JUBILARIANS ALL! - Holy Name Province
JUBILARIANS ALL! - Holy Name Province
JUBILARIANS ALL! - Holy Name Province
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WestFriars<br />
Newsletter of the Saint Barbara <strong>Province</strong> of the Franciscans<br />
VOLUME 43, No. 5<br />
september/october 2009<br />
<strong>JUBILARIANS</strong> <strong>ALL</strong>!<br />
"On the morning of July 5, 1959, at Old Mission San Miguel, the Provincial, David<br />
Temple, received a new class of novices.<br />
"On the morning of July 5, 2009, at Mercy Center, Oakland, the five remaining from<br />
that class [in order of age: Jan Honchosky, Louie Vitale, Angelo Cardinalli, Michael<br />
Guinan, and Gino Piccoli] celebrated their golden jubilee.<br />
“Louie presided at the Mass and Mike preached (less than 9 minutes!). Lunch followed<br />
in the dining room with a number of friars from the area. Thanks to the artistry<br />
of Franklin Fong, they each had name tags to keep them from getting confused."<br />
Many thanks – Michael Guinan<br />
1
EDITORIAL MUSINGS<br />
No guide book mentions Cliftonville, a quite unpretentious town in Kent, England.<br />
It’s a sort of tired retirement village with a number of less than modest hotels<br />
and boarding houses. Fortunately it does have a train station, encouraging<br />
me to visit St. Anselm’s Institute to visit a Bangladesh priest who was spending<br />
his sabbatical there.<br />
The Institute is actually a renovated small hotel which offers an unique program, going on 20<br />
years now, for bishops, priests and religious. Call it a renewal time or whatever—but apparently<br />
it is quietly known world-wide.<br />
What brings the place to mind is an article written by its director, Fr. Len Kofler, priest and<br />
psychotherapist (The Tablet, 3 July 2009), who candidly admits that “I have spent many years<br />
dealing with my own emotions and helping others to be constructive with theirs.”<br />
He is convinced that not only in the formation years but throughout our lives, “…the emphasis<br />
needs to shift from a mainly intellectual to a more experiential approach,” adding that “we<br />
need a psycho-spiritual integration.”<br />
While heads may nod in approval, he adds a most important zinger: “Spirituality without psychology<br />
is not anchored. Psychology without spirituality is directionless.”<br />
Proof Does anyone remember the tragic fad of “encounter groups” in the 60s and 70s The<br />
damage done to individual friars was absolutely horrific. The great and appalling weakness<br />
was to encourage participants to “let it all hang out,” only to find to their shocked dismay that<br />
there was no one to put Humpty Dumpty together again.<br />
Let’s be real: everyone is “wounded.” Usually the target is the “dysfunctional” (aka crazy)<br />
family history. Let’s be more real: oftentimes the person never realizes the here-and-now but<br />
subconscious effects of past, negative experiences.<br />
Sr. Joan Chittister offers a concrete example:<br />
“People in positions of authority know they aren’t being heard if the people they are trying<br />
to direct turn every conversation into an adolescent struggle with the ghosts of their parents.”<br />
Maybe there was some truth in the story told about Archbishop John J. Cantwell of Los Ange-<br />
continued on next page<br />
WestFriars<br />
Editor: Warren J. Rouse, OFM . Layout, Design & Circulation: Ali Packard<br />
Archives: Timothy Arthur, OFM<br />
Submissions: (E-Mail attachment preferred) Frwarren@serraretreat.com or:<br />
Warren Rouse, OFM PO Box 127 Malibu, CA 90265 Tel: 310.924.2124 Fax: 310.456.9417<br />
2
les way back in the 40s. When a prospective<br />
seminarian was proposed, his question was:<br />
“Does he come from good stock” Somehow<br />
the Archbishop was acutely aware that unresolved<br />
family disorders needed first to be recognized<br />
and then healed. Chittister is in tune<br />
with this:<br />
20 years and many clients are grateful proof<br />
of this!<br />
WJR<br />
AWARDS FOR<br />
KEITH DOUGLASS WARNER,<br />
O.F.M.<br />
“We have to learn to take the raw materials of<br />
our lives and turn them into the stuff of sanctity.<br />
We can’t wait for the perfect person or<br />
the perfect environment to call us to spiritual<br />
maturity.” (Emphasis mine.)<br />
Throughout lives we’re called to do our<br />
homework, the painful task of naming and<br />
healing perhaps long-forgotten wounds that<br />
subtly influence us today. As we understandably<br />
and admirably look for help at times, one<br />
may even recall, in very broad terms, that for<br />
a time psychology reigned over spirituality.(<br />
On the other hand, and perhaps in our own<br />
day, there has been a conservative backlash:<br />
spirituality may brush aside and disdain psychology.)<br />
Thus the purpose of St. Anselm’s—and other<br />
institutes—is to help the participants to acquire<br />
deep faith, much confidence and a range<br />
of social skills. But Fr. Kofler has a caveat:<br />
“Secular counselors will not be able to understand<br />
fully the special charism of priests<br />
and Religious, and therefore will not be able<br />
to help them to develop and grow in a holistic<br />
way. Many counselors have no idea what<br />
spirituality is, and therefore cannot tap into<br />
the most important resources of the priestly<br />
and religious vocation.”<br />
What he calls for is the combined skills of<br />
Christian counseling and spiritual direction.<br />
3<br />
Congratulations on honors for Care for Creation!<br />
It received the following Catholic Book<br />
Award at the 2009 Catholic Press Association<br />
convention in Anaheim, CA.<br />
• 1st place, Social concerns- Care for<br />
Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the<br />
Earth (Ilia Delio, OSF, Keith Douglass Warner,<br />
OFM, and Pam Wood). Judges wrote:<br />
“Anyone concerned about the ecological crisis<br />
has many resources on ‘green’ prayer, theology,<br />
and action steps available to them. Care<br />
for Creation is a welcome addition, though,<br />
because of its delightful, readable content<br />
and format. Firmly grounded in the Franciscan<br />
tradition that sees God’s creation and the<br />
Incarnation as ‘fully and integrally’ related,<br />
the book contains science, theology, practical<br />
advice, and inspiration, For the reader who is<br />
equally devoted to both Jesus and to our fragile<br />
world, this is a gem.”<br />
• 2nd place, Spirituality, soft cover-<br />
Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality<br />
of the Earth (Ilia Delio, OSF, Keith Douglass<br />
Warner, OFM, and Pam Wood). Judges<br />
wrote: “This timely book wonderfully presents<br />
a Franciscan spirituality of creation and<br />
the Incarnation, the implications of St. Francis’s<br />
Canticle of Creation for the contemporary<br />
world, the role of contemplative prayer<br />
in light of global climate change, and the conversion<br />
that is necessary for humanity to face<br />
these challenges.”
2009-2010 Novitiate Class(from left to right) : Regan Chapman (Novice Master);<br />
Michael Minton, Tom Frost (Assistant Novice Master), Phillip Polk and Ryan<br />
Thornton.<br />
MEET THE NOVICES<br />
Phillip Polk, 27, is a member of the San Carlos Apache Nation in San Carlos, AZ. He has<br />
known the Franciscans all his life as a member of St. Charlie’s Apache Catholic Community.<br />
Before entering the formation program, Phillip was a fulltime caregiver for his elderly<br />
grandparents. Phillip also spent a few years as a hotel restaurant manager for a Hilton resort<br />
in Tucson, AZ.<br />
Phillip was drawn to the friars because of their care for the poor and the transparency of the<br />
community. Phillip is looking forward to this year of novitiate to deepen his prayer life and<br />
further his discernment with the friars.<br />
Ryan Thornton, 25, hails from Monrovia, California. He comes to the friars after having<br />
spent a year as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Ryan is also a recent graduate<br />
of Harvard and has a special interest in the work of Franciscan philosopher John Duns<br />
Scotus.<br />
Between college and seminary, Ryan spent a year in Ukraine teaching English at a Byzantine<br />
4
Catholic Seminary where he was exposed to<br />
the spirituality of the Eastern Rites. As a result,<br />
during novitiate he hopes to explore its<br />
intersection with Franciscan spirituality for<br />
his own development as well as to continue<br />
in discerning God’s ever-unfolding plan.<br />
Michael Minton, 46, is a native of Northwest<br />
Indiana. He has worked supporting and<br />
advocating for people with developmental<br />
disabilities for almost 20 years. He has a<br />
Masters degree in Non-Profit Management<br />
and a BA in Sociology.<br />
His initial exposure to Franciscans began<br />
while in college and came to fruition after<br />
moving to California. He is grateful for this<br />
opportunity to discern his vocation in a more<br />
intense, intimate, and trusting way.<br />
The novitiate team wholeheartedly welcomes<br />
Friar Tom Frost to this community and gives<br />
great thanks to Friar Clifford Herle who<br />
departs after six years.<br />
LETTERS<br />
About Br. Wenceslaus<br />
vocation that unknown to me began that year.<br />
I'm glad that I knew him. Kindly let this be<br />
an item for the next issue of WestFriars. –<br />
Barnabas Hughes, O.F.M.<br />
About Moving<br />
The BIG news for us friars here is the coming<br />
“Changing of the Guard.” Tom Frost is<br />
on his way to San Miguel to help in the novitiate,<br />
and Ignatius has moved into Covered<br />
Wells Village (Tom’s former place) and I’m<br />
scheduled to move to Tularosa, New Mexico,<br />
soon. This will happen when Ponchie Vaquez<br />
is freed up from St. Elizabeth’s by his several<br />
replacements, to take my place on the eastern<br />
side of our San Solano Missions parish—<br />
with a little luck by mid-August. The other<br />
Brothers—Chris Best, Martin Sanabria and<br />
Hajime Okuhara—are due before the end of<br />
August.<br />
I’ve been here for over 18 years now. It’s<br />
absolutely amazing how much stuff has<br />
accumulated in the process! Besides all my<br />
regular work at present, I’m staring at this<br />
Mountain of Stuff which needs to be (a)<br />
sorted, (b) discarded, (c) carried along, and<br />
(d) burned in effigy.<br />
Wency was the first friar that I met, at the<br />
time a tertiary brother and wore the capuche<br />
only in public. It was during <strong>Holy</strong> Week,<br />
1938. My grandmother lived in Santa Barbara<br />
at the Upham Hotel and had invited me to<br />
spend <strong>Holy</strong> Week with her. She showed me<br />
how to walk to the Mission. I did. The Mission<br />
was open. I found the gift shop. And<br />
Wency with his beaming smile welcomed<br />
me like a long lost brother. He never forgot<br />
me. Always the smile, always the cheerful<br />
greeting. His presence did much to foster the<br />
5<br />
If I had more time/energy I’d send you a<br />
beautiful reflection on my life and ministry<br />
here…Maybe next time Max Hottle,<br />
O.F.M.
