The Capuchins - Capuchin Franciscan Friars of Australia

www.capuchinfriars.org.au
Capuchin Youth Fest 2014
INSIDE
Spirituality:
Friar in Focus:
St Francis and the marginalised
Meet the Postulant Director
Ministry in focus:
Event:
St Francis Place, Brisbane
Capuchin Youth Fest
August 2014
The Capuchins
From the provincial
Dear friends,
Since the last Capuchin newsletter in May a few
significant events have occurred for the friars of
Australia.
One of our senior friars, Fr Francis Merlino passed
over into eternal life on the birthday of Saint Padre
Pio, 25 May. Fr Francis was born in Drummoyne,
Sydney in 1932. He died at the age of 82 after
59 years as a Capuchin and 53 years of priestly
service.
Fr Luan Le has spent 10-weeks working with the
Capuchins in Timor Leste. He is now arranging to
return there in early August for a 3-year term as
post-novitiate formator, working with the friars from
Portugal and Pontianak, Indonesia to implant the
CAPUCHINS
Capuchin Order in Timor Leste. The Mission Office
in Leichhardt is assisting the work of the friars in
Timor Leste and is grateful for your collabortion and
that you too are facing a more secure future, that
on your journey you will encounter an outstretched
hand, and that you can experience fraternal
AUSTRALIAN PROVINCE
generosity.
Following in the footsteps
of Jesus Christ, guided by
the life and rule of
St Francis of Assisi and
his friar companions.
Bishop John Corriveau of Nelson, Canada, our
through simple gestures the friars and Franciscan
former Minister General of the Order has spent
Immaculating Sisters are seeking to make a reality
two weeks with us. He was a key presenter at the
this hope of the Pope.
Contact us:
[email protected]
Capuchin Youth Fest and then led the friars for their
annual retreat at St Joseph Centre, Baulkham Hills.
Development Office
PO Box 604
Leichhardt NSW 2040
in November this year. Please pray for us as we
prepare for this important event at which we seek to
for both the young people attending and the friars.
discern the promptings of the Holy Spirit and desire
Fr Paul Dressler, a Capuchin friar from Capuchin
to be obedient to where the Spirit of God leads us
College Washington DC animated the festival. There
in our ministering to the people of God in Australia.
were about 80 young people and around a dozen
Br Mark Schenk, General Councillor, based in Rome
friars attending. The enthusiasm of the young
and from the Mid-American Capuchins (curia is in
people was a joy to experience.
Denver) will attend as the President of the Chapter.
preparing to welcome two young men as postulants
Postal:
The friars will hold their triennial Provincial Chapter
The Capuchin Youth Fest was a gracious experience
The Assumption Friary at Dutton Park is busy
www.capuchinfriars.org.au
solidarity and the warmth of friendship!’’ It is
In preparation for the Chapter, he will conduct a
formal visitation in the coming month.
on 11 August. Fr James Grant is the postulant
On behalf of the friars I thank you for your
director and you can read more about his activities
continued assistance and prayers. We will continue
in the Meet the Friars section.
to recommend you and your families to the Lord,
In this issue the Ministry in Focus looks at
especially at the altar.
the work that has commenced with the friars at
In Christ,
West End, Brisbane in welcoming refugees. It is a
nascent but important ministry for the friars. The
treatment of refugees continues to be a challenge to
our nation. On 5 August 2013, Pope Francis wrote,
‘‘Dear migrants and refugees! Never lose the hope
Fr Gary Devery OFMCap
Provincial Minister
My neighbour?
Welcoming refugees
Spirituality
There are 28 admonitions of St
Francis. They help us get into the
mind and heart of St Francis. They
also reveal how he allowed the
Word of God to interpret his life.
He opens his admonitions with
the words of the Lord Jesus to his
disciples, I am the way, the truth and
the life; no one comes to the Father
except through me (Jn 14:4). For St
Francis, there is only one compass and
path to a life lived to the full: walking
in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
In his 18th admonition, St Francis
writes,
1.
Blessed is the person who
supports his neighbour in his weakness
as he would want to be supported
were he in a similar situation.
2.
Blessed is the servant who
returns every good to the Lord
God because whoever holds onto
something for himself hides the money
of his Lord God within himself, and
what he thinks he has will be taken
away from him.
