Superior’s desk | Franciscans of Life

What happens to a man who enters the Franciscans of Life?

To answer the first question, NOTHING. We stopped torturing people a long time ago. Having said that, you may find that you go through a transformation that you never thought was possible. “I can never do that.” Many people say.

The first thing one learns is to share. For us, this means living in very small spaces. You thought that an airplane bathroom was small? Check out our sleeping arrangements.

WP_20160201_009 These are our sleeping quarters, also called cells. No brother owns anything, not even a room of his own. A large room is divided by curtains, as you would see in a hospital. Behind each curtain there are two beds for two brothers, bunks. There is an aisle along the length of the bed that is 18 inches wide and another curtain, behind which there is another cell with two more beds the same size. The brothers always remember Jesus’ words, “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

WP_20160201_004 Every brother is assigned a flat sheet and a single blanket. We use only what we need, not what we like. We don’t use comforters or fancy bedspreads. The money that can be spent on those items can just as easily be put into our apostolate among the voiceless, even if it’s just paying for gas to get from point A to point B. After a few days, one becomes so accustomed to this arrangement, that we no longer miss our old bedroom in our former home. The community house becomes home and the cells become our bedrooms; but they are more than that. It is here that we experience the intimacy and poverty of the fraternal life that St. Francis so loved. Like Christ and his Apostles and like Francis and the early brothers who shared huts, the brothers practice charity and detachment.

The cells are in the enclosed part of the house where no outsiders may enter, male nor female, not even our moms. While in the cells, we avoid unnecessary conversation so that in solitude and silence the soul may be more attentive to the voice of God speaking from within. The cell and the enclosure are only external reminders of an internal attitude that every brother should have. Each of us carries within him an interior cloister where only the soul and God interact. This awareness is the summit of poverty, when you own nothing, not even your inner space . . . everything belongs to the Beloved.

WP_20160130_004 In the sleeping area there is always a small oratory. An oratory is not a chapel. The Blessed Sacrament is not reserved there. Oratory comes from the Latin word oratio, meaning to speak and to pray. Oremus,”Let us pray. Let us speak with God.” The brothers last conversation before retiring is with Jesus and His Immaculate Mother. His first conversation of the day is also with the beloved Mother and Son. During the day, the brother sneaks into the oratory, like a lover sneaking along the hedges to have a quiet words with his sweetheart. Christ and the Immaculate are our sweethearts.

TUNIC_SMOCK We don’t have closets, since we don’t have many clothes. We share a row of hooks where we hang up our formal and work habits. We also have a pair of grey pants and a grey banded shirt. Here you see a typical work habit for a postulant. Novices and professed brothers wear it with a cord or without a cord, depending on the task at hand. The work habit it short. It does not reach the knees. It’s our version of grunge clothing. Nothing is ever wasted. Our Constitution reminds us that like St. Francis, we follow the poor and suffering Christ who walked to Calvary in shredded clothes, except for his sacred seamless tunic. When a garment is too damaged to wear, it is cut up and used to patch up other work habits. It is not unusual to see our brothers wearing patches on their work habits or displaying grease stains from an engine. These stains are tough to wash out. But we manage. WP_20141209_001 (1) We don’t have cooks or housekeepers. Those are chores that we do ourselves. The brothers take turns cooking, scrubbing and cleaning. Those brothers who have never done it before or don’t know how are taught by more experienced brothers. WP_20151212_004 St. Francis said that we are to be “minors”. During the Italian Middle Ages there was a social class known as the Minores. It seems that these men and women were of the lower class of serfs and peasants. Even among the peasants, there was social stratification. Christ reminds us that we have been sent to serve, not to be served. “Go out and do what I have done for you.”

CARAVAN 1

It’s time to leave. A brother may be going to class at the university, while another is going to the hospital or to hospice and another brother is on his way to do counseling or education with dads in crisis pregnancies or going to visit a newborn baby that was going to be aborted. The brother is always there to say “Hi Little One” BABY M-2 (2)

We even have two pups. The black and brown handsome fellow is Max, named after St. Maximilian Kolbe. max_and_tasha The little fawn cutie is Tasha, named after a character on Star Trek Generations. Yes, we have former Trekkies among us. The brothers may not watch television. Start Trek is out of the question. Besides, who has time.

