Lay Missioner Class 38 at the replica of the Portiuncula at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land following their Commissioning Mass

Welcome to the FMS e-newsletter! Each week, our newsletter will be highlighting what our missioners are learning through their mission preparation at Casa San Salvador, the FMS missioner house. Enjoy these stories from the missioners' twelfth week!

On Saturday, November 11, Ralph, Susan, and Kim were commissioned during a Mass at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. They were joined by FMS staff, DC Service Corps, and family and friends for the commissioning ceremony and a reception following at the Casa San Salvador.

Join us in congratulating our missioners and praying for them as they continue to answer God's call in their ministries!

From left to right: Susan Sarkissian (missioner), Noah Duclos (DC Service Corps), Rose Hardwick (FMS Associate Director), Meghan Meros (FMS Director of Mission Integration), lending their musical talents to the Commissioning Mass.

The missioners each wrote their own personal mission statement and read it aloud to the congregation during the commissioning ceremony.

From left to right: Liz Hughes (FMS Executive Director), Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM (former Co-Director and longtime friend of FMS), Ralph Anderson (missioner), Kim Wagner (missioner), Susan Sarkissian (missioner), Rose Hardwick (FMS Associate Director), and Meghan Meros (FMS Director of Mission Integration).

Each week the missioners will learn about different styles of prayer as part of their faith formation. We encourage you to enter into this journey; hopefully it can assist in your own spiritual life as well.

During his earthly life, St. Francis believed everyone and everything was a true gift from God. This view greatly influenced St. Francis' engagement with the world. Following his example, the Franciscan tradition encourages celebrating the diversity of God’s creation and seeing God in all aspects of life. Embracing an unlimited understanding of God’s presence in creation encourages individuals to express their love for God through the use of their unique God-given gifts. This week the missioners embraced this Franciscan charism through the practice of creative prayer. 

Creative prayer is using one’s talents in art, music, and dance to become closer to God and grow deeper in his love. Creative prayer should be engaging, experiential, and exciting. For example, Kim Wagner led the group in practicing blackout poetry, which is where you take a written text and redact or black out words of the text to create a new message with what is left over. Susan Sarkissian had the group practice quiet meditative prayer while putting together a puzzle. Ralph Anderson led the group in prayer singing the hymns that would later be used in the Commissioning Mass.

The Franciscan tradition is brimming with Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables included in the Roman Canon. Each week, we will highlight a different Franciscan who lived a notable life of holiness.

Elizabeth was born to the King and Queen of Hungary in the year 1207. She lived a lavish and privileged lifestyle in the Hungarian court until the age of 13, when conflict arose between Germany and Hungary, and Elizabeth's mother was targeted and killed. This event caused Elizabeth to seek meaning and comfort in prayer, and she found great peace in the Church.

When Franciscan missionaries arrived in her city in 1223, Elizabeth was inspired by their commitment to simplicity and she decided to join the Third Order of Franciscans and devote her life to her citizens who were experiencing poverty. Together with her husband, Elizabeth committed her time, money, possessions, and resources to the citizens who needed them most. She was known to give up her personal bed to people suffering from leprosy, which was a debilitating and isolating disease at the time. She also established a hospital in her home that provided medical aid for those who could not afford it, and she personally distributed bread to the hungry in her city.

Her extended family did not approve of Elizabeth's lifestyle, and she endured harsh treatment from them as a result. Saint Elizabeth died on November 17th, 1232, and she is now considered the patron saint of the Secular Franciscan Order, Catholic charities, and bakers.

St. Elizabeth, pray for us!

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