Supporting the neighbour in his
weakness could well be inspired by
what St Francis has heard in St Paul’s
letter to the Galatians (6:2), Bear one
another’s burdens, and in this way
you will fulfil the law of Christ, and in
the so-called Golden Rule of Matthew
(7:12), In everything do to others as
you would have them do to you; for
this is the law and the prophets.
St Francis acted on the Word of God.
There is the dramatic account in the
account of the life of St Francis by
St Bonaventure, who recounts the
following event:
There was a man in the neighbourhood
of Spoleto whose mouth and cheek
were being eaten away by a certain
horrible disease. He could not be
helped by any medical treatment and
went on a pilgrimage to implore the
intercession of the holy apostles. On
his way back from visiting their shrines
he happened to meet God’s servant.
When out of devotion he wanted to
Source: afriarslife.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/why-popes-embrace-of-disfigured-man-is.html
kiss his footprints, that humble man,
refusing to allow it, kissed the mouth
of the one who wished to kiss his feet.
In his remarkable piety Francis, the
servant of lepers, touched that horrible
sore with his holy mouth, and suddenly
every sign of the disease vanished and
the sick man recovered the health
he longed for. I do not know which
of these we should admire more: the
depth of his humility in such a kind kiss
or his extraordinary power in such an
amazing miracle. (II,6)
Such dramatic actions were not
uncommon to St Francis. They issued
forth, not from his human strength of
good-will and personality. St Francis
knew from exprience that before his
conversion to following in the footsteps
of the Lord Jesus he felt physically
nauseated
and
psychologically
paralysed when confronted by lepers,
and had to flee from them out of fear.
No, the source of the welcome St
Francis gave to the marginalised came
from the spirit of Christ that had found
a home in him.
The contemporary challenge St
Francis throws out to us is how do
we react in front of other people who
are different to us, perhaps evoking
various levels of fear and unease in
us? On a national level we do seem
to experience such a thing with
asylum seekers and refugees. They
are percieved as a threat and we are
fearful of them. Why else would we go
to such extraordinary means and
expense to keep them from landing on
our shores? Why else would we justify
locking up children and their parents in
detention centres?
Let us also give ourselves a fair hearing.
Our small nation, by population, is
third highest in the resettlement of
refugees. So on the one hand we are
open and generous and on the other,
fearful and restrictive. We need to let
the Word of God challenge us, heal
us and set us free to, like St Francis
of Assisi, rebuild the Church and the
society around us.
It is encouraging to see this happening
in small but significant ways. St Francis
Place, West End is an example of this.
The impact goes beyond just the very
small number of refugees welcomed
weekly at the parish church hall. The
encounter of young volunteers with
these men has a nuclear effect. Those
young volunteers, experience the
freedom and joy of losing some of
their precious time with the refugees,
and walk away encouraged and
strengthened in their humanity and
faith. They then encourage others to
overcome their fears and discover
that there is more joy in giving than
recieving; they discover that the
‘‘neighbour’’is an enrichment to their
life experience and that it is a joy to be
a constructor of a civilisation of love.
(Fr Gary Devery OFMCap)
Reference: Regis Armstrong (ed.), St
Francis of Assisi, Vol. 1 & 2, New City,
2000.
Immaculatine Sisters serving lunch (image blurred)
Ministry in Focus
St Francis Place - West End Brisbane
“It would be cynical to proclaim human
rights and, at the same time, ignore or not
help these men and women who, forced to
leave their homelands, die in the attempt
or are not welcomed with international
solidarity.”
The friars, with the assistance of the
Romero Centre , initially met with a group
of refugees to find out how best they could
be supported. They indicated that learning
English would be a great benefit, along
with having a place to relax and recreate
together.
St Francis Place opened in March. Once a
week St Francis Place operates from the
hall behind St Francis of Assisi church,
These words of Pope Francis regarding
the plight of many refugees are a great
reminder of the need to do all that we can
to assist our brothers and sisters who are
struggling to settle into their new land.
The local Capuchin fraternity who are
based at Assumption Friary (Dutton Park,
Queensland) together with the Franciscan
Immaculatine Sisters, sought to offer
some assistance to those seeking asylum
in Australia. After spending some time
discovering the needs in the area, it was
suggested that there are few services that
cater specifically for refugee men. So the
friars and Sisters decided to set up St
Francis Place men’s group, an initiative
that aims to be a place of welcome and
support for men who have come from
very difficult situations in the homeland
and are struggling to settle in their new
surroundings.