Alfonso Joseph Floyd Lotito<br />
July 28, 1934 – July 14, 2009<br />
In our reflection for this afternoon, as we pay<br />
tribute in sorrow and thanksgiving to our<br />
Brother Floyd, our scripture reading has the<br />
disciples “coming down the mountain” with<br />
Jesus. (Lk. 6.17-21) His disciples follow him<br />
into a large crowd from all over the world.<br />
What do they see in the crowd: the sick, the<br />
lame, the blind, those afflicted with exterior<br />
diseases and internal pains, “those troubled<br />
with unclean spirits.” They see human beings<br />
just like themselves; they see people<br />
who reach out—they want to be healed, to be<br />
recognized, to make contact with God; they<br />
wish to be included; they want bread, they<br />
long to be touched with a blessing. And the<br />
disciples see “power” come out from Jesus’<br />
touch, and the words of blessing, not just<br />
once but many times, every day, every moment,<br />
to each single one:<br />
Blessed are you poor,<br />
the reign of God is yours.<br />
Blessed are you who are hungry,<br />
you shall be filled.<br />
Blessed are you who are weeping,<br />
you shall laugh.<br />
Eventually, later on in their journey, the<br />
disciples will see Jesus give to the people<br />
not just food but the bread of life; they will<br />
watch as he restores them to human dignity,<br />
gives them hope with the promise of justice,<br />
and proclaims with the witness of his own<br />
death and resurrection the victory of life over<br />
death. And the disciples, who have followed<br />
Jesus, not away from the human community<br />
but into it, receive the Lord’s Spirit, take<br />
it into themselves, and his power comes out<br />
from them, and his blessing, and they repeat<br />
6<br />
his words: “Blessed are you poor;” and the<br />
disciples proclaim a final justice, “the reign<br />
of God is yours.”<br />
Alfonso Joseph, later Floyd, Lotito was an<br />
exceptional disciple of the Lord. We know<br />
that because he did not flee from nor ignore<br />
the world around him; he followed Jesus<br />
down from the mountain and entered into<br />
the human community of the Tenderloin;<br />
and power came out from him. He blessed<br />
everything in sight: dogs and cats, snakes<br />
and hamsters, parakeets and doves, worms<br />
and lizards, taxi drivers and muni travelers.<br />
He blessed the people in baseball parks and<br />
in neighborhood playgrounds; he blessed<br />
the delegates of the Democratic national<br />
convention and the Sacramento politicians;<br />
he blessed meals for the poor and family<br />
gatherings for the better off; he blessed old<br />
women in their apartments and drug addicts<br />
on the streets; he blessed the people in Pacific<br />
Heights and in the avenues and people<br />
whose home was the street; he blessed friars<br />
in their Redwood city gatherings and lay folk<br />
in their celebrations; he blessed a succession<br />
of San Francisco mayors and the first woman<br />
Speaker of the House.<br />
When you bless someone, you give to them<br />
your vitality, your soul, your wisdom, what<br />
you hope for them; you acknowledge that<br />
they mean something to you; you open for<br />
them the gates of mercy and human dignity.<br />
You touch them with healing power. Our<br />
Lord says in the reading: "Blessed are the<br />
poor."<br />
Several months ago, Floyd, who taught me<br />
dramatic arts and speaking over forty-five<br />
years ago and with whom I had been privileged<br />
to serve on the governing board of the
Franciscan friars, called me up and I came<br />
over to visit him in San Francisco. We had<br />
a breakfast meal together here at St. Boniface<br />
and then went over to his office at St.<br />
Anthony’s. He was getting very frail and<br />
trying to make up his mind whether or not to<br />
move from his homes here on Golden Gate<br />
Avenue. A Franciscan friar and a priest, he<br />
mentioned to me at that time what he considered<br />
to be the two other major blessings<br />
of his own life. He was able to bless because<br />
he had first been blessed.<br />
The first blessing he had received came from<br />
his family.<br />
• Born a son of Joseph, an immigrant<br />
from Bari, Italy, and Filomena, a first generation<br />
American of Calabrian parents, he never<br />
forgot the blessings of his parents’ love. He<br />
grew up with Michael, his brother, whose<br />
premature passing affected him so deeply,<br />
and his two beloved sisters, Madeline and<br />
Frances. When I came over to see him he<br />
spoke to me not so much about his own fears<br />
but about his love for you: he did not want<br />
to leave you.<br />
7<br />
• Through his parents,<br />
Alfonso Joseph possessed many<br />
natural blessings from his Creator.<br />
Believe it or not, he was a<br />
gifted track star; later advanced<br />
training would capitalize on<br />
his exceptional public speaking<br />
ability. But there is one<br />
natural blessing to which I want<br />
to call attention, because it so<br />
often misunderstood. It was a<br />
gift which few people have—a<br />
certain naïve innocence, a core<br />
simplicity which allowed him<br />
to ascend to high places, plaster the walls of<br />
his office with pictures of himself with truly<br />
influential people, and tell everyone about it.<br />
Every Italian male, it is said, has two words<br />
inscribed on his license plate: Numero Uno,<br />
and Floyd has sent to his Franciscan superiors<br />
a daily log of his activities every month<br />
for the last thirty years. Yet despite it all, he<br />
remained remarkably unaffected: filled with<br />
blessings, but to himself, still “poor brother<br />
Floyd.” This was not affected; it was rather<br />
God’s gift of Gospel simplicity.<br />
• Floyd was southern Italian to the<br />
core: good food, celebration, hospitality,<br />
an absolute loyalty to a life of relationships<br />
lived within the small orbit of a human family<br />
of six, a Franciscan family, several close<br />
families here in San Francisco, the family of<br />
the Tenderloin. I think it rather typical that<br />
he would die before he would permanently<br />
move. His superiors, including myself,<br />
tried to move him three times; he would not<br />
budge. I used to think it was stubbornness,<br />
and perhaps there was a little Calabrian<br />
there. But I have come to understand it was<br />
so much more. Floyd was not a wanderer<br />
but a family settler—once in San Francisco,
he was here for forty-one years. His baseball<br />
cap and forty-niner jacket testify to that. He<br />
insisted on staying here not because he was<br />
stubborn or because he needed to stay here,<br />
but because he actually loved you and wanted<br />
to be with you. Family was everything.<br />
When Floyd became a Franciscan friar in<br />
1953 and was ordained to the priesthood on<br />
December 17, 1960, he began his life’s work<br />
filled with the wonderful blessings of a deeply<br />
priestly spirit grafted onto a loyal, open,<br />
family oriented, compassionate, and gifted<br />
nature.<br />
Father Floyd Lotito celebrated his 70th birthday, cutting<br />
the first piece of cake and tasting the frosting with<br />
help from Cissie Bonini, manager of his beloved St.<br />
Anthony Dining Room. After cake, he pitched in and<br />
helped serve lunch to more than 2,000 homeless and<br />
needy people in the Tenderloin.<br />
8<br />
The second blessing Floyd acknowledged in<br />
our conversation, was the poor. And here I<br />
need not go through his long years at St. Anthony’s<br />
or his work in the Tenderloin. The<br />
staff, the donors, the bread line, the public<br />
media, and, above all, his beloved guests<br />
give great testimony to that. I simply want<br />
to say in tribute that this blessing of the poor<br />
was something that grew in him, and it grew<br />
both through example and through adversity.<br />
If you go into Floyd’s office you will see<br />
there a picture of himself and Father Alfred;<br />
you cannot understand the course of one<br />
life without knowing the course of the other<br />
life. When Alfred emerged, Floyd receded;<br />
where Alfred led, Floyd followed; where<br />
Floyd was acknowledged, Alfred lay hidden;<br />
as Alfred declined, Floyd ascended. Yet<br />
he was not to be the successor. It is a great<br />
testimony to Floyd’s expansive heart that he<br />
not only persevered but flourished. He found<br />
himself blessed by the poor. He was one of<br />
them, a brother to brothers and sisters. They<br />
acknowledged him, opened their hearts to<br />
him, gave him a sense of human dignity, and<br />
touched him with healing power. He would<br />
become their public advocate, their mediator<br />
for justice, they his family. Every time he<br />
signed the head of his “brother” or “sister”<br />
with a cross, he found himself signed with<br />
his own redemption. It was a wondrous<br />
blessing exchanged between equals. If Floyd<br />
was a priest for the poor, the poor were other<br />
Christs for him.<br />
In our last conversation, Floyd mentioned<br />
that he had met the soon to be inaugurated<br />
Barak Obama. As he told it in Lotitoesque,<br />
he more or less bribed one of the Secret<br />
Service men. However he got there, the<br />
two great men stood face to face, the one<br />
ascending to power, the other in all of his
Blessing of the Animals at St.<br />
Boniface on the Feast of St. Francis,<br />
October 4th.<br />
frail dignity. If<br />
there had been<br />
a picture, you<br />
could be sure<br />
that it would<br />
have gone up<br />
on his wall,<br />
and he would<br />
have told us<br />
about it! And<br />
our Joseph<br />
Alfonso Lotito,<br />
our family<br />
man—said<br />
less than ten<br />
words, posed<br />
as a question, not only to the President of the<br />
United States but to all of us: “What are you<br />
going to do for the poor”<br />
Floyd, I think, would want me to conclude<br />
these formal reflections by simply saying to<br />
everyone here on his behalf, “Thank you.”<br />
And on our behalf, may I give to Floyd what<br />
he so deeply gave to us, a blessing. The<br />
sign and the words of this blessing are central<br />
to our Franciscan tradition and they were<br />
treasured by Floyd himself. Alfonso Joseph<br />
Floyd, we who are now poor because of your<br />
absence, sign you, our brother now rich in<br />
life, with the following words:<br />
May the Lord bless you and keep you.<br />
May the Lord let his face shine upon you,<br />
and be gracious to you.<br />
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you<br />
peace.<br />
The Lord bless you. (Num. 6.24-26)<br />
Joseph P. Chinnici, O.F.M.<br />
July 20, 2009<br />
FUNERAL SERMON<br />
Floyd Alfonso Joseph Lotito<br />
74 years of age<br />
56 years as a Friar Minor—Franciscan—<br />
and in 2010 Floyd would have celebrated<br />
50 years as a priest.<br />
Son of Joseph Lotito and Filomena Pirri<br />
Youngest brother of<br />
Michael Lotito (deceased) and<br />
older brother of May and Frances.<br />
Classmate in the Franciscan Order with<br />
Tom Frost, Loren Kerkof,<br />
Ten days ago I returned from Rome to San<br />
Francisco. I was working in the General Curia<br />
near the Vatican for the last six years. One<br />
of the highlights of the six years was that this<br />
year 2009 – all of us, the Capuchins, the Conventuals,<br />
the TORs and ourselves, the Friars<br />
Minor-- together with the Poor Clares,<br />
the Secular Franciscans and all the religious<br />
Brothers and Sisters of the Franciscan Family<br />
celebrated and are continuing to celebrate the<br />
800th anniversary of the actual founding of<br />
the Order.<br />
We had celebrations all over the world and recently<br />
we had a special one in Assisi. –The<br />
late Pope John Paul II would often encourage<br />
us to be with the people and to be friends of<br />
the Poor. Recently, Benedict XVI reminded<br />
us that one of the essential characteristics of<br />
our charism is our life with the poor. We have<br />
been challenged to be "Friends of the Poor".<br />
Whenever I hear those words, I think of numerous<br />
men and women that I have met during<br />
my lifetime -- but the image that comes<br />
to mind most often is that of Floyd Lotito.<br />
Floyd loved the poor and it didn't happen<br />
9
overnight-- it took the grace of God, it took<br />
many false starts, it took years of being with<br />
the poor, speaking with them, listening to<br />
them, sharing with them, struggling to understand<br />
their feelings and their plight.<br />
Floyd, with his paradoxes, his brokenness<br />
and his human frailty-- yet with an almost<br />
childlike confidence -- with hours of contemplation<br />
on this Gospel text of Matthew<br />
25 -- Floyd knew the poor; he understood the<br />
poor; he was an advocate for the poor. Indeed,<br />
Floyd was a friend of the poor!<br />
Let me share with you how I think it happened.<br />
Sixty years ago--1949—August: In a dimly<br />
lit corridor of St. Anthony Franciscan Seminary<br />
High School in Santa Barbara, CA, two<br />
young men, 14 years of age, stood in a waiting<br />
line to meet and be interviewed by the Rector<br />
of the Seminiary. We had never met before--<br />
we were new here--we both had gone to other<br />
high schools the year before and we were entering<br />
the seminary as sophomores. We knew<br />
very few people in the place. Floyd was from<br />
Los Angeles and I came from Phoenix.<br />
Little did we realize that 60 years later one of<br />
us would be preaching at the other's funeral.<br />
Last year here at St. Boniface, when I was<br />
close to death with cancer, Floyd anointed<br />
me. As he prayed, we both cried. I felt then<br />
that he would be preaching at my funeral.<br />
During our days of formation in the seminary,<br />
Floyd was a fine student as he possessed a<br />
very clear and strong speaking voice -- he excelled<br />
in public speaking. He took part in almost<br />
all of the class plays and dramas. Floyd<br />
enjoyed being on stage... he was very comfortable<br />
there, very much at ease “on center<br />
stage!”<br />
Floyd made vows, was ordained, taught in<br />
our high schools and returned to the minor<br />
seminary to teach English and public speaking,<br />
drama and forensics. He<br />
coached a debate team that<br />
won many statewide awards.<br />
Father Floyd Lotito and Father Dan Lackie, Franciscan friars from St<br />
Boniface Church in the Tenderloin, leave the field at Pac Bell Park after<br />
blessing the field before the first game.<br />
10<br />
Around 1964, the Provincial,<br />
Terence Cronin, another fine<br />
preacher of our <strong>Province</strong>,<br />
recognized Floyd’s talent in<br />
public speaking and assigned<br />
him to study for a master’s<br />
degree in public speaking/<br />
rhetoric at Marquette University<br />
in Milwaukee. While<br />
in the Midwest, Floyd developed<br />
his preaching skill and<br />
he also made a deep, lasting<br />
friendship with a wonderful<br />
Italo-American and Irish-Pol-
ish extended family in Chicago. Floyd kept<br />
contact with them for all these years. They<br />
substituted for his California family when<br />
Floyd received the "Distinguished Alumnus<br />
Award" from Marquette several years ago.<br />
In 1967, Floyd was transferred from Santa<br />
Barbara to the Tenderlion. He was to preach<br />
weekend retreats at the new retreat house, San<br />
Damiano, in Danville, and at St. Francis Retreat<br />
in San Juan Bautista. He would live here<br />
and work at St. Boniface during the week.<br />
(Later he would also teach preaching at the<br />
Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley).<br />
At St. Boniface he worked closely with Alfred<br />
Boeddeker, the founder of St. Anthony Foundation<br />
-- it was sort of an apprenticeship for<br />
Floyd. A few months later, he was asked to<br />
assist Fr. Alfred.<br />
Floyd worked in the Tenderloin for over forty<br />
years. The Gospel of Matthew which we<br />
just read provides us the scriptural basis for-<br />
Floyd's concern for the poor. The text could<br />
serve as a job description of the Foundation or<br />
its mission statement. "I was hungry, thirsty,<br />
homeless, sick, in prison, a stranger -- a marginalized<br />
person and you took care of me.”<br />
The question, " When, Lord, did I see you"<br />
gives us a glance into Floyd's motivation during<br />
his years at the Foundation, “into what<br />
made him tick." Frequent reflection, contemplation,<br />
conversation about the meaning of<br />
this text strengthened within Floyd a deep,<br />
childhood lesson that he learned from his<br />
mother.<br />
11<br />
In a chapter written by House Speaker Nancy<br />
Pelosi in a recently published book about<br />
politicians who are believers, Nancy described<br />
how she once asked Floyd the secret<br />
of his perseverance during the forty plus years<br />
of working with the Foundation. " Don't you<br />
wear out, don't you ever get tired, don't you<br />
ever feel like changing jobs" Floyd answered<br />
her: " As a child and -- yes -- even as an adult,<br />
my mother used to tell me often, 'Son, stay<br />
close to the poor. Love the poor because God<br />
loves the poor!'"<br />
During his years with the Foundation--in<br />
many different positions--Floyd grew to know<br />
the poor and to love the poor. Floyd had many<br />
friends and he loved us all -- he related with<br />
us well, but we always knew that he had preference<br />
for the poor. He was friends of many<br />
archbishops, bishops, other priests, religious<br />
brothers and sisters, rabbis, ministers, government<br />
officials --both local and national--<br />
people of wealth and power in our society and<br />
in our nation -- and ordinary people from all<br />
walks of life. Yet he never lost this friendship<br />
with the poor.<br />
He received awards from the Church, from<br />
U.S. presidents, from mayors, and articles<br />
were written about him in numerous national<br />
publications. He was an author of a couple of<br />
books. He was interviewed and praised by<br />
well known people, he was a friend of news<br />
reporters, a friend of Herb Caen and other<br />
journalists, a friend of all the policemen in the<br />
Tenderloin, a friend of taxi cab drivers whose<br />
cabs he blessed, and of owners of all sorts<br />
of animals whose pets he blessed around the<br />
feast of St. Francis. The text of Matthew 25<br />
came to life in brother Floyd.<br />
Allow me to finish by talking briefly about the<br />
three pillars in Floyd's life that offered him<br />
structure and stability... the three loves in his<br />
life.
