Rejoicing With Our Communities

Capuchin JourneyISSUE 2 . 2016

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With joy in our hearts and gratitude for your generosity to us, we wish you peace and all good.

Through a cold and dry spring, we have arrived at last to the warmth of summer. Life is in full bloom! In this season of fullness, once more we come to familiar rites of passage like graduations and mar-riages. For communities of religious, we rejoice in professions of vows and ordinations.

We invite you to share in our joy over the perpetual professions of Bros. Scott Surrency and Will Tarraza, who committed themselves for their entire lives to our brotherhood on May 21. They also completed the Master of Divinity program at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and received their degrees on May 23. See our snapshots from their profession in Middletown, Conn., and read their personal reflections on their Capuchin vocation in this issue.

Also, keep in your prayers our novice brothers Joe Anderson and Victor Russak, who will make their first profession of vows in Yonkers, N.Y., on July 16. Thanks be to God!

We would like to congratulate Br. James Peterson for successfully completing the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Canon Law from the School of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America. He will graduate this October. Speaking of graduations: From first-day jitters to com-mencement, throughout the years our friars have offered spiritual guidance to young men and women in high school and college. The Capuchin Journey caught up recently with Fr. John McHugh, chaplain at St. Joseph College of Maine in Standish.

In an earlier issue, we profiled Fr. Pawel Bielecki, our guest friar from the Krakow Province who is earning his Ph.D. in Near Eastern studies at New York University, where he studies the history of medicine and medical anthropology. You may recall that he provides medical assistance to Palestinian Christian refugees in Beirut, Lebanon. In this issue we return to the subject of refugee ministry.

Thanks to your support of our mission office, we have been able to send financial aid to relief proj-ects in Lebanon, where Syrian families are taking shelter in friaries, and Malta, where friars convert-ed a shrine into a vibrant parish for Eritrean migrants. Closer to home, volunteers from the Parish of Saint Pius X in Middletown are busy driving a newly arrived Iraqi family to medical appointments and social service agencies. They are also building spiritual bonds that transcend differences in cul-ture, nationality, and religion. Read on to learn about their participation in a local interfaith refugee resettlement coalition.

For the latest installment in our continuing series on our jubilarian friars, we give you Fr. Gerard Mulvey in his own words as he reflects on 25 years of priesthood.

Finally, I would like to warmly welcome Laura Toledo, our new communications manager, to the Mission and Development Office team. We are grateful for her energy and enthusiasm for sharing the Capuchin mission with you! Thanks to her, you can anticipate some positive changes in the look and feel of this magazine in the near future. Keep reading, and keep praying for us!

Faithfully in the Lord,

Fr. Francis Gasparik, O.F.M. Cap. Provincial Minister

Fr. Francis Gasparik, O.F.M. Cap.Provincial Minister

Our GoalThe goal of the Capuchin Development Office is to fund the domestic and international mission of the Province of St. Mary. That mission ranges from support for our own Provincial members ministering here in the United States, to providing assistance to Capuchins serving worldwide. The Province of St. Mary is a leader in generating support for the works of justice and mercy undertaken by Capuchin friars across the globe.

If you are interested in supporting our mission, please contact George Vogel at (212) 564-0759 ext. 284 or gvogel@capuchin.org or visit our website at www.capuchin.org.

Magazine of theProvince of St. Mary

of the Capuchin Order

PublisherFr. Francis Gasparik, O.F.M. Cap.

EditorsLaura Toledo

Br. Anthony Zuba, O.F.M. Cap.

Design/Art DirectionLaura Toledo

ContributorsFr. Salvatore Cordaro, O.F.M. Cap.Br. Carmine Funaro, O.F.M. Cap.Fr. John McHugh, O.F.M. Cap.Fr. Gerard Mulvey, O.F.M. Cap.Br. Scott Surrency, O.F.M. Cap.

Br. William Tarraza, O.F.M. Cap.

Cover photo: ©Maria R. Bastone/for Catholic New York

Capuchin Communications OfficeBr. John Shento, O.F.M. Cap.

Donna Smith KreselWhite Plains, New York 10605

the Capuchin JourneyISSUE 2 . 2016

© 2016 Capuchin Mission & Development Office

Serving New York/New England and the mission areas of Central America, Japan,

Africa, India, and the Pacific.