No day is complete without prayer and the
Holy Eucharist. Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrates Mass for Nascent Life

WP_20140819_035
In between we manage to insert
an hour of private prayer at 5:30 AM, the Liturgy of the Hours: morning, midday, evening, night and midnight. There is always time for the Holy Rosary.

I VOW AND PROMISE . . .

COME AND SEE

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on February 2, 2016 at 9:41 PM Comments (1)

Who said that you have to like the Pope?

Saint Pius X I found this article to be very helpful and supportive of what I presented in an earlier post, “Under Whose Authority “

Apparently, I’m not the only one who is noticing that people are not making a distinction between what they like and what they don’t like but must learn to live with.

When I was growing up I hated almost every rule that my father imposed on us. As far as I was concerned, he was a totalitarian despot. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I had no idea what a “totalitarian despot” meant. But I had read the term in a social studies book in school and it sounded like an appropriate label for my dad.

As the years passed and I transitioned from a child to an adult, I came to realize that my father was just a very conservative man from a different generation. The truth of the matter was that nothing that he imposed on us did any harm to our bodies, mind or souls. Some of his rules and statements were arbitrary and others were right on the money. As I became an adult, I jettisoned that which was arbitrary and incorporated into my script that which was truth.

The same applies the pope and others in the hierarchy. Many times, just like our parents, they say things that are right on the money, but we don’t like what we’re hearing. That does not mean they’re wrong. Other times they say things using a language that is different, one that we’re not used to. That does not mean that they’re wrong. It simply means that we have to pay close attention to the nuances. Finally, they may even say things that sound silly to us or not consistent with what came before. That does not mean that they’re wrong either. It means that they are speaking to a different generation, at a different time in history, using a different language, and building on what came before, not denying it.

If we don’t understand, it’s like not understanding our fathers or mothers. We have to learn to respect the person and the office. The rest is a matter of biting the bullet. How many people would belittle their parents with such labels as “modernist, apostate, heretic, infidel, devil incarnate” and more, because the parent does not seem to tow the line with what we believe our parents should be saying or doing, in matters of home management, discipline and even faith formation of the children?

I remember that my father was a twice a year mass attendant. It was not until my mother converted that he started to attend mass every Sunday. My mom was a formidable woman. If she said “We’re going to mass,” we were going to mass. No discussions. Having said that, I wouldn’t dare place my father on the stand and accuse him of being any of those things that some people attach to the Holy Father. Respect and love do not depend on being right or being lovable. Respect and love are a choice that we make to treat every man and woman as Christ did. Let us never forget that even though Pilate was wrong, he was given authority from above to judge and execute Jesus. Jesus acknowledged that authority. He was not a fan of Pilate, but he was a loyal Son of the Father.

We too must learn to live in the Church as loyal sons of the Father.

One last note, this is not an attempt to bash Traditionalist Catholics or the Traditionalist movement. There are many Catholics in the movement who are very holy people and exercise great self-control when they don’t like something and know how to speak with firmness and respect. They are to be admired and applauded.

Some of you may like this article. I thank Scott Eric Alt for sharing it.

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/2016/01/28/you-dont-have-to-like-a-pope/

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on January 28, 2016 at 2:20 PM Comments (1)

Under what authority . . . ?

right and wrong I will never forget what a 10^th grade student taught me a long time ago. I was teaching social studies in a high school. Mind you, I’m not a sociologist or social scientist. Our social studies teacher was on maternity leave and I was elected to cover for her. That being said, the lesson was on the United Nations’ declaration on human rights. As we were going through the highlights of the document, Chris asked me a very serious question.

“Why doesn’t this say that everyone has the right to be born? If you don’t have the right to be born, the other rights are useless.”

I have never forgotten that question or that lesson.

