Dear Parishioners,
Pope Francis said “Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.” This sentiment certainly guides our parish and its ministries. This summer, our Knights of Columbus (Council #12110), Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and Parish Outreach Committee have all seen transitions in leadership that ensure their continued embodiment of that attitude toward ministry and service within our community. Larry Bevis, formerly the chair of the Outreach Committee, has transferred his title to become Grand Knight of our K.O.C. council. Fran Provenzano, a leading organizer of our Giving from the Heart drives, will now act as chair of the Outreach Committee. SVdP recently held elections for its leadership positions, with longtime parishioner and Vincentian Ralph Stoddard set to become president of our conference. Former SH staff member Angela Erb will serve as vice-president, and Suzanne Collins as secretary and treasurer. Again, it is wonderful to see new people stepping up to help lead our parish in living out the Gospel.
We have also been very fortunate to welcome three new part-time members to our parish staff. Longtime parishioner Judy Staley joined this spring to assist with bookkeeping, an invaluable help to our business manager Larry Cabrera, who has been busy overseeing the building restorations both on the church and at the North Campus. A pair of regular volunteers from the Gift & Book Store, Aprile Black and Esther Holder, have made their way from the store to the the parish office, and will share responsibility over reception and sacramental record keeping. If you need a Mass card they will be there to help you!
This past Friday, August 2, we celebrated an important Franciscan Feast, Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula. The word “Portiuncula” simple refers to a small piece of land that the church was built on. This was the third church in which St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt. It was here that St. Francis said that God sent forth him brothers, and therefore became the birthplace of the Franciscan Order. This is also the place where St. Francis died. He instructed his brothers to bring him here so that he may welcome sister death.
In The Life of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure writes:
“The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned. Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the angels often visited it, so that it used to be called St. Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ. He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here that he began his religious life in a very small way; it was here that he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.
This was the place where St Francis founded the Order of Friars Minor by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel. This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.
As he was living there by the church of our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of Mercy and he brought it to fruition.
He embraced the Mother of our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars.”
Peace and All Good,
– Fr. Mike
