Canonical Establishment for Our Lady of the Pearl

E-mail from Sister Fidelis

July 14, 2008

St. Fidelis writes in an e-mail about Hurricane Katrina and the white deer. Sister is referring to the story of the Miracle of the White Deer by Patty and posted on this blog. Sister's e-mail has been added to her web page on our web Our Lady of the Pearl.

Dear Scribe.

I was evacuated to the Golden Age Home in Welsh as I could not reach the Monastery in New Orleans, thru the kindness of the Carmelite Sisters. The authorities there gave me access to a computer. By some unexplainable e-mail fluke I heard of the White Deer. I took it as sign from Francis that My Pearls were under his protection and I was greatly comforted!! I have tried to put this on my page but I need your help. My name is old English for deer. A deer is a hart.

I never lost hope and in amid our suffering it was a great Joy!

Love
Your Sister Fidelis

Canonical Establishment

After a long wait of almost ten years and a hurricane or so, Our Lady of the Pearl has been approved for canonical establishment. The date of our canonical establishment is set for August 23, 2008. It will be held at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Center, Pearlington, MS. Friends and family are invited.

St. Joseph Church was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina with only the steps remaining. The Center is towards the back of the grounds.

Archbishop Rodi Signs Official Documents for Canonical Establishment

The dream of Our Lady of the Pearl members for canonical establishment began before the first members were professed on October 17, 1999. This long and rigorous journey is coming to an end at last. Approval has been given by St. Teresa of Avila, our sponsoring fraternity in New Orleans, St. Joan of Arc Region and the Provincial Delegate of the OFM.

In the final step in the approval process for canonical establishment, members of Our Lady of Pearl met with Archbishop Thomas Rodi in Biloxi, Mississippi, on July 8, 2008. The Archbishop signed the official documents, also giving his approval. The canonical establishment and the Mass have been set for August 23rd.





Pictured above, sitting from left to right, Carol Heavey, SFO, Eileen Chapoton, SFO, Archbishop Thomas Rodi, and Bobbye Maggio, SFO. Standing from left to right, Bob Palmer, SFO, Ouida Tomlinson, SFO, Ann Seale, SFO, and Patty Palmer, SFO.

Miracle of the White Deer

by Patty O'Neil Palmer, SFO

I want to share a little miracle with all of you. It is a tiny part of the Katrina Stories we all experienced in 2005

On the afternoon of July 21, 2005, Bob and I were at home, at our farm. Outside of our bedroom window one can see our grotto of St. Francis. It was hot, as only the deep south can experience in July. I came inside to cool off and grab a short nap.

Bob woke me up. He was excited and told me to hurry and peek out the window. We both stood bewildered and dumbfounded at what we saw. There, in broad daylight, was a breathtaking snow-white doe, peacefully grazing near St.Francis. It wasn’t an albino because it had brown eyes.

I was not completely sure the deer was real. I’m still not. It was perfection in every way. Deer are never snow white. Wild deer never show themselves in the daytime, unless they are pets of some kind. Never, in 30 years, have deer been that close to my house. That was a Thursday.

On Saturday, July 23rd 2005, there was a Regional meeting. This meeting was special because national visitation was scheduled. I believe Father Loren Connell OFM attended. Much happened that day, so I am told. Our canonical establishment was delayed. We were heartbroken.

Yet the mystical, white deer continued to visit often, during the next days. We were overjoyed! Then, Bob and I briefly left the farm for a family reunion with his brothers. We returned mid-day August 27, 2005. You know the rest of the story. Katrina bore down on us all Monday, August 29, 2005.

Standing in the wreckage that was our home, I felt that nothing would ever be the same again. If I ever felt total despair, about my entire life, it was the last week of August 29, 2005.

Everything was gone. Our SFO community was scattered and homeless. My family, children and friends had to stay where they fled for safety. My home was uninhabitable. My daughter’s home was destroyed. Two sons were homeless. Grandchildren were in school in Alabama, not New Orleans. Bob had fallen from the roof, broken his leg and was helpless in a cast. Dear ones were reported dead or lost. It is the story we all share.

I never expected to see my mystery deer again. I was sure it probably perished in the storm. The deer, however, was seen again….luminous, white in its perfection. Yes, it was still alive. What Joy!

