St.

Anthony Shrine
Tel. 617-542-6440 Website: http://www.StAnthonyShrine.org The Good Word Tel. 617-542-0502 Prayer Request Line Tel. 617-542-6826

100 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110

& Ministry Center

Sunday, December 1 Saturday, December 7, 2013

NOVEMBER 30 Saturday

WHATS HAPPENING THIS WEEK

The Other Son movie & discussion, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Assisi basement auditorium stage classroom

DECEMBER

Candlelight Service of Remembrance, 6:30 p.m., 2nd fl. church (See ad for details.)

Please take this bulletin home with you as well as the many brochures that advertise the programs and services of the Shrine. Thank you for being with us today. Franciscan friars and staff St. Anthony Shrine community

Welcome to the St. Anthony Shrine Community. All are welcome here. No one is excluded.

01 Sunday

Prison Ministry, SCHC, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.

REGULAR EVENTS
Monday Tuesday

Fasting Cholesterol check, Blood pressure & Blood Sugar check, Flu vaccine, 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Wellness Center.

02 Monday

Pieta monthly Mass & Coffee, 10:00 a.m. Mass (See ad for details.)

Dental screening*, 10:00 a.m. to Noon (*by appt. 617-542-6440, ext. 118) Blood pressure & Blood Sugar screening, Flu vaccine, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wellness Center

03 Tuesday

Grief Support Group Celebratory Mass, by Fr. Joe Quinn, OFM, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., 4th fl. Clare room (Pre-registered only)

A.A. Step Meeting 5:45 p.m. Seniors Crafts Group 10:30 a.m. A.A. Open Meeting Noon Mens Cursillo Reunion 5:15 p.m. Wednesday Remembrance Day for Deceased (3rd Wed.) All Masses Womens Spiritual Refl. Group (2nd & 4th Wed) 12:30 p.m. Seniors Computer Lab 1:30 p.m. Grupo Hispano de Oracin 4:15 p.m. A.A. Open Meeting 5:45 p.m. Bread on the Common (2nd & 4th Wed.) 5:45 p.m. Anointing of the Sick Mass (2nd Wed.) TBA Thursday S.L.A.A. Meeting Noon Mens Spirituality Group (2nd & 4th Thurs.) 5:00 p.m. A.A. Big Book Meeting 5:45 p.m. Saturday Vietnamese Secular Franciscans (2nd Sat.) 9:30 a.m. Secular Franciscans (2nd Sat.) 10:50 a.m. Centering Prayer Group (1st & 3rd Sat.) Noon Sunday 20/30 Boston Young Adults Coffee (4th Sun.) 10:30 a.m. alt. Wine & Cheese Social (odd 4th Sun.) 4:30 p.m. Pieta Ministry Coffee (1st Sun.) 11:00 a.m. Healing Service (2nd Sun.) 1:00 p.m. Separated and Divorced Catholics 1:30 p.m. Hispanic Secular Franciscans (1st Sun.) 3:00 p.m.

04 Wednesday

The Truth will set you free, by Bill Sawyer, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., 2nd fl. classroom (See ad for details) Blood pressure & Blood Sugar screening, Flu vaccine, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wellness Center

Nutrition consultation*, 10:00 a.m. to Noon Blood pressure & Blood Sugar screening, Flu vaccine, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wellness Center

05 Thursday

Fellowship & Fiesta, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., 4th fl. Clare room (See ad for details.) No scheduled events.

Seniors Mass 10:00 a.m., trip to LaSalette Shrine & Bliss Dairy 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

07 Saturday

LGBT Advent Day of Reflection, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Presenter: John McDargh, Ph.D., 5th fl. friary (See ad for details.)

Saint Anthony Shrine The Church on Arch Street

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday:

Is 4:2-6; Ps 122:1-9; Mt 8:5-11 Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Lk 10:21-24 Is 25:6-10a; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37 Is 26:1-6; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a; Mt 7:21, 24-27 Is 29:17-24; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Mt 9:27-31 Is 30:19-21, 23-26; Ps 147:1-6; Mt 9:35 10:1 Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12

Contact Julie Ogden at stanthonykidsprogram@gmail.com for more information about this program. Sunday, December 1 to Sunday, December 8, 2013 2nd fl. church

Kids Program

Giving Tree

Fellowship & Fiesta!!

Christmas Edition potluck

Candlelight Service of Remembrance

This is a service for all who are mourning the loss of a family member or friend as we enter into the Christmas season. November 30, 2013. 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Second Floor Church All are welcome!

