

"Oh, what a joy to walk with the Lord as St. Francis did.  May you hear the call and experience the peace of Franciscan life".
Last Updated on Monday, 23 January 2012 15:36
 
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THE NATIONAL FRATERNITY OF THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER IN THE UNITED STATES

 April 15, 2012

Dear brothers and sisters,

 Peace and all good! May the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you!

We have been called by the National Fraternity Council to serve as the co-chairs of the Nominations Committee for 2012.

With this letter, we formally announce the National elections for this year.

 1) Election date and location:

Saturday morning, October 20, 2012 at Loew's Denver Hotel, Denver, Colorado.

2) Positions to be filled are:

National Minister             National Vice Minister          National Secretary

National Treasurer         National Councilor                International Councilor

3) Nominations are now being accepted.   Nominations close July 1, 2012 at 11:59PM.

4) Please nominate well-qualified permanently professed Secular Franciscans to serve the National Fraternity.

5) Please send your nomination (NAME, ADDRESS, ZIP CODE, EMAIL ADDRESS) either via electronic e-mail or via snail-mail to:

Kathleen D. White, OFS          E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

612 Front Street - Logansport IN 46947

~ and ~

Linda Grady OFS                    E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

6001 Harvard Drive – Kokomo IN 46902

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SEND YOUR NOMINEE TO BOTH ADDRESSES TO

AVOID THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY NOMINATION BEING LOST IN THE MAIL/EMAIL.

6) An information form will be sent to each nominee for written decline / acceptance and a résumé.

The forms are to be returned to the Nominations Committee by August 1, 2012.

7) If you received this notice electronically via the NAFRA-L, NAFRA-RM, NAFRA-FORM, or NAFRA-ALUM mailing list, or any Regional Fraternity list, please DO NOT respond to the list, as nominations are confidential. Use the two above/below listed email addresses only.

Thank you for your cooperation and participation. May the joy of St. Francis fill your heart and remain with you always.

 Pax et bonum,

 Kathleen D. White, OFS                            Linda Grady, OFS

Co-chair, Nominations Committee             Co-chair, Nominations Committee

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 "The Church expects from the Secular Franciscan order, one and only, a great service in the cause of the Kingdom of God in the world today ... the Church expects from you, Secular Franciscans, a courageous and consistent testimony of Christian and Franciscan life, leaning towards the construction of a more fraternal and Gospel world for the realization of the Kingdom of God."

Pope John Paul II...2002 OFS General Chapter
Last Updated on Sunday, 15 April 2012 11:21
 
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Quinquennial Promo #2
 
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Quinquinneal Logo 2012

 

Prayer for Quinquennial 2012


Dear and gracious, loving Lord and Father,
we bring to you the upcoming Quinquennial.
We thank you for the gift of our vocation to the Secular Franciscan Order,
and for our brothers and sisters whom you have also called.
Thank you for the example and inspiration of Francis and Clare,
and grant us a new understanding and vision of their calling, and ours.
Prepare our hearts to hear your call anew, 
and enkindle in us a new spirit of conversion and dedication.
Bless those who will share with us,
Bless those who will attend in person,
Bless those who will attend in spirit.
Let your Holy Spirit be poured out on our entire National Fraternity,
that through this Congress we may together discern your heart, 
and become all that you want us to be
in order “to bring about a more fraternal and evangelical world”,
bringing to life more fully the Kingdom of God.
We pray in the Holy and Blessed Name of Jesus, Your Son.
Amen.

 
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 February 2012 11:30
 
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St. Francis of Assisi Founder of the Franciscan Order - Feast Day Oct. 4th

 

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St. Francis of Assisi…

“A Simple Man”

 

This is the story of a great man, a wonderful and simple man. He died over 800 years ago, but he has never been forgotten and he never will be. Great men by the thousands have lived and died…kings and conquerors and millionaires, artists, musicians and scholars. But this man was a beggar, and he is remembered better than any of the others. And loved as none of them was ever loved.

It was not always that way with him. There was a time when his best friends touched their finger to their forehead when they mentioned his name. Children threw rocks at him. But he had set out on a high adventure, and he kept going. People stopped laughing. There was something about the way he looked at each man, something about the way he spoke. Birds flew down to perch on his shoulders as he talked, and a wolf came once to crouch at his feet. Nature lay quiet under this man’s touch, as she had done for Adam when he walked with God under the trees of Paradise, before the serpent came.

 

The world stood back in wonder. This little man had no money but he acted as if he were richer than a millionaire. His body was scarred and racked with pain, but he sang sweeter than any lark. He smiled as he dined with a prince; he laughed as he shared his last crust with a leper. Somehow he had learned to love everything that lived. And everything loved him. He had a secret worth knowing…and the world has been learning it from him ever since.

“The Hour of St. Francis”-1955


 

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St. Clare of Assisi
Foundress of the Order of Poor Clare Nuns
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St Francis of Assisi
Founder of the Franciscan Order
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St Elizabeth of Hungary
Patroness of the Third Order
Feast Day - Nov 17

Last Updated on Saturday, 13 November 2010 20:36
 

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Greetings from...

Sr. Mary Lou Eltgroth, OSF Regional Spiritual Assistant

 Sr. Mary Lou Eltgroth

April, 2012
“I, N.N., by the grace of God, renew my baptismal promises and consecrate myself to the service of His Kingdom.  Therefore, in my secular state I promise to live all the days of my life the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its rule of life.  May the grace of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary and our holy father St. Francis, and the fraternal bonds of community always be my help, so that I may reach the goal of perfect Christian love.” (pp. 18-19 of Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order)
This is what Secular Franciscans promise at the time of their Profession.  In this promise Seculars say they will seek for holiness every day—conversion is another name for this seeking for holiness.  In Thomas of Celano’s The Life of Saint Francis, we read what Saint Francis did to arrived at  his goal of perfect Christian love:  “After {Francis} had been there for some time, through unceasing prayer and frequent contemplation, he reached intimacy with God in an indescribable way.  He longed to know what in him and about him was or could be most acceptable to the Eternal King.  He sought this diligently and devoutly to know in what manner, in what way, and with what desire he would be able to cling more perfectly to the Lord.” (1C 91)
 
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Reflections

Novena of the Seven gifts

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
To be recited daily during the Novena

On my knees I before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

 
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From the Heart of Your Minister

Fraternity Focus

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Discernment is a process that both potential Secular Franciscans and fraternities go through. Whenever anyone is discerning a vocation, it involves both the discernee and the institution the discernee wants to be a part of. With vocations in short supply, fraternities may be so excited about a potential SFO that they fail to examine whether this person has a true Secular Franciscan vocation and if they would be a good fit for the fraternity.

What are some things that fraternities should do to help this process? To begin with, the formation director should ask detailed questions about the discernee.

Are they Catholic;
How often do they go to Mass;
What is their prayer life like;
What brought them to consider the Franciscans?
. 

Fraternities need to be spiritually aware. This can be difficult because no one wants to “rock the boat.”   Consider a couple of situations that have occurred in the Order.  There have been disruptive individuals, some with their own agendas. This can cause many faithful members to stop attending meetings resulting in a deactivation of the fraternity. Also, with the focus on abuse issues, we do not want to profess individuals who could be potentially abusive to members of their immediate family, and/or fraternity members.   This is a sad reality affecting our society.

 
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