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The Capuchins

  • Writer: Profiles in Catholicism
    Profiles in Catholicism
  • Mar 28
  • 16 min read


A Message from the Editor


In my global l traveling providing HV/AIDS assistance, I have seen significant poverty which often reminds me of the Capuchins because, according to the Capuchin Franciscan Provence of Saint Joseph, they live and work with those who are in need of help … the poor, the disenfranchised, the needy.

 

There are two basic commandments- to love God and to love our neighbor.  Unfortunately, most people fail to understand who our neighbor is. In the Bible, as taught through the parable of the Good Samaritan, our neighbor is anyone in need, regardless of their background or status, who we encounter This includes immigrants and those who are starving..

 

Around 9 million people die annually from hunger and hunger-related diseases, according to the UN World Food Programme.  Very fee of us care for those in need who die from hunger and hunger-related diseases. But these are people in need, and very few us like the Capuchin

respond to God’s commandment to love our neighbor. We all need to do more.

 

A  Quote to Remember

 

“We must be faithful to the present moment or we will frustrate the plan of God for our lives.

Many are the rainbows, the sunbursts, the gentle breezes—and the hailstorms—we are liable to meet before, by the grace of God, we shall be able to tumble into our graves with the confidence of tired children into their places of peaceful slumber.

by Blessed Solanus Casey


Prayers

 

A prayer for Franciscan, Capuchin Friars:

 

“Into the Silence”

 

If I were busy, busy with the busyness that makes me dizzy …

If there were too many colors and lights, dazzling my sight …

If the pace of the race was fast, faster, and fastest at first …

If there were too many places to go and too many things to do …

If there were too many people who did not see the poor who …

If there were too many ways to avoid the challenges of today …

 

Then I, like others, will go in search of you, Lord, to whom

St. Francis listened,

to whom you said, “Rebuild my Church”.

Yes the Church is falling down, but the Good Shepherd died

And rose again, so that the sheep can be brothers, called ‘friars’

And, being brothers, wear a hood that names them ‘Capuchins’:

And if the hood is up, it could be I am in the praying room.

 

Our life, Lord, varies as you know, between long and well-

Established friaries,

homes to our brothers, where work has

Replaced begging, and begging has become interior, in our

Talking silence with you, our God, taking with us so many

Requests for prayer that we spend hours in your presence, not

That you don’t see, that you don’t hear, that you don’t know.

 

The lady, Lord, down the road has called in to tell us to visit,

Her father is weak, her son is wandering about, she herself has

Needs unmet and then there are those who are homeless, poor,

Who need both hope and bread, bread and hope and, perhaps,

To be called by name, “Ben”, “Domini”, and “Peter” and then,

Lord, we come into your Eucharistic presence to take on love.

 

While we sit in silence, Lord, sometimes for hours, we bring all

Who have asked our prayers, all whom we have met, all whom

We have noticed and thought about and wondered how they can

Be helped and, as we see the little we can do and the rolling, ocean

Waves of need upon need, needing our help and thus we pray, as

We know, if you do not see, if you do not hear, if you do not act …

                      

But we know, Lord, that you do see, that you do hear, and that you

Do act, and so help us to be patient, knowing that you love as no one

Else loves, and that your love is not just for now, for this or that

Problem, but your love is for, forever, for an eternity of living in

Love, and that if it seems to us that you do not act, or act quickly

Enough, it is because we are being taught, too, to love like you.

 

And so we go into the silence, seeking light, like we are dull bulbs,

Unlit, needing to connect with the light-source, as if to say that if

We are not soaked in prayer, we will not alight, not smile, not open

To the gift of glowing grace, coming from the burning coal of your

Passion, coming to brighten the eyes of our looking, the tenderness 

Of our touching, the helpfulness of our helping, like lighting a smile.

 

And so, Lord, let me be led by you to see myself as I am so that I

Can see who I am called to meet so that, facing myself, I can face

Others who need me to be there, for them, turning from you to them

And returning from them to you, a little lighter, a little brighter, with

The love that cannot escape the encounter with another although,

Humanly speaking, all we can do is to bring everyone to be with

You .by Francis Etheredge , Catholic married layman, father of 11, 3

of whom are in heaven, and an author:

 

Prayer for the Children of Ukraine


Oh Lord, we pray for all the people of Ukraine, innocent victims of Russia’s merciless and murderous attack on their country and all who live within it. So many have died, so many have been injured, so many have had to flee from their homes to be able to survive. We pray for all Ukrainians in this time of great need and suffering. Oh Lord, we pray especially for the children of Ukraine whose lives have been so seriously disrupted, who are living in poverty, living with injuries, living with the knowledge that many of their relatives and friends have died, and whom they will never see again. Oh Lord, we pray for the children who have died and we pray for those who have, so far, survived. May those who have died rest in your Peace, Oh Lord. May those who survive be found by their families. May they receive the care that they need, To heal from their suffering, pain and trauma. And live to rebuild their lives and their country. Amen by Dr. Eugene Fisher Profiles in Catholicism


Prayer for abused children


Lord we have seen and heard the children cry and pour out their

suffering and their pain,

They cry to you to rescue them from the abusers and the shame

That is unjustly heaped upon them as if they were to blame,

while the abusers walk free and unsullied is their name.

Lord bring the abusers to justice and give the children closure, peace and freedom,

May they know they are the most important in your friendship and your kingdom.

To receive a child you said is to welcome and be one with you,

Inspire us Lord to fight for their dignity and their rights

and give healing and a life that is wonderful and new.

Amen.

by Father Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism


Prayer for Those with Measles


Good and gracious God,

We ask you to protect those communities who have been infected with measles 

If a person who acquired measles abroad returns to a close-knit and under vaccinated community with high population density, a large outbreak is likely. From 2001-2023, 88% of outbreaks larger than 50 cases have occurred within these settings. No outbreak occurred in communities that are well vaccinated and live in communities that do not have a high population density. Again, Lord , watch out for the poor and those not able to discern these issues for themselves. Help them to be careful and observant of what they need to avoid and the reaching out of the community to help them get vaccinated. We ask you this, Oh Lord, in the name of the Father, His Son and the Holy spirit. Amen

 

by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism

 

Prayer for Dead and Injured in the Nightclub fire in North Macedonia

 

Oh Lord, Our Heavenly Father,

We pray for the people who died or were injured

by the fire in North Macedonia.

 And we join their bereaved families

in sadness, praying that they will themselves survive

to live on and to give hope to future generations.

Oh Lord, the victims of this fire

were simply enjoying a night of relaxation

May they rest now in your heavenly peace

and may we never forget to include them in our prayers.

Amen

 

by Dr. Eugene Fisher Profiles in Catholicism

 

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