210 West 31st StreetNew York, NY 10001

212-564-0759

www.capuchin.org

Let Us Know!The Capuchin Journey is our way of letting you know how the Province of St. Mary fulfills its mission. You, as part of our community, share this vision of service to those in need. Through this publication, we want you to see how we use the resources you so generously provide to us. We hope the contents of The Capuchin Journey will convey a sense of the work we do and how valuable your contributions are to this work.

Features

FORMATION

Perpetual ProfessionsBrothers Scott Surrency and Will Tarraza share how their lives are changing with God’s grace.

OUTREACH

What Makes a Parish a HomeFr. Sal Cordaro celebrates St. Joseph Parish on the golden anniversary of the present church building.

MISSION

Sharing Our Home With OthersCapuchins support refugee relief abroad; our parishioners help resettled families integrate in Middletown, Conn.

MINISTRY

Campus Ministry in the Digital AgeGod has graced us with summer! Fr. John McHugh gives us insights into how students might be spending it, and how they should.

14 Jubilarian Reflection: Fr. Gerard Mulvey15 Tell Us What You Think!16 Province Pledge Form17 Annual Capuchin Dinner18 We’re Moving!

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Events along a recent drive from Maine to Pennsylvania to celebrate an alumni wedding became for me pieces of a metaphor for certain aspects of campus ministry today. (I have been involved in campus ministry for over 30 years.)

At a lunch stop I observed a middle-aged couple eating at an adjacent table. The first (and only) words they spoke to each other were, “I guess it’s time to go.” Otherwise, they were entirely absorbed in their separate smartphones.

Passing through New York State, I noticed that all the former “rest stops” have become “text stops.”

At breakfast, I overheard three retired gentlemen bemoaning changes in their respective industries. One gentleman vehemently declared: “College graduates today are ruthless! They care nothing about

loyalty. Their only concern is short-term profit, not long-term viability.”

After the wedding, I directly and indirectly heard expressions of pleasure and surprise that the wedding was so prayerful and so profoundly significant. One remark I wasn’t supposed to hear was that “Catholic weddings are too long.” (This one was 45 minutes, not counting the obligatory late start.)

It is well known that the so-called “millennials” in college today are both the beneficiaries and the victims of revolutionary advances in technology and communication that have simultaneously expanded their intellectual reach, contracted its depth, and changed their manner of learning. Many interact more comfortably with machines than with people—like the middle-aged couple, who were very likely some college student’s parents. Being adept in virtual

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Fr. John McHugh, O.F.M. Cap.

CAMPUS MINISTRY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

After working hard and studying all spring, students young and old have weeks of summer sun to look forward to. But will they be spending it outside, like you and I once did? Here, Fr. John McHugh, campus chaplain at St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, explores a troubling trend of preoccupation with technology and the challenges it brings to deepening faith and connecting with one another.

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reality has taken a heavy toll on human and religious realities such as meaningful conversations, contemplation and Sabbath rest. There is no rest from text. It is a new Pharaoh, ever increasing his slave-driving demands.

The once Promised Land of secure dignified employment at the conclusion of one’s college journey has largely been replaced by the terrifying and “ruthless” prospect of entering a “precarious economy” in which efficiencies trump loyalty, and expendable temp workers are the norm, not the exception. Is it any wonder that a great percentage of students are taking anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs?

Campus ministers of the not-so-recent past used to assist young adults in deepening and internalizing a faith they had grown up with in an intact family, and they enabled and encouraged these students to take their valued and rightful place in the faith community on campus. They nudged them out of the family nest and taught them how to fly in a larger world on wings of prayer and service.

Among many hopeful signs on campuses today is the fact that students are much more attuned to “community service” than were their predecessors. Today’s campus ministers can build bridges from service to faith. They can point out that much of this type of service was once called “the spiritual and corporal works of mercy,” and that there is nothing precarious about an economy of mercy.

