Walls to Protect or Walls to Divide?
Walls to Protect or Walls to Divide? by friar Rijo Mulavarickal Polachan, OFM Conv. I am friar Rijo. I grew up in Kerala, India, and I now serve with the friars in El Paso, Texas. When I think of my childhood, I remember simple and joyful days. On weekends, my…
Unarmed and Disarming Witnesses
Unarmed and Disarming Witnesses by friar Kole Resler, OFM Conv. I am friar Kole Resler, a novice and still a beginner in Franciscan religious life. The novitiate is a year set apart for prayer, discernment, and deepening my love for God and for the Franciscan way of life. But this…
Formed for Peace, Formed for Fraternity
Formed for Peace, Formed for Fraternity by friar Andrew Angatia, OFM Conv. My name is friar Andrew Angatia, OFM Conv., from the Province of St. Francis of Assisi in Kenya. I am currently in my third year of philosophy studies at St. Bonaventure University in Lusaka, Zambia, and will soon…
A Spirit That Still Speaks
A Spirit That Still Speaks by friar Valentine M. Jankowski, OFM Conv. May the Lord Jesus bless you with his peace. I write from Holy Cross Friary in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, where I am grateful to continue serving in ministry. I am now 91 years old, and I have…
Building Bridges Where the World Raises Boundaries
Building Bridges Where the World Raises Boundaries by friar Tumaku Yao Clement, OFM Conv. I am friar Tumaku Yao Clement of the Conventual Franciscans in Ghana, Africa. I was born into a family of six siblings: five brothers and one sister, and we were blessed with parents who nurtured Gospel…
May We All Be Franciscan
May We All Be Franciscan by friar Marcos Quesada Navarro, OFM Conv. I am a Conventual Franciscan friar from Costa Rica and a member of the Custody of Mary, Mother of Mercy, within the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. I also teach Franciscan theology in Rome, a ministry that…
A Friar on the Border
A Friar on the Border by friar Joseph Bach, OFM Conv. I am a Conventual Franciscan Friar; but not first by habit, not first by title, not first by the grey cloth that brushes desert dust. I am Brother. Brother to the migrant mother carrying fear in one hand and…
The Long Loneliness
The Long Loneliness By friar Vincent Petersen, OFM Conv. To champion the cause of justice and peace is to accept a risk the prophets knew well: to be dismissed, avoided, and misunderstood. When one speaks on behalf of the marginalized, the poor, and the disenfranchised, the cost can include loneliness.…