Today, thousands of people prepare to march for life in many cities in the country, the largest march being in Washington, DC, despite the horrible weather. Why are these people willing to suffer freezing temperatures, numb fingers and toes and 12 inches of snow and ice? The answer is simple. They believe in the right to be born.

It is true that many attend the march for life in protest of abortion. However, there is more to this issue. We must put abortion in context. The medical community refers to abortion as the “termination of pregnancy.” It’s actually a very accurate statement. Many people prefer to call it murder, holocaust, eugenics, and many other terms. None of these are wrong.

Nonetheless, the principle behind abortion is flawed, not only because the procedure takes the life of a vulnerable human being. It is flawed because the right to terminate a pregnancy presumes that society can deny any human being the right to be born. Birth is not possible, if you terminate a pregnancy.

This puts us on a very slippery slope. If human beings can lose the right to be born, what is there to say that we can’t lose the right to remain alive? Why are we crying over the extermination of Syrians, other groups in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa?

Why doesn’t it follow that a society with the authority to withdraw someone’s right to be born can deny the right to stay alive after the fact?

The answer has to do with vision. We can see the carnage in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Eastern Europe. We don’t see the carnage behind the doors of an abortion mill.

When I was a graduate student, I learned about a concept called “object permanence.” A young child believes that an object exists only when he can see it. When mom says that the toy flew away and hides it behind her back, the toy ceases to exist. In simple English, the permanence of an object depends on the subject’s ability to see it. If one can’t see it, it does not exist. It’s a more primitive version of “out of sight, out of mind”. Except that this primitive version is normal in human development. As the person matures, the brain’s functions become more robust and object permanence is no longer dependent on perception, but on knowledge. “The thing exists, because I know it exists even when I don’t perceive it with my senses.”

For many people, a crime against human life exists only when the human being is perceptible. When you don’t see the human being, the crime ceases to be. Therefore we do two things in contemporary society.

First, we look at the fetus and we fail to see a human being who is a real person. We only see tissue and cells, because that’s what we want to see.

Second, we look at a fetus who is over 30 weeks old and we see what “looks like” a baby. It only looks like a baby. It’s not a baby, because we fail to see the baby.

To understand abortion in context, we must keep in mind that human beings often fail to see what they don’t want to see. It’s called selective blindness. They convince others that the thing they cannot see does not really exist. The baby that we cannot see is not really there. It’s just a “fetus” or tissue. When I was growing up, they called this “turning a blind eye.” Today, some people call it “reality”.

ISIS is murderous, because it kills people whom we can see. We cannot deny their existence, as much as we would like to ignore them. We have to call such barbaric acts what they are, the murder of innocent people. In our distorted way of thinking, abortion is not murderous, because no one visible to us is being killed. At the end of the day, what are we saying about choice and abortion?

It looks like we’re telling ourselves and our neighbors that man decides who has the right to live. Such a decision depends on the individual’s perception. If he does not see a human being, terminating a pregnancy is not murder.

The problem with this concept, besides the attack on innocent life, is that every individual can see whatever he or she wants to see and be blind to whatever he or she does not want to see. The right to be born becomes subjective, no longer an absolute. The right to be born is determined by the subject who has the power to terminate a vulnerable life. . . the power to see only what he wants to see.

This begs the question. “Under what authority can man grant or deny another human being the right to be born?”

We must ask ourselves this question as we remember Roe vs Wade in 2016.

Brother Jay Rivera, FFV

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on January 21, 2016 at 7:33 PM Leave a Comment

Brother Bernardo Makes Vows

After three months as an aspirant, three months as a postulant and 12 months as a novice, Brother Bernardo D’Carmine made temporary vows as a Franciscan of Life.

The vows are obedience, poverty, chastity and a fourth vow to proclaim the Gospel of Life. Brother made vows during a solemn celebration of evening prayer (vespers) on January 18, 2016 at St. Maximilian Kolbe Chapel in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Presiding over the Liturgy of the Hours was Rev. Mr. Scott Joiner. Deacon Scott also preached the “exhortation” reminding us all that one man’s conversion can change the Church and history, referring to the Seraphic Father, St. Francis of Assisi.

