New Edition of TSSF Newlsetter March 29, 2008
Posted by dwhite in : Franciscan, Provincial Newsletter , comments closedThe first 2008 edition of the TSSF Australia and East Asia Newsletter can now be downloaded from this link.
Friends of the Monastery October 26, 2007
Posted by dwhite in : News, Resources, Franciscan, Spirituality , 2commentsThe ‘Friends of the Monastery inc.” is a non-profit organisation which was formed to care for the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Stroud, after the Second Order Sisters vacated the premises and it’s future was uncertain.
We aim to preserve it’s Franciscan ethos, promote Franciscan spirituality and provide an oasis of spiritual and physical refreshment for weary souls and bodies who seek respite there; and a sacred space for parishes and other groups to hold retreats or workshops etc. We are committed to praying for the future of the Monastery. We work closely with the First Order Brothers, whose Hermitage is on the same piece of land, and who care for the grounds; and the Society of St Francis Association, Inc. who own it. We rely on income from hiring the Monastery out and on our ‘Friends’ membership fees to maintain it.
The unique mud-brick buildings of the Monastery, including the beautiful Chapel with it’s hand-made stained glass, rock and camphor laurel altar and Sister Angela’s woodcarving, are resonant with the prayers of the many hundreds of spiritual pilgrims who have found solace and strength there.
A labyrinth has recently been constructed, and everything lies peacefully in a natural bush setting. Please find a membership form below!
God’s peace be with you.
Pirrial Clift, tssf,
Chairperson of the Friends of the Monastery, Inc.
Friends of the Monastery Brochure
Seeking St Francis Day at Stroud June 25, 2007
Posted by dwhite in : News, Franciscan, Spirituality , add a commentIf you are within a couple of hours of Stroud, north of Newcastle, NSW, you may like to attend the “Seeking St Francis” Day being held on August 11. For more information, see the brochure
Bishop Jim Kelsey n/TSSF dies June 4, 2007
Posted by Ted Witham in : News, Franciscan , add a commentJim Kelsey, Bishop of Northern Michigan in The Episcopal Church died yesterday in a car accident. Bishop Jim was a Novice in the Third Order and Bishop Protector of the First Order Sisters (Community of Saint Francis) for the Americas.
You can read more at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_86478_ENG_HTM.htm
May God surround his wife Mary, his family, and his Franciscan friends with love and consolation - and may Jim be received into the joyous company of Francis, Clare and all the saints.
Franciscan Blogs May 15, 2007
Posted by brnathan in : Franciscan, Blogs , add a commentA blog is short for web log (or journal, diary etc). A blog is a means of sharing your thoughts, opinions, feelings, reflections etc on topics of interest. They range from travel blogs to more profound and philosophical discussions. Authors can post material and visitors can add comments, opening up a series of discussions on the topic of question.
A list of related blogs on a person’s blog is often referred to as a blog roll. On the right hand menu you will find a blog roll, or series of links, to blogs authored by members of the Third Order, First Order and SSF Companions. Why not check them out and participate in topics which interest you. If you find a topic (post) which interests you simply click on the comments link at the top of the post and add your two cents worth.
An extension of this method of content management has been used on this web site to allow visitors to not only view information on the Third Order, but to participate in discussions on St Francis, St Clare, Franciscan Spirituality and religious life. Feel free to explore this site and participate in discussions.
Francis sure knew how to communicate May 9, 2007
Posted by Ted Witham in : Franciscan , 1 comment so farI am attached in a most unFranciscan way to a battered copy of The Francis Book. You can see a picture of it here. I bought this 800th Anniversary collection in the early 80s from the Episcopal Book Club. The Francis Book is a collection of poems, short stories, photos and line-drawings about the saint of Assisi. Its cover is a still from the Zeffirelli hippie movie, Brother Sun and Sister Moon. The Francis Book was a post-modern book before its time, illustrating in the pieces chosen its central thesis that Franciscans use every means possible to communicate.
The star witness of The Francis Book is Gene Pelc’s Marvel Comics version of the life of St Francis. Pelc writes how Fr Roy M. Gasnick ofm approached him after the success of The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man. Gasnick prompted Gene Pelc to take the risk of making a superhero out of Francis in the belief that a comic book approach would broaden the audience. Some were outraged by a comic and others loved it.
Gasnick was building on the example of World War 2 martyr Maximilien Kolbe. In the 1930s, Kolbe used a radio station and a magazine printed on early roneo machines as his podium. Like Gasnick, he also knew how much importance Franciscans place on communication.
This instinct for the widest possible audience goes back to St Francis himself. Francis preached wherever he could get a pulpit. He composed prayers and songs and was one of the first to use Italian as a language for poetry. Francis was influenced by Sufi poets from the Muslim world and Idres Shah suggests that his travel to Egypt and Spain and his plans to go to Syria and Morocco, all centres of Sufism, were to investigate more deeply the songs of the Sufis to learn more effective ways of communicating the love of Jesus using popular songs.
If we look back over this aspect of our Franciscan heritage it seems entirely appropriate for Franciscans to explore the Web as a means of communication. Uploading to a web-site or a blog is a simple way of reaching a potential global audience. It’s as easy to read this is Albany, Western Australia as it is in Albany NY. If one writes with search engines in mind, it’s not hard to construct Web pages or blog entries which can be easily found by anyone interested in Franciscanism.
Secondly, the Web offers opportunities for conversation. Readers can place comments on blogs. Web-sites can link to other web-sites. Film or comics, however attuned to mass markets, are a one-way communication. They represent a ‘power-over’ style of communication. The web, on the other hand, is much more democratic. Knowledge can genuinely be shared, unsound opinions can be challenged, and all in a matters of hours and days – not the months or years and millions of dollars it takes another powerful communicator to respond to print or film.
I hope that Franciscans and others will be prepared to use this website as it is intended: to provide information about the Third Order and also – and probably in the end more influentially – to make available a space where lovers of Francis can discuss a wide range of topics and so deepen our understanding of and attachment to the Christian faith, because despite my intense attachment to books, deep down I know that what will save me is another attachment: not so much my attachment to Jesus Christ, but his to me.
Archbishop Philip Freier tssf Talks on Being a Franciscan April 20, 2007
Posted by brnathan in : News, Franciscan , add a commentThe Most Reverend Philip Freier tssf, Archbishop of Melbourne, was recently interviewed by the ABC Radio National’s Religion Report. In the interview he was asked about his active interaction with the public by being ‘out and about’ on the streets of Melbourne. The interviewer then asked him if this new approach had anything to do with him being a member of the Third Order Society of St Francis. + Freier was very open in his response about how St Francis had been an infuence in his life and what it meant to be a tertiary.
Powerpoint Presentation; Franciscan Spirituality by Rev Ted Witham tssf April 12, 2007
Posted by brnathan in : Franciscan, Presentation Resources, Spirituality , 2commentsRev Ted Witham is the present Minister Provincial of the Third Order Society of St Francis. He has produced a Powerpoint resource on Franciscan Spirituality. Members who deliver talks on Franciscan Spirituality may find this a valuable resource. The file can be downloaded from the resources page or here Franciscan Spirituality
