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September 7, 2005
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Greetings and welcome
to Faith Formation Update,
a free monthly e-newsletter for catechetical leaders with a focus
on parish catechesis beyond textbooks and classrooms. I'm Judith
Dunlap. In each issue I offer a brief starter
and my "Every Family" column.
My co-worker and fellow religious educator Joan
McKamey offers video resources and ideas in her "Seen
and Heard" column. Our co-worker Chuck Blankenship
suggests other faith formation resources for adults from St. Anthony Messenger Press in his column, "Sowing Sampler." Finally, we encourage YOU to share views and
program ideas about this month's topic on our online bulletin
board, "Faith Formation Forum."
Blessings on your work! —Judith
Dunlap p.s. You're receiving
this either because you signed up, or because you're a loyal customer
of St. Anthony Messenger Press. We will never send you unwanted
e-mail. There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
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Dominicans taught me in high school, Jesuits in college and Marianists in graduate school,
but for the last 15 years Franciscans have been my teachers. The friars I’ve worked with in parishes—and now at St.
Anthony Messenger Press (SAMP)—have helped me to understand and appreciate Franciscan spirituality. I am finally able to
balance the theology of atonement, with which I grew up, with a theology of joy and hope. (But that’s another topic.)
October 4 is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, so Joan, Chuck and I thought it would be a good idea
to spend this month’s newsletter helping you get ready to celebrate and appreciate this great saint’s feast in your parish.
I’d like to share with you what we are doing in my home parish. As I have mentioned before,
we use Generations of Faith (Center for Ministry
Development) for intergenerational faith formation. We pick a theme every year. This year’s theme is “Following
Francis” (the patron saint of our parish). Our first activity, “The Many Faces of Francis,” will be held on
the last Sunday in September.
One of the things we hope to accomplish this year is to help parishioners see Francis as more than a
lover of birds who spent all his time talking to animals. We have invited a Franciscan friar to speak to the adults and
teens about the various facets of Francis’ life:
The preschool and primary children will listen to a storyteller talk about some of Francis’
adventures while they create posters to illustrate “The Canticle of the Sun” for the closing prayer.
Older children will have a choice of illustrating that same Canticle or choosing one of the Francis stories to
act out. (We have a great collection of fabric, costumes and props.)
All the youngsters will spend time making bird feeders for their families to take home.
They will also be making extras, one for each household whose members attend the Mass on October 4 to celebrate the feast day.
Finally, we’ll send home with every household a packet that will include material
for various age levels for at-home learning about Francis. Check the column below to see some of things we’ll
be putting in the packet.
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Here is my funny St. Francis story: When I was a DRE, a parent was trying to talk her son
into taking St. Francis’ name for Confirmation. The little darling was adamantly against it. He asked, “Why would
I want to take the name of saint who was a sissy?” He was probably putting us on, but once we had stifled our laughter,
he was given a 10-minute talk on the brave and humble Francis.
St. Francis is a saint honored and respected not only by other Christians but also non-Christians.
Unfortunately, many people are unaware of just how great a saint Francis was. We picture him often talking to wolves and
playing his violin for birds, but rarely do we envision him being led to the sultan by armed guards.
Perhaps you might have catechists read some of the exciting stories of Francis’ life
(Francis and the robbers or Francis and the sultan) to their students during October. Below, Chuck mentions in
his column a number of books that can be read to children.
Consider sending home a note to parents with some attached materials
families can use to celebrate St. Francis’ feast day. You might provide a simple prayer
service (Click here for a sample prayer service from The Blessing Cup.)
and/or a blessing they can say for their pet. (Check out animal blessings at AmericanCatholic.org.)
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A friend of mine is expecting her first child on October 4. When I learned the due date,
I immediately exclaimed, “That’s the feast day of St. Francis!” While this friend isn’t very familiar
with this saint who has factored so significantly in my life, she does recognize him as “the guy with the birds”
as he is so often depicted in garden statuary.
That “guy with the birds” is certainly one of our most familiar saints. Many who themselves
find God in nature relate to Francis’ recognition of God in all of creation. Others who struggle to live lives of
simplicity in this consumer age turn to him as a model of one who chose a life of poverty over one of wealth. Many are
drawn to him because of the Peace Prayer he is believed to have prayed: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace….”
As a child from a large, hardworking yet poor farm family in a Franciscan parish, I came to know of
and appreciate Francis early on. I knew that the Franciscans who staffed our parish and school had chosen a life of
poverty in imitation of St. Francis’ response to the gospel call. I decided that there must be something valuable
about being poor. I certainly didn’t know what it was, but it helped me build a positive sense of self. As I matured,
my appreciation of Francis did as well. I came to see that the benefits gained from my “poor” upbringing far outweighed
anything I had to do without during my childhood years.
In 1997, after ministering in a school, retreat center and parish, I came “home” to
work for the Franciscans at St. Anthony Messenger Press. Three years ago I was blessed with the opportunity of a
lifetime: I spent nearly two weeks in Assisi and Rome on a Franciscan pilgrimage, learning more about the spiritualities
of Sts. Francis and Clare in some of the very places where those spiritualities developed.
In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the Second Vatican Council calls us a “pilgrim
Church” (48). As pilgrims, we are on a journey to a sacred place; ultimately our destination is heaven and the fulfillment
of the Kingdom of God. We can be assisted, motivated and inspired along that lifelong pilgrimage by making smaller pilgrimages
to sacred places here on earth. My pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome definitely did that for me. I consider it two weeks of grace
that forever changed me. It wasn’t just something I did once; it has become part of who I am.
I’ve selected a clip from the video Franciscan Holy Ground: Where Francis and Clare Found God
to share with you (RealMedia | Windows Media).
Use this video for your own reflection on these popular saints. Also, share it with small groups, within an adult faith-formation offering on St. Francis near his feast day
or with youth who are learning about St. Francis/saints/pilgrimage. This would also be a great tool for introducing RCIA participants to the saints as real people,
particularly a saint whose story involves a process of conversion and radical lifestyle change. This video also introduces the tradition of pilgrimage.
Remember, we’re all pilgrims. You don’t have to go to Italy in order to get to our ultimate destination as Christians. But if you ever get the chance…
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As a Franciscan publishing house, St. Anthony Messenger Press offers a variety of print
resources related to St. Francis, materials intended for everyone from children to adults, to gratify a passing interest in
Francis or sustain a lifelong fascination with the life and message of this great saint.
Francis of Assisi: Activities and Coloring Fun for Children
is a wonderful activity book/coloring book that parents can share with their younger children. Word searches, puzzles,
paper figures to cut out and even poetry-writing exercises make this book a source for hours of sharing about St. Francis.
And if you’re looking for stories to share, try The Wondrous Adventures of
Saint Francis of Assisi, where you’ll find such charming stories as “The Miserable Leper,” “The Wicked
Wolf of Gubbio” and “Miracles of the Manger.” Our own Friar Jack Wintz has written a delightful
story, St. Francis in San Francisco,
that follows St. Francis as he makes a visit to modern-day San Francisco.
Another popular introduction to St. Francis can be found
in Francis of Assisi: The Song Goes On,
or, for a more scholarly portrait of the saint, St. Francis
of Assisi: A Biography by Omer Englebert.
Finally, for a story of how St. Francis can change the lives of people even today, you might
want to read Gerard Straub’s award-winning personal journal, The Sun and Moon Over Assisi: A Personal Encounter With Francis and Clare.
Straub, a Hollywood filmmaker and television producer, tells how he was moved and transformed by his encounter with Francis.
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