However, unlike their forebears, today’s campus ministers are more apt to find themselves introducing emerging adults to Gospel values for the very first time. For this, RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a great gift. Campus ministers are now evangelists in a technological wilderness, announcing Good News to “un-churched,” unaffiliated, highly digitalized and often disinterested students (not to mention faculty, administrators, staff, parents and alumni). They must witness to the fact that it is good to talk, to listen, to rest, to pray, and to trust in Divine Providence. Covenant love is real, even in a precarious economy. “Secure employment” was always an illusion anyway. The answers to life’s most profound questions cannot be found as the result of a Google search. They are, however, available in a Gospel search.

Despite (or perhaps because of) their post-high school STEM proficiencies, many naïve students have been seduced by the myth that “they can be anything they want to be”: that is, that they can and must invent themselves. As a result, they feel alone and unconnected. They are largely unaware of who they already are in the sight of God (or, as Saint Francis once said, “We are what we are in the sight of God; nothing more and nothing less”). Hence they are also unaware of who they are supposed to be and who they are called to be by God.

This is fertile soil for campus ministers, who can witness to the fact that we come from the hand of a careful and loving Creator, who beckons us to a destiny of eternal joy. There is no need to invent ourselves. We may instead discover the loving purpose for which we were made. It is the privilege of a campus minister to be that witness of joy to a new generation.

MINISTRY

It took three and a half hours to reach the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. Photo courtesy Mabelle Bessey.

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A DARING ADVENTURE OF LOVE

One way of thinking about one’s perpetual profession of vows might be to see it simply as the culmination or completion of something, like gradu-ating with a college degree or running a marathon (I’ve done the former several times and the latter never). But I know that final profession is not an accomplishment or an achievement for me to be proud of; rather, it is a gift to be cherished and nurtured for the rest of my life.

Looking back on the last several years of my life since I first walked through the front door of St. Michael Friary in East New York, Brooklyn, as a postulant, I can see just how much I’ve been formed as a Capu-chin friar and imbued with the Franciscan spirit. There were times throughout initial formation when it was quite difficult to see the fruits of that process for being too close to it, too involved in it—I could see the trees but not the forest. Nearly six years later, I can now step back with a deep and abiding sense of gratitude for the challenges I’ve had to face and appreciate more fully the Capuchin values that have been instilled in me.

As I get closer to full-time ministry, I can see how everything—postulancy, novitiate, academic studies, life in fraternity, contemplative prayer—has all fit together and transformed me into a lesser brother, and that’s very exciting. I am thankful for the grace God has given to me, not only to stick through the tough times of my life so far as a Capuchin, but also to the brothers to bear with me as I’ve moved in and out of (and occasionally back into!) those rough spots. By God’s grace, I am not the same man I was when I first joined the Order, and I hope I will be able to say the same thing in another five years. I am both enthused and humbled by the prospect of ordination to the priesthood a year from now—God willing!—once I’ve completed yet another college degree. I am genuinely curious to see where my Capuchin vocation will take me in the future and what kind of people and places and situations I will encounter.

Our Capuchin Constitutions speak of our way of life as “a daring adventure of love,” and I feel like I’m finally beginning that adventure. Initial formation laid the foundation for such an adventure, and I am convinced that this “daring adventure of love” will continue to form me in surprising ways if only I re-main open to the Holy Spirit. In many ways and for various reasons, I know that I am utterly underserv-ing of a Capuchin vocation, but at the same time, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else with my life. Deo gratias!

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GROWING IN FAITH

Br. Scott Surrency, O.F.M. Cap.

On May 21, 2016, we celebrated the perpetual professions of two of our dearest young friars, Br. Scott Surrency and Br. Will Tarraza. They reflect on their experiences thus far with the Capuchin Franciscans and share how their lives have changed. Brothers Scott and Will continue their priestly formation with their ordination to the diaconate later this year.

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FORMED BY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

In his first letter, John tells us that we love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). The experience of God’s love and healing mercy in my own life opened my heart to desire a deeper intimacy with Him.

Providentially, I met the Capuchins at a time in my life when God dis-posed me to hear Christ’s gentle voice urging me to answer His call. I real-ized that the intimate encounter I had with God’s love prompted a desire to share this love with a world riddled with sadness and fear.

The Capuchins graciously accepted me directly after I graduated from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Entry into postu-lancy in August 2011 began my “initial formation,” that is, the time from

postulancy until perpetual profession of vows. It is a time to develop deep roots in the Capuchin values that inform the way a friar lives the rest of his life after perpetual profession.

