November 2004                                                                   

 

May the Lord give you His peace!

Welcome to the first edition of our monthly Vocations eLetter. We have a real vocations problem at the moment. I am constantly aware that it is near impossible to keep up with all of the letters and phone calls! This eLetter is our attempt to "keep the contact fresh" with all of you who are discerning our way of life. Many apologies if I have been impossible to contact.

I hope to include advice on discerning a vocation, updates on what is going on in the order and information on friar events, etc. Please keep in mind that we decided not to have computers in our friaries as we are striving to live our vow of poverty authentically. Therefore, I am not able to communicate via email or update the website daily. Thank God, thus far we are able to live our life faithfully without using computers!

Let me state up front that we have a hit-list for prayers: anyone who has called, written or visited. We are praying for you and your discernment. May the Lord reveal to you His plan for your life! Also, the whole order offers every prayer of every Wednesday for vocations (that's you).

Pope John Paul II once said that there are three reasons why it is hard for young men to embrace a religious vocation: fear of commitment, lack of a clear understanding of this calling, and a deficient relationship with Jesus Christ. I know that I struggled with all three when I was discerning. During this Year of the Eucharist, I encourage you to spend time with Jesus, especially reading the Gospels while in adoration. St. Francis, who truly was a man of the Eucharist, wrote that the rule and life of his friars was to live the Holy Gospel.

November is always a busy month. I will be visiting my family in Indiana from Nov. 1-9.
I hope to be available @ (212)281-4355 on Nov. 10 & 11. Thank you for your patience. We will have a local New York Youth 2000 on Nov. 19-21. Thanksgiving will be a time of serving food to those in need in the New York City area. Feel free to give me input concerning the eLetter.