The first step is to embrace the poverty of Christ and his most blessed mother. He also reminded the Franciscans of Life that we are an outgrowth of a long and venerable family that is more than 800 years old, with more than 100 different congregations, orders, societies and institutes. Today, there are almost one million Franciscan men and women around the world, secular and religious, lay and cleric, men and women. It all began with one man who responded to Christ’s call to “rebuild his house.”

Deacon Scott witnessed the profession, but he did not receive the vows. Brother Jay Rivera, superior of the Franciscans of Life, received the vows. Mrs. Tina Handal led the singing with the litany of Franciscan saints and blessed. She did an outstanding job for the Lord and the community that was present. She has an incredible spirituality and a voice that expresses it beautifully. Extern brother, Chris Handal and regular brother, Leo Belanger were the witnesses to the profession. Present were friends of Brother Bernardo’s from his days at university, other friends from the area and his mother, Mrs. Angela Torres. The group was small. The ceremony was simple, dignified, reverent and above all, prayerful.

Brother Bernardo will continue graduate studies in computer science, computer engineering, theology and philosophy. In addition, during the period of temporary vows, the brother continues his Franciscan formation with studies in Franciscan history, spirituality, rule and constitutions, Franciscan pastoral practices, and Sacred Scripture. Along with classes at the university, several hours per week active in the apostolate, a life in community, the brother is also homeschooled in Franciscan studies and Scripture. The years as a “student-brother,” as we call those in temporary vows, are very busy and exciting years. The most exciting part of all is the brother’s knowledge that his life now belongs to Christ and to the voiceless.

Litany of Saints

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on January 19, 2016 at 8:18 PM Leave a Comment

Let God do the driving

As everyone who follows us on our blog or on Facebook knows, we were in desperate need of a car. Our car was totaled on December 26. A few days after the accident, I remembered something that St. Francis said in his Testament.

Let those who know not [how to work] learn, not through desire to receive the price of labor but for the sake of example and to repel idleness. And when the price of labor is not given to us, let us have recourse to the table of the Lord, begging alms from door to door.

I know that we do not bring in enough money to purchase a car, not even a used one. Other than a few hundred dollars from the insurance company, we had nothing.

However, God will never be outdone in generosity and in pity for us. I remembered this passage from the Testament and decided to beg for help.

In less than 24 hours after posting our cry for help, we received three offers to help us. The first was from an old friend who said, “I have a car that I want to give to you.” Imagine our joy when we heard this good news. But there is more . . .

An hour later, a dealer who supports our work for the Gospel of Life called me. “Brother, I can help you.”

The next morning we received an email from another generous person. “Pick the car you want. I’ll pay for it.”

All of this is leading somewhere, so please stay with me. The Franciscans of Life have just finished a three month process during which we reviewed our constitutions and did some editing for greater clarification. The chapter on poverty required the greatest amount of attention. For greater clarity we inserted an article into the chapter on poverty.

The brothers shall own only one car per house. They may not own a new car, nor an old car that is commonly used by the wealthy. They are to acquire used cars, either through their effort or the generosity of others. Let these vehicles be such that they conform to what the working man or woman in the lower economic sectors would drive. Let them not use said vehicles for recreation. They are tools for service to the voiceless.

We now had an interesting situation. We had a vendor who was willing to give us a very generous deal on a used car. There was a benefactor who wanted to purchase a car of our choosing and there was the father of a family who was offering his car as a gift.

We, the brothers, discussed what to do and which offer to accept. It was finally decided that the superior should decide. I hate it when the brothers do that. 😦 Guess who has to decide? 😀

The question on the table was, “What would be the most natural for a poor man?”

This was easy. People don’t usually call the poor and offer to purchase a vehicle of their choice for them. That offer was now off the table; although we are very grateful. The poor don’t get telephone calls from dealers offering them a bargain on a car, simply because they’re poor. I wish this would happen more often. Unfortunately, it does not happen often enough. That offer was off the table as well.

This left one offer on the table. The older family car that was offered to us free of charge. I remembered that the first car I ever owned was a hand-me-down from my sister. I was broke. The only thing that I could afford was that old car.