He loved his family. His father died when he<br />
was in high school. His family was a significant<br />
priority for Floyd-- his immediate family<br />
was very important to him. He kept contact<br />
with them, spent quality time with them. They<br />
gave him affirmation, warmth and strength.<br />
They loved him very much. I am sure that<br />
May and Frances will tell us that Floyd was<br />
an exemplary, duitiful son, a loving brother, a<br />
devoted uncle and a joyful cousin.<br />
He loved his Franciscan family. He appreciated<br />
the gift of his vocation very much. He<br />
was a vital member of the <strong>Province</strong>. He served<br />
on various committes and administrative positions.<br />
He was especially good as a guardian of<br />
the local community, both here and at St. Anthony's<br />
on Cesar Chavez Street. He took the<br />
responsibility seriously and tried to help us<br />
grow. He would frequently bring in top-notch<br />
guest speakers --experts -- to help us understand<br />
the new changes in the Church and the<br />
world around us. He sponsored many friars’<br />
get-togethers in the Bay Area. For years he<br />
published a monthly newsletter for all the<br />
members of the <strong>Province</strong>. He even sent an extra<br />
copy to me to give to the Minister General<br />
in Rome.<br />
12<br />
He loved St. Anthony Foundation and the<br />
fine people of San Francisco. He was grateful<br />
to John Hardin and his staff. The Foundation<br />
over the years offered him a forum for his<br />
ideas, it taught him new skills, gave him new<br />
strategies and insights. It opened many doors<br />
to him, it often challenged Floyd, and it allowed<br />
him to give expression to his love and<br />
concern for the poor in concrete ways.<br />
And you, the dear people of the Tenderloin<br />
and of the city of San Francisco, you affirmed<br />
Floyd, you were patient and understanding<br />
as he grew. You stood by him -- your generous<br />
support and contributions definitely kept<br />
the Foundation alive and flourishing. He was<br />
grateful.<br />
In conclusion, John of the Cross, the Spanish<br />
mystic, once said, "In the evening of our life<br />
we will be judged by Love."<br />
We pray for Floyd at this Mass, as he stands<br />
before the Just Judge, accompanied by all<br />
these Franciscan Saints on the ceiling around<br />
the altar – and many more, all those who love<br />
the poor. Floyd, as you listen to the voice<br />
of God saying, “I was hungry, I was thirsty,<br />
I was homeless….” standing in “center<br />
stage,” you will not have to ask the “when<br />
question.” You learned the answer here on<br />
earth in the Tenderloin.<br />
We rejoice with you, Floyd, as the Lord invites<br />
you, welcomes you. “ Come, enter the<br />
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation<br />
of the world!” Floyd Alfonso Lotito,<br />
may you rest in peace!<br />
Fr. Finian McGinn, O.F.M.<br />
STUDENTS REMEMBER FR.<br />
FLOYD<br />
One of the earlier posts on SASSEM was an<br />
appeal to get back in touch with some of the<br />
older OFMs we knew and loved at St Anthony's<br />
who are now elderly and infirmed.<br />
When word went out about Fr. Floyd's illness,<br />
I began a correspondence with him and<br />
he seemed really moved to get letters from<br />
his old students. I only regret that I didn't go<br />
to see him as I had planned to do. After another<br />
note went out on the Franciscan prayer<br />
list about Fr. Peter recently, I sent off a card<br />
to him as well.
I imagine the pain that many of our brothers<br />
felt from the abuse at St. Anthony's had to<br />
have impacted on friars who were in the Order<br />
at the time. Clem Wehe talked about this<br />
with me a few years back at a SAS reunion.<br />
I know that many friars eventually left out of<br />
frustration, disappointment, disgust perhaps,<br />
others for a variety of personal reasons. But<br />
some very good men who remained watched<br />
as their Order shrunk, faced bankruptcy and<br />
faced great ordeals, many of these caused<br />
by the individuals who brought shame to the<br />
Order.<br />
Fr. Floyd represents the good that attracted<br />
many of us to OFM. Even into his old age<br />
he dedicated himself to selfless giving and<br />
service to the poor and disenfranchised.<br />
May we be inspired by his witness and the<br />
genuine spirit of Francis of Assisi. –Kevin J.<br />
Belton '65<br />
What a nice tribute he got. Did a lot of great<br />
work--especially at the kitchen in SF. Of<br />
course, we knew him as Lumpy Lotito--said<br />
in fond memory. He tried to teach our class<br />
Latin using a new style--speaking it....didn't<br />
really work. Didacus '68<br />
I remember Fr. Floyd from SAS in the early<br />
'60s. Our paths never crossed after that, but I<br />
am heartened that those who knew him well<br />
confirm my positive impressions of him.<br />
Who could forget those coke-bottle glasses<br />
He had a quick wit and wry smile. He was a<br />
warm, caring, and very "Franciscan"<br />
friar. He is missed. Jerry, '65<br />
on national TV. We met in the refectory<br />
sitting in a circle. Fr. Floyd was one of the<br />
few friars who was present. I recall how he<br />
and Fr. Alberic compassionately listened to<br />
the stories shared by former students, their<br />
spouses and even children. I could see the<br />
pain, confusion and shame he felt. His presence,<br />
as well as that of the other friars present,<br />
reinforced my belief that there were, and<br />
still remain, great men among the friars who<br />
continued to live by the teachings of Francis.<br />
Fr. Floyd was such an inspiration to us to develop<br />
our communication skills. He ensured<br />
that the seals from the National Forensic<br />
League and California High School Speech<br />
Association were affixed to my diploma as<br />
they were almost left off. Reading his eulogy<br />
reminds us of the true calling we had<br />
as young men to follow in the footsteps of<br />
Francis as Fr. Floyd did. Ron '70<br />
I have fond memories of Fr. Floyd too. Just<br />
flashed on his attempt to lose weight with the<br />
grapefruit diet! Greg’69<br />
So sad to lose Floyd, he was always a joy to<br />
be around and was truly a brother to his fellow<br />
priests. He just radiated happiness when<br />
you were with him. Whenever our paths<br />
would cross, I always found him truly filled<br />
with "Good News". No wonder the people<br />
of San Francisco loved him so much because<br />
we fellow friars experienced him the same<br />
way. There was no pretense with Floyd; he<br />
lived with his heart wide open. We are all<br />
richer for having known him.<br />
The last time I saw Fr. Floyd was at a SAS<br />
reunion. It was the first time a group of us<br />
met and began to talk about our experiences<br />
shortly after news of the abuse at SAS was<br />
13<br />
Kevin, you put it so well that I can only second<br />
your thoughts. And Jerry you are so right<br />
to hold a high opinion of him, his life proved<br />
the soundness of you assumption. He was
simply one of the best. And my dear Vince,<br />
how generous of spirit you are to rise above<br />
it all and realize friars like Floyd and Alberic<br />
represent many more that struggle to serve<br />
faithfully. They are truly worthy of our respect<br />
and our love.<br />
But sadly there will be less laughing and joy<br />
now that Floyd has gone home. But heaven<br />
is surely rocking tonight. Much love. Paz y<br />
Bien. Matt'58.<br />
I am so sorry to hear this. Floyd was a good<br />
person who did a lot of wonderful things at<br />
SAS and beyond. Dr. Arnie Witchel<br />
I have not seen Fr. Floyd for some time, but I<br />
always remember him as an especially loving<br />
and caring Franciscan. In the years when<br />
I left the seminary and we "exes" were persona<br />
non grata around SAS and the mission,<br />
Floyd invited me to his ordination. He was<br />
a good friend at SAS and put that first. Few<br />
men are so easy to love, and few of us love<br />
so unconditionally. Alex ‘54<br />
discard the jar. He was careful to put it on<br />
a different side each day to ease the ache in<br />
his back caused by the uneven load. Because<br />
of its poor performance, the cracked jar felt<br />
inferior to the sound jar. It was ashamed of<br />
how it wasted the efforts of the water bearer.<br />
After years of daily trips to the river, it could<br />
no longer keep silent. One day it said to the<br />
water bearer, “I am so sorry for my flaw. It<br />
is unfair that you work so hard and only get<br />
the result of half as much work because of<br />
my imperfection. You should find another<br />
jar that is as sound as my companion so your<br />
efforts are not wasted.” The water bearer<br />
walked on in silence for awhile and then<br />
said, “You should not compare your work to<br />
the work of the other jar. I need both of you<br />
to accomplish the master’s work. I know of<br />
your imperfection and have put it to good<br />
use."<br />
As they made their way up the mountain path<br />
that day, the water bearer pointed out the<br />
beautiful flowers that grew on each side of<br />
the path. He went on to say:<br />
Funeral Homily<br />
For<br />
EMERY RICHARD TANG, OFM<br />
In China, there is an old story about two<br />
earthen jugs that a water bearer carried to the<br />
master’s house each day. He would loop the<br />
handle of each over a pole across his shoulders,<br />
fill them at the river and carry them up<br />
the mountain path. Now—one of the jars was<br />
badly cracked. It had a crack down one side<br />
that caused it to leak half of its water before<br />
arriving at the master’s house. The defect<br />
was plain to see, but the water bearer did not<br />
14<br />
“For many years nothing would grow here.<br />
The soil is dry and no one could take the<br />
time to provide water for plants to grow. But<br />
you have found a way to nourish the flowers<br />
that takes no extra work. You please the<br />
master not only with the water you bring to<br />
his house, but the water you spill along the<br />
way which has given us this garden of beautiful<br />
flowers.”<br />
In the beginning God’s design for all of<br />
creation was as perfect as the sound jar in<br />
our story: there were no cracks in God’s<br />
jar. God’s vision for humankind was perfect<br />
and precious. God did not make suffering,
pain, sickness, and death. God fashioned all<br />
of creation to be life-giving and worthy of<br />
God’s loving touch.<br />
However, weak water bearers came along<br />
and damaged God’s creation just as the<br />
cracked jar had been damaged. What was<br />
once a beautiful piece of pottery now had<br />
a bad crack. Where there was once light<br />
and life, now there was darkness and death.<br />
Where there was once hope and love, now<br />
there was despair and hate. So creation was<br />
damaged and we seem at times to be like that<br />
cracked jar of the water bearer: futile, useless,<br />
and wasting.<br />
But God’s intention did not waver; God’s<br />
intention remained the same. God intended<br />
that our jars would be whole—that our jars<br />
would produce life. God did not make<br />
death. God did not put the crack in the<br />
jars of our life. Nor was God content to sit<br />
back and allow death to have the final word,<br />
to have death drain us of all life. In other<br />
words, no way was the crack in our jars going<br />
to make us useless and wasteful.<br />
Something would have to happen to that<br />
cracked jar to make it a beautiful piece of<br />
pottery again. And so the God-man named<br />
Jesus was born into the world as one of us,<br />
to experience suffering and death from the<br />
inside. But from Jesus’ death, from the crack<br />
in Jesus’ jar, God would fashion something<br />
new for the human race and for all of creation.<br />
Jesus then would use death itself--the<br />
crack in the jar--to give life, everlasting life.<br />