The day came when members of Our Lady of the Pearl were able to gather at Ann Seale`s to share our pain and receive strength from each other. This was the last time I saw the white deer.

Jeff felt it was the sign of new beginnings for the SFO. What I am sure of is that it was a miracle called hope sent to all from the lover, St. Francis and his best friend Jesus. This is why I need to share.

News of Our Canonical Establishment

We have learned that our Bishop has approved our canonical establishment. We are very grateful and are awaiting news of the next step.



The photos of the white deer are for Bob and Patty who have been blessed with visits of beautiful white deer on their farm.

H20 Project - Lent 2008

Congratulations to Eileen for her work with the H20 project and to Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis, MS! Eileen reports that Our Lady Academy raised $745.53 during the H2O project for Lent this year. The money will go this year to the Sister Water Project, a group of Franciscan nuns working with providing water in South America and Africa.

Bye Bye Commissions, Hello JPIC

At the October 2007 meeting of the National Fraternity Council, there was a decision to accept the recommendations of the ad hoc committee on the Commissions to restructure the Apostolic Commissions to one Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Committee.

The following is from the Proposal of the ad hoc committee on the Commissions, as revised and approved on October 5, 2007:

• “The structure of the Apostolic Commissions will cease in its current form. In its place will be a Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) team (up to 4 persons) with a keen awareness of Articles 14-19 of the SFO Rule and of the social issues before the USCCB.”

JPIC team members will be appointed by the National Executive Council. Regional fraternities are to collaborate with the JPIC team and information will be disseminated to the local fraternities by the Region.

For more information, to go to the Winter 2007 issue of TAU, pages 10-13, here. Also go to the Spring 2008 issue, page 23, here.

Monthly Meeting - March 11, 2008

Our monthly meeting was held on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 10:30, Little Francis House, Pearlington, Mississippi. We began with prayer from the Ritual, and our guests were welcomed.

We prayed the Liturgy of the Hours Morning Prayer and then joined hands to offer our petitions and prayers to God, for our friends and family and for ourselves.

Our homework to prepare for ongoing formation was to read chapter 9 in both books. John presented the teaching, which focused on our Franciscan way with Francis and Clare in Rainbow Too and Rule 13.

Brother Juniper spoke to us about the death of Lazarus. The Jews believe that up until the third day, the soul is still there. Christ was away four days and that was so he could prove that nothing is impossible with God. God can raise even the dead.

After formation we recessed for lunch and then reconvened for our business meeting.

Our minutes and treasurer's report were presented and approved along with the blog and website report.

Bobbye, Carol, John and Ouida attended the quarterly regional meeting in Baton Rouge on March 8th. Ouida gave a written report which is posted on Pearls On The River blog. Brother Juniper gave additional information on the spiritual assistant’s program.

Eileen has taken the H2O Project to the Catholic schools in Hancock County again for Lent.

Bobbye told us about our $210 gift to St. Vincent de Paul and how it was used to assistant a young mother and her one-year old child who had been living in her car for about two weeks. This young woman was working and had saved $350 but lacked sufficient funds to move into a trailer. Because of our donation, St. Vincent de Paul was able to assist her so that she and her child were no longer forced to live in the car.

We closed our meeting in prayer.

St. Joan of Arc Regional Meeting

March 8, 2008

Bobbye, Carol, John and Ouida journeyed to Baton Rouge to the quarterly regional meeting. The meeting opened with Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer.

For formation, we had an excellent teaching on the Beatitudes by Chuck and Dottie, and then broke into groups for sharing. The four of us formed a group with Sandy, Mitzi and Pat of Blessed Marianne Cope, Gautier, MS, and had a great discussion.

The Executive Council had a working lunch while the rest of us ventured forth to eat nearby. After lunch we had a business meeting, presided over by our Regional Minister, Jeff. Handouts for the regional handbook were presented and explained.

Information was announced on the annual retreat which is available on the Regional website at http://stjoanofarcregion.wordpress.com/ (also on our online newsletter, Pearls on the River). The silent auction and raffle also were discussed.

Jeff announced that the emerging fraternity of Our Lady of the Pearl, who has endured quite a bit, mentioning Hurricane Katrina, has been approved by Fr. Loren Connell, OFM, for canonical establishment. A date will be planned after the bishop’s approval and receipt of papers.