The end of the story is that we have a car and it’s beautiful. It’s a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan with 156,000 miles and a few dents and scratches on the outside, but it’s perfect under the hood.

Here are the pictures.

There are several other dimensions to this story.

First: The brother who was involved in the accident in one of our novices who is about to make vows this week. The car was totaled; but Brother walked away without a scratch, not even a headache. Not only was he not hurt, he was smiling when he arrived home. His first words to me were, “I feel very peaceful.” If this is not a sign of a man whom God has called to himself, I don’t know what is.

Second dimension: During our review of the Constitutions, we asked The Immaculate to point us in the right direction. “Are we doing the Will of God? Is this way of life and this work what God wants from us?” The Lord protected our novice from physical harm and blessed him with great peace and joy, despite the hardship. Interior peace is the best sign that one is in compliance with God’s Will.

Finally, the third dimension to this story, without the car, our student brothers cannot travel to the university. We cannot continue our work in hospice, pregnancy centers, university campus, religious education and among the immigrant poor. We live in an area where public transportation is very poor. It would take two hours to get to the university using public transit, when it takes 25 minutes by car. A brother would spend four hours on the road to go to a class. This is time that has to be stolen from prayer, community, and apostolate.

Not only did God’s providence come through for us through the generosity of others; but he confirmed us in our vocation. God does not provide transportation to go where he does not want us to do so.

The last thing for today, we need to do some body work on the car. We have $1,300.00. We need about another $500.00. If you can spare $1.00, it would help. If you know someone who does body work in the Fort Lauderdale area and can hook us up with a good price, that would be very helpful.

While we’re on the subject of money. We want to thank everyone who donates to Franciscans of Life. Every month, we manage to reach the necessary dollar amount to pay our rent and utilities for that month. Isn’t that awesome. 🙂

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on January 14, 2016 at 3:33 PM Comments (1)

“Come to Bethlehem and see / Christ Whose birth the angels sing!”

Nativity scene at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church

The Franciscans of Life wish to extend to you our most sincere hope for a peaceful and joyous Christmas!

Christmas is a very special time in the life of mankind, because it sets into motion the fulfillment of the Covenants that the Lord had made with Israel at different times before pre-Christian history.

Th 12313767_1724552867778905_4437807418574257125_n e Incarnation and the Virgin Birth set into motion the journey to Calvary and our redemption.

Our holy father St. Francis was sensitive to the connection between Christmas and the Pasch of the Christ. He sets up the first creche, not because Christmas is the center of our Faith, but it is the first step in the final chapter of the Covenant, which was fulfilled during the Easter triduum.

As we enter the Christmas season let us remember that Christmas is not an end. Rather, it is the beginning of the journey to Good Friday and Easter.

“Let us begin. Up to now we have done nothing.”

– St. Francis

The Franciscans of Life will remember your intentions at Midnight mass. If you have a special intention, you can email it to us, and your communique will remain strictly confidential: email

Have a grace filled Christmas!

Nativity scene at our mother house

The Brothers

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on December 22, 2015 at 6:51 PM Comments (1)

GAUDETE

advent wreath As we prepare for Christmas Day, many small, but wonderful things are happening in our community. Probably the most exciting is the fact that we held a chapter and Brother Bernardo D’Carmine’s request to make vows as a regular brother was accepted by the chapter and ratified by the superior. A regular brother is one who makes vows, lives a celibate life in community and follows a monastic schedule during the day. An extern brother is one who makes a solemn promise to observe the rule and constitutions. However, he remains in the world This can be a diocesan deacon or priest, a married layman or a single man who is hoping to marry.

Brother Bernardo will profess vows of obedience, poverty, chastity and free service to the Gospel of Life on January 18, 2016, just one month away. The profession will take place at 7:45PM in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of St. Maximilian Kolbe Church. Rev. Mr. Scott Joiner will preside over the solemn vesper service and Father Superior will receive Brother Bernardo’s vows.

