Readers reflect on Friar Jack’s musings

With the upcoming feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4, we decided to break from our usual column. Friar Jim will be back, as usual, next month, and Friar Jack’s series of reflections on his pilgrimages in Europe will continue, as scheduled, in our next issue. Today I want to share with you the amazing work of another of our co-workers, Friar Greg Friedman, and some of his friends, who have been on pilgrimage to Assisi.

This month marks the release of Franciscan Communication’s DVD, Assisi Pilgrimage: Walking in Faith with Francis and Clare. Over the past three years, Friar Greg has put this resource together with a film crew from Assisi and a series of studio interviews with leading Franciscan experts from around the United States. It was the inspiration of a pilgrim, Domenick Morda, a lay Franciscan who went on pilgrimage to Assisi and was moved to share the story. The two-hour program allows viewers to hear the stories of pilgrims who have come to Assisi and to visit, via video, the many places that a modern pilgrim would visit in Assisi and the surrounding region.

Franciscan Pilgrimage guides—including author and poet Friar Murray Bodo, Clare scholar Margaret Carney, O.S.F., and leader of the pilgrimage program Friar Roch Niemier—uncover the places and events in the lives of Francis and Clare that mark the pilgrims' road. Music by composer Friar Robert Hutmacher adds a medieval flavor. Special features include interactive maps, timelines, a detailed explanation of the symbolism in the Cross of San Damiano and a pilgrims’ dramatization of Clare’s departure from wealth.

Also at this time St. Anthony Messenger Press is publishing a book on pilgrimage by Friar Roch Niemier. Friar Roch, who has led pilgrimages to Assisi for decades, talks about “spirituality of place” and highlights some of the popular pilgrimage sites from Francis’ life. Another new book not to be forgotten is Susan Saint Sing’s Francis and the San Damiano Cross: Meditations on Spiritual Transformation.

The Franciscan movement is alive and well! In a way, there has been a “rediscovery” of the holy places of the Franciscan founding in recent decades. Now, via many media, the renewing spirituality of place is finding a wider audience. I wanted to share that good news with you.

Peace and all good,

John Feister
Editor, AmericanCatholic.org

Friar Jack’s Inbox

Readers respond to Friar Jack’s musings on “A Visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.”

Dear Friar Jack: I was so excited when I saw that this article was about the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. I am a junior in high school, and two years ago I was blessed to be able to go on a pilgrimage to Europe, and one place we went to was Our Lady of Fatima. I didn’t really know the story when we got there, but by the time we left, it had become my favorite place. We took part in the candlelight rosary procession, and I can’t even explain the effect it had on my faith, just being there with all of the pilgrims. Thank you so much for sharing your experience at this amazing shrine! It reminded me of my pilgrimage and the awesomeness of God that I experienced there. Megan

Dear Friar Jack: It was wonderful to find that I wasn’t the only child traumatized by the stories surrounding the Fatima apparitions! I found it difficult to explain to younger adult Catholics how I felt. You have given me a desire to revisit this image of Mary, just as you did. Thanks, WJ

Dear Friar Jack: Thank you very much for your note on your recent visit to Fatima. I am very glad to read your impressions about this true “altar of the world.” This summer I had the opportunity to spend about 10 days near Fatima and I had the great joy of joining almost every night the many hundreds of people that gathered for the prayer of the rosary and procession of lights. It was always wonderful and very moving. I sensed the presence of the Lord in ways that I found delightful. Yes, I agree that many of the presentations of Fatima are off-putting and on the border of the (un)acceptable. But as a place of prayer and conversion, it ranks very high in the esteem of Our Lord and Our Lady.

I am also very grateful for the fact that you acknowledge what many people in America simply do not know: St. Anthony of Lisbon (and Padua, and the entire world) was born and made a man of God in Portugal. He is one of the (few) great saints our nation has given to the Church and to the world. Thank you for naming things as they are. The Italians (and Paduans) have many reasons to love our saint, but the people of God must be aware that before becoming Il Santo, Anthony was a very generous and cultivated Fernando de Bulhões.

All the best to you and your work in the vineyard of the Lord.
Father João, S.J.

Dear Megan, WJ and Father João, S.J.: I was delighted to get your lively responses to my August E-spirations, “A Visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.” Thank you. I’m in a bit of a rush at the moment trying to meet a number of deadlines before I take off for Italy (Sept. 13-Oct. 20). I will be participating in a three-week Franciscan study pilgrimage in and around Assisi, followed by several days on the road to Padua and surroundings in order to collect material and take photos related to the life of St. Anthony. Be assured that you and all the readers will be in my prayers. The wonderful people here on our Internet team will keep the E-spirations up and running and see that a selection of your e-mails will get published when I’m gone. I ask all of you, in your kindness, to keep our staff in your prayers—and me, as well. May God watch over you everyday and give you peace! Friar Jack

Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.

Check our national list of pet blessings that will take place around the feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4).

Ilia Delio illustrates God’s humility and his relationship with the world.
Read a free sample chapter online.

With spiritual insight and careful historical judgment, Omer Englebert blends the many facets of St. Francis’ personality into a portrait of a saint who can inspire men and women today. A Servant Book.
Learn more here.

Father Greg offers an "armchair tour" of this very special pilgrimage destination in this new DVD.
Click here to order.

Unlike any other book on the saint from Assisi, this book brings St. Francis’ writings to the forefront.
Click here to order.

The joy of Francis will fill you as you listen to these stories and reflect on the humility and simplicity of this beloved saint.
Click here for a free sample.

An invaluable prayer resource that uses the cross of San Damiano as inspiration for personal reflection. 
Learn more here.

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa meditates on Francis’ Canticle of Creation and his Testament, calling us to allow the beauty of creation to draw us to Christ and open us to love. A Servant Book. Learn more here.