SJB NEWS NOTES

SJB NEWS NOTES Page 2Enough,already!Images from the blizzard of 2011PHOTOS BY FRIARS IN PEORIA, BLOOMINGTON,DETROIT AND CHICAGOA gratefulrecipient offood anddrink fromthe CanticleCafé Cart inDetroit.Above, Mark Soehner braves the wind chills at Lake Michigan; below,Chicago friars succumb to the snow monster.Right, Kevin Ducksonweighs his options inBloomington; below, a snowplow is a welcome sight atSt. Mary’s.You need a snowbridge to get to thedoor of the friary inPeoria.Al Mascia maneuvered the Canticle Café Cartthrough snow drifts in Detroit.

SJB NEWS NOTES Page 4Continued from Page 3transportation for school are antsy from boredom.Overburdened single moms look just plain tired. Thekitchen serves about 130 lunches on Monday, Tuesdayand Thursday, and kids who arrive by 9 in the morningreceive a small breakfast. It may not sound like much,but to people living in a city that has been suckerpunchedby a drop in tourism and the subsequent lossof jobs, it’s a lifeline to the next hot meal.And it would not have happened without Jim,whose can-do attitude plays out at church, wherehe seems to have found a formula that appealsto native parishioners and tourists alike. “I will pay$100,000 U.S. if no one here is from Minnesota,” hejokes at the start of Sunday Mass, seeking out thevisitors. “Someone is always from Minnesota.”The message for the day is empowerment, a themethat cannot be overstated in Jamaica, a young nationstill grappling with issues of identity and self-esteem.“Jesus has made us the light and this kingdom he hasbuilt has been entrusted to you and me,” Jim says.“We’re all here for one reason. The Scriptures challengeus to be the light.”On this January morning, the church is as warm andmuggy as a sauna. “I don’t want any complaints aboutthe heat,” Jim warns, adding, “If anyone wants to buyus air conditioning, see me after Mass.”FratCornerCommunication is indispensable to theconstruction of fraternal life. If it is necessaryto know each other in order to becomebrothers, it is indispensable to communicatein order to know each other. Whenthere is communication, the air whichis breathed in the fraternity is clear andhealthy, relationships become closer andmore familiar, the spirit of participationis nourished and the sense of belonginggrows. The lack of communication, on thecontrary, causes communion to deteriorate,and even to be destroyed. (n. 42)(Frat Corner appears the first Friday of each month.Starting Feb. 18, look for another new feature thethird Friday of each month. In Finding Balance, friarswill talk about how they strive to achieve balance intheir daily lives.)Thoughts on Fraternal Life from the Minister General’(Check out St. Anthony’s Kitchen on Facebookat: http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Anthonys-Kitchen/152226054817315).Thinkspring!Here’s somethingthat will take your mind off those dirty piles of snow:http://www.day-lily.com/product/Francis-of-Assisi-Daylily/WOW-Daylilies?p=0424217&r=020111SH&utm_source=em&utm_medium=spec&lm=sprg&A2Thanks to Brenda Grannan for sharing!DIRECTORY UPDATESFor the next several months, Brian Maloney willbe at St. Anthony Friary, 3140 Meramec St., St.Louis, MO 63118. Cell: 513-237-5724.John Joseph Gonchar has a new cell phonenumber: 724-208-7654.IN GRATITUDEThank you very much for everything you didregarding my stay in Jamaica. I will rememberalways the mission in Jamaica. I also am grateful toFrank Jasper for clicking some great shots duringthe celebration.– Felix D’Souza, OFM