The subtle movements of the Spirit help the formation staff and the formation friar discern if the Ca-puchins are to be his permanent family. Daily prayer and meditation fostered faithfulness to my com-mitment, even when Christ’s voice seemed muffled by the distractions of life. Christ never left me alone during these times: He blessed me with many brothers, friends, family, peers, and mentors who always found ways to remind me of the gift of my vocation and His unwavering love. Life lessons in formation shaped the man I am and continue to form the Capuchin I hope to be.

For me, I never experienced a single moment or divine intervention that confirmed my vocation to be a friar; rather, the unadorned daily endeavors of Capuchin life affirmed my decision to seek perpetual profession of vows.

On May 21, 2016, I placed my folded hands between our provincial’s hands and vowed to God in the company of so many loved ones to live my entire life in obedience, without anything of my own, and in chastity according to the Rule of Saint Francis and the Constitutions of the Friars Minor Capuchin. Words cannot express the joy in my heart that I experienced that day. The outpouring of love that so many people shared amazed me with awe and wonder.

After what seemed like a whirlwind of a weekend that also included graduation from Boston College with a Master of Divinity degree, I found a moment to sit in our chapel and simply thank God. It was in that moment that I recalled that this entire life on which I have embarked is all because God loved me first and has set me free to love with an undivided heart.

As I continue this journey, I do not know where God will lead me. I simply hope to remain open to the Holy Spirit’s movement and go wherever I am needed to be as a Capuchin Franciscan. The only certainty I know for sure is that God will always love me unconditionally.

FORMATION

Br. William Tarraza, O.F.M. Cap.

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Jesus promises the kingdom of heaven to those who welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35). Today, millions of women, children, and men uprooted from their homelands by war, persecution, and poverty depend on a welcome in other countries in order to survive. For us and for them, the welcoming is salvation.

At home and abroad, the Capuchins of the Province of Saint Mary are heeding Jesus’ word and serving Him in His refugee sisters and brothers.

After an emergency meeting last October in Frascati, Rome, the Order called on the friars worldwide to use empty or underused houses to shelter refugees and migrants, to establish new fraternal communities that could serve refugees, and to offer financial support for projects already underway.

Through the Office of Economic Solidarity emergency fund, the Province has sent financial aid to projects in Lebanon and Malta, among others.

The Capuchins estimate there are 1.2 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon—a quarter of the total population. There are Iraqi families, too. Hunger, lack of employment, and violence chase them in a vicious circle. Through aid from the solidarity office, the friars in Beirut have given over a friary to shelter families and offer basic needs; started a school to integrate Syrian children into society; and offered legal aid, helping relocate over 50 families to third-party countries.

Malta, an island nation of 450,000, harbors a migrant population of 20,000, putting great strain on a generous people. The Capuchins have accompanied Eritrean refugees for over three years. Their support program offers basic education, including English instruction; health care, including mental health

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In his 2016 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis exhorts the Church to respond to the challenge of massive migration movements with the “Gospel of Mercy.” Br. Anthony Zuba reports on the Province of Saint Mary’s mission of mercy to refugees here and abroad.

Eritrean refugees worship at the Capuchin shrine in Floriana, Malta.

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MISSION

counseling; and spiritual assistance, including pastoral care to Eritreans who are Catholic. (A Capuchin shrine in Floriana has been converted into a migrant parish.) In addition, a counselor helps refugees avoid dealing with their traumas through dependence on alcohol and other drugs.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

Closer to home, the friars are actively encouraging the local communities they serve to get involved in refugee ministries.

At the Parish of Saint Pius X in Middletown, Conn., Lourdes Hunt and Cathy Lechowicz have answered Jesus’ call to welcome the stranger. They joined the Middletown Refugee Resettlement Coalition, an interfaith group of more than a dozen congregations and over 100 volunteers.

Founded in December, the coalition quickly raised funds and pooled resources to sponsor three refugee families in Middletown. Volunteers found a three-bedroom apartment and furnished it. On May 11, they received the first, a family of six from Baghdad, Iraq, and welcomed them to their new home with a hot meal. In the following weeks, Hunt and fellow coalition members transported the family to medical appointments and social services. The children are now attending school.

