Jesus goes to the desert for several reasons.  First, he goes to pray to get strength from the Father as He begins His public ministry.  The stark desert, with its silence, provides a great opportunity for prayer, free from all the temptations the world has to offer. But what happens when he goes into the desert?  He finds the same temptations waiting there.   The devil offers him three opportunities to sin, all dealing with common temptations that we find in our everyday lives.

The first temptation is to self-gratification, in the form of food.   The second temptation is in the form of wealth- to possess all the kingdoms of the world.   The third temptation is to authority and power.

These are not any different than the temptations we have in our own lives.  As a matter of fact, church teachings show us that the three great sins of our world and society are power, money, and self-gratification.   Sometimes, all of these can be boiled down to power.

What is power- the temptation to have our own will be done- to make ourselves false gods.   We can see this in the pursuit of domination.   Society tells us, “go for the gusto”, “be all that you can be,”  “experience and achieve everything possible.”  It does not see as values charity, kindness, humility, obedience or service.

The second is money, which is related to power.   No one has to be convinced that we live in a greedy society.   People are seeking to become richer and richer, at the expense of others.  Witness the things that have happened in our economy- very few people making obscene amounts of money at the expense of others.   Even such pursuits as the lottery and gambling- people thinking they are going to become instant millionaires.  

The third is self-gratification, as we see in the hunger of Jesus.  This can also be seen in sexual gratification, in seeking our own pleasure rather than filling the needs of others.    We stay in our homes because we have made them kingdoms with every kind of creature comfort available. It is obvious why we don't know what is going on in our own neighborhoods or even on our own street when we don't interact with anyone.

Is it a coincidence that as religious, we take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience?  This is our response to the temptations of Jesus and the temptations of our world and our society.  Just think of the example we give to the world around us when we are true to our vows and publicly live the gospel.  

May this Lent be all of us a time of recommitment to the gospel and to the rule of life, given to us by our holy father, Saint Francis. 

News from the Convento San Francesco

Greetings brothers. Peace and all good from Rome! 

In the last month we have lived several moments in which we were able to share and welcome this new year 2024 as a moment of grace and an invitation to renew the gift of God’s call in our lives and his presence among us.

We have had different activities: starting from my 25th birthday, where together with the fraternity I celebrated another year of God’s life and grace for me. It was a very beautiful, sober, pleasant and joyful celebration. On January 21, Feast of Our Lady of the Highest Grace (Our Lady of Altagracia), in the Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome, some friars of our convent served as acolytes at the Mass. the Mass was presided over by Bishop Benito Angeles Fernandez, auxiliary bishop of Santo Domingo, the entire Dominican Catholic community of Rome was present. It was truly pleasant moment of grace for all.

On 1 February we attended a Mass in the parish of Gregory VII - the parish to which our convent territorially belongs - to celebrate a vigil of prayer and Eucharistic celebration with all the consecrated women of the parish territoryl. It was truly a very special moment where we shared with all the religious the gift and grace of the gathering. There were religious of all ages and levels of formation (novices, temporary professed religious, religious perpetual vows, priests, etc.). On 2 February we were in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to celebrate the Day of Consecrated Life. Pope Francis' message this year was "waiting." He wrote “Brothers and sisters, waiting for God is also important for us, for our faith journey. Every day the Lord visits us, speaks to us, reveals himself in unexpected ways and, at the end of life and time, he will come. He himself exhorts us to stay awake, to be vigilant, to persevere in waiting. Indeed, the worst thing that can happen to us is to let “our spirit doze off”, to let the heart fall sleep, to anesthetize the soul, to lock hope away in the dark corners of disappointment and resignation”.

(https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/homilies/2024/documents/20240202_omelia-vita-consacrata.html).

Please continue to pray for us, as we are beginning the new semester of the University. We continue to pray for you.

Br Daniel R. Luna OFM

Summer Assignment- Br. Daniel Luna

During this summer I was first able to return home to the Dominican Republic and see my relatives. After the passing of my dad and a year without seeing them, I was able to see how they are coping with it all. It was very good for my grieving process, as I visited his grave and met with friends and family. I also went back to the parish of my hometown where I started my Christian life and it was comforting to recall when I was just a child. It was a very pleasant time with my family and friends.

Then at the end of July, I traveled to El Salvador, and there at the airport was greeted with a wonderful welcome by the young people who are in vocational discernment in Agape. Once in Agape, I was able to help in the home for the elderly by helping to serve breakfast for them and in the celebration of “Grandparents' Day.” Providentially, I was asked to help with some spiritual accompaniment on a program on Facebook live and from that was born the program called "Following in their footsteps" which is broadcast Monday through Friday at 3:00 pm. This program seeks to talk about the vocational process of St. Francis of Assisi and the different calls that Jesus makes in the Gospel.

I have also helped with the distribution of food to the poor people who come to Agape every day. On the radio programming that Agape has, I have also helped in the segment called Spiritual Strip, with some recordings and reflections around the admonitions of St. Francis of Assisi. I would like to thank Fr Jack and everyone at Agape for making this past summer yet another memorable experience within the wider province. Peace to all the brothers. Br Daniel Luna OFM

Provincial Retreat/ Guardians’ Workshop- May 7-10, 2024

Chapter of Mats- May 11, 2024

The provincial retreat, guardians’ workshop, and Chapter of Mats will soon be upon us. The minister provincial, who serves as president of the chapter, has asked all friar delegates to get coverage for ministries where needed. He also reminds us that each friar must make an annual retreat. The retreat provided in May will fulfill this obligation. Those who are unable to attend must submit a request to be excused to the provincial minister. Any friar who is unable to attend is responsible for planning for his own annual retreat. All guardians are also expected to attend the May guardians’ workshop. More details follow:

Provincial Retreat, May 7-10, Mt. Alvernia, Wappingers Falls, NY

Directed by Fr. Brad Milunski, OFM Conv. 

