We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world!

These words echo throughout the Church today on Good Friday. For those accustomed to praying the Stations of the Cross this is how each Station begins.



From the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson -- the Fifth Station -- Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service to help Jesus carry his cross to Calvary.



We proclaim that Jesus dies on the cross on Golgatha for the salvation of the whole human race. It is "Good" Friday because of the great good that God accomplished through Jesus' obedience even unto death, death on a cross (cf. Phil. 2:5-11). It is not in spite of the cross but actually through the cross that we have salvation.



St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that "for the Jewish people the cross is a scandal and for the Greeks (Gentiles) the cross is foolishness, but to those on the way of salvation -- Jew and Gentile alike -- Christ the power and wisdom of God!"



For St. Francis of Assisi, and for successive Franciscan friars, Sisters, nuns and lay people, the Cross of the Lord has always been an invitation to repentance and to joyful (yes, joyful) penance by seeking the Lord in all things and encountering him in every circumstance of life.



From the Crucifix of San Damiano when Francis was a young man, to the design of what would become the habit in the shape of the cross, to the sign of the Tau (T) at Lateran Council IV (1215) as a mark of renewal to the great episode on Monte LaVerna toward the end of his life when he received the sacred stigmata, the cross of the Lord Jesus always impressed upon St. Francis the great condescension of God toward humanity. Such great love of such a great God!



Undeserving sinners that we are, God has never given up on us nor has God turned his back on us. St. Paul reminds us of this in Romans chapter 5 where he writes, "While we were still in our sins Christ died for us."

As we contemplate the Lord Jesus' Passion, death and burial today -- whether Roman Rite, Byzantine Rite or another Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church -- let us consider this great love of God toward us today.

It transformed the lives of the Mother of God, the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, it transformed Francis' and Clare's lives and the lives of countless saints before us.

May this Good Friday be a powerful blessing for you and may your prayer today lead you ever closer to the Lord Jesus who gave his life for us that we might have life, and have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10).

That is our Christian vocation, after all. And this is the Franciscan vocation as well. We bless you, Lord Jesus for by your very cross you have redeemed the world. We believe this, Lord, we believe. Amen.

Inner Conversion -- Outer Works

St. Paul emphatically teaches that one is saved not by observance of the Law of Moses but by faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 2:16). Still, the Gospel of Matthew has Jesus teaching the crowds that not only has he come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish them (cf. Mt. 5:17), but also warns his followers that it is not enough to call him "Lord, Lord", but also do the will of the heavenly Father (cf. Mt. 7:21). And First John exhorts us that if we claim to love God whom we cannot see and fail to love the brother (or sister) whom we can, then we are liars! (cf. 1 Jn. 4:20).

In various places in the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in some of the Epistles, we are advised that the fulfillment of the Old Testament is to loved our neighbor as ourself (cf. Lv. 19:18b).

Conversion, or metanoia from the Greek meaning a "change of mind" (so, Mk. 1:15; Mt. 3:2 [John the Baptist] and 4:17 [Jesus]), is the universal call to think and do differently. Yesterday, for those Catholics of the Roman Rite, we heard the injunction to either "Turn from sin and believe the Gospel" or the reminder echoing the Book of Genesis, "You are dust and unto dust you shall return." (cf. Gen. 3:19c).

St. Paul reminds us we who are baptized must have a change of mind (cf. Rom. 12:2) and that, in fact, we have the mind [psyche] of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16b). And yesterday we were also reminded that "today is the acceptable time" (cf. 2 Cor. 6:2-3).

So, being a Christian -- as we all know -- is more than saying words; it is a lifetime of practice and working. We yield to God's Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit of the Living God to transform us -- our ways of thinking, our attitudes, our bad habits, our speech, our behaviors, our actions -- so that they more readily and clearly reflect the image [ikon] of Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).

Our Christian vocation is ongoing converstion into Jesus Christ. For us members of the Franciscan family, friars, Sisters, nuns and laypeople alike -- our life is one of penance in joyful response to the Lord's call. Not only to follow Jesus Christ, but to live in him and him live in us, thus following the lead from our holy founder, St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis of Assisi embracing the leper, through whom he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ.