I regret that I cannot extend an open invitation. Profession of temporary vows usually takes place in a private setting with the immediate family, the brothers and two friends of the newly professed.

Some of you may be curious as to what happens at this ceremony. There are several parts. Let me walk you through them.

One: After the opening of solemn evening prayer, the superior calls up the candidate and asks him what he wants, to which the novice responds that he wishes to consecrate his life to Christ, the Immaculate and to the Church.

Two: The Liturgy of the Hours continues as usual. If it’s not a required feast day, the brothers pray the Office of the Passion composed by Saint Francis and approved by the Church for public use.

Three: After the psalms there are two readings, one from an epistle and one from the Gospel.

Four: The superior again invites the novice to come up to the sanctuary and proceeds to interrogate him on his faith. This is extremely important, because Francis clearly said that no one may be admitted to the fraternity unless he is truly Catholic. The novice must proclaim that he believes and obeys without question, everything that the Church teaches.

Five: The novice now returns to his seat and the cleric proceeds to deliver the homily.

Six: After the homily, the novice quietly walks up to the superior who is seated on a special chair in the sanctuary and says, “Father, please pray that I may do the will of God.” He then prostrates on the floor while the other brothers sing the litany of the Franciscan saints.

Seven: Having finished the litany, the novice knee profession of vows ls with hands in the superior’s hand. The superior asks him, “Are you firmly resolved to live the Gospel walking in the footsteps of St. Francis under the protection of the Immaculate.”

The novice answers in the affirmative and the superior encourages him to profess his vows.

The novice says:

I, Brother N, vow and promise to almightly God, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our holy father Saint Francis and to you Father, to observe, for three years, the Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance and the constitutions of this society, living in obedience, without property, in celibate chastity and I also vow to freely proclaim the Gospel of Life. May God be my judge.

The superior responds:

May the Holy Spirit, who has begun this work in you bring it to fruition and may the Immaculate Mother of God lead you into the presence of her divine son.

The newly professed brother stands and the superior removes his wooden Tau cross and replaces it with a brass Tau cross. He turns toward the congregation and recites the Magnificat; “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord . . . . “

The brother then proceeds to the altar where he will sign the profession book and his signature is witnessed by one of his parents, two brothers and the superior. He then goes to the front of the sanctuary where he will receive the embrace of peace from those gathered for the ceremony.

Eight: Now the Liturgy of the Hours continues as usual. Just before the final blessing, the superior says a few words to the brother and those in the congregation.

Because Franciscans of Life is a private association of the faithful, with the blessing of the Archbishop of Miami, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, these vows are considered private vows. We pray for more vocations so that when we have the required number of brothers, the Church may elevate us to a public association of the faithful and eventually to a congregation. So, please pray with us for more vocations.

We want to congratulate Brother and tell everyone how proud we are of him. Brother has distinguished himself in the quest for virtue, life of prayer, love for his brothers and service to the voiceless. He gives talks, organizes educational events on the Right to Be Born, and collects other people’s treasures to sell at a flea market to help support us and our work. He also teachers religious education and is founding a group of Young Franciscans for Life with college students. Brother is also a full-time graduate student and a researcher at a leading university.

Postulant Novice

From postulant to novice, soon to be professed

Let us remain united in prayer as we proceed toward Christmas and let keep Brother in prayer as he completes his last month of novitiate.

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on December 16, 2015 at 3:04 PM Leave a Comment

First time in Miami: Respect Life Hispanic Conference

On Saturday, November 7, the Franciscans of Life attended the Second Statewide Respect Life Hispanic Conference. This is the first Hispanic pro-life conference to take place in the Archdiocese of Miami. The location – Immaculate Conception Catholic Church – was no coincidence: Hialeah is the city with the highest number of abortions in the State of Florida, and the Catholic pro-life efforts in its territory are still limited.

Featuring an impressive panel of speakers, the Conference covered topics such as: “Christian Matrimony: God’s master plan”, “The truth on abortion”, “Recovery after abortion”, “The ethical care of human life from conception to natural death”, “Moral medical methods for the treatment of infertility”, “Spiritual and practical support for couples suffering infertility”, and “Plan of action for the family”.