Jeff talked about prison ministry. He said that there is discussion about having a Friends of Francis program in which the men would go through formation but would not be professed. Our goal is not to make Franciscans of them but to evangelize.

Jeff then began reading from material from Our Lady of the Pearl website, “the Secular Franciscan Order is an order in the Church, but is not, properly speaking, a religious order . . . .” He gave kudos to Our Lady of the Pearl for their website. Martha also mentioned to the group that the website had a page on Sr. Fidelis which Ouida explained.

TAU – USA, page 16, spring issue, has information on the process and course to become a spiritual assistant. The book is Franciscan Family Connections and is available from Barbo-Carlson Enterprises (back page of TAU – USA). Approval for an individual would come from Fr. Loren. There is a program in California which our Region can model.

It was announced that one of our own, a Secular Franciscan, Franz Jägerstätter, was beatified on October 26, 2007. (See March 9, 2008, post on Our Lady’s Little Scribe blog.) Also, announced is the book by Bill Wicks, SFO, former national minister, on the history of the SFO from 1917 – to 1942. See recent TAU – USA for ordering information.

Sandy, Regional Formation Director, recently went to national formation training and brought back a formation manual which she plans to modify for our region so that each fraternity may have one. Dottie and Ouida volunteered to assist her with this.

We were dismissed with prayer and a blessing by Brother Juniper.

St. Joan of Arc Regional Retreat

June 13 - 15, 2008

St. Charles Retreat Center
2151 Sam Houston Jones Parkway

Moss Bluff, LA

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Fr. Richard Trezza, O.F.M.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Two nights and all meals

Starting Friday Night with Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Ending After Lunch on Sunday

Earliest Check-In Time - 2:00 p.m. Friday

CRAMERS & PEETERS

Shared accommodations - $102.00.
Private accommodations - $114.00.

KATHRINE DREXEL CENTER

Bunk beds - men & women sections - $82.00

Bath and bed linens povided.

Bring your own toiletries.

DAY ONLY ATTENDANTS
With Meals - $30

RSVP NO LATER THAN JUNE 3, 2008

Make checks payable to St. Joan of Arc Region

Adoration Rooms at Assumption Chapel and Drexel Center

Contact: Cherryle Fruge, SFO
Phone: 337-438-2720
E-mail: cherrylefruge@msn.com

Canonical Establishment

On February 26, 2008, Fr. Loren Connell, OFM, Provincial Spiritual Assistant, contacted Our Lady of the Pearl to give us the joyful news that we have been approved for canonical establishment. His approval and recommendation goes to the bishop of our diocese for his approval. This is our final step in this process.

Come, let us sing to the Lord

and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.

Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving

and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship,

bending the knee before the Lord, our maker,

For he is our God and we are his people,

the flock he shepherds.

Psalms 95:1-3, 6-7

Day of Recollection - February 12, 2008

Our day of recollection was held Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at The Pavilion, Waveland, MS. Brother Juniper Crouch, OFM, led us through a thought-provoking Lenten meditation on the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert and poverty, chastity and obedience.

Brother Juniper talked about Jesus’ refusal to turn stone into bread and the vow of poverty, his refusal to jump from the temple and the vow of chastity, and his refusal of the glories of the world and the vow of obedience. Brother Juniper reminded us that by renouncing ownership of things, we are not held by them any longer and that we should not put a holy and chaste God to the test as the Israelites did in the desert about providing food. God will supply our needs. God is God and he is the one we serve. Brother Juniper spoke of poverty and St. Francis in the manger scene with the baby Jesus and of the obedience of Jesus in the garden and St. Francis and the stigmata.

Everyone brought food to share, and we had a great lunch. We celebrated John’s and Ann’s birthdays with cake, song and angel gifts. We had a wonderful time sharing along with Brother Juniper’s teachings and time for prayer. The facilities at The Pavilion were lovely and greatly aided in a relaxing day. We give thanks to God for his blessings of the day, to Brother Juniper for leading us and Eileen for setting up our use of the facilities and other details for our day of recollection.

