Diamond Jubilarians Reflect On Vocation

June 27, 2018
News
Five Friars: Fr. Timothy MacDonald, SA, Br. Gerard Hand, SA, Br. Daniel Houde, SA, Br. Louis Marek, SA, and Br. Savio McNeice, SA celebrated their Diamond Jubilee in 2018!  Although Br. Savio passed into eternal life on Sunday, June 10, 2018, the Friars recognized and celebrated him for his years of service to the mission of “At-One-Ment.”
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St. Anthony’s Feast and the Generosity of Benefactors

June 13, 2018
News
The Heritage and Benefactor Appreciation Day on June 7 was an occasion for the benefactors to see more fully the great work they are a part of through their support as well as to pray to St. Anthony for his intercession. Benefactors attended Mass and a reception at the St. Anthony Shrine, a popular pilgrimage spot that has been visited by tens of thousands over the years. For the Friars, many benefactors, and so many men and women who have asked for prayers, St. Anthony is a special patron, a miracle-worker who has aided many pilgrims and supplicants. After Mass, the benefactors attended a luncheon and received an update on the Friars ministries. Some of the ministries in which the Friars serve - such as the Graymoor Books and Gift Center, the pilgrimage spots, the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, and St. Christopher’s Inn - are located at Graymoor itself, giving the benefactors a chance to see the fruit of their generosity. The Friars recognize that the abundant good work that is accomplished through their many ministries - from helping men suffering from drug addictions to building bridges through ecumenical dialogue - is not due solely to their own labor. Rather, they rely on the prayers and financial support of many others who believe in Servant of God Fr. Paul of Graymoor’s mission of “At-One-Ment”, as well as the intercession of saints such as St. Anthony. St. Anthony, pray for us!

Honoring Mary Under A New Title: Mary, Mother of the Church

June 13, 2018
News
When Pope Francis announced earlier this year that the Church would recognize Mary under a new title “Mary, Mother of the Church”, Fr. Elias Mallon, SA, was asked to author a series of articles about this title for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), an organization co-founded by Servant of God, Father Paul Wattson, SA. Fr. Elias, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement who works at CNEWA, took the series a step further by comparing devotion to Mary in the Western and Eastern (Byzantine and Orthodox) Churches. In the first article, “Hail Mary, Mother of the Church”, Fr. Elias explains:
“The number of titles given to Mary in the Roman Catholic Church almost goes beyond counting. Some, like Mother of God (Greek: theotokos) are extremely ancient, while others like Mother of the Church seem more recent. In a sense,”Mary, Mother of the Church” is a title both ancient and recent.”
Read the rest here. In the first article, he lays out a roadmap for the subsequent reflections, saying:
“In the next two weeks we will look at how two ancient traditions — Catholic in the west and Orthodox in the east — revere and honor Mary, Mother of the Lord and Mother of the Church. Each tradition can enrich and also act as a corrective to the veneration of Mary among Christians.”
You may find the second article Hailing Mary: Part 2 - Devotion to Mary in the West here. The third article, Hailing Mary: Part 3 - Devotion to Mary in the East may be found here.