One of the talks was titled: “Project Joseph – for fathers”. This was the first time that we presented in Spanish the work carried out in Project Joseph – a joint effort between the Franciscans of Life and Respect Life Ministry Archdiocese of Miami to serve fathers in unexpected pregnancies.

The talk was delivered by our Father Superior, Br. Jay, who founded the program 6 years ago and currently directs it. He was accompanied by Br. Bernardo, Project Joseph mentor at the North Dade Pregnancy Help Center.

The talk – which we will feature in an upcoming article – began by describing how Project Joseph is relevant to the Ibero-American culture, in which too often women, and particularly mothers, are treated as if they were servants or nannies, rather than with the respect they deserve. This leads to the development of dysfunctional environments. As a consequence, there are many situations in which few rights are recognized to the women but many burdens are imposed on her if she becomes a mother, while the father on the other hand retains many rights and few responsibilities. On this note, the origin of Project Joseph were described.

“Don’t let me catch you talking badly about my Project Joseph dads!”, admonished Br. Jay. “These men are good people. Project Joseph offers them the opportunity to mature and grow as men and as fathers.” Over 200 fathers have participated and become mature men, responsible and prepared to face the challenges of life.

Br. Jay mentioned that the success of the Project is due to the intercession of St. Joseph, patron of all fathers. His role in the Holy Family, described in a few examples, shows why it is so important to help these men walk in the footsteps of St. Joseph. The Franciscan charism is also behind the success of Project Joseph, a charism that originates in the Seraphic Father and finds worthy example in the martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe, patron of the pro-life movement.

It was a beautiful, well organized, well attended event. We were glad to be there and have a table set aside for us to raise awareness of the work carried out by the FFV.

Our apostolate to the preborn children and their parents has developed significantly through Project Joseph, and we are particularly interested in recruiting Hispanic or bi-lingual mentors, since many of our dads speak Spanish as their primary language. However, we also serve the chronically and terminally ill and their families and caregivers, as well as the immigrant poor – populations that are very much in need of attention as we look to “The Family in light of God”.

The Conference came to a closing with Holy Mass celebrated by H.E. Thomas Wenski, Archbishop of Miami. During his homily, he underscored the important role of St. Joseph in God’s plan for the family. Here is our translation:

“The theme of this conference has been “The family in light of God.” Here, in Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus, that is, in the holy family, we see reflected God’s plan for the family when there is no stain of sin.

May the prayers and example of the Jesus’ parents strengthen today’s parents in their efforts to raise their children according to God’s will. In thefulfillment of His plan of salvation for mankind, God did not need the participation of Joseph to create the child Jesus. Nevertheless, God decided that the help of Joseph was indeed necessary in raising the holy child. Joseph, as chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, played an indispensable role in the life of Jesus as his foster father. He was not an absent or indifferent father. In fact, to him was entrusted the safety and well-being of Mary and of Jesus. We see this in the episode of the flight to Egypt. We perceive this in the narration of the child lost and found in the temple of Jerusalem. We can deduce that Joseph played a crucial role in the life of Jesus before he began his public life by the fact that his fellow citizens knew him as “the son of the carpenter”.

God wanted the best for his Son, and thus made it possible for Mary to marry Joseph, for only matrimony ensures the commitment between the parents and for the children. The children are raised better when the effort is carried out by a father and a mother. Thus was then and thus is now: every child needs a father, every child deserves a father – a father like Joseph. For this reason, the Church proposes the family of Nazareth as a model; and if for some reason our earthly family does not count with the presence of a mother or father, the Church invites us to count on Mary and Joseph. They will not disappoint us.”

The event was featured on the Archdiocesan News. Click here to read the article, which features the Project Joseph talk.

If you wish to see some more pictures, courtesy of Respect Life Ministry Archdiocese of Miami, follow this link 🙂

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to us! We will be glad to help you explore and discern if the Lord is inviting you to proclaim the Gospel of life with us.