From Jesus’ jar, flowers would be watered<br />
and blossom. So Jesus did not abolish death:<br />
he knew he would die; he knew he had to<br />
die; he was ready to die. And why Because<br />
with his death, death would cease to be the<br />
15<br />
enemy. Oh, I do not mean that with Calvary,<br />
on Calvary, death became easy; it did not. I<br />
mean that on Calvary Christ gave death a<br />
new look, a fresh meaning.<br />
What this new meaning is can be said quite<br />
simply: from the death of Jesus Christ, life<br />
was born, not only for him but also for us.<br />
That, which was thought to be useless and<br />
cracked, now gives life. And gardens are<br />
watered and beautiful flowers bloom for all<br />
to enjoy and to praise God.<br />
There is a danger that each of us leave the<br />
jar of our life untouched because we fear the<br />
cracks that are there. We feel that they are<br />
too deep, too wide, too broken. The cracked<br />
jar in the parable felt sorry for the water<br />
bearer because the jar felt it wasn’t doing its<br />
job. If we look at our jars and put them in<br />
the corner to collect dust, then indeed we can<br />
end up being useless; we end up wasting precious<br />
life. But through Jesus God invites each<br />
one of us to use the cracks in our jar to water<br />
the gardens of our lives to create new life, to<br />
create our own garden of flowers. Jesus used<br />
the crack in his jar to create new life and so<br />
he tells us: “Whoever serves me must follow<br />
me and where I am, there will be my servant”<br />
( John 12:26).<br />
Today we come together to praise our God<br />
for Emery Richard Tang’s life and his beautiful<br />
garden. As you well know, Emery was a<br />
master gardener and took great pride in his<br />
flowers. In Emery’s own words:<br />
“The loveliness of flowers in my life is a constant<br />
reminder of God’s marvelous creativity<br />
and never-ending thoughtfulness and care.<br />
Blossoms show me that with each “ohh” and<br />
“ahhh” I breathe, God the unseen is some-
where in the wings, smiling at my pleasure."<br />
(FFJ, p. 71)<br />
We gather then to honor a good man who did<br />
not put his jar aside to collect dust. Rather,<br />
he faithfully and constantly hauled the water<br />
of life so that he could grow beautiful flowers<br />
in his garden, which were only a sign of<br />
God’s tremendous love for each of us.<br />
Emery walked up and down the path of life<br />
for eighty-one years. That is a lot of walking.<br />
Sometimes the walk was easy for him;<br />
sometimes the path was rocky, but he never<br />
gave up; he never quit. He faithfully carried<br />
the jar of water each day of his life—spilling<br />
his life so that his garden could grow. Today<br />
let us look at that garden he watered and<br />
some of the flowers in that garden.<br />
but more importantly, he is at home with his<br />
knowledge; it rests lightly yet securely upon<br />
him. Doesn’t that picture of the wise man of<br />
the Scriptures describe Emery perfectly<br />
It has been this gift of wisdom that has been<br />
the source of all that he has done—whether<br />
it was teaching in a classroom, sitting in a<br />
principal’s office, preaching from the pulpit,<br />
producing communications media, taking a<br />
photo or writing a book, planting a garden—<br />
all of it has been about preaching God’s<br />
Word with wisdom.<br />
In Emery’s own words of wisdom:<br />
On forgiveness: “Those who do not forgive<br />
destroy the bridge over which they may one<br />
day need to pass.” FFJ, p. 118<br />
But first, let me be clear about these flowers<br />
that I will identify. I found these flowers in<br />
his own writings, especially in his last book,<br />
FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY. These are the<br />
flowers that gave him the greatest joy, and he<br />
shared them with us.<br />
The first flower in his garden is the gift<br />
of wisdom. On the occasion of his 50th<br />
Jubilee as a priest, I said in my homily that<br />
of “all the gifts he had received from God<br />
and his parents, the one gift that stands out<br />
is wisdom.” This is the wisdom who hastens<br />
to make herself known to those who<br />
desire her. And God has made his Wisdom<br />
known through Emery’s life and ministry. In<br />
the Scriptures, the wise person is the expert<br />
in the art of good living. Passion does not<br />
sear him; he is self-possessed. Wrath does<br />
not wrack him; he is patient; he is cool He<br />
is a knowledgeable man; he’s mastered a<br />
field, may even have academic knowledge,<br />
16<br />
On generosity: “If only there were a simple,<br />
inescapable way to be convinced that sharing<br />
my gifts and goods, not amassing or wasting<br />
them, is the key to the happiness that is so<br />
desirable but so elusive in life.” FFJ, p.54<br />
On life’s accomplishments: “Looked at with<br />
the proper perspective, I’ll never be able to<br />
accomplish all I would like to do, but I know<br />
I have all the time I need to do what God<br />
would have me do.” FFJ, p. 57<br />
Now, in God’s own Word from the Wisdom<br />
of Solomon:<br />
I learned both what is secret and what<br />
is manifest,<br />
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things<br />
taught me. (7: 21-22)<br />
Oh, yes, wisdom is definitely a flower in Emery’s<br />
garden.<br />
The second flower in his garden is the be-
lief that the love of God, the love of others,<br />
and the love of self is the secret of good living.<br />
This belief was not only the heart of his<br />
teaching and preaching, but it was the heart<br />
of who he was as a man, a friar, and a priest.<br />
His message was quite simple: love is doing<br />
good to others. No strings attached. Period.<br />
He encouraged us to do good because we<br />
should want to do good. It is the motive that<br />
counts. And the good must be unilateral—<br />
nothing expected in return--and that is risky<br />
business. Emery challenged us to risk love<br />
because deep down we are all afraid of being<br />
taken. And the basis of this love must be the<br />
love of Christ. He says, “I am convinced that<br />
there is only one truth—the love of Christ.”<br />
And the acceptance of that love requires a<br />
willingness to change: our attitudes, our<br />
prejudices, our opinions, our positions on all<br />
kinds of issues. Yes, love is risky business,<br />
but we should not fear. Emery took great<br />
consolation in St. Paul’s words: “For I am<br />
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,<br />
nor rulers, nor things present, nor things<br />
to come will be able to separate us from us<br />
from the love of God” (Rom 8: 38-39).<br />
approach to being Godlike. The result is that<br />
I share more abundantly in the beatific joy<br />
that is God’s nature.<br />
For Love to be Love, it first of all must be<br />
freely done. It can’t be forced or legislated.<br />
I have to want and choose to do good for<br />
someone, starting with myself. That is the<br />
real power and beauty of love.” FFJ, pp. 95<br />
– 96.<br />
Now in God’s own Word from the Gospel of<br />
John:<br />
“As the Father loves me, so I also love<br />
you. Remain in my love.<br />
This is my commandment: love one<br />
another as I love you” (15:9-12).<br />
Oh, yes. Love is definitely a flower in his<br />
garden.<br />
The third flower I find in his garden is the<br />
commitment to a world in which there is<br />
justice for all. For the Jews of old, NOT to<br />
execute justice was NOT to worship God.<br />
In Emery’s own words of love:<br />
“Love is God, without beginning and without<br />
end. God is all-good, forever pouring out<br />
goodness. God can’t do anything else. It’s<br />
impossible for God to run out of goodness<br />
and to stop giving. Conversely, it’s impossible<br />
for God to do anything which is not good<br />
or which is bad. Love can only do what is<br />
good."<br />
“The amazing fact is that I am made in God’s<br />
image. This means that I am created out of<br />
God’s love in order to love and, of course, to<br />
be loved. The more I love, then, the closer I<br />
17<br />
For Emery, NOT to preach justice is NOT to<br />
preach the gospel. In his preaching he would<br />
often point to the violence and division in<br />
Church history and ask, “Is this the result of<br />
Jesus’ coming I guess God is having a hard<br />
time communicating.”<br />
Therefore, he was not afraid to take on the<br />
justice issues of his day: nuclear war, the<br />
death penalty, the homeless and the hopeless,<br />
the senior abused and confused, the teenage<br />
mother hooked on coke and the teenage<br />
boy taking his gun to class, the millions too<br />
discouraged to look for work, the unnumbered<br />
hearts that harbor hate, eyes empty of
hope, stomachs bloated with hunger. Emery<br />
preached not only a gospel of hope to them,<br />
but a gospel of love about them.<br />
One of the most poignant justice-words he<br />
preached was a Telespot produced by Franciscan<br />
Communications. In this short spot,<br />
a finely dressed woman is walking up to a<br />
church in downtown Los Angeles. As she<br />
goes up the steps of the church, she passes a<br />
homeless person sitting there. She turns and<br />
gives a look of disdain. And as she is about<br />
to enter the Church, the picture freezes.<br />
Then comes the voice:<br />
‘If you don’t find God out here, you certainly<br />
won’t find him in there.” You can just picture<br />
Emery saying those words while giving<br />
that look of his that spoke volumes.<br />
Now in God’s own Word from the Gospel of<br />
Matthew:<br />
“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell<br />
you, just as you did it to one of the least of<br />
these who are members of my family, you<br />
did it to me” (25:40).<br />
he prized your friendship by the way he kept<br />
in touch by word and deed.<br />
In Emery’s own words of friendship:<br />
“Without any qualification, my friend is my<br />
life’s most precious treasure. Again and<br />
again, I praise and thank God for so wonderful<br />
a gift: someone who truly cares for<br />
me, anticipating and providing for my needs<br />
and who will stop at nothing to provide for<br />
my well-being, asking nothing in return…<br />
Friendship is a warm blanket of comfort and<br />
security in which I can wrap myself during<br />
conflict and struggle. My friend lends a<br />
sympathetic ear to my travails and comforts<br />
me when I am afflicted by grief. When I embark<br />
on a new endeavor I can always count<br />
on my friend for honest analysis, advice and<br />
support. When I am underway, my friend<br />
stands by me with encouragement and honest<br />
criticism through ups and downs of any<br />
undertaking. If I veer off course or become<br />
distracted, my friend rouses me and straightens<br />
me out.” FFJ, p. 46<br />
Now in God’s own Word from the Gospel of<br />
John:<br />
Oh, yes. Justice is definitely a flower in his<br />
garden.<br />
Finally, the last flower I have identified is<br />
family and friendship. This is really one<br />
flower in his garden. For Emery, if you were<br />
a member of his family, you where his friend<br />
and, if you were his friend, then he considered<br />
you his family.<br />
To Emery’s family: you know how much he<br />
loved you and he knew how much you loved<br />
him. He was always there for you and you<br />
for him. And to his friends: you know how<br />
18<br />
“And I will soon show to you and to everyone,<br />
there is no greater love than to lay down<br />
your life for your friend. I have shared all of<br />
this so that you can share in my own infinite<br />
joy, and then, my beloved friend, your joy<br />
will be complete” (15:10-15).<br />
Oh, yes. Family and friendship is definitely<br />
a flower in his garden.<br />
Now these are only some of the flowers in<br />
his garden, watered from Emery’s jar of life.<br />
But those certainly are not the only flowers.
