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Formation Update - Summer 2006


The T.O.R. Provincials of North America

Pictured from left to right:� Very Rev. Christian Oravec, Very Rev. Anthony Criscitelli, Very Rev. Amando Trujillo Cano

On Tuesday, July 18, the T.O.R. Provincials of North America met at Saint Francis Friary in Loretto, Pennsylvania, along with a delegate from each Province, to address questions and concerns of common interest facing the three Provinces.�� The delegates were: Bro. Mark McBride , Fr. Esteban Jasso Gonz�lez, and Bro. David Liedl. Agenda items included: providing an overview of apostolic commitments; sharing information on finances, especially as they relate to retirement; discussion of joint formational experiences; and issues related to immigration.� Two decisions were made: to plan an inter-Province continuing formation program for friars in solemn vows for five years or less, and to host a joint Council meeting within a year.� As a point of information, it was noted that 2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the T.O.R.�s in North America arriving in Spalding, Nebraska, in 1908


Book Review

Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains:� The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World (New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003.)

Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers: The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, and Home Town. This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference.

At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life's calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most.

Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity." At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope.� This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created.�

"Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation," writes Annie Dillard, and Abraham Verghese of the New York Times Sunday Book Review writes: �Mountains Beyond Mountains is inspiring, disturbing, daring and completely absorbing.�� �If ever I go on a retreat again,� the critic for The Washington Post Book World writes, �this is the kind of book I�d like to take for spiritual reading.� Kidder knows it is impossible to live like Farmer, but the impossibility is the very thing that can somehow give us life.��


The following is the text of a letter from Archbishop Harry Flynn to our newly ordained friars.� His sentiments bear repeating as a reminder to all our priest-friars of the gift of their particular vocation.

Dear Father Foley and Father Kaczmarek,

Thank you so very much for your kindness in inviting me to your ordination on June 10.� Unfortunately, I will not be able to be with you because of other commitments.

However, I do write to you today to express to you my profound congratulations on this great event in your life.

Monsignor George Mulcahy, my predecessor as Rector of Mount Saint Mary�s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, used to say and he said it frequently:� �It is no small thing to be a priest.�� You both are embarking on a splendid vocation- a vocation that will enable you to touch the lives of others in ways that you could never dream.� If you accept the mandate of the Lord Jesus Christ and remain in His holy love you will be amazed at what you will accomplish.� You will be amazed, at times the right word will come when you don�t know where it�s coming from.� You will be amazed at the solace you will give when your own heart seems to be broken because of one thing or another.� You will be amazed and amazed and amazed if you remain in union with Our Lord Jesus Christ because he will use you beyond your greatest expectations.

You have a promise of my prayers and I send to you blessings and gratitude.

With every good wish, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn, D.D.

Archbishop of Saint Paul�and Minneapolis


A Reflection on Ordination

- David Kaczmarek -

A few days before I was to be ordained, a woman I know well asked me why I would want to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. She had good reasons, I thought, to raise the question. The difficult climate within the Church in the midst of a sexual scandal, deep-seated questions regarding who should be ordained, and the growing divide between �liberal� and �conservative� in the Church are all legitimate points, for one who is discerning ordination, to consider.

But in the end, even serious considerations like these cannot trump where the heart is leading you. Some people refer to this as �a calling�, but is certainly not a singular command of God; it is discernment of God�s will and discernment of one�s own heartfelt desire and the support of one�s community that make for such a calling. But it is also one thing more, trust, that God will never mislead you or leave you unsupported.

Everything I just said applies to my vocation, which is to be a Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate Conception Province of the Third Order Regular. The question of ordination, though related to my vocation, has always been secondary and much more dependent on my community�s mutual discernment with me of how I can best be of service in the world.

I am very grateful that this discernment required years to accomplish because when my admission to solemn vows, and then later to the presbyterate became a reality, I knew that I was ready and that the discernment was right.

The day of my ordination is somewhat of a blur in my memory given all the busyness, the things I needed to remember on that day, and what seemed like endless details, but the feeling of gratitude remains. Much of my presbyteral ministry right now consists either of learning new things or in putting the training I received into practice. But no matter what I am doing, and what roles I have taken on, it is still me at the core, me, the friar, and now, me, the priest.

I truly believe that the greatest aspiration of any person is to use their freedom to serve God-- that is real vocation-- no matter how God and you express it. Thanks be to God for a heart that is free.


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