Dear Friars,

May God give you peace.

Inter-provincial justice and peace discussions continued in Loretto with Jose Martorell, TOR, General Councilor, on Black Friday. (What else would you do on that day?) Jim Morman, Kevin Queally, Marty Zatsick and Jonathan St. Andre from Sacred Heart Province joined us to hear what Jose has been speaking about to the friars whom he has visited throughout the world. Justice within the local community was his main topic, which I had heard from my visit last October in Rome.

Jose says that we cannot talk about justice "out there" unless we are practicing it at home. "The fraternity is the external ground for our work in the world," he said. We must begin any acts of justice and peacemaking with treatment of our brothers in love and dignity. It can be very challenging to see the poor within our own walls, in the needs of our brothers. I think all of us who have lived in fraternity can understand his point. I would add to Jose's comments another point about justice I heard from Richard Rohr at a gathering of the Franciscan Action Network in October. He says that justice, as Francis exemplified, begins with our "yes" to somebody or something. We cannot begin our motivation to act by being against. The only way this is possible in our broken humanity is through contemplation. "The hard work of contemplation is watching the particular moment and then moving to the universal," he said.

On that reflective note, I wish you all a spirit of hope and joy in these last days of Advent and the coming again of our Lord at Christmas.

Click for justice and peace efforts from the Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Click for efforts of justice and peace from the Franciscan Action Network

Click for efforts of justice and peace from Franciscans International