Guardians’ Workshop, May 7-10 All invited.

All guardians are expected to attend. The basis of this workshop is the Handbook for Guardians from the general curia https://ofm.org/en/handbook-for-guardians-8665.html

Chapter of Mats, May 11 All invited.

Chapter delegates have been selected in each region. All delegates are asked to clear their schedules for Saturday, May 11. The Chapter will be finished Saturday late afternoon for those who need to travel for Sunday Masses. The following, from the minister general and general definitory, outlines our second phase of the chapter. The first stage was our regional meetings,

Fr. Luis Enrique Saldaña Guerra, O.F.M.,

Provincial Minister of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Province

in Central America, Named Bishop

From the General Curia:

On the 15th February 2024, the Holy Father appointed Br Luis Enrique Saldaña Guerra, OFM Bishop of the Diocese of David, Panama. 

Br Luis Enrique was born on the 24th February, 1966 in Chiriquí, Panama. He entered the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Central America and the Caribbean on the 1st January, 1994. He studied Philosophy at the Rafael Landívar University of Guatemala and Theology at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University of El Salvador. 

He made his Solemn Profession on the 23rd February 2002 and was ordained a priest on the 29th April 2006. 

He has carried out the following services: Provincial Definitor, Guardian of various Fraternities, Parochial Vicar in various parishes, Director of the Pius XII Colleges of Boquete and Saint Francis of Assisi of David Chiriquí of Panama, deputy director of “Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro” in Antigua Guatemala, Vice President of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Conference of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Since the 27th January, 2021, he has been Minister Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

We extend our best wishes to our brother Luis Enrique in his ministry serving the people of God.

Fr. Paul Guido, O.F.M., From in residence, Mount Alvernia Friary, Wappingers Falls, New York, to Teresian Home, Albany, New York.

Fr. Christopher Gaffrey, O.F.M., from in residence, Mount Alvernia Friary, Wappingers Falls, New York, to Retreat Staff, Mount Alvernia Retreat Center, Wappingers Falls.

LENT BEGINS IN THE HOLY LAND

Lent begins in the Holy Land: the invitation to be "authentic" disciples of Jesus

On 14 February, the Custody of the Holy Land solemnly celebrated the beginning of Lent, a time of grace preceding Easter and a period of fasting, penance and prayer that opens, as in the whole Church, with Ash Wednesday.

Early in the morning, Fr. Stéphane Milovitch, President of the Holy Sepulchre, celebrated the beginning of Lent in front of the Shrine of the Sepulchre at the Church of St. Saviour. The Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, presided over the community Mass during which the liturgical rite of the imposition of 'ashes' took place. 

The Custos also inaugurated "PodLectio. Meditations from the Holy Land" https://bit.ly/3HU9Qij, the series of meditations and reflections on the Gospel of the day offered by the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land throughout the period of Lent. The meditations are available on the Custody's website and on the YouTube platform https://bit.ly/3uxzXbU.

Lent in Ataco

Fr. Rafael Fernandez, O.F.M., President of the Provincial Foundation in Central America, has shared some photos for us from Iglesia Inmaculada Concepcion, Ataco. Ash Wednesday and First Friday of Lent (Feb. 14 and 16)

Funeral of Br Hermann Schalück, O.F.M.

The funeral of Br Hermann Schalück, Minister General of the Order from 1991 to 1997, was celebrated on the 5th February in St. Joseph’s Chapel at the Franciscan Sisters’ convent of Paderborn, Germany. 

Also present, together with the friars of the Province of Saint Elizabeth, were the General Definitors Br Joaquin Echeverry and Br Jimmy Zammit, as Delegates of the Minister General, and some nuns and Religious Sisters from different congregations, as well as family members and the faithful. 

The Requiem Mass was presided over by Msgr. Ludwig Schick. At the beginning of the Mass, Br Markus Fuhrmann, Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Elizabeth, said: “With Hermann Schalück we have lost a brother with a profound sense of the prophetic and visionary power of the Gospel. He was a man of dialogue, a builder of bridges between religions and cultures, but also a link between very different ways of thinking and believing in the Universal Church. His thoughts and words gave birth to the breadth and depth of the Good News”. 

Br Heribert Arens, OFM, who gave the homily, spoke fondly of the figure of Br Hermann, saying how he was born in a small town, “too small for his mentality: everything was always too small for him!”. 

Br Heribert continued by recalling that Br Hermann was the youngest Minister Provincial of the Province of Saxony, that his formation was founded on St. Augustine and St. Bonaventure. “I met him in college, he was a man always searching and when he had a dream, he said to himself and to others: «Why can’t I make it come true?»”. 

Br Hermann spent several years at the Curia General, first as Secretary General for Formation and Studies, then as General Definitor and finally, from 1991 to 1997, as Minister General. It was not possible to put his thoughts, his person, in a box – said Br Heribert – because he always tried to look beyond; inspired by Pope St. Paul VI, he had a vision of the mission of the Church on a global level, going beyond the Western point of view, looking instead at the growth of local Churches and encouraging dialogue between and with them. 

The homily ended with a very evocative image: “For our Br Hermann, vocation was very important: he let himself be called by God towards new horizons, new ideas, new commitments. Now he has received the final call from God: the one into His very presence.” 

Before burying him, a moment of prayer was held in the chapel of the city’s Eastern cemetery, where the friars and family said their final farewell. 

Take time to wish our brothers a Happy Birthday!

Antonio Riccio- March 3- 78

Peter Hoang Cao Thai- March 10- 44

Nelson Aldair Orantes Calderon- March 23- 25

Joaquin Mejia- March 23- 57

Jack Hoak- March 31- 76