Events This Week

Wednesday, December 4, 2013. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 4th floor Clare Room Pre-registration required by Noon Dec. 2 Contact Dr. Jackie Stewart at 617-542-6440, ext. 143 or email SAS.Evang@gmail.com.

LGBT Advent Day of Reflection Welcome Back to the Manger

Offered by Evangelization

Holidays are family times and, when part of the family has been taken away in death, the holidays can only emphasize the profound void even more so. Death is the greatest equalizer in all humanity. It shows no partiality. And so as a community of believers we gather on holy ground this evening, we come to share in that pain and bless it with love. We look at those who have gathered and it is quite obvious to see that there is an abundance of love to go around. We invite you to join us to celebrate the very love that drew us here tonight.

This night we will give birth to new beginnings. As in the days of old, we come to the manger of life, as did the infant Jesus. And the memory of your loved one most definitely brings life to all of us this evening.

Saturday, December 7, 2013 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Presenter: John McDargh, Ph.D., Asso. Prof., Boston College, Dept. Theology Friars Chapel - 5th fl. Registrations requested by December 2. Cost: $30 (includes lunch)

What Gay and Lesbian Christians know about Advent and what they have to teach the Church.

Contact: Fr. Joe Quinn, OSF, 617-542-6440, ext. 239 or email LGBT@stanthonyshrine.org

All Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexual & Transgendered (LGBT) Catholics, families & friends are invited to come together and reflect as we enter this Advent season of waiting.

Cover art: (St. Nicholas - Feast Day December 6) The dowry for the three virgins from a Legend of St. Nicholas (Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome). A poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. Nicholas decided to help them, but being too modest to help the family in public, he went to the house under the cover of night and threw three purses filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house. In another version, Nicholas learns of the poor mans plan to discover his identity and drops the third bag down the chimney instead; a variant holds that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking (hence, our custom of hanging up stockings on Christmas Eve in hope that Santa will fill them with good things). 100 Arch Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 617.542.6440 3

Contact Fr. Joe Quinn, OFM, 617-542-6440, ext. 239. Offered by Evangelization

Offered by LGBT MInistry of St. Anthony Shrine

Pray for Peace in the Middle East!

The Canticle

Franciscana

Volume 32 No. 12 December 2013 a monthly publication of St. Anthony Shrine

Here is an example. One of his parables (Luke 16, 19-31) compares the lives of two men. One he calls by name: he is Lazarus. The other remains nameless, identified only by his economical accomplishments. He is merely referred to as the rich man. Their roles become reversed after death. Lazarus resides in the bosom of Abraham while the rich man lives in torment. The parable seems at first obviously about the condemnation of riches and the blessedness of those who are poor in spirit. But then the audience comes into play. To whom are the remarks addressed? The answer brings onto the scene another level of meaning. The story is told specifically to the Pharisees. We can include the Pharisees among those we have called the crowd. They moved with the crowd to keep an eye on Jesus and possibly trap him in his words. Their presence adjusts the meaning of the parable in another direction, different from early suspicions. Why? Although many conflicts erupted between Jesus and these men, one could not necessarily classify them
4

Much of the Gospels consists in understanding the words of Jesus. But part of that understanding involves not only the words themselves but also the people to whom those words are addressed. Any experience of communication implies adjusting what we say to those to whom we are speaking. One does not speak to a stranger ordinarily in the same way one might speak to a close friend. Nor do we address a child as we would an adult. In the Gospels, we might separate the audiences who receive those preached words into three broad groups. First, the crowd: those identified as people drawn to hear Jesus by mere curiosity. Or worse yet, those seeking to catch him in some serious mistake. Second, the disciples: those who show more intense interest in his words and deeds. That interest translates into reasons for following him. Third, the Apostles: those whom the Lord himself has directly chosen. Therefore, part of the context of any situation where Jesus is preaching or teaching will rest also upon the group he is addressing.

