Saturday morning

This Saturday morning in Cochabamba, this lady is selling nuts and other products plus take care of the little baby on her back.

July 31, 2010

My dear loving brother Calixto,
This reflection for your life this week in ministry.

Leaning on God
by Joyce Rupp

Which of you walks in darkness and sees no light? ... lean on GodIsaiah 50:4-10
Some people lean against fence postswhen their bodies ache from toil.Some people lean on oak trees,seeking cool shade on hot, humid days.
Some people lean on crutchesBrozova/dreamstime.comwhen their limbs won’t work for them;and some people lean on each otherwhen their hearts can’t stand alone.

How long it takes to lean upon you,God of shelter and strength;how long it takes to recognize the truthof where my inner power has its source.
All my independence, with its arrogance,stands up and stretches within me,trying to convince my trembling soulthat I can conquer troubles on my own.
But the day of truth always comeswhen I finally yield to you,knowing you are a steady stronghold,a refuge when times are tough.

Thank you for offering me strength,for being the oak tree of comfort;thank you for being the sturdy supportwhen the limbs of my life are weak.
Praise to you, Eternal Lean-to,for always being there for me.Continue to transform mewith the power of your love.

from your brother Frank

friday, july 23rd, 2010

Dear Calixto,

I hope that your meetings have gone well this week with your fellow brothers and community.

I have not heard from you this week which means that you are busy.
Have a nice weekend.

Frank

seeing God in the other

These days I am reading a book called “Thomas Merton’s Gethsemani Landscapes of Paradise”
These words by Thomas Merton struck me, His love of nature is like St. Francis of Assisi … He is a true Franciscan…

In the sacramental vision of reality, each bird, each frog---and Merton himself--- was continually created; moment to moment each creature was loved into being by a God who is intimately present to each speciesAnd each individual in that species. Merton understood that each creature reveals the immanence of God. Each creature is God coming to us. Each day is an experience of Advent. Making straight the way of the lord, building a highway in the desert is not for the purpose of going to God.We can’t “get to God” for God is too great, too transcendent, God must come to us. God has and God does. God is continually revealing God’s self in the world around us. God’s fullness is present in the person of Jesus, and in God’s overflowing love expressed in each creature. God is not Deus absconditus but Deus imtimus, a God who Saint Augustine said , is more intimate to me than I am to myself, a God longing to be discovered as the very Ground of my being.This is what I want to share with you today for a reflection my dear brother Calixto.
And I would like to know what are your own true feelings on this that is written by the famous Contemplative Trappist monk Thomas Merton.
It is in this honest sharing with each other that we truly grow as brothers in service to others in the parish or iFranciscan Conventual community as well as with our intimate friends. Would you agree with me on this?
your brother in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Frank

8 in the morning

rainy and chilly this saturday morning july 17th.

Poor Martha

A Woman’s Place
Barbara E. Reid JULY 5, 2010
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), July 18, 2010“Martha welcomed him into her home” (Lk 10:38)

M artha always gets a bad rap. In traditional interpretations of her story, she is said to be too preoccupied or anxious about the details of hospitality to attend well to her guest. Her sister, by contrast, sits in rapt attention at Jesus’ feet, drinking in his every word. When Jesus declares that it is Mary who has “chosen the better part,” the message we are supposed to take away, according to many commentators, is that contemplation, rather than active service is the harder but better choice, and that no one can minister without first sitting and learning at Jesus’ feet. While finding the right balance between contemplation and action is a perennial challenge for most Christians, that may not actually be the question that today’s Gospel addresses. There are many tensions in the story left unanswered by the traditional interpretation.
Recently New Testament scholars have proposed that this Gospel incident may be more a reflection of the situation of the Lucan communities and the questions they were trying to resolve, rather than a report of an episode in the life of Jesus. They have noticed that what concerns Martha is much diakonia, and her distress is over her sister leaving her to carry it out alone. Both the noun diakonia and the verb diakonein occur in verse 40.
Elsewhere in the New Testament, these terms refer primarily to ministerial service, as in Jesus’ declaration of his mission “to serve,” not to “be served” (Mk 10:45; Lk 22:27). In New Testament times, diakonia covered a wide range of ministries. In the case of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and the other Galilean women who “provided for” Jesus and the itinerant preachers “out of their resources,” diakonein refers to financial ministry (the Greek word hyparchonton connotes monetary resources, Lk 8:3). This is the same nuance diakonia has in Acts 11:29 and 12:25 regarding Paul’s collection for Jerusalem. In Acts 6:2 diakonein refers to table ministry, while in Acts 6:4 diakonia connotes ministry of the word. In Acts 1:25 diakonia is apostolic ministry. One individual in the New Testament is named a diakonos, Phoebe, “deacon of the church at Cenchreae” (Rom 16:1).
Scholars are now thinking that the incident in today’s Gospel is not about preparing a meal; instead, Martha voices how burdened her heart is over the conflicts surrounding women’s exercise of their ministries in the early church. Some people were greatly in favor of women evangelizers and teachers like Prisca (Acts 18:26), Euodia and Syntyche (Phil 4:3), women prophets like Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:9), and women heads of house churches, like Nympha (Col 4:15), Mary (Acts 12:12), Lydia (Acts 16:40), and Prisca (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19). Others, however, argued that a woman’s place was in the home and that speaking and ministering in the public sphere belonged to the men (e.g., 1 Cor 14:34-35; 1 Tm 2:11-12). Luke takes the latter position, giving it validity by placing approval of the silent Mary on Jesus’ lips.
There was never any question in the early church about women becoming disciples. Both Martha and Mary welcomed Jesus and the word he spoke (vss. 38-39). The controversy swirled around what women would do with what they learned while sitting at Jesus’ feet. The answer Luke gave was quite understandable for his time. Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on what answer Jesus might give today to the question of woman’s place in the ministries of the church as they have now evolved.

