Ecumenical Rosary Group

08/30/2026

“Please join us in praying the Rosary for the people of Nepal, entrusting all who are suffering, grieving, injured, or displaced to the loving care of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.”

Sunday September 13th, 2026 at 7:30pm:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79270349197?pwd=9DBIqtx46YdlxW3BtqZCl8MGZVf7Yb.1

08/28/2026

Please pray for the people of Nepal

08/26/2026

The Many Ways We Encounter the Sacred

Faith can provide a person with a sense of security, love, acceptance, specialness and purpose. Its language is understood deeply within our hearts, its prayers lift us high, and the communities of spirit offer a sense of home and acceptance. For many of us, finding an inclusive community after experiencing rejection from the denomination in which we were raised, creates not only a desire to delve deeper into faith but also to become very protective over something so precious to us.

Feeling protective is a natural occurrence, but our Franciscan tradition invites us to hold that love for our own faith with utmost humility. We are called to remember that there are other paths to spiritual growth which may be very different from ours, but which carry our sisters and brothers to their own relationship with God. Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan priest who was born about 40 years after St. Francis of Assisi’s death, spoke of the haecceitas, the “thisness,” of each created being. In regards to people, it can be defined as the uniqueness of each person, and also the imprint Of God’s specific love for a person as an irreplaceable individual.

Keeping in mind that if every human being is unique in their creation, then each person also encounters the world from a perspective unlike anyone else's. It should not surprise us, then, that different expressions of faith resonate with different people, or even life for some which claims no established faith system. Some denominations have difficulty with the concept of an “inclusive” stance within an organized religion, and thus those who are followers have their own challenges in understanding or accepting us. This difficulty may cause us to become defensive and protective, and possibly even judgemental towards those who question our beliefs and lives. Yet, as Franciscans, our mission is to continually look for and embrace the love of God which resides within all people.

We are “not to engage in arguments or disputes, but be subject to every human creature for God’s sake.” These words were written by St Francis in his Earlier Rule to keep his friars from gaining an aggressive stance towards others and to always strive to move in and with humility. As Franciscans in an inclusive community, perhaps our first question should therefore not be, “Do they believe as I believe?” but rather, “What fruit is being born from the way they live?” Is faith, or whatever understanding of life guides them, opening their hearts toward compassion, generosity, mercy, justice, peace, and love? What can we do to help them understand that the love they search for is exactly what we want as well? Honesty, humility and keeping the door open to dialogue and relationship do more to honor God and our faith than any walls built to protect ourselves from judgement.

Throughout our lifelong conversion, we must be willing to keep asking ourselves if we are keeping the door open to others who may be very different from us, or have we, as the result of judgement, closed ourselves off to keep from potentially being challenged or hurt? Many of us know personally what religious judgment can do. It closed the door on something which we treasured in our past, causing us to seek out inclusive communities. Our Christian identity means very little if it becomes another reason to judge, exclude, or diminish another human being.

We should remember, too, that Francis and Clare, who wanted nothing more than to follow the path of Jesus, embraced people whom others wanted to remove from their lives. In doing this, Francis was considered foolish, and Clare was judged for resisting the expectations placed upon her by family and society. Jesus, too, was repeatedly judged for the people with whom he ate, the people he touched, and the boundaries he crossed. Yet, he openly, willingly and lovingly offered himself to all. This is the path we are called to emulate.

An additional question we could ask ourselves is, “Does what I believe make me more capable of loving? If our devotion to Jesus makes us gentler, if our Sacramental life makes us more generous, if our love of Francis and Clare makes us more attentive to all people, and if our experience of the Sacred Heart makes our own hearts more spacious, then our faith is bearing fruit. When encountering someone whose path is different from ours, perhaps we don’t need to begin by asking how far they are from us, and instead wonder what God may already be doing within them, as we remember that the same infinite Love that holds us also holds them.

08/23/2026

08/12/2026

Blessed Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary… Holy Mother Pray For Us

07/30/2026

Peace Prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

This prayer is attributed to St Francis, and though there is question as to whether he was the actual author it nevertheless puts forth the Franciscan charism in such a beautiful way. In the past, I had only considered the word “instrument” as an analogical tool for building something. Today, I find myself considering it more in line with music. A musical instrument puts forth that which the musician desires the world to hear and experience. If the musician is not present the instrument can do nothing on its own. If we are left to our own devices, our hearts too often produce notes of self-interest, fear, pride or frustration. It is when we surrender ourselves to be the instruments of our Creator that the melody of divine love can begin to emerge through us. By releasing ourselves completely in trust to our Lord we will emanate with mercy, humility, forgiveness, love and compassion.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is where we can release ourselves to this trust; a heart which both understands our human position (with all of its possibilities and limitations), and as well beats with the burning love of God. It is this love which resounds within us like a bell struck to produce a tone, resonating outward to all whom we encounter. A patient word offered to someone carrying unseen burdens, a gentle act of forgiveness, a listening ear, a moment of unexpected kindness… all of these become the notes of God's own melody echoing through the ordinary moments of our lives.