The Outer Show

The parable reaches out to another nuance in its understanding. That based on the history of the exchanges between the Lord and these reformers. Those conversations usually circle around the importance given by these men merely to external show. In one of the more blunt criticisms Jesus describes them as polished tombs: shining on the outside but dead bones inside (Matthew 23, 27). In this sense one might say that like the man in the parable who has no name but is identified merely by his economic status, the Pharisees also gave exclusive concern to their outside world. And because of that intense stance, they remained dead inside. Both instances reveal men living for outside trappings but with little evidence of an inner spirituality. The outer show had become the only game in town. St. Francis grew up in a family where the outer show seemed to be everything. His father dedicated himself to the fashion industry of that time. He provided the latest fabrics for the fashion-minded people of Assisi. His trips to France assured his customers of the latest styles. Francis worked in his fathers store during his early years. One can assume the talk over dinner was related to sales and the acquisition of material needed for the day-to-day running of the family business. And one may also assume the father looked to Francis to carry on what he had built. The young man seemed to be well-liked by the towns people and possibly had the out-going personality the father lacked. He also provided good advertisement, as he made his way around the city wearing the fathers latest products. Francis grew up wearing the best and the most fashionable. It was good for business.

among the rich. They formed a reform movement about which there might be much to criticize. But little exists to imply they were swept up with wealth as a primary goal.

That background may explain why he became so specific when it came to writing his Rule and the role clothing would play. What the friars would wear might have had a meaning for him others might not notice. In both his earlier Rule of 1221 and the final Rule of 1223, he addresses early how the friars should dress in the second chapter. He writes in both Rules bluntly, Let the brothers wear poor clothing. In the first Rule he continues on, combining the promotion of doing good with wearing poor clothes. This joining is interesting. Here the clothing merchant seems to see the friars setting good example not only by their actions but also
Saint Anthony Shrine The Church on Arch Street

by the appearance of their clothing: Even though they may be called hypocrites, let them nevertheless not cease doing good nor seek expensive clothing in this world so that they may have a garment in the kingdom of heaven. Doing good and avoiding expensive clothing seem elevated to the same level. And how interesting, the clothing merchants son would envision eternity in terms of the garment one will wear.

Ever aware of the danger of the urge for power to creep in, Francis then makes a strong warning to friars that they not use their appearance of poverty as a leverage to boost themselves above people with different values. After instructing them to wear and patch poor clothing, he then adds: I admonish and exhort them not to look down upon or judge those whom they see dressed in soft and fine clothes and enjoying choicest food and drink, but rather let everyone judge and look down upon himself. The lives and appearance of the friars should convey good example but not lead to condescending judgments of others. It should be how they live and not the imposition of shame that should move people to look again at the message of the Gospels. Francis creates his own spiritual fashions but expects that outer show to be rooted in inner humility rather than arrogance. For friars to live outwardly their inner convictions, yes; but at the same time, to accept those who see things differently. The Gospels should be an invitation rather than a condemnation.

some degree respected them because he knew that some intelligence was required of those in business, while the feudal lords, inheritors of land and power, could be extremely stupid. Francis approaches his new life as a Friar Minor with truly great love for the Gospel, but also with the canniness of the merchant born. He realized that real practicality of Christian living, where nothing is wasted or undeservedly pursued. He recognized that the rise of the merchant and over time the decline of the feudal system provided the glimpse of freedom necessary to construct a system of justice and peace. The greedy entrepreneur misused that insight for private gain. The real Christian could revel in the openness provided by the realization that God is enough for us.

Francis' habit, even when patched, was made of sturdy cloth. After all, long lasting jeans can be made cheaply and Francis knew his cloth. His vision was of the traveling artisan who by his words or through the work of his hands could demonstrate that the life of poverty could be lived well and happily because the one who lived it completely could inspire those with possessions to be poor in spirit, and the wealthy who embrace the Beatitudes can be a great force for the good of all people.

Francis was comfortable in his poverty because he had known prosperity. If you are poor, you imagine the glory of riches; if you have been rich you are aware both of the powers and the problems of wealth. You cannot just have money, you have to take care to keep it. And that can be a full time job in the uncertainty that is the market. Francis never scorned the rich because he understood them and to
100 Arch Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 617.542.6440

In this Christmas season, it is fitting to talk about clothes. Clothes make the man is the claim of popular wisdom. What one wears, how one dresses is the theme of conversation and the material of much advertising. From rags to riches was the aim of many immigrants to the United States. Above all in our culture it is the sign of success when someone can boast a well designed and abundant wardrobe.

Response

So, Francis has much to teach us in this Christmas season. The one who gave us the crib at Greccio also gives us practical evidence of the possibility of the Christ in life. He condemns few; he invites all, following the footprints of Jesus, who Himself wore poor clothes, but a seamless garment so wonderfully made that the soldiers would not cut it up even in its bloody state. The Franciscan movement has survived, albeit imperfectly, because Francis' canniness is indestructible. Somehow even today Friars see the value of simplicity. The insight is there, not completely understood or realized, but giving to contemporary Franciscans an identity sensed within and acknowledged by many that is redolent of that insight so well described by Fr. Emeric. As our Christmas gift to our readers we give you our Father Francis who would have understood our age and would have called us, rich and poor, to the life in which all of us can employ our talents and our assets to the living of the Gospel, to the honor and glory of our loving God.