St. Theresa's cbba

This morning I visited the Carmelite church at 10 a.m the Archbishop was present for the celebration of Mass for Our Lady of Mount Carmel whose feast day is today July 16th.

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

Dear Calixto,

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Camel. Friday July 16th, She is a General here in Bolivia and also in Chile. She is the patroness of Chile.

There will be a lot of celebration at the Carmelite church here in the city.

I trust that everything went well for your retreat this week with all the preparation that you put into it.

Have a nice feast day.

your brother,
Frank

San Juan de Dios

Good Morning Calixto,

I was thinking this morning at the church os San Juan de Dios that this place is a sacred place for many Bolivians here in Cochabamba. It is a sanctuary in the city Center. The attraction of course is this Cruciufed Christ on the cross that comes from Santiago, Chile. This place was at one time a hospital that was under the Brothers and Priests of San Juan de Dios. or St. John of God. I have been going to morning Mass in this church recently at around 8 a.m. and also looking at the people who attend this Church with a lot of devotion. I really did not pay too much attention to this until now. As you probably know that there are four Priests in this church from the Diocese of Cochabamba who administer this chapel. They are not young men but one of them by the name of Roberto is the youngest of the group. The celebration of Mass is every half hour beginning at 7:30 a.m. until around Noon or 12:30 p.m. There is usually a brief homily but each Mass is completed every 30 minutes or so. There is a comment that too many Masses are being celebrated an d each priest has at least two or three Masses to celebrate. The Masses are for the intentions of various families and their deceased members. But despite this, I see a lot of devotion among the people. Which is a good example to give to others. I believe that it is the only church that has so many people coming to it on a daily basis. Many time at the time that I am at Churhc I see the same people come in to pray to Christ of the miracles. There is a lot of movement in the church. It is not empty or closed as is the case with some other churches here in the city which are just open for Mass only and also for confession in some cases. A good reflection for me this morning. It is good to see that a Church is open for devotions and to see so many humble people that come to pray at Mass and also to the crucifed Christ. I have no idea how long this church has been in existence but I do know tt was a chapel to the hospital. But it has been some years. Well I hope that your retreat is going along fine. A time to refresh yourselves as a community of men. And also looking at your ministry to others. As followers of St. Francis of Assisi and Clare. When we come into religilous life we are filled with a lot of ideas, inthusiasm in service to the People of God. Human nature being what it is, we also get tired or have other interests. At times it is difficult to continue to be positive in life and we might lean to the negative. Also we can go down another road as well. Because we don't keep focus on our vocation of being ministers of Christ to others.

These are my thoughts on this morning of July 13th.

Please take care of your self my brother,

Frank

your retreat - July 12, 2010

Dear Calixto,

It was good to hear this morning that you and your community will be on retreat this week.

Retreat is a time to pause from the routine of life and especially of the sacramental life of the Franciscan conventual priesthood.

So I am wishing you all the best this week.

The photo of the fountain and the Cathedral is Cochabamba here in Bolivia. This photo is used in many articles of tourism of this city.

When you think of all the religious that live in this city and to be of service to the people of this and surrounding city of Cochabamba.

The reading from the gospel of yesterday Mass for Sunday was on the Good Samaritan. To take care of the forgotten and neglected people of this city. The work of ministry of all who are in religious life as a Priest, Brother, Sister and lay person.

This is for reflcction of our own life as we walk in the footsteps of jesus or in your case St. Francis and Clare.

Have a good restful day.
your brother,
Frank