Lechowicz, who directs community outreach at Wesleyan University in Middletown, was invited by two clergy to join the coalition. She spoke to Fr. Erik Lenhart, O.F.M. Cap., parochial vicar at Saint Pius X. Father Erik responded with enthusiasm, making announcements at church, attending planning meetings, and recruiting others in the parish to help out.

When Father Erik reached out to Hunt in February, it was a providential encounter. Hunt, who volunteered in parish faith formation for over eight years, felt a great need to move into refugee resettlement and wanted to know where to get involved. Just when she was looking for an opportunity to serve, along came Father Erik! “He was a facilitator, communicator, and problem solver, ever supportive and encouraging when I needed his help,” she said.

Hunt organized the team of drivers, which includes volunteers from Saint Pius X. Now retired from the Connecticut Department of Social Services, Hunt leveraged her professional experience, like Lechowicz at Wesleyan, to make connections for the family.

Meeting of the Middletown Refugee Resettlement Coalition. Photo courtesy of Cathy Lechowicz.

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MISSION

Hunt also received sponsorship training from Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), a New Haven-based nonprofit agency that assigned the Iraqi family to Middletown. IRIS works with the federal government to settle refugee families who are cleared for entry into the United States. According to the Hartford Courant, IRIS aims to settle 500 families in Connecticut this year, 300 of whom come from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

TRANSFORMATION THROUGH ENCOUNTER

The Order urges friars and the people of God they serve to understand migration issues through firsthand encounters.

In an effort to build acceptance of Middle Eastern refugees in the U.S., the Middletown coalition held a forum in late January. Local residents and their Muslim neighbors engaged in dialogue to promote understanding. More recently, Father Erik and Hunt greeted the Iraqi family at an ecumenical potluck dinner held at an Islamic center in Berlin, Conn.

“To me, that evening exemplified Jesus’ message of inclusivity, acceptance, and love for one another,” Hunt told the Journey. “There I was in communion with people of all walks of life, different faiths, different countries, cultures, and languages united in brotherhood and sisterhood to help the needy and feed the hungry. And all that I kept thinking is if only more people would open their hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit. “Yes! The Holy Spirit was working overtime that evening. If only more people would open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, the world would be a better place!”

Lechowicz says the Iraqi family impressed her with their bravery. After their first meeting, it struck her that these parents and children do not know where they are. They do not know anybody. They are wholly dependent on others to help them understand their new community. How scary it is to rely on strangers!

Drawing by Br. Carmine Funaro, O.F.M. Cap.

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MISSION

Fr. Erik Lenhart, O.F.M. Cap. and Fr. John Gallagher, O.F.M. Cap. with St. Pius X parishioners who are volunteer drivers for the Middletown Refugee Resettlement Coalition. Photo courtesy of Fr. Erik Lenhart.

Moved by Jesus’ call to love of neighbor, Lechowicz is touched by the volunteers’ love and warmth toward the family. They are not only getting things done for them in a transactional way; they are also being relational, making friends with them, building community with them. They are forging spiritual bonds that will sustain the family long after their material needs are met.

“Working for and with this refugee family has been spiritually transformative,” said Hunt. “They are so graceful and ever grateful. They carry on always with a smile on their faces. This family … who slept huddled together every night and lived in fear for years. They endured repeated threats against their children and death attempts against the father. Despite these and many more untold and current hardships, this family radiates joy—joy in living. I am a witness to the Lord’s ever-working hands.”

For more information on Capuchin global solidarity with refugees, read the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation blog at https://jpeofmcap.wordpress.com/. You can also visit the Middletown Refugee Resettlement Coalition on Facebook.

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THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

Fr. Salvatore Cordaro, O.F.M. Cap.

Fifty years ago, the Parish of Saint Joseph in New Paltz built a larger church to serve its growing congregation. On June 4, Bishop Dominick Lagonegro of New York presided at the jubilee of the present church building with the Capuchins, who mark 40 years of service to God’s people in New Paltz. As the current pastor, Fr. Salvatore Cordaro, notes the church symbolizes a family inclusive of and responsive to everyone in the community.

St. Joseph’s Church in New Paltz, NY, 1966.

Fr. Salvatore Cordaro and Fr. Michael Ramos celebrate First Holy Communion this past April.