SAINT ANTHONY SHRINE & MINISTRY CENTER ~ All Are Welcome ~

Masses The Arch Street Band
SATURDAY AFTERNOON VIGIL MASSES ** Music

Second Floor Chapel 6:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. Following Masses ** Music 10:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m. 12:30 Noon 4:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. Second Floor Chapel
LEGAL HOLIDAY MASSES

4:00 p.m. ** 5:30 p.m. **

Second Floor Chapel

First Floor Chapel

4:15 p.m.

SUNDAY MASSES

6:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:45 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 1:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Second WednesdayAnointing Mass: time to be announced Third WednesdayDay of Remembrance Tuesdays: St. Anthony Devotions Wednesdays: Spanish Mass - 5:15 p.m. Thursdays: St. Jude Devotions MISA EN ESPAOL Cada mircoles a las 5:15 de la tarde
SATURDAY MASSES

Celebrated in Second Floor Chapel

WEEKDAY MASSES

Celebrated in First Floor Chapel Weekdays: 6:30 to 8:00 a.m.; 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday: 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Seasonal Communal Penance Service: (to be announced) Sunday: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Legal Holiday: 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. CONTACT US: Phone: 1-617-542-6440 Fax: 1-617-542-4225 Website: http://www.StAnthonyShrine.org Address: 100 Arch Street Downtown Crossing Boston, MA 02110

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

8:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

Celebrated in Second Floor Chapel 8:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 12:00 Noon Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (First Floor Chapel) Weekdays at 1:45 p.m. Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. Sundays at 1:00 p.m. Benediction (First Floor Chapel) Weekdays: 5:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays: 3:30 p.m. Vespers Sundays: 3:15 p.m.
EXECUTIVE STAFF

Holy Rosary of Mary Sundays: 2:45 p.m. Chaplet of Divine Mercy Sundays: 3:00 p.m.

Fr. Thomas Conway, OFM Executive Director TBD, OFM Assistant Executive Director of Ministries

MINISTRIES OF SAINT ANTHONY SHRINE WORSHIP/YOUR SPIRITUAL HOME RECONCILIATION MUSIC LAZARUS PROGRAM WELLNESS CENTER SAINT ANTHONY BREAD FOR THE POOR BREAD ON THE COMMON FRANCISCAN SPIRITUAL COMPANIONSHIP MINISTRY THE KIDS PROGRAM SENIORS ON ARCH STREET MYCHAL JUDGE CENTER FOR RECOVERY FRANCISCAN FOOD CENTER EVANGELIZATION GOOD WORD: (617) 542-0502 HISPANIC MINISTRY FRANCISCAN ADULT SCHOOL PIETA MINISTRY 20S/30S BOSTON COME HOME PROGRAM PRISON MINISTRY LGBT MINISTRY GRIEF MINISTRY
6 Saint Anthony Shrine The Church on Arch Street

Spirituality of the Readings

First Sunday of Advent A Reading I: Isaiah 2:1-5 Responsorial Psalm 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Reading II: Romans 13:11-14 Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

Wait A Bit

It is Advent now. We hope to quiet down during this time, and ponder our need for a savior. Look around the world and you will see plenty of reason to need one. Looking can be immensely disturbing. But let me tell a story that might show a different side of waiting. St. Louis has a custard stand that many people think of as the heart of the city even in this season. It is the place people gather on milder days. Its name is Ted Drewes.

Granted, it is not always easy. Traffic jams, grocery store lines, jammed busses, etc. Sometimes our minds are spinning with the many things we have left to do. Christmas is coming, after all Impatience rears its head. But what is the alternative?

Every evening, during pleasant days, hundreds, literally hundreds, of hungry folks gather outside the many serving windows of this old time frozen custard place, lingering in line for a chance at the tasty stuff in all its variations (concretes, Terra Mizzou [Mizzou, as in the nickname for Missouri] Cardinal Sin [for the St. Louis Cardinals], and so on). One evening I even saw a just-married couple pull up in a horse-drawn buggy, wearing their formal wedding clothes, and order frozen custard (with the obligatory pictures being snapped), and then go on to their honeymoon. Quite an important place.

ere is an idea. If we use our senses we will not need a hot fudge to make it worth our while to wait. In the present moment, as you read these words, hundreds of real and Godfilled objects are all about you. Did you ever really feel the texture of the steering wheel you grasp every day? How about letting in the colors of the trees? Maybe the people in other carsvisible to you in the traffic jamare real. There are times when we can stay in the present during Advent, instead of in the future or the past. Maybe we will find subtle and quiet beauty all about us. The present tense is still happening.