The Franciscan Way of Life and Its Purpose

by Br. William Short, OFM

It is all very well to have a theology, to develop a spirituality, and to have an impact on popular devotional life. But a spiritual tradition must do other things in order to survive and flourish within the Church. It must have a form of life, some system of relationships, structures and programs that help to translate the vision into lived experience, and to turn the lived experience constantly toward its founding vision.

The Franciscan “form” may be called the vita evangelica, the evangelical life, the Gospel life. That in itself would not seem to distinguish it from the ordinary life of dedication lived by any committed Christian. However, the reader may find, on closer analysis, that the specific meaning and interpretation of that term contains much that is distinctive.

First of all, Franciscans intend to live the whole Gospel. Again, this may not seem surprising. But in fact most traditions within the Church claim to live one facet, or a couple of important dimensions of the Gospel. For example, one group may intend to imitate the hidden life of Jesus, while another models itself on Jesus the preacher during his public ministry. A third may seek to model itself on the suffering of the Lord, and a fourth on the glory of Christ’s resurrection.

Franciscans have claimed from the very beginning that they wished to live every part of the Gospel, the “full Gospel.” This desire to include all the many parts of the Gospel within its life has led the Franciscan family, in its many branches, to live with paradox, even seeming contradiction. The following posts and blog articles will sketch some important features of the Franciscan way of life, showing how it includes many different parts of the “full Gospel.”

(Used with permission. Source: Franciscans)

Related Audio Course: St. Francis of Assisi: A New Way of Being Christian
Blog Author: Br. William Short

Gulf Pine Catholic Article 2-22-08

Saint Joan of Arc Blog

Great news! Our Region, Saint Joan of Arc Region, has a blog. The address is http://stjoanofarcregion.wordpress.com/.

Franciscan Bookstore on the Blog

I have set up Scribe Books, a Franciscan bookstore on Our Lady's Little Scribe blog, and show Franciscan books (mainly from my library) as recommendations. If a person wants to purchase, a click on the icon takes them to Aquinas and More Catholic Goods and directly to the page for the book where it may be purchased. Easy!!!!

Aquinas and More Catholic Goods is located in Colorado Springs, CO. The goal of the company is to assist in the rebuilding of a Catholic Culture in this country. The store carries thousands of products ranging from books and videos to chalices and church furnishings. The store was started by Ian Rutherford and is owned and run by his family and friends. Iran and his wife, Paula, have six children.

I have written them with about 15 other Franciscan book recommendations which I could not find on their site and requested that they stock them. If these become available, then I'll post the icons also.

The angel below is the icon for the bookstore. I searched for a female scribe image everywhere to use, but alas it seems that all scribes are male.

Let my prayer rise before you
as incense,
the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 141.2

All in God's Time

Submitted by Karen

Bobbye called me the other day to tell me about a young lady and her one year old child who had been living in her car for about 2 weeks. She was working and had been saving money to make a deposit and pay the rent for a trailer. She had saved $350 but lacked about $300 and applied to St. Vincent de Paul for assistance. Bobbye said normally they cannot help one person that much.

St. Vincent de Paul had a board meeting, and Bobbye remembered the $210 check I had just sent her to give them. It was in her purse, and she told the board about it. They were able to help this young lady and her one year old child, using the OLP check of $210. It allowed them to get into the trailer that night! Bobbye was so excited and wanted to share with us the great use for our check! She said it was fabulous that we sent the check when we did!

There are times that I chastise myself for not doing something in the time frame that I think I should. This demonstrates that all things are done in God's time......not mine. If the check had been sent any earlier or any later, this young lady and her child may not have been helped and who are we to say that those funds weren't especially meant for THEM!!!

We are so very blessed as a community.....hopefully we can do this more often!

Our Lady of the Pearl Day of Recollection

Our Lady of the Pearl Day of Recollection
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
9:30 a.m. - 3:oo p.m.
The Pavilion
Magnolia Lane
Waveland, MS

Directions: Hwy 90, to Nicholson Avenue,

take Nicholson to N. Central Avenue,

the street after the railroad tracks,
take a right, go one block, take first left.

Pavilion is on the right.

Covered Dish for lunch

Monthly Meeting - January 15, 2008

Our monthly meeting was held on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, at 10:30, Little Francis House, Pearlington, Mississippi. The meeting was called to order with prayer from the Ritual by Ann. Our guests, Brother Juniper, Sister Fidelis, and Martha were welcomed.