Bishop Dominick Lagonegro receives the gifts from St. Joseph Parish members during the anniversary Mass.

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Saint Joseph’s Church in New Paltz, NY was founded in 1885 as a mission church of nearby Saint Charles Parish in Gardiner, NY. As the population of New Paltz grew in the 1950s and 1960s, it was clear that a new, larger church building was needed. Construction of the new church was completed in late 1965, and the church was dedicated on June 5, 1966.

The Capuchins of the Province of Saint Mary were asked to staff the parish in 1976. The fraternal spirit of the Capuchins was greatly appreciated by the people of the parish, and the friars brought that spirit of brotherhood into their ministries. Not only were they involved in parish work, but they also ministered to the greater community—at the state college, in prisons and juvenile detention centers, and anywhere people needed to know the incredible love and mercy of God.

For many years, St. Joseph’s has been an impor-tant part of the greater New Paltz community, and we are well known in the area for helping anyone who is in need, no matter who they are. Being a Capuchin Franciscan parish, we hope to promote the ideals of reverence for God and for all people and for all creation, and our responsibility to one another. The Franciscan spirit we bring to parish life makes our parishioners feel not only welcomed but also very much responsible for the parish itself. The clergy do not see themselves apart from or above the people they serve. Everyone in the parish is brother or sister to everyone else in the parish family. Going forward, we see the parish continuing to be a strong presence in the New Paltz area, bringing the light of Christ to people who are searching for some meaning in their lives and offering the hope of the Gospel to all who come to us.

Bishop Dominick Lagonegro presides at the Mass celebrating the 50th anniversary of the dedication of St. Joseph Parish’s church building in New Paltz, NY.

Fr. Salvatore Cordaro, O.F.M. Cap., Bishop Dominick Lagonegro, and Fr. Michael Ramos, O.F.M. Cap.

OUTREACH

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As I began to work on this reflection, the Gospel for today’s liturgy [June 6] came to mind. It is the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). Here, Jesus gives us the values of the Kingdom of Heaven, the values that mark us as his disciples.

As I reflected on them for the liturgy, I saw how they are the values for me as a friar and priest. These Kingdom values challenge me to imitate Christ in serving others, whether in preaching, celebrating the sacraments, counseling others, or just being present to them in ministry. They remind me to be poor in spirit, to be merciful, to hunger and work for justice, and to be a peacemaker at all times.

Everywhere I have served—the inner city of Brooklyn, midtown Manhattan, or suburban Connecticut—this Gospel has invited me to witness in word and in action to what Christ calls us, his priestly people, to be and to do as Church, especially in the Eucharist. Looking back over the years, I hope I have been faithful to what I promised before the bishop and the Church at my ordination, living the Beatitudes each day.

This year, I have served the Order and the Church in the ministry of formation with our postulants. This assignment is a great blessing. I have a great love for the Order, with our history and spirituality. It has been a joy to share this history with our postulants. I held a class on the Capuchin saints and blesseds. The postulants gave a presentation on two of these holy men. They spoke about St. Leopold Mandic (whose relics were honored in Rome for the Year of Mercy) and Blessed Jacob of Ghazir from Lebanon. Both presentations were well done. They showed how these two friars reflected the Beatitudes in their life and ministry, whether in the confessional or in service to the poor and neglected. Over the years, Saint Leopold and Blessed Jacob have inspired me in challenging and difficult moments of ministry and in joyful moments as well.

There have been so many blessings and gifts over the years since Sept. 21, 1991: baptisms, weddings, and reconciliations that enabled people to come back to the Church. Especially blessed are the relationships I have formed and continued over the years, through transfers and changes of assignment. It always humbles me when people show gratitude for the simple things you do for them. It may be a quick confession, a blessing, or a communion call. We can take them for granted, but the people show such gratitude for them. It speaks of the blessings Jesus proclaims in the Beatitudes.

I remember keenly the last words the bishop pronounces at the rite of ordination. He tells the newly ordained always to pattern your life on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross. Those words are imprinted in my memory. They remind me of the heart of priesthood and the Eucharist—to be broken and given in service to God and the Church. These words, like the Beatitudes, have invited me and challenged me for almost 25 years. I am sure they will continue to do so for many years to come.

