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SFP VOICES APRIL 2010
Vol. VI, No. 3 © |
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SHARING BLESSED FRANCES WITH YOUNG ADULTS
Dear Sisters, Associates and Friends,
Joy and peace to you during these fifty days of Easter!
The April issue of VOICES is a gift from our Areas; each has contributed uniquely to the rich and varied ways that our healing charism is expressed across our cultures. This month Sisters and Associates tell us how they introduce Blessed Frances and her healing charism to young adults.
Do young people today connect with the life of Blessed Frances? A resounding, grace-filled "Yes" to this question echoes throughout each page as we read these reflections from Sisters, Associates and young adults in the Brazil and Italy Areas. The joy and dedication of many young people working with our Sisters, Associates and collaborators in the US Area is visually represented with a photo collage. One young adult, our Sister Gemma Toupane from the Senegal Area, has been so inspired by the life of Blessed Frances that she has given her YES through the profession of Temporary Vows.
We hope that you are refreshed and inspired by this issue of VOICES!
United as your sister in Blessed Frances,
Marilyn Trowbridge, sfp Maureen Fullam
Communications Liaison Director of Communications
Mother Frances:
A Precious Treasure in our Hands
En route to a gathering
“Mother Frances has much to say to young people today as in the past. She talks to them through her healing charism and the Sisters and the Associates, who serve their brothers and sisters. “
Sister Maria Grazia Attanasi, sfp
“What kind of nun are you?”
This is one question that young adults ask when they meet me for the first time.
The second question is, “That’s a pretty red cross. What does it mean?”
These questions give me the opportunity to talk about Mother Frances: “Our foundress reminded the Sisters that the red cross we wear on our chest needs to be well ingrained in our hearts. It is red because it reminds us of the colors of the Lord’s Passion, a loving passion we SFPs have and want to have toward God and the poor.”
Mother Frances has much to say to young people today just like in the past. She talks to them through her healing charism and the Sisters and the Associates, who serve their brothers and sisters.
 L to R: Sr. Maria Grazia Attanasi-Sr. Regina Nigro-Sr. Beata Nigro and Sr. Gabriella D’Agostino with young people at Casa Santa Chiara. |
 Sr. Maria Grazia Attanasi with the Franciscan Group |
Sr. Beata told us, “Young people were always attracted by the love that Mother Frances had for the poor and the sick. That’s why I would always take a young person with me when I went to care for the sick, clean their homes or beg for money or clothing for the poor.”
Young Adults Recognize Her Courage
Associate Maria Scotto says, “I always tell young people about the time Mother Frances dressed as a man to save some women who were forced into prostitution. I see that young people listen to this intensely and recognize her courage, as a mother and a woman, in facing difficulties.”
As a young adult group leader, I happen to share some events in the life of our Foundress and, through her concrete actions, I have the opportunity to describe her love for God and humanity. The youth often respond honestly and radically.
For example, D., a young woman in our group, chose to give her favorite and very expensive pants to a poor young woman she had met. Luca, surprised by Frances Schervier’s attitude of “putting her heart among the poor,” confided to me that he wanted to “become a neighbor to the poor.” Francesco, through Mother Frances’ life, understood that “Love is at the basis of all our words and actions; the salt of life, that sometimes moves mountains.”
 All smiles! Sr. Maria Grazia with a group of teenagers from Sicily |
Children love Mother Frances
Mother Frances also has much to say to children. I came to realize this as I worked in an elementary school where I am teaching about the rights of children. My “helper” is Frances Schervier, whom the children had the opportunity to encounter through stories, games, songs and reflections. When I ask them questions, I am always surprised by how these children love her. They are the ones who remind me of stories I had told them. The story they find most striking is the one about Mother Frances who stays up at night to knit socks for the poor.
During the Parish Missions, when I encounter young people in the bars or on the streets, I don’t always have the opportunity to talk openly about Mother Frances. Yet I realize that my demeanor, my open attitude, and readiness to connect with each person is a witness to young people about our charism and our Foundress.
Our awareness that “We have a precious treasure in our hands” leads us to proclaim all the goodness we have found in Mother Frances.
Introducing Young Adults to Our Foundress
Sister Thalyta Pereira Lima, SFP
I offered myself to God in poor and suffering humanity...
