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In this Issue:
2019 Jubilee Celebration
Upcoming Assembly Dates
The Foley Family Walks for Parkinson's
Franciscan-Clarian Reflection
In Memory
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Congratulations, Jubilarians!
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The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, Associates, and the families and friends of this year’s Golden and Silver Jubilarians gathered for a very festive celebration on Saturday, May 25.
The celebration began with the Eucharistic Celebration in the chapel of the St. Elizabeth Motherhouse. Congregational Minister
,
Margaret Mary Kimmins OSF
,
delivered the homily and lead the Jubilarians in a renewal of their vows. Following Mass, those in attendance gathered in the Motherhouse dining room for a celebratory meal and continued festivities.
Celebrating were:
Golden Jubilarians:
Nancy Chiarello OSF
Elvira Donaldson OSF
Cindy Matthews OSF
Goianira Silva OSF
S
ilver Jubilarian:
Colleen Brady OSF
Congratulations, Jubilarians!
A recording of the Jubilee Mass can be
found here
. To see more pictures from the event,
click here
.
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Dear Sisters, Associates and Partners in Ministry,
Please mark your calendars for our next set of Congregational Assemblies!
Each of these Assemblies will focus on our continuing preparation and Communal Discernment process for the General Chapter which will be held at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse from July 26 to August 2, 2020. Our Chapter Facilitator, Sr. Connie Gilder SSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, will be present at each of these upcoming Assemblies.
Assembly Dates:
Allegany – Sept 21, 22
Easton, PA – Oct 4, 5, 6
Jamaica – Oct 26, 27
Brazil – Nov 1, 2, 3
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The Foley Family Walks for Parkinson's
By: Margaret Foley OSF
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On Saturday, May 18, the family of Sr. Margaret Foley participated in the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Moving Day walk. The walk took place on the Albuquerque campus of the University of New Mexico.
The “Moving Day” walk is a movement for change – to bring greater awareness, more funding, and a deeper understanding of a disease that affects so many of our families and friends. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative brain disorder and there is currently no cure.
Margaret wrote, “We walked in honor of our dad, Bernard Foley, who has Parkinson’s Disease and is on hospice. Our parents were unable to be at the walk, but they were very much with us in spirit. We could feel their spirits cheering us on and we were glad to participate in this important event for change and education.”
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Bernadine of Siena
By: Judith Terrameo OSF for the Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee
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Feast Day: May 20
Most of the saints suffer great personal opposition, even persecution. Bernardine, by contrast, seems more like a human dynamo who simply took on the needs of the world.
He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant throughout the country.
Bernardine had a keen intuition of the needs of the time, along with solid holiness and boundless energy and joy. He accomplished all this despite having a very weak and hoarse voice, miraculously improved later because of his devotion to Mary.
When he was 20, the plague was at its height in his hometown of Siena. Bernardine offered to run the hospital and, with the help of other young men, nursed patients there for four months. He escaped the plague but was so exhausted that a fever confined him for several months. He spent another year caring for a beloved aunt whose parents had died when he was a child, and at her death began to fast and pray to know God’s will for him.
He entered the Franciscan Order at the age of 22 and was ordained two years later. He lived in solitude and prayer for several years, but his gifts ultimately sent him forth to preach. He always traveled on foot, sometimes speaking for hours in one place, then doing the same in another town.
Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek—in Gothic letters on a blazing sun. This was to displace the superstitious symbols of the day. The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings. Opposition arose from those who thought it a dangerous innovation. Three attempts were made to have the pope take action against him, but Bernardine’s holiness, orthodoxy, and intelligence were evidence of his faithfulness.
General of the Friars of the Strict Observance, a branch of the Franciscan Order, Bernardine strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while traveling.
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Date of Birth: January 22, 1936
Entered Eternal Life: April 15, 2019
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Sr. Cecile Ho On
Date of Birth: March 25, 1921
Entered Eternal Life: April 30, 2019
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