Advent is a time to focus a bit and realize that emptiness is a healthy and normal part of our lives. We will only be filled if we let emptiness have a home in us first. Strange to say, the waiting for fulfillment is also itself a fulfillment. It lets us be what we arenot God but human.
Fr. John Foley, S. J. Copyright 2009, The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

As Jesus says in the Gospel this Sunday, Therefore, stay awake!

You are invited to write a note to the author of this reflection: Fr. John Foley, S. J. (johnbfoley@yahoo.com)

The point? Our waiting during Advent does not have to be an agony. Jesus will be born, and in fact we know this for sure, since we have experienced him at Mass. In Advent we join each other not around frozen custard but around the peace and goodness that his birth will bring to our hearts and to our rapport with others. God turns our waiting into a social, prayerful event.
100 Arch Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 617.542.6440

What does this celebration have to do with Advent? Well, the funny thing is that no one in line at Ted Drewes is in a hurry. They talk, they enjoy the weather, they relish being in the place. People can cut into line and no one cares. The crowd seems to have turned waiting into a social affair, a time of patient anticipation, together.

SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES

Sunday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Friday: Saturday: First Sunday of Advent; World AIDS Awareness Day St. Francis Xavier St. John Damascene St. Nicholas; First Friday St. Ambrose; First Saturday; Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Is there someone you know who will be alone this Christmas? Invite them to be part of your Merry Christmas! Peace and all Good!
7

Join Us for A Day of Great Shopping & A Visit to LaSalette Shrine

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Tonys Travelers Day Trips with a Purpose

Upcoming Events

Like Stars on Earth, Sat., Dec. 14, 2013, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Cost: $5. 2nd fl. classroom

Inconvenient Film Series

9:00 a.m. - Leave St. Anthony Shrine 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Shop at Wrentham Outlets 1:00 p.m. - Sunday Brunch at The Tavern from Tower Square 2:00 p.m. - Leave for LaSalette Shrine 3:00 p.m. - Concert with Fr. Pat 4:00 p.m. - Mass 5:00 p.m. - Lights go on! 6:30 p.m. - Depart for St. Anthony Shrine 6:45 p.m. - Stop at Bliss Dairy for Ice Cream 8:00 p.m. - Arrive at St. Anthony Shrine All of this for only $50 per person!

Fill out form in lobby flyer and leave at front desk or contact Fr. Barry Langley, OFM at 617-542-6440, ext. 241 for more information about this program.

Ishaa Ishaan is an 8 year old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs, and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, grades and neatness. Ishaa just cannot seem to get anything right in class. When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to be disciplined. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaa has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. A new art teacher infects the students with joy and optimism and breaks all the rules of how things are done by asking them to think, dream and imagine. All the children respond with enthusiasm except Ishaa. The teacher soon realizes that Ishaa is unhappy and sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaa find himself.
Contact: Dr. Jackie Stewart, St. Anthony Shrine, 617542-6440, ext. 143 or email SAS.Evang@gmail.com. Offered by the Franciscan Adult School

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ON

ARCH STREET

A CONCERT OF LESSONS AND CAROLS

with The Arch Street Band and the Friars of St. Anthony Shrine Saturday, December 21, 7 PM Sunday, December 22, 2 PM
$10 tickets ($15 at the door)
Sponsorships welcome! $50 (Frankincense) $100 (Myrrh) $150 (Gold)

Budget Suggestion: Start your Pilgrimage Club, (If you start saving in December 2013, recommend saving $87/wk pp thru Dec. 2014). To get on our interest list, please contact Dr. Jackie Stewart, SAS.Evang@gmail.com or 617-542-6440, ext. 143. Offered by Franciscan Adult School

Not too early to Plan Ahead Join us on our 2015 Holy Land Pilgrimage! Leaders: Fr. Gene Pistacchio, OFM & Dr. Jackie Stewart (Dates & Costs TBA)

St. Anthony Shrine and Ministry Center

100 Arch Street Boston, MA 02110 (617) 542-6440

www.stanthonyshrine.org

FR. GENE IN CAVE AT SHEPHERDS FIELD, BETHLEHEM