Notes from a Friar: The Theology of a Poet
June 8, 2023
The Top Five Issues Facing Health Care
So what does a Franciscan friar know about the top five issues facing the health-care system in the United States? Plenty, if he’s Franciscan Father Thomas Nairn, minister provincial of the Sacred Heart Province of the Order of Friars Minor.
Keeping the Civil Rights Movement in Motion
Like holidays or holy seasons, commemorative months such as Black History Month can fall into the trap of becoming purely symbolic, routine, and thus stripped of their power to transform us. We may even find ourselves a bit fatigued by the repetitive cycles of the calendar year.
What Drew Me to the Franciscans
For Roger Lopez, OFM, his road to the Franciscans wasn’t paved with struggle or strife—it was paved with food. After his meal with the friars was over, he noticed how the brothers immediately began working together to wash dishes, put away food, and clean the kitchen. In those simple acts, Friar Roger saw the makings of a family, a family he wanted to join.
What the World Needs from Us
Francis never wanted anyone to follow him, he wanted them to follow the one he followed. “The Lord has shown me what is mine to do. May he show you what is yours.” In this humility, we realize that it is not our strength, our ingenuity, our love, or our care that is going to shape the world. It is Jesus that the world needs, working through us. The world does not need us. It needs someone who will bring it Jesus. Thank God. Because, really, we could never do anything well on our own. As hard as we try and no matter the intentions we have, the truth of the matter is that sometimes we fail.