Fr Dean teaching English (image blurred)
At a recent General Audience, ahead of
World Refugee Day, the Pope appealed to
the faithful “to be close to these people,
sharing their fears and their uncertainty
for the future, and alleviating their pain
with concrete measures”. (3. General
Audience, 18 June, 2014) The friars
are seeking to develop more ‘concrete
measures’ of assisting the refugees. There
is the hope that St Francis Place will be
open more often. There are also plans to
start a carpentry workshop run by the men.
A game of cards in progress (image blurred)
West End. The group begins at 10am
with the men gathering for a coffee and
a chat. For the rest of the time before
lunch the friars and volunteers provide
English tuition. All then gather for a
lunch, and the rest of the afternoon is
spent with various activities including
table tennis, cards, soccer, gardening,
and learning musical instruments.
The men come from many different
countries – generally countries that
have experienced wars and political
unrest. St Francis Place aims to be
a safe place where the men can
gather, ask questions, and share their
concerns and hopes for the future.
of African and Middle Eastern migrants
had died attempting to find a new home,
Pope Francis lamented what he called
the anesthesia of the heart. He said, “We
are a society which has forgotten how to
weep, how to experience compassion –
“suffering with” others; the globalization
of indifference has taken from us the
ability to weep!” (2. Homily, July 8, 2013).
Hearing the stories and struggles of these
men is helping the friars and volunteers
experience the compassion and be of
greater assistance and support to them.
These initiatives are not possible without
the generous support of the community.
In May, the friars together with a group
of young people organised a benefit
concert, called WELCOME, to raise money
for the work of St Francis Place. Due to
the success of the event another night
is being planned for September. As well
as raising money, the night sought to
raise awareness of the plight of the men
seeking assistance at St Francis Place
and offering ways that people can help.
St Francis Place is in the early stages,
but with God’s help the friars and Sisters
plan to build on what has begun and
give hope to many more people who
come seeking welcome and support.
(Fr Dean Mathieson OFMCap)
It is a Capuchin tradition to seek out
those most in need, to be with the most
vulnerable. The current situation that
these men find themselves in means
that they are in need and are vulnerable.
Certainly the friars seek to help the men
adjust to their new surroundings, but
through the interaction the friars begin to
understand the mens’ situation and what
they have gone through. Pope Francis is
constantly calling us all to go out to the
periphery and be with those in need, a
call that the friars are attempting to put
into practice. In his homily at Lampedusa,
the village in Italy, near where hundreds
A time to recreate together (image blurred)
Meet the Friars
Fr James Grant
Fr James is currently engaged as the
Postulant Director for the province of
Australia. Postulancy is the initial period of
formation into the Capuchin way of life. It is
a time where young men “come and see.”
With the help of the other friars living in the
fraternity, Fr James assists the postulants
in this important stage of discernment.
Fr James, 39-years-old, hails from
Melbourne, supports St Kilda in the AFL,
and currently lives in Assumption friary,
Dutton Park, Brisbane. Before arriving in
Brisbane he studied Spiritual Theology at
the Angelicum in Rome, to help prepare
him to direct the postulancy program,
which begins each year in August. Two
young men have applied for this year and a
few more are already discerning for August
2015.
One important dimension of the
postulancy program is experiencing how
we Capuchins carry out pastoral and social
outreach ministries. Fr James regularly
engages in the following ministries:
St Francis Place where once a week the
friars and Franciscan Immaculatine Sisters
welcome male refugees, those already in
the local community and a small group
from the local refugee detention centre, at
the St Francis parish hall, West End. There
is a time for a coffee and chat, English
language tuition, lunch and various
activities in the afternoon including table
tennis, cards, soccer, gardening, and
learning musical instruments.
Blind Eye Ministry is carried out at the
OzCare Hostel next to St Mary’s parish
Church, South Brisbane. The hostel gives
accommodation and food to homeless
men and also to men who are being reintegrated into the local community after
serving a prison sentence. The ministry
James engages in is very simple: while
volunteers are serving coffee, he is
available for a chat. He provides an open
ear and heart.
Little
King’s
Movement
for
the
Handicapped at Buranda finds Fr James
involved with catechetics for children. He
works with the Franciscan Immculatine
Sisters in this ministry.
Catholic Psychiatric Pastoral Care finds Fr
James providing Mass twice a week at the
hostels.
L’Arche forms communities of people with
and without intellectual disabilities. Fr
James engages with the organisation as a
place where the postulants can minister as
day companions.