Happy New Year! Advent 2008

Tomorrow, 30 November 2008, begins the New Church Year in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent.

The Byzantine Rite began Christmas preparations already on 15 November, the Feast of St. Philip the Apostle according to their calendar. Hence, the Christmas preparation is called "Philip Fast". It is a time of penitential preparation to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Western Church -- the Roman Catholic and those of the Protestant Reform which keep the Season of Advent (e.g. Episcopalians, Lutherans and Methodists), we begin this evening with First Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent.

As Franciscan friars, we eagerly anticipate this joyful Season of Advent -- and Philip Fast -- to celebrate Christmas Day. The celebration of the Incarnation of the Son of God in human history was so dear to St. Francis of Assisi's heart! And to ours, as well. And so we learn to wait, like Mary, the Mother of God, awaited after the Annunciation for nine months to give birth to the Lord Jesus. We learn to listen, as the Children of Israel of old listened with attentiveness to the prophetic utterances of the coming of Messiah. We learn to hope, in a darkened world where sin holds sway -- we claim that he who came in the manger is indeed the conqueror of sin and death!

Our Lady of the Sign (cf. Isa. 7:14, Mt. 1:23), "Behold a virgin shall give birth to a son and shall call him 'Immanuel' [a name which means 'God is with us'!]"

The Wearin' of the Brown!

When Galen Osby, from Howards Grove, WI decided to embark upon the journey of becoming a Franciscan friar, he probably didn't guess the various challenges that lay ahead. He had an unusual postulancy program (the first year when a candidates begins to explore, or "postulate", becoming a friar minor), mostly because he was the only one!

Galen Osby as a postulant to the Franciscan Friars (OFM) of the Assumption BVM Province.

After his varied experiences and ventures -- from Milwaukee, WI to McAllen, TX to Greenwood, MS and then to our senior friar residence of Queen of Peace Friary in Burlington, WI, Galen "took up his cross daily" to follow the Lord Jesus and encountered several surprises along the way.




Last May 2008 Galen applied to and was accepted to be received into the novitiate, when a man entering our brotherhood becomes a novice, or "new man". It is what St. Francis of Assisi calls in our Rule, the "year of probation", or a time of testing. The novice is tested by life in the fraternity to help in the discernment if this is the right life for him; the novice tests the community to ascertain if this is the correct community or way of life for him. That information can be found in a previous blog.




This past 26 September 2008 Galen and his classmates were invested in the "habit of penance", the brown habit of the Franciscan Friars of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM). It consists of a long tunic, a brown habit, or "capuche" and a woolen cord. Novices have no knots in their cords -- that is reserved for their first profession when they make temporary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.



Bro. Galen Osby, OFM, novice and newly invested with the habit of penance, the Franciscan habit, at San Damiano Friary, Cedar Lake, IN


The novitiate is located in Cedar Lake, IN, south of Hammond and about one hour or so southeast of Chicago, IL. The Assumption BVM Province hosts the novitiate and shares its leadership and membership with two other provinces, Sacred Heart Province (headquartered in St. Louis, MO) and St. John the Baptist Province (headquartered in Cincinnati, OH).



The team for the novitiate is Fr. John Stein, OFM (SJB Province), Fr. Larry Nickels, OFM (SH Province) and Fr. Camillus Janas, OFM (ABVM Province). Fr. John is the Novice Director, Fr. Larry is assistant and Fr. Camillus is the Guardian (local superior).

You might ask, "Why 26 September?" In the calendar of the Catholic Church of the Roman Rite, 26 September is the memorial of the holy brother and doctor martyrs, SS. Cosmas and Damian. It was at the chapel in honor of St. Damian (in Italian, San Damiano) that Francis of Assisi heard the Lord's call to him, "Francis, go repair my Church, which you see is falling into ruins!" And, the house of the novitiate is called San Damiano Friary. So, it's their friary's patron saint's day!

