Dear friends and benefactors,
We had a double celebration on 17 September 2024 – the 800th anniversary of the Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi on Mt Alvernia and the Solemn Profession of Friar Marvin Voo OFM.
When Marvin applied for his Solemn Profession earlier this year, we looked at a few dates that would be meaningful for his total consecration to the Lord in the Franciscan way. The anniversary of the 8th Centenary of the Stigmata was an obvious choice. The double celebration would give all of us an opportunity to reflect on our own consecration to the Lord and the deep meaning behind Francis receiving the very wounds of the Crucified Christ.
During a period of retreat on Mt Alvernia in 1224, Francis entered repeatedly into the question – “Who are you, O God and who am I?”. He begged God for two graces – to experience the pain and suffering of Jesus on the cross and to experience the love that brought him up on the cross. What courage to open himself to the very experience that Christ went through. Are we daring enough to walk this path to our own Mt Alvernia?
Like consecrated Religious Life, which appears to be a life of deprivation and hence suffering, the journey is ultimately about freeing us from compulsions and freeing us to love God completely. As Franciscans, we have the added dimension of walking this journey of freedom with our fraternity. So, the freedom is multi-faceted: from, to, with. This is the true meaning of freedom that we in consecrated Religious Life witness to and radiate. This is how those who live an authentic religious life always radiate joy and peace, which is what Pope Francis says we Christians must be.
Pope Francis shows us the way, and we are so grateful to God for the Holy Father’s visit to Singapore (11 to 13 September 2024).
The Papal Visit was truly a call to discern where the Lord is leading our world today, particularly into greater care for Creation and stronger fraternal bonds with one another.
Friar Vernon Chua, our three Franciscan students – Friars Marvin, Jorgerson and Jonathan – and I participated in the post-mass praise and worship segment, and we felt such tremendous joy and graced energy singing and praising the Lord!
As co-chair of the pre- and post-mass segments with Fr Valerian Cheong, I met many good people wanting to serve the Lord and his Church. We were united in our desire to make the visit an evangelising event that would draw Catholics together and attract others to our life-giving faith.
This, I think, is the great gift of the Papal Visit and I pray that this goodness will grow deeper and deeper in our hearts.
Finally, I have to make an appeal to you, our friends and benefactors, for donations to our OFM maintenance fund for the painting of our friaries and columbarium.
We friars try to be good stewards of our Bukit Batok property by maintaining it properly for the good of all. Right now, this means repainting the entire property.
The Franciscan Friars and the parish of St Mary of the Angels are splitting the cost, and we (the friars) need to raise about S$250,000 to cover our share of the repainting cost.
Donations can be made via PayNow or cheque. (PayNow: UEN 201016236M1CU, kindly state “Maintenance” under Reference. Cheques should be made payable to “The Order of Friars Minor (S) Ltd”. Please indicate “Maintenance” on the back of the cheque)
Thank you for your generosity.
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