Franciscan Friars OFM Vocation Philippines

10/08/2026

𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐢

Clare was a woman of prayer, and her entire life was lived in trust of the God whom she knew loved her. She needed little material wealth because she trusted that God would care for all her physical needs. God never let her down. It takes deep faith to live so, but anyone who has tried to live dependent on God learns quickly the joy of simplicity.

Clutter blocks freedom and blurs perception. Living simply helps one develop an attitude or willingness to be emptied. One quickly learns what is important. Those who live simply learn to live with open hands: to appreciate what is given but to be equally willing to let go, when letting go is what is needed.

Contemplative living was Clare’s reason for living simply. One needs to be poor to have the space to meet God. Clare, by her way of life, witnessed to others the one thing necessary and found herself united with all people in sharing her need for and reliance on God.

The most genuine poverty seems to come from within. Individuals in poverty make families and communities poor. Life’s biggest challenge seems to be embracing inner poverty. It takes real honesty to face oneself, to acknowledge clinging to possessions and to admit attraction to power and privilege, tendencies we all share.

Courage is needed to be poor, to recognize the need for conversion and not to be overwhelmed by it. Embracing inner poverty can turn lives upside down. In facing the struggle, though, we—like Clare—can recognize that areas of weakness are also areas of grace.

Our own struggle with sinfulness teaches patience and forgiveness as we encounter the mistakes and failures of others. Conversion is the only route to transformation. Poverty frees and enables Christians to face the cross. In experiencing the cross, we—like Clare—are transformed.

10/08/2026

𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐀!
𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐭. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐢, 𝐰𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬.

𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐢

𝑂 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒,
𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑖
𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡
𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟, 𝑝𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡.

𝐼𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡,
ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑚 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ,
𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ.

𝐴𝑠 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦,
𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒—𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒,
𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒.

𝑀𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑒, 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑒,
𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡,
𝑟𝑒𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠,
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑚 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒,
𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙.

𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒,
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡,𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑑.

𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐢,
𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑠.

Amen.

10/07/2026

Brothers and Sisters we warmly welcome our New Vocation Director —Br. Francis Moneda, OFM🤎

16/06/2026

Pax et Bonum!

Our MUGNA Publication for this year is finally out. You can now access it online through FlipHTML just click the link below.

https://online.fliphtml5.com/ofmnovitiatesouth/MUGNA-new/

28/04/2026

✝️ THIS IS HOW THE MOTHERS OF THE PRIESTS ENTER HEAVEN.

When a priest is ordained, his hands are anointed with oil by the bishop. Then his hands are cleaned with a white linen towel called a maniturgium.

The oil used on the priest's hands is sacred, previously blessed by the bishop, so that the maniturgium, or manutergio, cannot be thrown away in the trash.

Although it could end up in a laundry basket to be cleaned, the priests of history have made it a habit to keep these linen cloths to present to their mothers during their first Mass.

According to an ancient tradition, the mother keeps the towel in a safe place until the day of her death. Then, when her body is ready for the funeral, the manger is deposited in the mother's hands. Then, the pious tradition tells what happens when the priest's mother arrives at the pearly gates of Heaven.

When she arrives at the gates of Heaven, she is accompanied directly to our Lord. Our Lord will say to you, “I have given you life. What have you given me? ” She will hand over the manger and then answer, "I gave you to my son as a priest." And with that Jesus grants him entry into paradise.

It is a beautiful and comforting tradition that always moves those who are present. Tears also run down when a young priest presents the canvas to his mother, tears of joy instead of sorrow.

05/02/2026

26/01/2026

Annual Formation Assembly

14/01/2026

JUBILEE YEAR OF THE FRANCISCANS

The Jubilee Year of the Franciscans is a special time to reflect on the life of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a moment to grow closer to God, live simply, love others deeply, care for creation, and trust in His plan, letting St. Francis’ example inspire and guide our daily lives.

12/01/2026

POPE LEO DECLARES JUBILEE OF SAINT FRANCIS WITH PLENARY INDULGENCE

To mark the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi (October 3, 1226), the Church has proclaimed a Special Year of Saint Francis from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.

This Jubilee Year continues the grace of the recently concluded Ordinary Jubilee and invites all the faithful to live as pilgrims of hope, inspired by the life of Saint Francis—his humility, poverty, mercy, and love for Christ and peace.

During the Jubilee, the Apostolic Penitentiary, by the will of the Holy Father, grants a Plenary Indulgence under the usual conditions: sacramental confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father. This indulgence may also be offered for the souls in Purgatory.

The Plenary Indulgence is granted to members of the Franciscan Family and all the faithful who take part in the Jubilee by visiting a Franciscan church or any place connected to Saint Francis anywhere in the world, spending time in prayer or reflection, and praying for charity, harmony, and peace among peoples. The prayers conclude with the Our Father, the Creed, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare, and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family.

The elderly, the sick, those confined to their homes, and caregivers may also receive the Plenary Indulgence by spiritually joining the Jubilee celebrations and offering their prayers and sufferings to God, intending to fulfill the usual conditions when possible.

This Jubilee of Saint Francis is a time of grace, calling all Christians to grow in holiness, mercy, and peace by following the Gospel way lived by the Poverello of Assisi.