From the Friar's Desk


A Letter of Invitation

Dear Parishioners & Friends,

This year we have a lot to rejoice and to celebrate; it is the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of our Franciscan Parish - Church of St Mary of the Angels. It will also be the year during which, thanks be to God, we will have three of our Franciscan Friars receiving their sacerdotal ordination. This is indeed a blessed year for all of us in this parish.

In line with these joyous events, I would also like to make known to you that we have a third celebration coming up very soon; in fact it’ll take place this coming Saturday, 20 March, at 2.30pm in our Church.

We will be celebrating the faithful commitments and dedications of four of our brothers and sisters who belong to the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). They are;

Mr George Chan sfo (30th Anniversary); Mr. Edward Koh sfo (25th Anniversary);
Ms. Irene Ang sfo (20th Anniversary); Ms. Doreen Ng sfo (20th Anniversary)

Who are these wonderful jubilant?

They belong to a fraternity of lay-people who live the spirituality of St Francis of Assisi in a Form of Life that is canonically established and recognized by the Pope. They intended to live this charism by publicly professing their pledge 30, 25 & 20 years ago to live the gospel in the manner of St Francis by means of a Rule of Life formally approved by the Church.

In our parish, there exists a canonically established community of lay-people (11) called the Fraternity of St Elizabeth of Hungary, which has been in existence for slightly more than 30 years now.

In Singapore, we have four other established SFO fraternities all over Singapore and they are:

The Fraternity of St Bonaventure,

The Fraternity of St Joseph,

The Fraternity of St Clare of Assisi,

& The Fraternity of St Margaret of Cotona.

They are an International Order of Lay-people having their own Minister General and the General Councilors in Rome Headquarters, following which they have National Fraternities, Regional Fraternities and Local Fraternities in many countries around the world.

If you have not heard about them until now, I suppose it also speaks quite clearly about their Franciscan charism of going about in the world, working quietly and diligently in the field of the Lord; little (minor) and unnoticed.

The Fraternity of St Elizabeth of Hungary has its monthly meeting on the 3rd Sunday of every month where they share about their lives and where they receive encouragement and support from each other in their Christian discipleship.

Every year, they contribute to the community what they have saved from their own daily expenditure to a project called the ‘Jesus Box’ so that this self-denial of theirs can be given to help the poor & needy.

I can testify to you that their commitment and dedication for the relief of the poor in our midst over the years has been very exemplary and substantial indeed.

So dear parishioners & friends, do come along to witness this Mass of Thanksgiving @ St Mary of the Angels if you are able to, to celebrate with our parish, this wonderful group of lay-people who are committed to live the Gospel way of Life in our very midst and to give thanks to God for this wonderful witness of faith among us.

For more information about this Secular Franciscan Order, you may like to contact the Minister of the Fraternity:

Ms Geraldine Chan sfo, 9772-9847 or Friar John Soh, Parish Office.

Blessings!

Friar John Soh OFM
Bulletin of 13th/14th March 2010