SJB NEWS NOTES Page 5Chronicling the storm of the centuryPHOTOS BY THE FRIARS OF ST. JOSEPH’SJoshua van Cleef, Clifford Hennings and DanHelfrich in shoveling garb that would givetheir mothers apoplexy.Buses were stranded on HydePark Boulevard.Clifford Hennings andBy Mark Soehner, OFMRoger Lopez explorethe great outdoors.FEB. 1, 2011We had an inch of snow this morning. Our snow crewquickly dispatched it from our sidewalks and back parkingspaces. Our talk in the morning was largely aboutwhether we would even get snow later in the day. So manyof the weather reports have been wrong. The machismoabout going out anyway was thick in the air.Around 3 p.m. the wind picked up and soon snow wasfalling. Ed Shea and I went to work out. On our journeyback around 4:30 there already was enough snow on thestreet, despite the snow plows, to start sliding. Peoplewere beginning to get stuck on Lake Shore.I had much earlier agreed to meet a friend at arestaurant in Little Italy. With all the weather reports, wearranged instead to meet at one of our local bistros. Eventhe walk there by 6:30 p.m. was met with howling windsand already a foot of snow. Stinging snow pelted my facelike little darts, melting on impact. There were only threegroupings in this normally crowded neighborhood restaurant.We celebrated my friend’s birthday, then braved the strangenuclear winter atmosphere.FEB. 2, 2011It is so quiet. Muffled. As we celebrate Morning Prayer forthe Presentation, we’re looking out the window onto a worldof white. Michael Charron rallies Macario Torres Torres(SH), Dan Helfrich and me to venture out. There is a busstranded on Hyde Park Boulevard. A couple of other walkersare taking pictures with us. One woman is trying to get out ofthe neighborhood in her car to go to work. She turns aroundwhen she sees the bus stranded. We measure the snow, morethan 24 inches in drifts.Continued on Page 6Snow angel Clifford Hennings dives right in.Michael Charron can’t quite believe his eyes.

SJB NEWS NOTES Page 6Continued from Page 4Working behind the scenesA round of applause for some very special people. “St. Francis Retreat House isblessed with a group of talented and dedicated Board of Directors who provideleadership and guidance for the operation of the Retreat House,” says ExecutiveDirector Mike Markle. “They are very generous with their time, talents and treasuresto help others with our retreat house ministry.” Mike snapped these pictures on Jan. 22at the board’s most recent meeting.Continued from Page 5I take two of the friars for our regular “mentoring” since we all are“trapped like rats” on this snow ship. Mentoring sessions are great, and funnyin a way this morning.After breakfast another “snow crew” goes out in their shorts and t-shirts.Crazy!Michael Charron helps a guy dig his car out of the snow bank that is theside of our house. Galen Osby (ABVM) is persuaded to help dig one of thebuses out. The group meets with success. Roger Lopez, Cliff Hennings and Ireturn from a walk to the Point, realizing that it has stopped snowing – whichmeans that we need to shovel out the walk. The path is cleared, but the wall isas high as our shoulders.Mass for the Presentation is alive. Sr. Julia (a young Franciscan sister fromour neighborhood) comes in before the 2 nd reading. Roger shares a reflection,but ducks out after communion to help finish up the supper. We celebrateJoshua’s birthday. It’s still walking weather out there for most people. Nowa few cars are moving very slowly. We wonder whether we can dig out for thenext day’s adventure.SJB News Notes, the weekly newsletter of St. John the BaptistProvince, is produced by the Communications Office, 1615 Vine St.,Cincinnati, OH 45202-6400. Contact Toni Cashnelli, CommunicationsDirector, at 513-721-4700, ext. 3209. Fax: 513-421-9672; e-mail:sjbfco@franciscan.org.Don’t forget to report your mileagefor the Walking to Assisi fitnesscampaign. E-mail Sr. Lucy Driscoll at:walkingtoassisi@franciscan.org. Pleasereport only the miles accumulatedsince you last checked in and NOTyour total mileage. Contact Lucy ifyou would like to participate (513-721-4700; ext. 3208); she’ll sign youup and send you a pedometer.With four months to go, 34 friarshave reported a total of 450 miles,about one-tenth of the amountneeded to reach Assisi. Can anyonecatch Frank Jasper? He’s settingthe pace with 198 miles so far!Remember that you can rack upmiles any way you choose – on abicycle, a treadmill, in a pool or awheelchair.