The rest of Fr James time is divided
between his priestly ministry in the
Archdiocese of Brisbane, attending
various youth events as part of vocation
work for the Capuchins and his frateral life
of prayer, cooking and other household
chores for the friars, and personal study
for his input into the catechetical side of
the postulancy program.
(Fr Gary Devery OFMCap)
Meet our Saints
Martyrs of the French Revolution 18 August
JEAN-LOUIS LOIR DE BRESANÇON
Jeanbaptiste Loir was born on 11
March 1720 in Bresançon. He became a
Capuchin in Lyon in May 1740. Until 1767
he lived his religious life in either of the
two Capuchin friaries in Lyon. With the
suppression of religious houses in 1791
he withdrew to Précord and the house
of relatives. On 30 May 1793 he was
imprisoned as a rebel priest and taken to
Moulins. With other priests he was then
taken to Rochefort and crowded into a
prison ship’s hulk until the end of April
1793. The ship “Deux-Associés” was like
a concentration camp. Here he died amid
unspeakable sufferings on 19 May 1794.
He was the first of twenty-two Capuchins
to leave this world in the same way
because they would not betray their
fidelity to the Church.
PROTESE BOURDON
He was born on 2 April 1747 at Séez
(Orne). He was a Capuchin at Bayeux
in 1767 and made profession on 27
November 1768. Consecrated priest in
1775 he was secretary to the Provincial
Minister on Normany in 1789. Arrested
in Rouen on 10 April 1793 he died from
typhus aboard the prison ship “DeuxAssociés” on the night between the 23
and 24 August.
SÉBASTIAN DE NANCY
Br Sebastian was born in Nancy 17
January 1749. He became a Capuchin in
the friary of Saint-Michel on 24 January
1768. Between the years of 1778 and 1789
he did pastoral work in many parishes in
the Diocese of Metz. As a prisoner he
was sent to Nancy on 9 November 1793
and was condemned and transported
to Rochefort where he arrived 28 April
1794. He died onboard the death-ship
on 10 August 1794. He was found dead
with his arms in the form of the Cross
with eyes raised to heaven.
John Paul II beatified these three
Capuchins as martyrs on 1 October 1995.
Br. Jean-Louis was transferred to the
ship “Deus-Associés”. Onboard more
than four hundred persons were literally
crammed together in pitiful conditions,
a forerunner of the concentration
camps. One foul mess tin was used for
the meal of ten persons who had to be
content with spoiled meat, cod or broad
beans. They ate squeezed together
and standing up. They had no plates,
glasses, cups or utensils, just a wooden
spoon. This was torture by hunger.
In addition to this there were other
dreadful torments in the area of hygiene
and sanitation, without let up. Then
there were the insults and jibes of the
jailer sailors. The hardships were much
worse at night. A whistle signalled
time for sleep. That human throng with
many elderly and sick was compelled
to crowd together below decks in the
hold like sardines in a can. Night time
was hell, one more refined cruelty, a
preview of the gas chambers. To purify
the air, tar was set alight in barrels. This
produced fireballs and suffocation,
acrid fumes that caused tremendous
perspiration and relentless coughing.
Weaker persons succumbed. In that
state they were crudely dragged out in
to the open air of the ship’s deck where
they all had to squeeze together. The
tremendous contrast made their teeth
chatter as they shivered from the cold.
The greatest pain however was in not
being able to have a breviary or any
other spiritual book. Nor could they
pray together. Nevertheless one hid a
breviary, another a gospel book, or holy
oils – or even the Blessed Sacrament.
And in that cess-pit, those martyrs
administered
sacraments
that
strengthened them to face death with
joy. These were the sufferings of Br.
Jean-Louis.
Despite these tortures, his lively and
spirited character fostered courage
among his companions. One of the
survivors testified that the Capuchin
“although venerable in age, had
become the joy of all. In fact he was still
like a young man of thirty years, trying
in this way to lighten our sufferings,
while hiding his own that were wearing
him down terribly. He died serenely
as he had always lived. In fact on the
morning of 19 May 1794 when they
prisoners awoke below decks they
found that this excellent religious had
died kneeling down in his place. And
no one would have thought that he
suffered any sickness. After he had
gotten up, he knelt down to pray and
in this way he breathed his last. Seeing
him in this humble posture, next to his
hammock pole, it seemed that he really
was praying. However, he had died in
that attitude of supplication as the Holy
Scriptures present the patriarchs of
the Old Testament in their moment of
death.”