07/28/2026

Due to unforeseen circumstances Adoration will be held 8/14/26 at 7:30pm…Please join us for Eucharistic Adoration on Friday 8/7/26 at 7:30PM at All Souls Church, Reading PA. We will take an hour to meditate upon our Lord's love for us, and and how we may reciprocate this love back to Him through contact with others.

07/22/2026

Saint Angela of Foligno was not the person one might have expected to become one of the great Franciscan mystics. She was born into an aristocratic family about twenty years after the death of Saint Francis, and enjoyed comforts and privileges that few of her time could ever hope to imagine. Her marriage to a wealthy nobleman only deepened that life of luxury, which she enjoyed to the fullest. A great change occurred when plague claimed the lives of her mother, her husband, and all of her children. This profound loss caused Angela to reexamine everything she had once believed important, and she began to look beyond the “value” of her worldly security, focusing instead on the condition of her soul. She found herself deeply desiring to reconcile with God to free herself from the burdens she carried, and, thus, reciprocate more completely the love of God for all. She reportedly had a vision of Saint Francis encouraging her to take this path, and in time, Angela's mystical experiences were recorded by a Franciscan friar, preserving for generations the wisdom born from both suffering and grace.

At the heart of Saint Angela's spirituality is a message that remains profoundly relevant today: the recognition of our tendency to move away from God through pride, anger, selfishness, fear, and all those habits that feed the ego while quietly starving our capacity to love. She also reminds us to contemplate the immeasurable mercy of God, whose love is never diminished by our failures. We should reject both despair and pride, as despair attempts to convince us that we have wandered too far to be forgiven, and pride that we have no need of God's mercy. Throughout the many complexities of our lives there is never a moment when our faults outweigh God's love, and we need only to turn our hearts back toward Him. In a world overflowing with voices eager to define who is worthy and who is not, Franciscans are invited to walk a different path. The more honestly we acknowledge our own weaknesses, the more capable we are able to accompany others who are struggling to find their way. Humility opens our hearts, not to judge, but to love; not to condemn, but to help others discover the God who has never ceased loving them.

07/14/2026

Finding prayer and reflection within our ordinary lives can prove to be a very difficult undertaking, especially when we often begin the day already tired, with few new things expected to happen that might stir within us a sense of hope, excitement, or wonder. We labor in the same places of employment, trying to find satisfaction in what we do, yet we are continually met with obstacles and frustrations. We seldom have enough money to accomplish all that we hope for, and sometimes we struggle simply to provide the necessities of daily life.

Then without fail come the unexpected challenges: a burst water pipe, bumper-to-bumper traffic, the dog that swallowed a sock and now needs surgery, a child struggling in school, or an employer whose bad mood turns an ordinary workday into something that feels like hell on earth. Outside of these events, even when life seems to be moving along about as well as can be expected, the repetition and monotony of our daily routines can leave us wondering whether any of it truly matters. How can ordinary physical tasks, or even the seemingly mind-numbing intellectual pursuits which fill our days, possibly draw us closer to God? It is one thing to say, "I offer this up to God," when confronted with something we would rather not do. It is something altogether different to discover the presence of God within every action we undertake.

This very real, and, at times, overwhelming challenge is what Francis and Clare of Assisi sought to teach the early members of their communities. They understood that God is not encountered only within churches, monasteries, or moments of extraordinary prayer, but is present in every corner of creation and within every circumstance of our lives. The challenge is to recognize that God is never absent, but rather that we so often fail to notice Him. We cling to our expectations of where God should be found, when instead we are invited to let go of our assumptions and simply allow His presence to reveal itself.

Few of us have not experienced shoveling snow on a bitterly cold winter morning, frustrated by the thought that the next storm would just cover up all work we had just struggled to complete. Instead of focusing on the negative, we have an opportunity to glimpse the Creator in the changing of the seasons; in life-giving water transformed into the delicate beauty of crystalline snowflakes; in the remarkable gift of bodies capable of work and movement; and in the sleeping seeds hidden beneath the frozen earth, quietly awaiting the warmth of spring before bursting forth into new life. How many times have we stood in a long grocery line fretting over all of the tasks we still had to accomplish for the day. Rather than becoming frustrated by what seems like wasted time, we can instead look upon the faces around us. The people around us carry hopes, fears, burdens, and loves much like our own. They, too, are simply trying to provide for those they love, and in recognizing their humanity, we begin to recognize the face of Christ.

There are many such examples as the ones listed, as every ordinary moment carries within it the possibility of encountering the Divine. If we open ourselves to the wonder God has woven throughout creation, even the most routine task becomes an opportunity for prayer. The world has not become more holy in that moment, but rather, we, in our hearts, have become more attentive to the holiness which was always there. This is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of the Franciscan way of life: that there is no such thing as an ordinary day. Every breath, every conversation, every burden carried, every act of service, every quiet moment of gratitude becomes another invitation to encounter the God who has never ceased walking beside us.

We can even find our Creator’s love within those moments which could chill a human being to their very depths. In death lies the promise of eternal life; within poverty is the freedom to open those places within our hearts that wealth and comfort so often keep closed; within loneliness remains the gentle presence of the One who has promised, "I am with you always." When we begin to see the world through eyes shaped by gratitude, wonder, and love, we discover that God was never waiting for us somewhere else, He has been quietly present within every ordinary moment, inviting us to simply notice.