August 28, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The first day of school is always exciting. As I and the friars and Mrs. Bigelow, Mrs. Northington, Mr. Watson, and the faculty and staff of our Franciscan School welcomed students to school this past week, there was both nervous energy and excitement.  It’s great to have everyone back on campus although with all the community center camps going on, it was hardly quiet over the Summer. I’m grateful for the many ways our mission is being lived out.

This weekend, Dave Vogelpohl, Interim Coordinator of Youth Ministry and I are speaking at all the Masses to begin our Annual Offertory Pledge Appeal.  As you know from our annual report at the end of the past fiscal year, our offertory was down significantly for the first time in the history of our parish.  While this is not a crisis, it is a reason for concern as it impacts what we are capable of doing.  The pastoral council has set forth three priorities (strategic initiatives) where we will focus our energies and resources in the coming year.  Dave spoke quite eloquently about the need to invest in our youth; there is so much more that we can provide to strengthen the foundation of faith for our young people.  The pastoral council and I are committed to strengthening this area of the parish, but we can only do so with your support.

Please set aside time this week to prayerfully consider your sacrificial gift to St. Francis and complete your pledge card.  On behalf of all those that are served by the sharing of your tithe, thank you!

In the peace of Christ,

Fr. Mark

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August 21, 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many of our students in traditional schools, including our Franciscan School, began or are about to begin school again.  I am reminded of the importance of Kindergarten as described by Robert Fulghum: 

 All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

 These are the things I learned:

•  Share everything.
•  Play fair.
•  Don’t hit people.
•  Put things back where you found them.
•  Clean up your own mess.
•  Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
•  Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
•  Wash your hands before you eat.
•  Flush.
•  Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all – the whole world – had cookies and milk at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.  And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

[Source: All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum.]

May these be words of hope and inspiration for all of us who are walking together as lifelong learners who strive to live and love as Jesus.

Fr. Mark

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August 14, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This summer as I celebrate the silver jubilee of my profession of vows as a Franciscan, I have taken the opportunity to reflect upon what it has meant for me to live as a Franciscan and the joy that I continue to experience in a life shared with brothers committed to a gospel way of life.  My favorite city in all of the world is probably Assisi, Italy.  I recall the first time I saw the city from a distance and climbed its hills.  I was with Fr. Kevin Cronin, O.F.M. and a group of young people on a vocation pilgrimage.  Assisi was then, and continues to be, a place of active contemplation filled with the peace and spirit of Francis.

 As I always enjoy sharing this special city with fellow pilgrims, I will be leading a pilgrimage to Franciscan Italy, departing on Easter Monday, April 9, 2012 and returning on Friday, April 20. We will have an opportunity to rest, pray, shop (yes, there will be time for shopping!) and wander throughout the hillside cities of Italy where our patron Francis did.

 Arriving in Rome, we will head north to Orvieto for lunch, then travel to Florence, the jewel of the Renaissance for the first of three nights. Enroute to Assisi we will enjoy Siena and the Tuscan hillside.  During our four-night stay in Assisi, we will visit all of the places that were so special to Francis and Clare, from the baptismal font in the cathedral to their tombs in the Basilicas that bear their names.  We will also journey to the mountain LaVerna, where Francis received the stigmata.  On the way to Rome we will enjoy the Rieti Valley and celebrate Christmas in Grecchio, where Francis created the nativity scene.  Our pilgrimage will conclude in the eternal city with a Wednesday morning audience with Pope Benedict as he celebrates his 85th birthday.  We will tour the city, churches and plazas of Rome before we head home with memories to last a lifetime.

 An information night will be held Saturday, August 27 at 7:00 pm in

Anthony Hall Founders Room.  At that time I’ll share all the details of the pilgrimage, including prices, and begin taking deposits.  As with previous pilgrimages, in the months leading up to our departure we’ll have opportunities for pilgrims to gather and build community as we brush up on the Italian language and our culinary and artistic skills.

 In the peace of Christ,

Fr. Mark,

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August 7, 2011

2011 Marks the 25^th Jubilee of Franciscan Profession of Fr. Mark 

Congratulations Fr. Mark!

The year 2011 marks the 25^th jubilee of Fr. Mark’s Franciscan Profession of Vows.  Earlier this summer, the Friars of Holy Name Province held a celebration at St. Francis of Assisi in mid-town Manhattan, their provincial headquarters. 

Along with Fr. Mark’s 25^th anniversary, several friars celebrated their 50^th anniversaries of profession.  Pictured above, Fr. Mark renews his vows in the presence of the assembled friars and Fr. John O’Connor, O.F.M., Minister Provincial of Holy Name Province.

“Tonight we celebrate the generosity of our brothers,” said Fr. John. “They have worked in a variety of ministries, and they have shared their talent and time in so many ways and so we celebrate our brothers who have shown us that they are not afraid to persevere.”

From an article published in HNP Today, a newsletter of Holy Name Province:

 Fr. Mark has enjoyed responding to each call God had for him, saying that every assignment was the best. “The assignment most satisfying has been the one that I’ve been in,” he said with a smile. He thanks God for each and every opportunity and looks forward to continuing to serve as a friar and a priest for many years to come.  “The next 25 years, I’d do it over again.  No regrets of being part of the Province.  I encourage others to join us.”

The Mark G. Reamer, O.F.M. Endowment Fund for Franciscan Spirituality and Tradition

The Pastoral Council, in commemoration of Fr. Mark’s jubilee, has established an endowment fund for the purpose of strengthening the vision and charism of Francis and Clare of Assisi at our parish. The Mark G. Reamer Endowment will fund educational opportunities for our parishioners and ensure that our Franciscan spirituality will be shared for generations to come.

Gifts to the endowment will create a legacy honoring the spirituality and tradition of our patron.  Please consider how your family can participate.  More details to come…

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