• Liturgy of the Hours and Intercessory Prayers. We prayed the Liturgy of the Hours Morning Prayer and then joined hands to offer our petitions and prayers to God, for our friends and family and for ourselves. Martha provided instruction on LOH.

• Ongoing Formation. Our homework to prepare for ongoing formation was to read chapter 8 in both books. Eileen presented the teaching, which focused on penance.

• Lunch. After formation we recessed for lunch and to celebrate Karen’s birthday. We reconvened for our business meeting.

• November and December Minutes. Our November and December minutes were presented by Ouida. A motion was made by Karen, seconded and passed that the minutes be approved as read.

• Treasurer’s Report. Karen reported our balance as of last month and then this month after income, donations and expenses. Donations were made to Amazon Relief Fund, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Clare Monastery.

• Blog and Web Report. Ouida reported that we have had 970 visitors on Our Lady of the Pearl website since it was published four months ago. Our blog has had 2422 visitors since it was published three months ago.

• Brother Juniper. Brother Juniper spoke to us about the baptism of Christ and that he immediately went into the desert with the gifts that he had received from the Holy Spirit. Likewise, we have work to be done and cannot stay in our rocking chairs too long. Christ did not stay in one place long. There is a time to rest and a time for work to be done.
  
  
• Sister Fidelis. Sister said that we should respect the body and take care of it. The body knows. It is going to be resurrected with us. God made it, and it is not evil. We are body, soul and spirit.
  
  
• Day of Recollection. We decided to have a day of recollection, presented by Brother Juniper on Tuesday, February 12, 2008, from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Pavilion on Magnolia Lane in Waveland, MS. We may invite others. Eileen is making the arrangements.
  
  
• Regional Retreat. St. Joan of Arc Regional Retreat will be at St. Charles Retreat Center in Moss Bluff, LA (Lake Charles), beginning Thursday, June 12 – Sunday noon, June 15. The retreat master will be Fr. Richard Trezza, OFM (known as a dynamic speaker). More information will be coming soon. Money for the retreat is to be sent to Thelma, Regional Treasurer.
  
  
• Donation for Raffle, Regional Retreat. Each fraternity is asked to provide a donation for the raffle which raises money to help defray expenses. Eileen volunteered to put together a basket.

• Regional Meeting. Ann, Ouida, Carol and John attended St. Joan of Arc regional meeting on Saturday, January 12th. The meeting was very good. While the council met in executive session, the others enjoyed a formation teaching, presented by Mary, SFO, Port Arthur, Texas. Other information on this meeting was provided in the form of a handout with the information coming from Martha’s newsletter.

• H2O Project. At the Regional Meeting a certificate was presented for Eileen, which had been made by the National Youth/Young Adult Commission, at the Secular Franciscan Order National meeting in October 2007. As a result of Eileen’s taking the H2O Project to the Catholic schools in Hancock County, $4,369.50 was raised during Lent and credited to St. Joan of Arc Region.

There being no further business, we closed in prayer.

National Recognition by Secular Franciscan Order

At its October 2007 annual meeting, the Secular Franciscan Order of the United States recognized Eileen Chapoton, SFO, of Diamondhead, Our Lady of the Pearl Secular Franciscan Fraternity in Pearlington, St. Stanislaus and Our Lady Academy in Bay St. Louis for raising $4,369.50 in donations for the Lenten 2007 H2O Project. This recognition was announced at the January 2008 meeting of St. Joan of Arc Region.

The H2O Project is a national Franciscan Youth fundraiser to help create clean water by drilling of clean water wells for those most in need. Preventable water related diseases kill one child every 15 seconds or 10,000 children every day. Money is raised by giving up purchase of beverages for two weeks, drinking only water, and contributing the money saved.

Eileen took the H20 Project to St. Stanislaus and Our Lady Academy in 2007. The students participating at these schools raised $4,369.50. Of this amount, $1,250 was designed to Mercy Ships and the remainder to the poor of the village of Cochabamba, Bolivia, South America. For more information, go to this website: http://www.franciscanyouthusa.com/ or write ourladypearl@bellsouth.net.