You see, he has a flower for each of you. He<br />
grew it just for you. Today, look at it, appreciate<br />
its beauty, honor it, celebrate and praise<br />
God and Emery for it, and then share your<br />
flower with another.<br />
And for Fr. Emery. Indeed there is much to<br />
mourn as there was much to mourn on Calvary.<br />
We shall have to wait for the resurrection<br />
on the last day before we see that inviting<br />
smile of his, before those sharp eyes look<br />
at us, before we hear that melodious voice<br />
with his words of wisdom and challenge. All<br />
of that is sad—no matter how profound our<br />
faith.<br />
But the thrilling truth remains: Emery is<br />
alive with God. In the presence of God,<br />
there is only God, there is only Love. In the<br />
presence of God, every cracked jar pours<br />
forth the water of life.<br />
And now, finally, in God’s own Word from<br />
St. Paul:<br />
“No eye has ever seen nor ear heard nor has<br />
any mind ever conceived the things God has<br />
prepared for those who love him.” (I Cor<br />
2;9).<br />
And so, Emery, my teacher, my brother and<br />
my friend, rest well as you enjoy the mansion<br />
God has prepared for you. Now it is<br />
time for you to walk in God’s garden where<br />
with each flower God is saying to you, “Emery<br />
Richard Tang, I love you.” AMEN<br />
Melvin A. Jurisich, OFM<br />
Ex. Min. Prov.<br />
St. Bonaventure’s Church<br />
Huntington Beach, CA<br />
And we who remain What of us We have<br />
our memories, of course, and they are precious.<br />
But there is more, much more. Emery<br />
Richard Tang is not merely a memory, he<br />
is part of us. He is built into our lives. His<br />
wisdom and smile, his kindness and love,<br />
his friendship and service—all have seeped<br />
into our lives. Because of him and his life as<br />
a friar and priest, we are more human, more<br />
life-giving, more blessed.<br />
And now, finally, in Emery’s own words:<br />
“And so, in these remaining years my goal<br />
is to accept the challenge to ‘fight the good<br />
fight’ to the end, as Paul urged his friend<br />
Timothy (I Tim 6:12). Then what an enormously<br />
thrilling and wondrous moment it<br />
will be to discover the full answers to life’s<br />
who, what, when, where and why.” FFJ, p. 5<br />
19<br />
FR. EMERY REMEMBERED<br />
Sad to read about Fr. Emery’s passing in the<br />
July WestFriars. In the fall of 1944 my father<br />
had to make an unexpected trip from Gallup<br />
to Los Angeles on business. He then took<br />
the train to Santa Barbara to visit me. At the<br />
portals of S.A.S. the first person he met was<br />
Fr. Emery, a 5th year seminarian, to inquire<br />
how to find me. A brief encounter! In his<br />
early 50s, some 50 years after that encounter,<br />
my father, out of the blue, surprised me with<br />
a most pleasant question: “Is that Chinese<br />
still there” My father still remembered our<br />
Viking captain for his graciousness.<br />
My wife met Fr. Emery when we went to the<br />
ordinations of Frs. Barry, Elias and Mario in<br />
December, 1956. She has remembered him
well ever since. In 1993 Fr. Emery sent us a<br />
copy of his Franciscan Life, courtesy of Marvin<br />
and Kathy Woelffer. Since 1996 I began<br />
using his book as my own mini-necrology to<br />
keep the respect of our “risen” Franciscans.<br />
And now Fr. Emery!<br />
My two favorite publications are WestFriars<br />
and Fr. Mel’s “Franciscan Bridges.” I look<br />
forward to them! Arthur Lente, Albuquerque,<br />
NM.<br />
Dear Warren,<br />
Thank you for your well edited WestFriars<br />
and for an opportunity to remember Emery.<br />
He was a life-long friend and inspiration.<br />
The memories stretch far back to those blistering<br />
summer days in Phoenix (you, Warren,<br />
were also there). We were home from St<br />
Anthony's and part of Fr. Brian's "brigade".<br />
We met for Mass, movies and various activities,<br />
including an end-to-summer vacation in<br />
northern Arizona.<br />
After ordination in 1955, I was fortunate to<br />
join Emery, Frs. Ronald and Marion at St.<br />
Elizabeth's in Oakland. As in everything, he<br />
was a gifted teacher--humorous and friendly,<br />
yet mixed wth firmness when needed. His<br />
stage plays and musicals were professionaly<br />
produced and directed--another one of his<br />
many talents.<br />
My wife and I are parishioners at Sts. Simon<br />
and Jude where Emery had been in residence.<br />
It was truly a gift to "catch" him and<br />
visit from time to time. He never lost that<br />
quick wit and ready<br />
smile. Patrick D. O'Connor<br />
THE CHARISM OF<br />
ADMINISTRATION<br />
Administration as a call from God and the<br />
church (and the <strong>Province</strong>) has the potential<br />
to make more out of us. It makes us more<br />
whole, more humble, more courageous.<br />
It expands our vision and our capacity to<br />
love. It marks on us the pattern of Christ,<br />
moving through death to new hope. If we<br />
believe in the future of the Church and society,<br />
the work we undertake is absolutely<br />
essential. It is essential for the institutions<br />
in which we serve. It is essential for the<br />
people of God as a whole. It may even be<br />
essential for us and the working out of our<br />
own salvation. Administration can be a<br />
great spiritual adventure. [Ann M. Garrido<br />
America: July 6-13, 2009]<br />
Pope Benedict XVI<br />
A TRUE PILGRIM<br />
By Father Garret Edmunds, OFM<br />
On Pope Benedict’s last day in the <strong>Holy</strong> Land,<br />
I was assigned the modest task of helping<br />
to facilitate the passage through security of<br />
those guests invited to be part of his visit to<br />
the Church of the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre. There were<br />
about 280 invited guests including clergy, religious<br />
and lay people, and representing both<br />
the local Christian communities and those<br />
who, like the Pope, were visiting the <strong>Holy</strong><br />
Land<br />
At one point, during a lull in the arrival of<br />
the guests, a French journalist asked if he<br />
could interview me. His question was simply,<br />
“What is the significance of the Pope visiting<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre on the last day of his visit<br />
20
to the <strong>Holy</strong> Land” A perfect question for me<br />
since I spend most of my time in the <strong>Holy</strong><br />
Land working with people, like the Pope, who<br />
have come here as pilgrims.<br />
My answer was that for every Christian pilgrim<br />
to the <strong>Holy</strong> Land the culmination of<br />
pilgrimage in this land is the arrival and visit<br />
to the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre or the Basilica of the<br />
Resurrection. In this Church the Pope was,<br />
like countless pilgrims before him, able to remember<br />
Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial and<br />
resurrection and enter more deeply into these<br />
central mysteries of our salvation.<br />
There were for this visit some moments of<br />
public prayer and words spoken by both the<br />
<strong>Holy</strong> Father and the Latin Catholic Patriarch<br />
of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, to<br />
the invited guests. The Pope was welcomed to<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre in the traditional Solemn<br />
Entry ceremony by the Franciscan Custos of<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Land, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa,<br />
O.F.M. And his entry to the Basilica was accompanied<br />
by singing of the Te Deum by the<br />
Franciscans present. The Franciscans have for<br />
more than 600 years represented the interests<br />
of the world’s Catholic population- we are the<br />
“custodians” of the <strong>Holy</strong> Land – at the <strong>Holy</strong><br />
Sepulchre.<br />
These were the parts of the <strong>Holy</strong> Father’s visit<br />
to the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre the world and guests inside<br />
would have seen, heard and experienced.<br />
But the most important parts of his visit to this<br />
place, which is arguably the holiest site in all<br />
of the Christian world, were quiet and private.<br />
The Pope not once, but thrice went to pray by<br />
himself- in the empty tomb of Christ, in the<br />
Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and at the place<br />
on Calvary where Jesus died.<br />
He was clearly moved by each of these mo-<br />
21<br />
ments of personal prayer. At Calvary he even<br />
broke from the well planned program and<br />
asked, like do hundreds of other pilgrims who<br />
visit each day, to light a candle at the place<br />
where Jesus gave up his life for our redemption.<br />
It was an unexpected gesture, spontaneous<br />
on the Pope’s part, and prompted the<br />
question afterwards as to who would have<br />
paid the normal donation to the Greek Orthodox<br />
sacristan responsible for dispensing the<br />
candles.<br />
When in the normal course of my ministry I<br />
am trying to animate the visit of pilgrims to<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre, I always strongly recommend<br />
that, after they have visited the Church,<br />
they take the time to truly experience this holy<br />
place by spending some time in quiet, personal<br />
prayer. Without doing so the time spent in<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre is time spent as a tourist.<br />
Including the time for prayer, indeed making<br />
it the priority of a visit to the <strong>Holy</strong> Sepulchre<br />
as did the Pope, is what makes a real pilgrim’s<br />
experience of this holy place.<br />
Following the Pope’s return to Rome on Friday<br />
those whose job it is to do so began their<br />
analysis of his visit. Those who approached<br />
their analysis from a secular or political viewpoint<br />
gave these visits modest marks. There<br />
were no major gaffs, but also no major milestones<br />
on the road to resolving the serious<br />
conflicts that mark the relationships of peoples<br />
in this part of the world. The Pope’s presence<br />
did serve as a focus on the need to rethink the<br />
ways people here and elsewhere view their<br />
neighbor and relate to them, but only time<br />
will tell what fruits that message bears.<br />
To form an option of <strong>Holy</strong> Father’s visit to the<br />
<strong>Holy</strong> Land from this worldly vantage point is<br />
to miss the reason he made this journey. He<br />
came, as he often said, as a pilgrim, represent-
ing the pilgrim Church. He addressed the issues<br />
that affect the lives of all peoples, but he<br />
more importantly reminded those who paid<br />
attention to his words and actions that only by<br />
encountering the transcendent made present<br />
in the incarnate Lord can we hope to continue<br />
to make progress toward the Kingdom of God<br />
- a kingdom of peace, grace and reconciliation.<br />
Pope Benedict XVI was a true pilgrim during<br />
his visit to the <strong>Holy</strong> Land, helping us to<br />
remember that our lives with one another and<br />
with God in this world are a pilgrimage to<br />
the fullness of life God promises in time and<br />
space and in dimensions of being that extend<br />
beyond time and space.<br />
(Reprinted with permission from <strong>Holy</strong> Land<br />
Franciscans, courtesy of Fr. Jeremy Harrington,<br />
O.F.M., Commissary of the <strong>Holy</strong><br />
Land in Washington, D.C.)<br />
OUR MISSIONARIES<br />
DAVID GAA AND BUREAUCRACY<br />
It is the end of July, and I am writing from<br />
Washington, DC, where it is very hot and humid.<br />
I came here at the end of last week for a<br />
new visa for Kazakhstan. I remember writing<br />
for WestFriars last time and at the end of<br />
my letter saying that receiving a new visa<br />
for Kazakhstan was not much of a problem,<br />
while John Gibbons had a much harder time<br />
in Russia.<br />
Well, things have changed. About two weeks<br />
ago, when I was in Kazakhstan, I went to the<br />
immigration police to begin the process of<br />
applying for a new visa and they told me that<br />
I now had to return to my home country to<br />
22<br />
receive my visa and not just apply for a new<br />
visa in Kazakhstan like I had for the past 6<br />
years.<br />
The way the system works is that in order to<br />
get anything besides a tourist visa you need<br />
an invitation by a recognized organization<br />
and this is no major hassle since the Diocese<br />
is an inviting organization. Then with a letter<br />
from them you go to the immigration police<br />
who then give you yet another letter that you<br />
then go to the justice department to receive<br />
the visa. The process normally takes just<br />
about a week.<br />
But now everything had changed and I could<br />
not just cross the border into Kyrgyzstan or<br />
go just to Rome, but had to go all the back to<br />