– Blessed Frances Schervier
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Sharing about the life of Blessed Frances Schervier with young people is part of our mission as Franciscans of the Poor, both Sisters and Associates. We emphasize how much Blessed Frances felt loved by God and that she responded to this love by giving totally of herself to God in serving the poor and suffering.
As consecrated religious, evangelization is our responsibility. Blessed Frances, in her constant practice of prayer, witnessed to God’s being the center of her life. She was able to hear this call and with much courage, she responded by communicating compassion and hope. She soothed the pains of the suffering Christ experienced by many people of her day. As Sisters and Associates we too are called, like Blessed Frances, to place God at the center of our lives and to spread that same desire to young people.
Holding Fast to Jesus and Mother Frances
Establishing the values of being centered in God, his love, compassion and solidarity -- while sowing the seeds of hope -- are essential in today’s world, despite our knowing what a great challenge this entails. We exist in a society constantly influenced by the media, which places material values first. This leads people to practice values that are the opposite of those lived by Frances Schervier, such as, selfishness, inordinate self-love, competition, and insensitivity toward others. As we face this reality, we must help young people find a new meaning for their lives by holding fast to Jesus and to the values which contribute to the common good.
 Time for fun at the Center! |
In the ministries we develop with young people in Goiânia at the Frances Schervier Formation Center, we seek to help them become acquainted with the life of Blessed Frances. We help them to understand through reflection and action that we can let ourselves be led by her values, thus contributing to the formation of citizens who are committed to social causes. A society that practices values that favor life becomes possible when we believe in young people and invest our efforts above all in them. When we act in this way we can affirm with the great US President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future...”
This statement helps us understand the importance of valuing peace and committing ourselves so that it may grow in our midst, with regard to other persons and in our relationship with all other creatures with whom we form the Community of Life.
Moments of Grace Experienced with Mother Frances:
The Vows of Sister Gemma Toupane
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“Blessed Frances Schervier spent her whole life giving back to You all the gifts that You had given her.” [from the Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Frances]
Novice Domitilde Manga, Pre-novice Thérèse Tapsoba, Sister Anne Claire Kabore, sfp
Sister Gemma Toupane, following Mother Frances, presented herself on the morning of Saturday, March 13, to serve poor and suffering humanity. The profession was celebrated in the courtyard of the Agape House San Damiano, Senegal and Father Enzo Abbatinali, O.M.I., presided. Here are excerpts from the homily: This is the first fruit of this House since the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor gave birth to the idea to search and find land outside Dakar with a view to having a House of Formation. God, who sees everything, had anticipated the benefactors who would make this project a reality. Above all God had prepared the one who would respond to his call even today.
The celebration of Gemma’s religious profession is the fruit of a very long series of benevolent actions on the part of God towards you, Franciscan Sisters, who in an act of grace, are prepared to receive Gemma into your family as a gift of God. You waited for this gift for some time. You asked for it with confidence from Blessed Frances Schervier, who is happy to have a new daughter prepared to heal the wounds of Christ in the poor and suffering humanity of Senegal.
Today, you joyously receive her into your family by asking Gemma to officially state above all her intentions so that the Church of Jesus Christ will confirm them and God consecrate her into service by obedience to her superiors…
A New Discovery of Mother Frances and Her Charism
The simplicity of the ceremony was appreciated by the hundreds of people who attended. On this special occasion local customs were woven into the liturgy, which added to the significance of the day and the celebration. Isn’t this an experience of grace through the intercession of Mother Frances, who is standing with us? Isn’t this profession in harmony with the effective presence of Mother Frances in the life of each of those who know her and want to follow in her footsteps? This is what we experienced that day.
We consider this profession to be the beginning of a journey in a new discovery of Mother Frances and of her charism through her daughters who are present and ministering here in Senegal. This is happening at the same time as the process leading to the Church’s recognition of the holiness of our Mother!
This is also a call to a radical conversion of each of us in a life of authentic witness, in the free gift of ourselves towards the blooming of the entire community of life. “Now, my Sisters, let us begin since we have not yet done anything…” St. Francis
The Baobab Tree, the Senegal national tree, is called “The Tree of Life.” This large tree bears delicious fruit, known to have healing properties.
Copyright 2010 Franciscan Sisters of the Poor