Fr. Camillus Janas, OFM, Guardian of San Damiano Friary (Novitiate) and Bro. Galen Osby, OFM, newly investied novice

Synod of Bishops in Rome Focus on the Word of God

Many bishops from around the world have gathered with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI in Rome to prayerfully study how to respond to the situations in the world and the Catholic Christian response according to the Word of God. You can find the latest updates on the Vatican Web site, http://www.vatican.va/, including the working document and responses.

The Holy Bible has always been at the heart of the life of the Church since its beginning. The Lord Jesus, the Word of God made flesh (cf. John 1:14) is often depicted in the Gospels as quoting from the Scritpures [Old Testament] -- in combatting the devil (cf. Mt. 4:4; see Dt. 8:3), in addressing the people at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth (cf. Lk. 4:18-19; see Isa. 61:1-2a), and even when hanging upon the Cross, Jesus invokes the Scriptures (cf. Mk. 15:34; see Ps. 22:1).

Pope Benedict XVI, 2008

The Apostles and Evangelists quoted freely from the Sacred Books of the First Covenant of the Jewish people, citing from the ancient texts to indicate that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the nations. Therefore, he is the fulfillment of the Jewish Bible (Hebrew and Greek texts).

The proclamation of the biblical texts has always been part of our liturgical tradition. Direct Scriptural quotes are found throughout the Roman Mass and other sacramental celebrations. Indirectly, there are multiple allusioins to the Bible. Two examples are the "Holy, Holy, Holy" [Sanctus], which quotes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 6:3 and Psalm 118:26b, and the "Lamb of God" [Agnus Dei], which combines the invocation to Christ as the Lamb of God (cf. John 1:36 and Rev. 5:12) with the plea for mercy (cf. Mt. 9:27).

As Franciscan friars we rejoice that Pope Benedict and the bishops from around the world have gathered in the Twelfth Synod to focus on the Word of God. The Bible, being at the heart of the Church, is always at the heart of our Order and our Franciscan tradition.

St. Francis and St. Clare were both inspired to renounce everything for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as our respective Rules state (i.e. that of St. Francis for the Friars Minor and that of St. Clare for the Poor Clare nuns), ". . . to live the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience, without anything of our own and in chastity."

Holy Week 2008 -- Love measured in "feet"

It is truly amazing -- to me -- how quickly this Lent has been coursing. Here in Wisconsin I think it would be fair to say that we have had a very wintry and snowy Lent! In fact, the remnants of the large snow banks are still melting, even as the Canada geese, the herons and the red-wing blackbirds and robins have been returning. Sure signs of spring in the decline of winter's fierce hold.

We can see how the earth is changing, right before our eyes. Warm breezes occasionally blow, the bright sunshine contrasts with the periodic sting of Arctic chills. The marsh in back of our friary is coming alive (perhaps a bit too noisy for the friars whose rooms face it!).

But, how have we changed? Have our penitential practices brought us closer to the Lord? Have we found ourselves becoming more loving, peaceful, kind, modest (cf. Gal. 5:22-23)? In a word, has the fruit of the Holy Spirit begun to ripen more fully in our lives? Have we been willing to let go of that grudge we have held -- and that we have even justified(!)?

The daily readings in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church this week (prior to Holy Thursday) are beacons to remind us of the Suffering Servant (so the readings from Isaiah) who is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and all that he voluntarily underwent for our salvation. Today, he allows a woman to anoint his feet! Astonishing! And, of course, he in turn will wash his disciples' feet at the Last Supper (according to the Gospel of John, chapter 13).

Greek icon of Jesus washing the Disciples' feet (cf. John 13)

There is a story about St. Francis of Assisi and his early friars. They were assiduous about reconciliation -- seeking to be reconciled as soon as a quarrel or disagreement or misunderstanding would erupt (cf. Col. 3:12-17). In one episode, two friars -- who went barefoot in those days -- had a dispute. Apparently even before St. Francis had the opportunity to reprimand them, first one and then the other, bent down to kiss the feet of the other begging forgiveness!

To live the Gospel of Jesus, really, is to have the same attitude as Jesus did (cf. Philippians 2:5-11). Is that what has been happening to us during the Lent? Is it what is happening to us this Holy Week? How about we let Jesus give us HIS attitude!