the States. I couldn’t believe it and even the<br />
parish lawyer, the Vatican Embassy or the<br />
Diocese could not budge the police, so off I<br />
went to Washington. This is all very odd as<br />
the new system does not apply to the other<br />
friary located in a different political jurisdiction.<br />
According to the Vatican Embassy the new<br />
visa problems are only affecting the region<br />
where I live and one other region in Southern<br />
Kazakhstan. In all the other regions religious<br />
and priests are not having problems getting<br />
new visas. There really is no real system of<br />
law in Kazakhstan, but the law is just interpreted<br />
by whomever one is dealing with.<br />
Just my luck; so here I sit in Washington DC.<br />
My new visa is supposed to be ready at the<br />
end of the week and then it is back to Kazakhstan<br />
I go.<br />
I am staying at the Commissariat of the <strong>Holy</strong><br />
Land in DC and it is a huge place. Fr. Jeremy<br />
Harrington, who was the visitor to our
<strong>Province</strong>, I guess like 12 years ago, is the<br />
guardian and a very welcoming host. It was<br />
good to see him again. A pleasant surprise is<br />
that I ran into Garrett Edmunds, home from<br />
the <strong>Holy</strong> Land for an operation. He is still<br />
in recovery but is able to sit at meals and we<br />
visit-- he telling me about his work in the<br />
<strong>Holy</strong> Land and I telling him about my life in<br />
Kazakhstan. It was very nice to talk to someone<br />
from the <strong>Province</strong>.<br />
I have been kind of bummed out lately about<br />
this whole visa runaround. John Gibbons still<br />
has it much worse that I do, since he still has<br />
to leave every three months, while I have<br />
to leave just once a year. This week he is<br />
leaving St. Petersburg for Sweden where he<br />
hopes to get yet another three months visa,<br />
but the good news for him is that, after this,<br />
he should be able to receive residence-- or so<br />
he hopes. So John has it worse than I but I<br />
am still very bummed out.<br />
It is part of the problem of working in the<br />
Russian Foundation: the constant hassles<br />
with the visas, documents, permissions and<br />
what not…Sometimes it just gets to be too<br />
much. And the tendency is to just throw<br />
up your hands and say, “ I can’t take it any<br />
longer,” and the return to your home <strong>Province</strong><br />
or go elsewhere. Sometimes, late in the<br />
evening, when I am really tired or it has been<br />
a really bad day, I especially feel this despair.<br />
Muslim neighbors are kind; it is just the government<br />
that is a constant problem. So I try<br />
to live in hope and plug along and figure that<br />
tomorrow just has to be better.<br />
Not much else to report in this letter. Summer<br />
is great in Kazakhstan. It gets really<br />
hot, not quite as hot as it did when I was in<br />
Tucson, but still quite hot. Like Arizona, it is<br />
a dry heat and so it is not too bad. The days<br />
are long and I work in the garden every evening<br />
as it starts to cool down. The markets<br />
become full of fresh fruit and vegetables,<br />
which are really nice to get since in the winter<br />
months it is just impossible to get fresh<br />
produce.<br />
We have our little kids’ summer camp program<br />
and then a week or 10 days retreat<br />
with the youth of the parish and that is about<br />
all for the summer. The college-age young<br />
people come back from the universities they<br />
go to in Poland and Russia to visit with their<br />
families, so it is always nice to see them<br />
again. After they graduate they rarely if ever<br />
come back to Kazakhstan. And that is about<br />
all; life goes on and is mostly very good….I<br />
am thankful that I am optimistic by nature.<br />
Until next time; please keep the Foundation<br />
in your prayers.<br />
But then, on the other hand, I feel very committed<br />
to the young Russians coming to be<br />
friars, and to the struggling Catholic community,<br />
and so I try not to stay in despair but<br />
focus on what is wonderful and good about<br />
my life over here. And there I have much to<br />
be thankful for in our life in the Foundation.<br />
The parish people are great and my local<br />
23
TOMMY KING<br />
REPORTS<br />
Even though these are very<br />
tough economic times for<br />
most people, my Franciscan<br />
brothers and many<br />
individuals have been very<br />
generous in their support.<br />
After some encouragement<br />
from my bishop and others<br />
who work with me in<br />
ministry, I made the investment<br />
in April to put a<br />
roof on the parish boat to<br />
protect those who travel in<br />
it from the rain and, most<br />
importantly, the intense tropical sun. It is a<br />
great gift on the regular trips I make to the<br />
north of the parish when I spend three to four<br />
hours traveling. Alleluia! Below is a photo<br />
of the renovated parish boat before I head out<br />
to visit some of the villages with the support<br />
of animators Telma Ruiz and Ivan Rengifo.<br />
Although Mothers Day is very important in<br />
the United States, it is celebrated even more<br />
intensely in Latin America. Where I live,<br />
activities crank up a week before the second<br />
Sunday in May with musical numbers by the<br />
school kids, parades, barbecues and more.<br />
Needless to say, it is very important to honor<br />
all the mothers at Mass that day. Mauro<br />
Ribeiro, a very dedicated animator for many<br />
years in the village of Puerto Enrique, died<br />
suddenly in December. I was able to visit<br />
his village on Mothers Day to honor him and<br />
all the mothers during a Mass in the village<br />
chapel. It is a wonderful faith community<br />
and, fortunately, two other men have volunteered<br />
to serve there as animators. Above<br />
is a photo of me with the mothers of Puerto<br />
Enrique.<br />
As we celebrate the eighth centenary<br />
of the Franciscan Order<br />
this year, it seemed important<br />
to deepen our relationships with<br />
our sisters and brothers in other<br />
Christian churches. I invited<br />
Pascual Vasquez, the pastor from<br />
a Pentecostal church in Tierra<br />
Blanca, and the members of his<br />
church to join us for Mass on<br />
24
Trinity Sunday (June 7th).<br />
Pascual read the Gospel and<br />
preached. Our parish community<br />
was very hospitable.<br />
They served refreshments<br />
to our visitors after Mass<br />
as they sang hymns from<br />
their tradition. Pascual said<br />
he wants to invite us to his<br />
church in November. To the<br />
right is a photo is a photo<br />
of members of the two faith<br />
communities who participated<br />
in the reception after<br />
Mass. You can see Pascual<br />
directly under the crucifix holding his Bible.<br />
We only have two seasons in the junglewinter<br />
(mild temperatures with lots of rain)<br />
and summer (hot with less rain). By June we<br />
are in full summer and Gerard is fulfilling<br />
principal’s duties and teaching religion every<br />
day (The school year in Peru is April to December).<br />
Although Gerard is a very efficient<br />
administrator, he clearly is most happy in the<br />
classroom. Below is a photo of him at work<br />
at the beginning of this month. Along with<br />
the attentive students, notice Gerard’s perspiration-filled<br />
shirt and chalk on his pants.<br />
After four years of faithful service, the outboard<br />
motor of the parish broke down just<br />
days before I needed to go the village of San<br />
Lorenzo to celebrate with them the vigil of<br />
the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June<br />
28th. Fortunately, there was a boat available<br />
to rent. We went in a peke-peke (a canoe<br />
with a motor named for the noise the motor<br />
makes). The six-hour trip in<br />
the tropical sun was much<br />
slower than the parish boat<br />
but, fortunately, it did not rain<br />
going or coming. Alleluia<br />
again! On the next page is a<br />
photo of me with Sr. Guadalupe<br />
and Karen Briones who<br />
joined me on the trip to liven<br />
up the liturgical celebration<br />
with some music.<br />
Thanks again for all of your<br />
prayers and donations! In<br />
these difficult financial times,<br />
I deeply appreciate the sacri-<br />
25
small villages on the Tohono<br />
O’odham Nation after 26<br />
years.<br />
Father Tom, who is 78-yearsold,<br />
embodies the gentleness<br />
and humility that are the<br />
characteristics of the Franciscan<br />
Friar. And, characteristically,<br />
Father Tom would just<br />
smile, shake his head and say,<br />
“Oh, boy!” if you were to tell<br />
him that.<br />
fices you are making to financially support<br />
my ministry. God bless you.<br />
TRIBUTE TO<br />
FR. TOM FROST, O.F.M.<br />
Bishop Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson<br />
I am very happy to share with you my visit<br />
on Saturday to the community of Sacred<br />
Heart Mission on the Tohono O’odham Nation.<br />
“A Franciscan Farewell” is the best title<br />
I can think of for this visit, although<br />
some other titles came to mind, such<br />
as, “32 Times around the World” and<br />
“The Many Hats of Father Tom.”<br />
Father Tom greeted me at the<br />
small rectory that is adjacent<br />
to the beautiful stone church of the Sacred<br />
Heart and invited me in. The living room, the<br />
tiny bathroom, the closet size walk-in shower<br />
and the bedroom of his rectory speak volumes<br />
of the life of simplicity that Father Tom<br />
has led these past 26 years.<br />
His bedroom doubles as an office. On a filing<br />
cabinet in the bedroom/office is an old TV<br />
set. Of course, the set doesn’t get any signals<br />
after the change to digital transmission.<br />
The living room is a well-organized conglomeration<br />
of books, boxes and belongings.<br />
The occasion of my visit to the mission,<br />
which is in the small village of<br />
Covered Wells and a nearly two hour<br />
drive from Tucson, was the farewell<br />
Mass and celebration for Father Tom<br />
Frost, O.F.M., who is leaving his<br />
ministry to the people in dozens of<br />
26
Every surface has something on it. On the<br />
corner of a cabinet is a stack of five straw<br />
hats that Father Tom has worn over the years<br />
for sun protection. He gave a sixth hat, a gift<br />
years ago from Bishop Moreno, to a visitor<br />
who didn’t have one.<br />
The rectory is cooled by two small wall air<br />
conditioners and is heated by an ancient<br />
wood stove that is by the front door. A PC<br />
tower in front of the stove makes quite a contrast<br />
of technologies.<br />
The community of Sacred Heart is celebrating<br />
its feast day on Saturday, a day after the<br />
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Traditionally,<br />
the people celebrate the feast day with a<br />
Mass, procession and a big fiesta. This feast<br />
day, the people have the joy of their traditional<br />
gathering and also the sadness of saying<br />
farewell to Father Tom.<br />
For this special occasion, the people have<br />
erected a big tent, brought all the way from<br />
Tucson, and they have prepared huge pots of<br />
chili, menudo and beans on grills fueled by<br />
mesquite. The sweet pungency of the burning<br />
mesquite and the wafts of smells arising<br />
from the bubbling pots of food are a treat for<br />
the nose!<br />
Father Tom does a few last minute ministries<br />
before the Mass begins: the “ministry” of<br />
moving chairs and the ministry of preparing<br />
the parents of little Kayla, who is going<br />
to be baptized during the Mass. Father Tom<br />
opens what he calls his “suitcase sacristy”<br />
and props it open with a smooth stick that<br />
has served this purpose many, many times.<br />
He removes the implements and cloths for<br />
the Mass, including the beautifully woven<br />
baskets that are so culturally important to the<br />
Tohono O’odham.<br />
Father Tom is not sure how many suitcases<br />
he has gone through over the years;<br />
maybe this suitcase is the third or fourth to<br />
serve as his sacristy. The suitcase is an essential<br />
tool of his ministry. Each week, he<br />
drives hundreds of miles to isolated villages<br />
to say Mass, to administer sacraments and,<br />
for what he says has been the hardest part<br />
of his 26 years of ministry on the Nation, to<br />
comfort grieving families and to bury their<br />
dead. The number of funerals<br />
he has presided at reflects the<br />
toll in the Nation from health<br />
problems such as diabetes and<br />
substance abuse.<br />
27<br />
Hundreds of miles each<br />
week for 26 years: more than<br />
200,000 miles in his first<br />
pickup; more than 200,000<br />
miles in his second pickup;
and, in<br />
his third<br />
and current<br />
white<br />
pickup,<br />
more than<br />
400,000<br />
thousand<br />
miles.<br />
That’s<br />
more than<br />
32 times<br />
