Padres Trail April 2016

Official Newsletter of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, Order of Friars Minor, Albuquerque, NM
Missionaries of Mercy
In his Bull Misericordiae Vultus proclaiming the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis wrote, “During
Lent of this Holy Year, I intend to send out Missionaries of
Mercy. They will be a sign of the Church’s maternal
solicitude for the People of God, enabling them to enter the
profound richness of this mystery so fundamental to the faith.
There will be priests to whom I will grant the authority to
pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See, so that the
breadth of their mandate as confessors will be even clearer.
They will be, above all, living signs of the Father’s readiness
to welcome those in search of his pardon. They will be
missionaries of mercy because they will be facilitators of a
truly human encounter, a source of liberation, rich with
responsibility for overcoming obstacles and taking up the new
life of Baptism again.” (18)
Fr. Jack Clark Robinson, Minister Provincial,
submitted the names of a number of friars from Our Lady of
Guadalupe Province to be commissioned as Missionaries of
Mercy. Just before Palm Sunday, their official paperwork was
received in the mail. As Fr. Ron Walters described it, “There
was a tube in my mailbox. I was curious about it, since I had
not ordered anything that would require a tube. I saw that it
was from the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington. I started
to get really nervous.”
Fr. Ron continued, “I carefully unrolled the contents. I have been designated as one of those who can
absolve those specific sins reserved to the Holy Father in this Year of Mercy!”
“It is extraordinarily beautiful,” noted Fr. Dale Jamison of the document.
The Franciscans who have been commissioned Missionaries of Mercy for the Province are:
Erasmo Romero, OFM
Emeric Nordmeyer, OFM
Andrés Gallegos, OFM
Paul Juniet, OFM
Patrick Schafer, OFM
Ron Walters, OFM
Abél Olivas, OFM
Charlie Martinez, OFM
Dale Jamison, OFM
Christopher Kerstiens, OFM
José Gutay, OFM
Larry Bernard, OFM
Eduardo Espinosa, OFM
Leading Up to Easter...
A variety of activities took place around the Province - and
beyond! - during the last weeks of Lent.
Communications Corner
News
Franciscan friars throughout the United
States are invited to this year’s
Contemplative Days from June 13 to 17 at
Mt. Irenaeus, in West Clarksville, NY. For
more information, please contact Ken
Kriso, OFM or Dan Riley, OFM at 585973-2470. Reservations due by April 1.
April Birthdays
10 – Efrén Quintero
12 – Emeric Nordmeyer
12 – Michael Burns
19 – Duane Torisky
23 – Jorge Hernandez
25 – José Rodriguez
On his continuing travels, Fr. Gerry Steinmetz participated
in the Way of Cross in Honduras, honoring Bertha Caceres
who was assassinated recently. She was leader of protection
of lands and rivers of Native Peoples.
Where to Find Us...
Internet:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Youtube:
www.swfranciscans.org
SWFranciscans
SWFranciscans
SWFranciscans
Holy Family Parish, Albuquerque, hosted a
Passion Play.
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Francis, Restore My House...
And, that’s exactly what the Franciscans of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province are doing to the original
Assumption Mission at Chinle, Arizona. With loving care and great attention to detail - based on photos of the
church from its early days - the altars, benches and kneelers have been recreated by Br. Bart Wolf, OFM, with
the structure as a whole refurbished by Br. John Friebel, OFM, and Ben Laughing. Once completed, Assumption
Mission will become a museum, preserving memories of the friars’ ministry on the Navajo Reservation during the
first years of the 20th century.
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Monthly Profile
Larry Schreiber, OFM and Diego Mazón, OFM
Come to the Felician Sisters’ convent on Meadowlark Lane in Rio
Rancho, New Mexico, for lunch, and the likelihood is that time will be spent
being regaled by delightful yarns from Fr. Larry Schreiber or Fr. Diego
Mazón. These friars may be retired,
but they are still quite active, and
bring many laughs with their tales
of varied exploits.
Fr. Diego, for instance,
recalled how, after being ordained
to the priesthood, he was assigned
to teach chemistry at Roger Bacon
High School in St. Bernard, Ohio.
“I didn’t know a thing about
chemistry,” he noted. “So I sat
down and had a talk with God. I
told Him, ‘You better know
Fr. Diego works his muscles.
chemistry real good.’”
His adventures in the
classroom included finding a very unstable chemical in the storeroom, which
the local fire departments refused to handle. Loading it carefully in his car,
he drove it some 30 miles outside of town, where what might be termed a
“controlled explosion” occurred. For days afterward, he shuddered to think
of the event.
On another occasion, Fr. Diego planned to show his class how to
make water by mixing hydrogen and
oxygen. Wearing a rubber apron, but no
Fr. Larry doing chair exercises.
mask, he practiced the experiment with
the result being an unexpected explosion. “One piece of glass hit me,” he
admitted.
Fr. Larry related how, during his diaconate year, he was sent to St.
Michaels, Arizona, assigned to teach girls how to sew. He was also part of a grand
experiment in Lukachukai, where the friars lived in simple quarters and hitchhiked
where they wanted to go.
The two being classmates at Duns Scotus College in the 1950s, their days
now may not be quite so exciting, but they participate in ministries, as they can.
This includes bagging beans for the food pantry, or jelly beans for the Easter bake
sale. They play games of Monopoly or Bible Trivia, and have scripture study on
Thursdays. And, of course, there’s a beautiful chapel in which to pray.
Linda Jenkins, the health educator, leads the friars and Felician Sisters in
chair exercise on Wednesday afternoons. “Move it or lose it,” is her motto.
Playing music with the exercises, she gently guides them through a series of
motions to keep their muscles in shape.
Even then, the friendly banter between the friars continues. They enjoy
having visitors with whom to share a bit of time, a few laughs, and stories of the
past.
