September Looking To October 4th
Fr. Francis Di Spigno, OFM,
Pastor
I think everyone agrees that this is the best time of the year on Long Beach Island. The weather is usually perfect. The evenings are cool, and the days are warm. What is better than that? As Franciscans we may be biased toward these fall months because on October 4th we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi. Leading up to that feast, September is a great opportunity to
anticipate the celebration of our patron.
On September 1st, the Catholic Church joined the ecumenical celebration of “The Season of Creation” which unites all Christians in prayer and action for the protection of our common home. Its origins can be traced back to 1989 when the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, the Eastern
Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, proposed that September 1st be a day of prayer for creation. In 2015, Pope Francis embraced the idea and established September 1st as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Both of these requests for prayer merged with a celebration that had begun in 2000 by members of the Lutheran Church in Australia that they called “The Season of
Creation.” Our Lutheran brothers and sisters thought that as Lent prepares us for Easter and Advent prepares us for Christmas, the month of September would be an appropriate time to pray for the care of creation in anticipation of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. During this time from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4th, everyone is encouraged to pray and engage in community events that will help us deepen our relationship with God, our neighbor, and our common home, the earth that we all share.
Next Friday and Saturday, September 12th and 13th, our parish has set aside some time to celebrate this Season of Creation through music. Tom Kendzia, a liturgical musician and performer whose music has been published since 1980, will be with us to help us celebrate with song. You may not recognize his name, but I am sure you will recognize his music. By Your Love is one of my favorites. We sang it last weekend at Mass. It is a masterful reinterpretation of the 1966 song; They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.
On Friday, September 12, Tom will offer us a concert at 6:30 PM in the Brant Beach Church. Tom will sing his most beloved songs BUT he will also debut a new hymn that he is composing in honor of our parish.
The following morning, Saturday, September 13, we will have a Parish Morning Retreat. We will begin with the 9:00 AM Mass, break for a light breakfast, and reflections by Tom will begin at 10:30 AM. The theme of the retreat is, “With Burning Hearts: The Liturgy and the Road to Emmaus.” Tom will reflect on how we encounter Christ through the liturgy, just as the disciples did on the road to Emmaus. I hope you can join us as we renew our faith in song and in word and be inspired by the prayerfulness, creativity and imagination of a wonderful musician.
At the Weekend Masses of September 13 and 14 we will roll out a new parish program, Building with Living Stones! This is designed to deepen our understanding of our Franciscan charism. What does it mean to be Franciscan? If you would like to learn more about the depth of St. Francis’ insights into who Jesus was, is, and will be for us, I would encourage you to join us as we begin to build with the living stones of our lives. The discussion groups are designed for those who know nothing about St. Francis and Franciscan theology as well as for those who are already steeped in the Franciscan tradition. Look out for the flyers next weekend!
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