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on November 26, 2015 at 12:45 PM Leave a Comment

FFV Immigration Resources Page Well Received

We have noticed with great joy that ever since we published on our website a page with information and resources for immigrants and refugees ( http://www.franciscansoflife.org/inmigracion.html ), it has become our second most visited page, counting hundreds of visits every month.

The link on franciscansoflife.org

Written entirely in Spanish, the page briefly describes the service of the Franciscans of Life to the immigrant poor. It also provides a list of services in Miami-Dade and Broward, such as emergency and abuse hotlines, low income medical care, community resources, public transit, internet, legal help, prison ministry, food and clothing, pregnancy help, housing, help to minors and refugees, and education.

To make navigation easier, a series of intuitive icons allow the visitor to quickly go to the section of interest.

Our website access statistics can only record a minimal part of the search phrases that led the visitors to our resource page. However, for those phrases that we have learned about, we are very moved to see how this page is able to meet the call for help of so many who are looking for very basic necessities.

In fact, out of curiosity we typed some of those phrases on popular search engines and much to our surprise we found that in many cases they are among the top results!

For instance:

#1 in “catholic churches in miami that help find medical help”
#2 in “help for immigrants in hollywood florida”
#4 in “immigration refugees hialeah”
#6 in “catholic medical services in miami”
#7 in “metro rail low income miami”
#7 in “clinics for people without medical insurance broward florida”
#9 in “abuse help broward”
#14 in “emergency help miami”
#21 in “help for immigrants miami”

Please help us reach a greater number of our immigrant brothers and sisters in Miami-Dade and Broward by sharing this simple list of information and resources.

http://www.franciscansoflife.org/inmigracion.html

Published in:

on November 17, 2015 at 12:34 AM Leave a Comment

FFV Highlights

Pax et bonum!

The past few months have been quite busy 🙂 We wish to share with you some highlights, hoping that you will enjoy them and pray for us! Also pray for vocations. The Year of Consecrated Life is not over yet. Could the Lord be inviting you to build with us in the footsteps of St. Francis…?

The regular brothers wear the “corona” as a sign of consecrated celibacy.

Extern Brother Chris Thomas More (right) renewed his Solemn Promise, and Regular Brother Leo (center) made his First Profession.

In September we celebrated the birthday of Father Superior by throwing a “surprise puppy”… 😉

We crafted our first holy cards featuring a statue of St. Joseph donated to us by a generous benefactress. Some of the cards were blessed in Philadelphia by the Holy Father.

We went in pilgrimage to D.C. and Philadelphia following the footsteps of the Holy Father. In the picture: Pope Francis preaches the homily at the closing of World Meeting of Families.

On the evening of October 3rd we celebrated the Transitus of our Seraphic Father, St. Francis outside of our mother house.

The brothers worked hard to raise funds at the Flea Market of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church. Most of the objects were donated to us for this purpose!

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Tailor and cobbler workshop at the mother house 🙂 In the pictures, a brother sows a pair of pants and admires its seam, then proceeds to repair some sandals.

A big “thank you” to the generous donor who helped us purchase much-needed front tires for the community car!

Boo! 😀 On Halloween we “dressed up” the front door of the mother house for the joy of the little children who live in the neighborhood.

Franciscans of Life presented Project Joseph (Proyecto Jose’) at the II Respect Life Ministry Hispanic Conference.

Mrs. Joan Crown, Executive Director of Respect Life Ministry Archdiocese of Miami, along with our Superior and Director of Project Joseph.

Franciscans of Life attended the Ministry Fair at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church, raising awareness for Project Joseph and its great need for mentors.

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on November 8, 2015 at 11:03 PM Leave a Comment

Franciscans of Life

Vita ad vitam vocat

What happens to a man who enters the Franciscans of Life?

Who said that you have to like the Pope?

Under what authority . . . ?

Brother Bernardo Makes Vows

Let God do the driving

“Come to Bethlehem and see / Christ Whose birth the angels sing!”

Have a grace filled Christmas!

GAUDETE

First time in Miami: Respect Life Hispanic Conference

FFV Immigration Resources Page Well Received

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