Third Weekend in May

The Spring Regional Retreat occurred on the same weekend as our monthly meeting.  Even so, we had 8 members of our Fraternity participate up in Kennebunk, Maine, so we were well represented.  One of our own, Alice, who is also the Regional Spiritual Assistant, led us in prayer Friday evening.  Our Spiritual Assistant, Pam, was also there, so I guess technically, we had 8.5 members there.

Our 3 candidates, Paul, Donna, and Dotty joined Ray and Jane at dinner.  Elsewhere in the dining room were Alice and Ron. 

Steve took a walk down to the beach during some of the available free time.

The retreat theme was "This is What I Want" and it was let by Cricket Aull.  Her husband Jerry records Christian music.  Check out their website.

Saturday, there were about 130 Franciscans and guests in attendance.

Then Sunday, we had our regular monthly fraternity meeting.  Despite a few still making there way back from Maine, we had a nice turn out.

We started upstairs with a new devotion, Via Lucis ("The Paschal Way of Light"). 
It complements the traditional Way of the Cross that we did last month.

Our meeting ran a little long, but it's only because we were all having a good time.  Jan set up a formational video from Fr. Robert Barron's Catholocism study.  Since it's May we watched the segment on Mary. 
The video was excellent with fantastic international backdrops (Lourdes, Mexico City, etc).

Palm Sunday, 2017

Our meeting fell on Palm Sunday this year, so what a great opportunity for us to walk the Stations of the Cross.  To make room for Holy Trinity, we did our sacred space time first, then moved upstairs.

Those who could, followed the Crucifix around the church, while Deacon Brian led us in prayers and reflections.

Afterward, there are still lots of goodies in the kitchen.

The sacred space is also a relaxing place to chat.

Lenten Reflections and Sacred Space

A Thank You to Fr. Jose for creating a "sacred space" for us while the sanctuary is otherwise occupied by the Holy Trinity Apostolate's Mass during the snowy months.  There was room for everyone and we were relatively cozy here before we broke up in groups to share on some Lenten reflections.

All Creatures of our God and King

With the Feast of St. Francis only a couple days away, our host parish again invited pets and their owners to come and participate in the annual Blessing of the Animals.  Once again, our Fraternity was very much present, providing treats for people and pets, as well as music and fellowship of all who attended.

Pets were well behaved while their owners joined in our opening song.

Unlike last year, Fr. Jose was not dressed as St. Francis.

There was an excellent turnout despite the threatening weather. 

These guys are still waiting for their blessings.

I wonder if the dog knows there's a cat in the nearby case.

With our banner displayed behind our table, we offered pet treats as well as people treats (cider & munchkins).

Afterward, the animals were invited into the church.

Regular Meeting

Last month was our first time we held our annual picnic at Holy Family.  We didn't have any rain, but it was HOT, HOT, HOT.  Kathy had offered her place out in Royalston for an outdoor picnic, but in the interest of keeping people from melting, we opted for the indoor option. 

New this year was actually cooking food.  Holy Family had a gas grille that Fr. Jose was happy to let us use.  It was really nice to have hamburgs and hot dogs to go with our other offerings. 

Unfortunately, we forgot to take any pictures.  Take my word for it, it was really nice.

Instead, we have photos of an ordinary meeting in September. 

Our attendance was very good and we had enough space to meet in spite of the parish getting ready for its annual yard sale the following weekend.

As usual, we had a few goodies to share.

It looks like there will be a ton of stuff for sale at next week's yard sale.  Sorry, no early purchases allowed.

Welcome Pam!

It is with great excitement that our fraternity welcomes our new Spiritual Assistant,
Pam Deres.  Pam started visiting us last fall, and after a little time and careful discernment, both she and the fraternity council thought that she would be a great fit to fill a much needed role for us.
 

Member Spotlight

It's always nice to share some of the blessings of our members.

Here's Deacon Bryan in the stole given to him by the Fraternity for his ordination.  Looks sharp!