St. Francis statue in the chapel.
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Blessing and Dedication of a Becoming Place
March 18 and 19 saw archivists, researchers, historians,
Secular Franciscans, friars and many others gather in
Albuquerque to celebrate the new facilities constructed at
the Province’s Lakeview property, which will house the
archives, and a retreat and conference center. Based on the
quotation from St. Francis of Assisi’s Testament, the
complex is fittingly called a Becoming Place.
David Hurst Thomas, Ph.D. of the American Museum
of Natural History gave the keynote address
Fr. Jack Clark Robinson welcomed
those in attendance on Friday evening.
Richard Rohr, OFM, donated his books and
CDs to the Reading Room display
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Continued...
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Archivist Cathy Pierce accepts a copy of the blue prints
from Architect Joe Gallegos of Huitt-Zollars, Inc.
The Dedicatory Statement was signed by those present as
witnesses to the event
Among the presenters
were Dan Anderson,
OFM (above) of St.
John the Baptist
Province, and Eric
Pilarcik, OFM, (right)
of Santa Barbara
Province.
Michael Harlan, OFM, of Holy Name Province,
speaks with Ulric Pax, OFM, during a break
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Jack Clark Robinson Travels to Vietnam
Bro. Bruce Michalek, one of the Friars that I
between things “communist” and “capitalist” were
live with and who spends three months in Vietnam
really starting to mount up for me, and continued as
each year, was at the
we walked to a
airport to meet me.
fascinating central
We were quickly
market. Imagine an
jo in e d b y t w o
acre of flea market
Vietnamese Friars,
shops of all sorts
t he Secretary
under one roof, but
( Vinc e nt ) and
with all items being
Minister Provincial
marked “price fixed”
(Ignacio Lam) of the
by the government.
Vietnamese Province.
We continued
I spent five weeks
the walking tour to
sitting two seats away
Independence Palace,
from Ignacio at the
t h e last S o u t h
General Chapter in
Vietnamese “White
Assisi last year, so he
House” where the last
and I know each
President of South
other.
From the
Vietnam had lived
The novices and friar community at Dalat
airport, it was a
before the North won
relatively quick ride to the friary where we were
the war and it all became one Vietnam, headquartered
staying the night.
in Hanoi. Hundreds of school kids, most of whom
Mass was at 5:00 Saturday morning. One of
looked to be ten years old or younger, were touring
the Vietnamese Friars and I went on a walking tour of
the Independence Palace (Kids go to school six days
downtown Saigon, which I
a week in Vietnam.) and
found fascinating.
We
everyone of them on
started at the Cathedral,
spotting t his obvious
which seemed busy with
Amer ican wo uld say
people doing Church
“Hello!” One of the little
things. As Vietnam is a
ones also smiled real big at
Communist country, I was
remembering his English
a bit surprised by that
lesson and popped back at
activity, including at least
me “How are you?” When I
three bridal couples (with
replied, “I'm fine. How are
big white dresses and
you?” his eyes got even
tuxedoes) getting their
bigger than they had been to
pictures taken with the
start with and so did his
Cathedral as a backdrop.
smile.
He had actually
Across the street, we
“talked” with a foreigner!
Entrance to the Franciscan parish church at Dalat,
walked through the main
After lunch back at
complete
with
culturally
appropriate
guardian
dragons
to
post office, which has a
the Provincial headquarters,
welcome the people and symbolize life and growth.
portrait at least ten feet
two of the Friars and a
high of Ho Chi Minh at one end of the lobby.
driver brought Bruce and me to Thu Duc, a suburb of
Between the Post Office and the Cathedral at the
Saigon by something of a sight-seeing route that once
corner of a pedestrian street of book shops, there was
again included many very modern buildings and all
a newly-opened 24/7 McDonalds. The contrasts
sorts of construction. My impression of the society
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around Saigon, and I do not know if it will hold once
I get to some of the outlying areas, is that Vietnam is
a VERY prosperous nation. It actually looks much
more prosperous to me than the Philippines did in
November.
Attentive postulants at Tu Viên
Thu Duc is the home of more than 70
temporary-professed Franciscan seminarians, larger
t han o ur
w h o l e
P rovince.
We got here
in time for
dinner and
after, I spoke
to them for
an
hour
about things
“Franciscan,”
mostly about
G u a d alu p e
Province I
presided and
preached at
their Sunday
Eucharist at
5:30 am
One of the Novices at Dalat, where the
(They sleep
friars grow much of their own food
i n
o n
Sunday!). Then after breakfast, Bruce and I had an
audience with the Abbess of the Poor Clares who
Br. Bruce in front of the Novitiate Chapel - Dalat
live across the street from the friary in their monastery.
There are 31 Poor Clares, including 15 in formation
and 16 in solemn vows. Of the latter, there are a few
left who came from France to found the monastery in
1972. As I said to the Mother Abbess, I cannot
imagine the courage that it took for those nuns to
leave France and come to Vietnam in the middle of the
war here to found a cloistered monastery.
On to Dalat, where I had a wonderful visit with
the Franciscan Novices for the Province of St. Francis.
This novitiate is where Brother Bruce teaches
conversational English. Bruce, the Guardian here and
I visited a Zen Buddhist Monastery. It was fascinating
as we talked with four of the 180 nuns who live there.
We also visited a very interesting craft place where
women produce the most delicate embroidery
imaginable on silk. On my last night, I had a wonderful
conversational session with the novices. They are very
interested in our Franciscans in the United States.
The Padres’ Trail is the newsletter for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Editor: Julie Ferraro, Director of Communications.
Contact: 1204 Stinson Street SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121. Office phone: 505-831-9199
Send articles, photos, letters or article suggestions by the last day of the month to: [email protected]
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