1 Franciscan Way

Would the “Great Pumpkin” pick this patch as the most sincere? I think Linus would have thought so. Set in the country roads of Pennyslvania, Hazok Farms beckoned us away from our studies in order to see the “Great Pumpkin” with our own eyes. A week before Halloween, we student Sisters in Steubenville, Ohio enjoyed a day filled with the smell of fall leaves, funnel cakes, apple cider, and hay rides. We traveled the short distance on the tractor filled with hay to the pumpkin patch situated on the property of the farm. I echoed the words of Linus from It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown- “I don’t see how a pumpkin patch could be more sincere than this one!” Small kids were running around with their parents trying to find the perfect pumpkins. The Sisters entered the patch with great expectations to search for the pumpkins that fit our carving plans. What struck me about our trip was the simplicity and sincerity that came from a beautiful fall day, surrounded by families and festivit...

Last, but certainly not least!  You can now meet Jennifer!  It has been delayed due to some trouble in being able to upload Jennifer's picture.  Thanks for your patience. Hello, my name is Jennifer Clark. I'm 28 years old and I have one brother, Daniel, who is 19 years old. I was first introduced to this community by my pastor, Fr. Dan Gartland. I visited a few times, getting to know the Sisters. I was really drawn by the Sisters' joy and the community's charism "to make visible the merciful Love of Christ." Some of my favorite saints are St. John Bosco, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and St. Francis of Assisi.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis. As his spiritual daughters, we were all drawn for different reasons to follow his example in this way of life. Over the summer, I took an informal poll of what ONE word sisters would use to describe Francis. I received answers such as: joy, humility, simplicity, poverty, love, human, and even crazy. The word that comes to mind immediately when I recall all that I have learned about Francis through his writings and other sources is PASSION. The word passion carries with it a sense of totality, burning love and intensity that I think embodies St. Francis. St. Francis was a man who knew who he was and what he was about. He threw himself whole-heartedly into every task with reckless abandon. He did all things inflamed with a supernatural love of God. His deep love for God moved him to give all to Christ crucified, even if he looked a little crazy at times. He was a man who lived and loved the passion of Christ in such an intense manner that he r...