around<br />
the world!<br />
When<br />
your parish<br />
(San<br />
Solano<br />
Missions parish) is a big as the state of Connecticut,<br />
that’s how much you would drive in<br />
26 years as a parish priest.<br />
Father Tom told me that he changed the oil<br />
for the last time last week on his trusty white<br />
pickup. The pickup will be retired, but not<br />
Father Tom. He is going to be the assistantdirector<br />
of the Franciscan formation house at<br />
San Miguel starting next month. One other<br />
thing about all those miles: Father Tom says<br />
he had driven for 25 years without a collision<br />
with an animal – not a single coyote<br />
or jackrabbit or deer or cow – until<br />
just a few weeks ago. He was on the<br />
road and spotted some cattle on his<br />
left, and while he was keeping his eye<br />
on them and slowing down, a cow<br />
suddenly moved in front of him from<br />
the right, hitting the pickup’s right<br />
headlight and bumper. Father Tom<br />
looked in the rear view mirror and<br />
saw the cow was lying down. “Darn<br />
it,” he thought, “now I am going to<br />
28<br />
have to butcher it.” But by the time he turned<br />
around and returned to the spot of the collision,<br />
the cow had disappeared. Father Tom<br />
said he hoped St. Francis had intervened and<br />
that the cow would be OK.<br />
Deacon Alfred Gonzales, Father Tom and I<br />
vested in the church. Sacred Heart truly is a<br />
beautiful church. Your eyes are drawn to the<br />
ceiling made of hundreds of segments of saguaro<br />
cactus ribs. People from many villages<br />
in the Nation were present for Mass, including<br />
the choir from St. Seraphin Mission in<br />
the village of Ak Chin.<br />
Father Tom’s homily was a message about<br />
God’s all encompassing love for us and how<br />
our respect for ourselves and respect for our<br />
brothers and sisters witness to His love. He<br />
concluded his homily by telling the people<br />
that he hoped he had not caused hurt to anyone,<br />
and that if he had caused hurt, he asked<br />
their forgiveness.<br />
The baptism of little Kayla (I think she is<br />
18-months-old) was beautiful to witness.<br />
Father Tom was patient and good humored<br />
as she squirmed, and after Kayla wailed<br />
when he dripped water on her face from a<br />
shell, he told the people that from his time in
the Philippines he learned that when a child<br />
cries during Baptism it means the evil one is<br />
no longer present, so it was a good sign for<br />
Kayla when she cried.<br />
After Communion, Father Tom invited me to<br />
speak, and it was my joy to share these feelings<br />
and thoughts:<br />
“This is the year for priests that Pope Benedict<br />
has asked us to celebrate. How fitting on<br />
this feast of the Sacred Heart, when we begin<br />
the Year for Priests, that we give thanks to<br />
God for a good priest who has been a wise<br />
teacher, a gentle shepherd and a loving father<br />
to his people for 26 years!<br />
“The saint that Pope Benedict has asked us to<br />
remember in this Year for Priests is St. John<br />
Vianney, who is the Curé of Ars, and while<br />
the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney spent<br />
about 17 hours a day in the confessional.<br />
Father Tom has spent about 17 hours every<br />
weekend traveling from mission to mission,<br />
from church to church, to celebrate the Eucharist<br />
and make the Lord present to us.<br />
“Father Tom, you mentioned in your beautiful<br />
homily on this feast of the Sacred Heart,<br />
that the heart of Jesus reminds us of His<br />
great love for each one of us. That love has<br />
been communicated to us for these 26 years<br />
by a priest named Father Tom Frost, who<br />
came to our community here a much younger<br />
man, but has worked day after day after day<br />
after day bringing God’s love and God’s forgiveness<br />
to God’s people.<br />
“Father Tom, in the name of all of your<br />
people and my own name, we want to express<br />
to you our thanks and our love for you.<br />
A priest, St. John Vianney said, is not a priest<br />
for himself. A priest doesn’t absolve himself;<br />
he doesn’t say Mass for himself; he doesn’t<br />
baptize himself. He does his service for others.<br />
And that’s what Father Tom has been: a<br />
priest for us. For that we are deeply grateful.<br />
“Father Tom, if you might come forward in<br />
front of the altar so that all of us might extend<br />
to you our blessings and best wishes, as<br />
29
you have blessed us for these 26 years.<br />
“So, we raise our hands, Father Tom, over<br />
you now and ask God’s blessings: Loving<br />
and gracious God, we ask your choicest<br />
blessings for Father Tom Frost, who<br />
has served so generously and faithfully our<br />
communities here on the Reservation for<br />
26 years. We thank you for his service. We<br />
thank you for his words and his comfort.<br />
We thank you for the forgiveness you have<br />
shown us through him. We thank you for the<br />
love you have given us through him.<br />
“We ask you now, Lord, to bless him and to<br />
fill him with joy and gratitude for 26 years<br />
served so faithfully, so generously and so<br />
well.<br />
“And may the blessings of Almighty God<br />
the Father, the Son and the <strong>Holy</strong> Spirit, come<br />
upon you, Tom, and remain with you forever<br />
and ever.”<br />
And all the people said, “Amen!”<br />
Following the closing prayer, Isidro Lopez,<br />
vice chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation,<br />
expressed to Father Tom the thanks of<br />
the nation for his ministry. Father Tom related<br />
that when he first arrived in the Nation<br />
he had met a little boy who was just about to<br />
go to school off the Reservation and that the<br />
little boy was Isidro. On behalf of the Nation,<br />
Isidro presented Father Tom with a beautiful<br />
blanket of the Tohono “Man in the Maze”<br />
symbol.<br />
procession with Father Tom.<br />
Truly, what a wonderful way to begin this<br />
Year for Priests!<br />
TRIBUTE TO<br />
FR. MAX HOTTLE, O.F.M.<br />
Bishop Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson<br />
Father Max is leaving after 19 years of ministry<br />
at San Solano Missions Parish on the<br />
Tohono O’odham Nation. It is his hope and<br />
ours that after a year working at a parish in<br />
New Mexico that he will return to continue<br />
his service in the Diocese.<br />
In addition to his service as pastor of San Solano<br />
Missions Parish, Father Max also served<br />
for several years as Vicar Forane of the Pima<br />
West Vicariate.<br />
San Solano Missions Parish is planning a<br />
farewell event for Father Max in August, and<br />
I will write more about him then.<br />
For now, I want you to know just how much<br />
Father Max has brightened our Monday<br />
mornings here at the Pastoral Center these<br />
past few years. Just about every Monday<br />
morning, Father Max makes the drive from<br />
Sells to Tucson to take care of parish business<br />
in person with our staff. And what a joy<br />
those mid-morning encounters have been for<br />
us! Even if he doesn’t have business with<br />
you, he stops to say hello and ask how you<br />
are doing.<br />
Then, it was time for the procession with<br />
the statue of the Sacred Heart. Carrying the<br />
statue were members of the community who<br />
are Samoan. What a beautiful joining of<br />
cultures! It was a joy for me to walk in the<br />
30<br />
He has a wonderful sense of humor, and<br />
every conversation with him includes a good<br />
laugh or two. He would tell some of us, “I<br />
don’t know exactly what it is you are doing,<br />
but it looks like you are doing it very well!”
Father Max also has a precise internal clock,<br />
knowing to the second how much<br />
time remains on the parking meter.<br />
RETREAT CENTERS<br />
RETREAT OFFERS<br />
PEACE AND RENEWAL<br />
IN MALIBU’S BACKYARD<br />
By Hannah Klodt<br />
Driven nearly insane by the beach traffic,<br />
paparazzi, and price tags of Malibu, I needed<br />
to get away. But I couldn’t go far. My travel<br />
budget was bankrupt. To my surprise, a nocost<br />
getaway beckoned to me just blocks<br />
from my home.<br />
The Serra Retreat Center sign pointed me to<br />
a side street veering off Pacific Coast Highway.<br />
I followed a winding road through a<br />
neighborhood of Malibu’s wealthiest estates.<br />
Atop the hill, I parked and climbed out of my<br />
car. Isolated 1200 feet high above the roar of<br />
Lamborghinis in central Malibu.<br />
The Serra Retreat Center welcomed me with<br />
silence. A colorful marble plaque offered an<br />
introduction, “Serra Retreat Franciscans”. All<br />
that I knew about the Franciscans was that<br />
each believer pledges to poverty. The Retreat<br />
Center’s calm beauty stunned me. Wideeyed,<br />
I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Hillside<br />
gardens in full-bloom boasted birds of paradise,<br />
organ pipe cactus, and honeysuckle.<br />
The grounds’ well-combed sandy walkways<br />
and gardens were free of weeds, paper, and<br />
debris. They showed a loving care anyone<br />
would long for. I walked beneath eucalyptus<br />
31<br />
tree overhangs. I admire the holy statues of<br />
the cross. I basked in the peace that I needed<br />
so badly. Views of the Pacific coastline<br />
soothed me. The cool Malibu breeze caressed<br />
my face. Water gurgling down a stone fountain<br />
urged my soul to throw away my worries.<br />
The longer that I relaxed in nature’s simple<br />
beauty, the deeper a strange irony set in. It<br />
dawned on me that I was experiencing a classic<br />
contrast of the ages: peace and poverty<br />
amid pleasure and plenty. Here in Malibu<br />
where cash reins supreme, there is a retreat<br />
that pledges itself to poverty.<br />
How did this come about I sought the answer<br />
in the office of Fr. Warren, resident<br />
and director of the Serra Retreat Center. He<br />
expressed a disappointment: “ 99-percent of<br />
Malibu residents don’t have the foggiest idea<br />
of what we do [at the Retreat Center]. We<br />
want to provide a place of quiet and reflection<br />
to those who are looking for purpose.”<br />
His words lifted me. This is exactly what<br />
I was looking for; a quite place in a city of<br />
commotion. “We want to provide a place<br />
where people seeking peace and tranquility<br />
can find it,” said Father Warren. “We welcome<br />
everybody at the Retreat Center. Our<br />
only hope is to bring a sense of peace and<br />
relaxation to visitors.”<br />
The path to peace is the labyrinth. The<br />
labyrinth gives visitors a way of physically<br />
tracking their reflection. At first glance, the<br />
labyrinth appears to be a maze of stones<br />
leading to a small, white cross. A nearby sign<br />
explains the purpose of this maze. It indicates<br />
that visitors should walk at their own<br />
paces along the path while reflecting on their<br />
individual spiritual journeys. The labyrinth
serves as a tangible reminder of the importance<br />
of reflection.<br />
Fr. Warren also said, “Our goal here has<br />
been to add value and purpose to the lives of<br />
Malibu residents since the center began. The<br />
struggle to do this is harder today because<br />
the community has changed. The value of<br />
life is tied to the price tag more than ever.”<br />
Only four full-time Franciscans live at the<br />
Retreat Center and care for the 26 acre property.<br />
With a limited maintenance staff, each<br />
of these residents works around the clock<br />
seven days a week. In the midst of Malibu’s<br />
plenty, the four Franciscans face constant<br />
financial frustration.<br />
”We live from hand-to-mouth on a weekly<br />
basis, receiving no funding from the Franciscan<br />
order. When the entire plumbing system<br />
blew last month, the center’s savings dried<br />
up. It’s by God’s grace that the Center affords<br />
to operate,” explains Father Warren.<br />
Income derives largely from groups using<br />
the Center’s facilities for retreats; however,<br />
these groups pay the bare minimum costs of<br />
operating the Center. If a member of a group<br />
cannot afford to attend the conference, the<br />
Center picks up all of the costs.<br />
Originally owned by Malibu pioneer May<br />
Rindge, the Franciscans bought the property<br />
in 1942 and converted the unfinished<br />
50-room mansion into a friary, a spiritual<br />
outpost in the small beach community. It<br />
evolved over the past fifty years into an<br />
isolated place of rest and meditation. Serra<br />
Retreat Center serves as a daily reminder of<br />
the peace that many seek in Malibu.<br />
of its patron, Junipero Serra. A friar, Serra<br />
immigrated to California from Spain in 1749<br />
to develop missions with the nature-oriented<br />
people who had long inhabited the area.<br />
The Franciscan way of life begins with believers<br />
taking a vow of poverty. According<br />