BEATITUDES, THE CROSS, AND THE PRIESTHOOD

Fr. Gerard Mulvey, O.F.M. Cap.

Fr. Gerard Mulvey was ordained on Sept. 21, 1991. He has served as pastor at the parishes of Holy Cross in New York City and Saint Pius X in Middletown, Conn. He is currently co-director of the postulancy program at Saint Michael Friary in East New York, Brooklyn.

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We are eternally grateful for your support of the Province of St. Mary and the Capuchin Journey! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a part of your lives tell and share our stories of how our Capuchin Friars are following in the footsteps of St. Francis, serving those in most need.

We want to hear from you about what things you value most in your engagement with the Province. It shouldn’t take more than two minutes to complete the survey questions below and we greatly appreciate your thoughts. Also, please include any prayer intentions in the space at the bottom. Peace and all good!

1) Please rank your interest, from 1 to 5, in our different areas of service:(with 1 the most interesting and 5 the least)___ Friars-in-Training ___ Overseas Missions ___ Ministries ___ Youth and Family ___ Other (please write in): _______________ ___ Senior Friars

2) Please rank your interest in the different types of information we can provide about our work: (with 1 the most interesting and 5 the least)___ Updates about particular friars ___ Updates about particular ministries___ Information about upcoming masses and feast days ___ Friar-in-Training events___ Other (please write in): _______________________

3) Please rank which of the following would make you more likely to attend Province events:(with 1 the most interesting and 5 the least)___ A well-known speaker ___ A certain friar or friars attending___ A certain friend or group of friends attending ___ A convenient location___ Other (please write in): _______________________

4) Please check any of the following events you would be interested in attending:___ Sit-down dinner ___ Prayer session___ Cocktail hour ___ Tea___ Lunch ___ Tour of a friary___ Planned giving seminars___ “Cappuccino with a Capuchin” (individual or small group sit-downs with our friars)

5) How did you become acquainted with the Province of St. Mary and our Capuchin Friars?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) Which of our friars are you best acquainted with? How did you become acquainted? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPECIAL INTENTIONS(please include your prayer intentions below)

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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

I proudly pledge in support of the Province of St. Mary Join us in planting the seeds of our faith, promoting equality of all people, enriching the lives of youth,

and giving back to those that so generously dedicated their lives to others.

Please make my gift in support of:

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Signature: _____________________________ Date: ____________________________Your Address: __________________________________________________________________________Your Phone Number: ______________________________________________________________________Your Email Address: _______________________________________________________________________

If you have any questions, or would like to learn more, please call George Vogelat (212) 564-0759 Ext. 284 or email gvogel@capuchin.org.

Please sign, date, and return this form in the included envelope or mail to:

George VogelMission and Development Office

Province of St. Mary210 West 31st StreetNew York, NY 10001

Save the Date!The Province of St. Mary’s

Annual Capuchin DinnerCelebrating 125 Years of Ministry

in Yonkers

with special guestThe Honorable Michael Spano

Mayor of the City of Yonkers

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Glen Island Harbour Club299 Weyman Avenue

New Rochelle, NY 10805

For more information, visit http://www.capuchin.org/dinner or contact George Vogel:

(212) 564-0759 ext. 284 or gvogel@capuchin.org

Changes coming soon...We’re Moving!

Office of Mission and DevelopmentSacred Heart Friary110 Shonnard PlaceYonkers, NY 10703

To act as more faithful stewards of your generous offerings, the Office of Mission and Development of the Province of St. Mary will be moving from Manhattan to Yonkers this Fall. In our new location, we will be closer to other Province offices, allowing us to more effectively coordinate our good works.