He was the first of twenty two Capuchins
to die at Rochefort.
(Translation based on an article by
Costanzo Cargnoni in Sulle orme dei
santi, 2000, p.179-185)
Rebuild my Church
Conference
Capuchin Franciscan
Youth Fest 26-29 June 2014
In the beautiful surrounds of the Royal National Park,
Sydney at Curruthers Bay, Port Hacking around 80 young
people from Melbourne, Sydney, Parramatta and Brisbane
gathered with a dozen friars for a Capuchin Youth Fest. It
was a rich experience of celebrating our faith as Catholics.
Holy Trinity is essentially relational
Bishop John Corriveau OFMCap announced
to us that we were created in the image and
likeness of a community of Persons - Father,
Son and Spirit, our God - in love. We are called
to live in relationships of dynamic love, which
is to have God at home in us.
Selfishness, egoism, “its all about me’’
pathology - sin - leaves us alone. Our relationshops are in need of a healing balm. Thanks be
to God, in Jesus Christ, who has sent his Incarnate Word to redeem relationships. The Spirit
builds us into communion with others and we
become Church.
We experienced this over the fews
days together. The Spirit of communion created from a disparity of groups of people from
different cities a practical experience of what
it is to be Church. How is this possible? The
Incarnate Word moved our hearts to risk - to
move beyond our self-imposed comfort zones
to relationships with others different to us.
The way St Francis of Assisi experienced this in his life was described to us,
showing that for a man no different to us, it
was possible also for us to live in life nourishing relationship with the Trinity of Persons,
Father, Son and Spirit, with others, and with all
of creation.
Rebuilding the Church is a dynamic
reality. It becomes part and parcel of living out
our life as a follower of Jesus Christ, who continues to build the Kingdom of God through
us.
Prayer and Eucharist
Fr Paul Dressler OFMCap encouraged us to let
Christ’s light overcome the paralysing fear that
finds us wallowing in self-absorption and comforting ourselves with our own little ‘‘pity party’’
when life gets tough.
Prayer - our intimate relationship with
Jesus - is the way forward to hope and joy. St
Francis embraced the crucified Christ. It was
while praying before the Cross that Jesus spoke
to Francis in the depth of his heart and invited
him to rebuild the Church.
‘‘We adore You, Lord Jesus Christ, here, and in all
Your Churches throughout the whole world, and
we bless You, because by Your holy Cross You
have redeemed the world.’’ (Prayer of St Francis)
St Francis discovered that the rebuilding of the
people of God in faith, hope and love has an essential Eucharistic dimension. It was at Mass, on
more than one occassion, that St Francis heard
the call to overcome his fear, trust in the Lord,
and let the Lord lead him to unimaginable relationships with others.
When one is sick, it is hard to enter
into a feast. The sacrament of Confession was
celebrated so that we could be healed and, with
relationships redeemed, participate fully in the
Fest. Our time together was anchored and nourished by prayer, and especially the Eucharist, in
Adoration and in celebrating Mass together. It
was God’s providence that on the Sunday we celebrated the founders of the Church, Sts Peter and
Paul.
Deus caritas est - ministry
At the Eucharist presided by Fr Paul Dressler,
we were admonished that the Dismissal at the
end of the Mass, ‘‘The Mass is ended, go in
peace” is a commissioning to service.
What became apparent among the
participants in the Youth Fest was the diversity
and richness of service involvment in our own
local churches. There were a good number of
young people collaborating with the Capuchins in some way: in Brisbane with welcoming refugees and ministry to university students, in Melbourne with outreach to the poor
from South Melbourne, in Sydney with the
van ministry based in Leichhardt, and in raising funds for the Capuchin Mission in Timor
Leste. In talking amongst ourselves, it soon
became apparent that there was also a broad
range of other ministry involvement by others,
whether at the local parish level, or through diocesan agencies.
At the conclusion of the Youth Fest
the young people were invited to make other
young people aware of the ministry possibilities available through collaboration with the
Capuchins in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney,
Parramatta, Brisbane and Timor Leste.
Caritas christi urget nos to continually live our redeemed relationships in a fruitful
way. We recognised that need to have further
opportunities to share and celebrate our faith.
We looked further ahead to the possibility of
a Capuchin Franciscan Pilgrimage to Cracow,
Poland in 2016 to celebrate World Youth Day
with the Pope.