to St. Francis of Assisi, creator of the Franciscan<br />
Order, “Those who embraced this life<br />
gave everything they had to the poor. They<br />
were satisfied with one habit which was<br />
patched inside out, with a cord and trousers.”<br />
Following this vow of poverty, modern Franciscans<br />
serve the community in a variety of<br />
ways, from feeding the homeless to providing<br />
retreat centers across the globe. The Serra<br />
Retreat Center began to grapple with its<br />
identity within the community as the 1950s<br />
saw a growth in population. This growth<br />
ushered in a new reputation for Malibu as a<br />
trendy beach getaway. Malibu was identified<br />
with messages of youth rebellion through<br />
popular movies, music and literature.<br />
The Serra Retreat Center became a less visible<br />
reminder of its spiritual roots, except to<br />
those who knew it existed.<br />
I spent a day at the Retreat Center basking in<br />
nature’s beauty. Isn’t it wonderful that amid<br />
the frenzied city of Malibu, there is a placed<br />
that offers renewal<br />
[ Malibu Surfside News- June 11, 2009]<br />
The Serra Retreat Center carries the name<br />
32
SUMMER SEEDS :<br />
SAN DAMIANO RETREAT<br />
Fr. Ray Bucher, O.F.M.<br />
Every year, shortly after Pentecost, I receive<br />
a letter from back east. I await it. I enjoy it.<br />
The letter’s author attended my Pentecost<br />
Mass at The Casa (in Scottsdale, AZ) in<br />
1987, and somehow recorded my homily.<br />
Every year she replays it on Pentecost. (And<br />
every year she draws from it a new inspiration.)<br />
She insists that the <strong>Holy</strong> Spirit keeps<br />
the tape in tiptop shape.<br />
That laudable letter landed on my desk<br />
perched between Aristotle and Augustine.<br />
(Of course Plato is there too, but you all<br />
knew that!) In September, when you’re receiving<br />
this Newsletter, I finished teaching<br />
Classical Philosophy to some of our younger<br />
friars! It’s been 30 years since I’ve taught<br />
any philosophy, and surely new and better<br />
ways of teaching this subject have been introduced.<br />
Fortunately, the subject matter has<br />
remained the same! Since Rome has mandated<br />
that one must acquire 30 units of philosophy<br />
before one can enter priestly studies,<br />
our <strong>Province</strong> wants to give our young men a<br />
head start. Hence, 3 hours of class a day for 2<br />
weeks through the University of San Diego.<br />
on retreat to prepare for their profession of<br />
simple vows. There was a wholesome, joyful,<br />
prayerful presence here. The anticipation<br />
of commitment was palpable. Good job, Br.<br />
Regan and other novice directors.<br />
Secondly, and presently, we had a four-week<br />
retreat for 13 friars preparing for solemn<br />
vows. These men, too, are from around the<br />
country. (The days of one province having<br />
13 candidates for final vows are long gone!)<br />
Here I sense a more mature, sober group of<br />
friars, yet still exuding Franciscan joy.<br />
A wonderful byproduct of these retreats<br />
was the presence of talented retreat masters,<br />
like Sr. Maria Elena Martinez, OSF, Br. Bill<br />
Short, OFM, and Br. Robert Lentz, OFM.<br />
What a summer blessing. Let’s pray for these<br />
men who took their vows, that their commitment<br />
might enhance (unleash) their freedom.<br />
And, let’s pray for the students who took my<br />
philosophy class. (The lucky fellows!) Who<br />
knows—maybe next Pentecost there will be<br />
an additional letter on my desk…thanking<br />
me for a seed planted in a summer lecture—a<br />
seed that somehow started to flower!<br />
RENEWAL CENTER AT<br />
MISSION SANTA BARBARA<br />
It was a joy to have direct contact with our<br />
younger friars. Their enthusiasm is contagious.<br />
Their vitality helps us veterans “…stir<br />
into flame the gift of God (once) bestowed<br />
on us…” (2 Tim 1: 6-7)<br />
Here at San Damiano we recently had the<br />
good fortune to host a number of young<br />
friars. First it was to welcome for a week, 16<br />
novices from around the country. They came<br />
33<br />
Sr. Susan Blomstad, O.S.F., Director<br />
[This is the final report from the <strong>Province</strong><br />
retreat centers. – WJR]<br />
Richard McManus arrived at Mission Santa<br />
Barbara as Guardian and Director in July of<br />
2006. After 15 years as Director of St. Francis<br />
Retreat in San Juan Bautista, he brought<br />
with him a passion for retreat ministry and a
commitment to revitalizing the retreat part of<br />
Mission Santa Barbara. However, OMSB is<br />
much more than a retreat center---so he set<br />
out attending to the various entities of this<br />
vast property.<br />
Now, 2 years later, plans and much work are<br />
beginning to bear fruit. In January, 2007,<br />
Sister Susan Blomstad, O.S.F., who has<br />
shared in the retreat ministry with the friars<br />
of this <strong>Province</strong> since 1991 ( Three Rivers,<br />
San Juan and Serra), arrived to direct the<br />
retreat center. That fall the first sponsored<br />
retreats were offered. As expected, the response<br />
was limited in terms of numbers, but<br />
the interest was strong and has continued<br />
to grow. On May 9, 2008, a website was<br />
launched that is particular to the entities at<br />
OMSB beyond the parish. www.santabarbaramission.org<br />
is available for those who<br />
wish to consider coming on retreat and/or accessing<br />
information about the many activities<br />
that take place here.<br />
This year the following retreats are being<br />
offered: A Poetry retreat, a Married Couples<br />
retreat, a Grief retreat, a Women’s Spirituality<br />
retreat, a Silent Advent retreat, and a New<br />
Year’s retreat. In early July a week-long<br />
Sisters’ retreat was offered in Spanish with<br />
Sr. Maria Elena Martinez, O.S.F. as retreat<br />
presenter.<br />
sponsors and leaders has been essential to the<br />
MRC’s continuing commitment to gracious<br />
hospitality.<br />
Marguerite Chatigny and her husband, Mark,<br />
arrived as Covenant Volunteers in September<br />
of 2007. Marguerite is a fantastic office organizer<br />
and has caught on to the whole spirit<br />
of doing hospitable retreat ministry. She and<br />
Mark (who works with revitalizing our Mission<br />
Tour operations) have decided to stay<br />
for another year (and Sr. Susan is very grateful!).<br />
One of the major shifts of late 2006 was the<br />
relocating of all the friars in the Serra Wing.<br />
In the spring of 2007, many hours were spent<br />
cleaning, painting, moving furniture, buying<br />
new beds and transforming the Serra Wing<br />
into a private retreat area. The first guests<br />
were welcomed on June 1, 2007, and since<br />
then the 13 rooms have been used frequently.<br />
There is a unique and special spirit growing<br />
here among those of us who also call this<br />
place home. Come for a visit and enjoy our<br />
hospitality and gracious spirit. We indeed<br />
have a place for you at Mission Santa Barbara!<br />
The hosted groups continue to increase and<br />
have become a steady source of income.<br />
Calls come in weekly with inquiries about<br />
holding events here, most of them spiritual in<br />
nature and theme.<br />
The consistent growth of retreat activity is<br />
not without its challenges. Preliminary work<br />
and frequent communication with retreat<br />
34
TURNING PAGES<br />
The British artist, Chris Gollon, was commissioned<br />
(a story in itself) to paint the Stations<br />
of the Cross in the church of St. John<br />
on Bethnal Green in London’s East End.<br />
They are most unusual, perhaps shocking.<br />
The writer, Sara Maitland, is likewise a familiar<br />
name in the UK. Stations of the Cross<br />
contains stories reflective of each painting<br />
reproduced in this short but engrossing book.<br />
In her introduction, Maitland explains why<br />
the traditional number of 14 stations is more<br />
appropriate than those proposed by Benedict<br />
XVI in 2007. The pontiff replaced the nonscriptural<br />
stations with others. But, as she<br />
rightly contends, this sequence destroys the<br />
whole idea of pilgrimage.<br />
She also has something to say about the popular<br />
practice of adding a 15th station (Resurrection):<br />
“The immediate, unbroken move<br />
to a Station of the Resurrection calls into<br />
question the reality of Jesus’ death. It gives,<br />
in an odd sense, credibility to the accusation<br />
that Christianity offers only an escape out of<br />
the pain of the world, rather than a profound<br />
engagement with it.”<br />
sense of the things we have felt and seen”<br />
(emphasis mine).<br />
I realize that this has review has been a bit<br />
lengthy, but the book is unique. One can<br />
omit the well written commentaries, but do<br />
not miss Maitland’s Introduction as well as<br />
Green’s Afterword. And then… ponder these<br />
Stations [Continuum Books. ISBN 978-0-<br />
8264-0568-5]<br />
Probably a good number of friars were not<br />
even born when Vatican II took place and really<br />
don’t appreciate the “before, during and<br />
after.” What Happened at Vatican II by John<br />
O’Malley is simply an amazing, absorbing<br />
and enlightening book that is probably one<br />
of the best written. Jared Wicks says of it: “It<br />
carries the reader deeper into the reality and<br />
outcome of Vatican II than do the other existing<br />
books on the Council.”<br />
The sources are impeccable, the unraveling<br />
of intrigues is fascinating, and the accomplishments<br />
are well delineated. This is truly<br />
a superb book for anyone interested in understanding<br />
how we as a Church are today.<br />
Don’t miss it! [Harvard University Press.<br />
ISBN 978-0-674-03669-2]<br />
Just here it is noteworthy that in St. John’s<br />
the 14th station is not in the front or side of<br />
the church facing the altar. In his splendid<br />
Afterword, Rev. Alan Green, the Team Rector,<br />
states the theology plainly:<br />
“Our stations end with the entombment of<br />
Jesus by the west door of the church. Some<br />
may return to celebrate the resurrection of<br />
Jesus at the altar, but all of us are led from<br />
the journey of the Stations of the Cross out<br />
into Bethnal Green, where we have to make<br />
35<br />
Kathleen Norris sailed into prominence with<br />
The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace. Now<br />
comes The Noonday Demon which is oddly<br />
subtitled, “A Modern Woman’s Struggle with<br />
Soul-weariness,” giving the impression that<br />
this is a book primarily for women. And it is<br />
not. Obviously well read, Norris calls upon<br />
many literary and ancient writers to describe<br />
that phenomenon that is labeled acedia by<br />
the ancients and may well be classified as<br />
boredom, despair, listlessness—and all the<br />
rest. After studying 3-4 chapters, the reader
WESTFRIARS<br />
P.O. Box 127<br />
Malibu CA 90265<br />
e-mail: Frwarren@serraretreat.com<br />
TURNING PAGES continued...<br />
may experience acedia! Why an entire lengthy book requires such attention is puzzling.<br />
However, it is well written and quite anecdotal. The Latins have an expression: “Qui potest<br />
capere, capiat”—a loose translation being: “Be my guest!” [Lion Hudson. ISBN 978-0-<br />
7459-5366-3]<br />
Surely everyone is familiar with William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible, especially the New<br />
Testament volume. (If not—Tsk!Tsk!) Just published, and edited by Philip Law, are the fine<br />
selections, Daily Devotions With William Barclay. The editor has concentrated on the NT<br />
commentaries, aptly extracting the heart of various thoughts and arranged—although this<br />
is immaterial—for each day of the year. Here is a splendid book for meditation and quite<br />
rewarding. It is certainly worth obtaining and the reader will find it most profitable. [Westminster<br />
Press. ISBN 0-664-23270-1]<br />
Not exactly in the category of spiritual reading is You Learn by Living. “Eleven Keys for a<br />
More Fulfilling Life” is authored—brace yourself—by Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), who<br />
wrote these brief essays in 1960. Perhaps the examples are a bit outdated, but her thoughts<br />
are quite relevant and contemporary. She was a great lady in her day and, following her husband’s<br />
death, virtually made a new life for herself in the public forum.<br />
Among the brief subjects—meditations—are intriguing topics; for example, The Difficult<br />
Art of Maturity; Readjustment is Endless; Facing Responsibility. A classic passage about<br />
self-examination: “Some people become so interested, so fascinated, by this voyage of selfdiscovery,<br />
that they don’t come out of it again. They remain completely absorbed in their<br />
self-study.” Well said! Worth reading! [Westminster Press. ISBN 0-664-24494-7]<br />
WJR<br />
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