International Franciscan Conference of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular · IFC-TOR
International Franciscan Conference of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular · IFC-TOR
NEWS
Council LETTERS
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Pax et Bonum!
As we look at our world today, it is sometimes easy to forget that God is with us and it is even easier to lose hope. Yet this Holy Year of Jubilee encourages us to be “Pilgrims of Hope” and the Year of the 800th commemoration of the Canticle of Creation reminds us that we are called to be the countercultural signs of Gratitude, Hope and Joy today. In this Year of Jubilee, may the message of hope, given to us by the Resurrection inflame within us the burning desire to be Pilgrims of Hope to the world.
The year 2025 will be a year of challenges and blessings. Pope Francis calls us to be a “People of Hope” in this coming Jubilee Year, the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si reminds us of the challenge to renew the earth and the 800th anniversary of St. Francis writing the Canticle of Creation beckons us to recognize our oneness with all Creation. The Season of Advent brings a needed message of hope for the present world in which we live. People on every continent are waiting again for someone to bring sanity to a world that seems to have gone wild with hatred, individuality and greed. Nations at war with each other and within themselves, disasters bringing devastation by fire and floods, nature crying out to be saved, all these things prey on our minds and form our intercessions in prayer as we await a time of peace and justice to reign.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, Pace e Bene!
Happy Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis! This Feast, for many of us in the Franciscan Family, signals the beginning of preparation for the Feast Day of our brother, St Francis. In this special year during which we remember the 800th anniversary of St. Francis receiving the Stigmata at LaVerna, we celebrate this reminder of how great the love of Francis was for Christ and how great the love of Christ was for St. Francis.