Fall 2016

Province DirectoryNew York St. Joachim Friary61 Leonard StreetBeacon, NY 12508Phone: 845-838-0000

St. Michael Friary282 Warwick StreetBrooklyn, NY 11207Phone: 718-827-6990

St. Joseph The Worker Friary & Parish510 Narragansett AvenueEast Patchogue, NY 11772Phone: 631-286-7921

Capuchin Youth & Family Ministry781 Route 9D; PO Box 192Garrison, NY 10524Phone: 845-424-3609

St. Fidelis Friary7790 County Road 153Interlaken, NY 14847Phone: 607-532-4423

St. Joseph Friary & Parish34 South Chestnut StreetNew Paltz, NY 12561Phone: 845-255-5635

Capuchin Vocation Office110 Shonnard PlaceYonkers, NY 10703Phone: 914-375-8230

Capuchin Development Office210 West 31st StreetNew York, NY 10001Phone: 212-564-0759

Capuchin Holy Cross Residence329 West 42nd StreetNew York, NY 10036Phone: 212-246-4732

Good Shepherd Friary & Parish608 Isham StreetNew York, NY 10034Phone: 212-567-1300

Our Lady of Sorrows Friary & Parish213 Stanton StreetNew York, NY 10002Phone: 212-475-2321

St. John the Baptist Friary & Parish213 West 30th StreetNew York, NY 10001Phone: 212-564-9070

St. Conrad Friary & Provincialate30 Gedney Park DriveWhite Plains, NY 10605Phone: 914-761-3008

Sacred Heart Friary & Parish110 Shonnard PlaceYonkers, NY 10703Phone: 914-375-8230

St. Clare Friary110 Shonnard PlaceYonkers, NY 10703Phone: 914-423-2392

Massachusetts

San Lorenzo Friary15 Montebello RoadJamaica Plain, MA 02130Phone: 617-983-1919

St. Francis of Assisi Friary46 Brookside AvenueJamaica Plain, MA 02130Phone: 617-522-6469

Connecticut

St. Pius X Friary & Parish310 Westfield StreetMiddletown, CT 06457Phone: 860-347-4441

New Hampshire

St. Anne–St. Augustin Friary & Parish383 Beech StreetManchester, NH 03103Phone: 603-623-8809

Maine

Capuchin Franciscan Residence24 North Raymond RoadGray, ME 04039Phone: 207-657-7075

Vermont

St. Peter Friary & Parish134 Convent AvenueRutland, VT 05701Phone: 802-775-1994

California

San Lorenzo Friary1802 Sky Drive; PO Box 247Santa Ynez, CA 93460Phone: 805-688-5630

Florida

St. John XXIII Friary7171 128th Street NorthSeminole, FL 33776Phone: 727-397-0011

Custody of the Star of the Sea

St. Fidelis Friary135 Chalan KapuchinoAgana Heights, Guam 96910Phone: 671-472-6339

Custody of Japan

St. Francis Friary & Parish1 Aza OrokuNaha City, OkinawaJapan 901-0152Phone: 011-81-98-857-3795

The needs of the poor and the demands of justice shape our every ministerial endeavor. We attempt to promote the equality of all people within our fraternity, in the churches dedicated to the gospel of Christ, and in the larger world. Capuchin friars minister in a wide variety of settings. Service to people of a variety of cultures in North America and around the globe have allowed us to witness God at work in countless ways.

Here in the Northeast United States, the Province of St. Mary serves through any number of institutions dedicated to the service of real human needs and the proclamation of God’s love. Urban, suburban, and rural; poor, blue collar, and middle class; Latino, Asian, and Engligh-speaking - the friars can be found living amid all these diverse circumstances.

Capuchin Charisms:FRATERNITY of the friars joins them in their common goals and taps into their unique talents to most efficiently operate their own community as well as the communities they serve.

MINORITY has enabled them to walk with the people they serve and be accepted as one of their own.

CONTEMPLATION requires they set aside time to reflect upon the progress and direction of their mission and to listen to God’s guidance in their mission.

MINISTRY has led the Capu-chins to appeal to and often allay the hunger, despair, and loneliness of those among whom Christ would have walked.

JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION are uniquely Capuchin because an essential part of the mission of St. Francis was to strive for all of God’s creation to live in peace and harmony.

Province Mission

St. Clare Friary

Become a Capuchin Monthly Supporter

Make a monthly contribution and provide the Province of St. Mary with a reliable source for all our programs and services. Your secure, online donation is easy to set-up and maintain. Simply select your frequency to match your budget: weekly, monthly, quarterly. You can even make an annual gift. No renewal fees or extra forms to fill out.

Your sustained gift assures that the Province of St. Mary can serve real human needs and the proclamation of God’s love. Make your online commitment today.

Visit www.capuchin.org/giving/monthly_giving.

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