Friar Suppliers

Posted By admin on January 2, 2012

Well I can’t believe that in 12 days we will be leaving for Haiti! There will be 25 Missionary’s going on this trip. The details have been enormous on this trip. I don’t know why. You would think that after all these years of me doing this I’d have it down to a science. The amount of people helping on this trip is amazing. I need to thank the Barrett Family for going above and beyond. Katie and Erin took on the job of setting up for us a mailing list just for Haiti donors. Sounds like a small job but when you figure that they had to type over 600 names into their computer and then figure out if there were duplicates and then delete them and only save the current names so that the list would be accurate. Dave Barrett oversaw the whole project and made sure that they did a GREAT JOB! Thanks Katie, Erin and Dave I don’t know what I would have done without you!

On December 2 I went to St Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers for the taping of the Fr Benedicts TV show. Br Crispin who went on last year’s trip joined me. Father Benedict was real pleased with our work last year and this year he gave us a HUGE PLUG on the air. The show will air on Sunday January 8, 2012 at 7pm. So check your station for the correct channel. The only disappointing part was that it is airing 4 days before we leave. His audience last year was very generous so this year I know donations will come in but it won’t be until the time we are in Haiti.

Our nurses have been counting medicines and repackaging drugs so that they are easier to dispense during the trip. Pat Mctigue who is the senior Nurse for this trip is overseeing it. We have 3 Doctors and 7 nurses and nurse Practioners along with Sr Ann Kateri and Sr Guadalupe.

In the Construction crew we have all of last years guys plus 2 new ones. All are working so hard to make this years trip a success. Fr Herald Brock will be the senior CFR Priest, Br Crispin, Br Pierre Toussaint and Br John Mary will also be on our trip. Leslie Small will be coming again. Leslie was our “ANGEL” back in 2010 after the earthquake. He did the welding work. Thanks Leslie for joining us.

I want to thank all who have taken our monthly challenges and have been sending us checks for the trip. Every one of you has made a difference! As I think about the trip I think about life without a bathroom! Building the bathrooms is actually a two-fold process. Since the earthquake Cholera has been found in some parts of Haiti. For a while it was spreading and killing many Haitians. In the town that we serve, Carrefour, the cholera has not been a huge problem. Cholera is an air-born disease. Proper sanitation can help reduce the spread of Cholera. That’s why we are building the bathrooms. To see a picture of the bathrooms < outhouses> go to our website to see the pictures. It will be under the January 2012 Haiti letter.

If you have not helped us yet I ask you to PLEASE don’t hesitate and send us your check immediately. No one deserves to live like a Haitian. You know that I can make your money go a long way. We have no overhead. All the money raised goes straight for the project. A very generous family even sponsored all the air fare money for the Friars and Sisters. Each Missionary going on the trip is helping.

Please pray for us! Ask your Family and friends to help us financially so that the trip is a success. Please keep my wife Joan in your prayers while I’m in Haiti. If it wasn’t for her I would not be going. She is watching over our store while I’m there.

If you have any questions please call me at 631-226-0015

Yours truly in Christ Name,

CHARLIE MORAN

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Posted By admin on January 1, 2012

Dear Friars, Sisters, and Friar Suppliers:

Peace be with you!  And with your spirit!

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful season of Christmas with your family and friends in good health of mind, body, and soul.

Here we are, ready or not, to begin a new year.   Our Holy Father has proclaimed this new year of 2012 as a year of “faith”.  Faith is so precious that it is considered a gift from God.  Infused in our souls at baptism, faith requires an action on our part.  As with all virtues, we have to use our God- given free wills to accept faith and to develop it, nurture it, and keep it going.  Left unattended, it is like a lamp that runs out of oil.

Faith does not come from reason.  We can never prove the existence of God or any truth of our faith.  Faith comes from trust.  Trust comes from experience.  An infant learns that when she cries, her mother feeds her.  A child will jump out a window of a burning building into the darkness and into his father’s arms because he hears his father and trusts that Dad will catch him.  Children have faith in their parents because they have learned to trust in their parents from the experiences they have had which are consistent and never failing.   The same goes with our relationship with God.  Our trust in God comes from our experience of knowing His constant and never-failing love for us.  This is why we call it a “gift from God.” We have faith in those whom we trust.  The more we trust God, the greater our faith.  The more we experience God’s consistent and unfailing love, the greater our trust, which will increase our faith.

Many people lack faith because they are not aware of this consistent and never-failing loving presence of God in their lives.  They live their lives in the pursuit of happiness, rather than in the pursuit of the source of happiness, that being the one who gave them life in the first place.

Great faith comes from great trust.  Great trust comes from the awareness of the presence of a loving creator.  In 2012, dear Friar Suppliers; seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

In just a few more days on January 10^th, my husband, Charlie, and 5 others will be off to Haiti to make the final preparations for a mission trip which will begin when the other 20 arrive on January 12^th.  There are 6 Friars, 2 sisters, 7 nurses, 3 doctors, and 10 carpenters who are going.  Each person contributing a minimum of $2,000 for this trip which barely covers the cost for their food, lodging, transportation, security and translators.  All the money for the building supplies, medical supplies, medicine, food for the poor, and salaries for the Haitian workers come from donations from family, friends of the people going, Friar Suppliers, churches, organizations and other contributors through the efforts of everyone fund-raising.

For the past three months, I have been listening to and observing all the preparations that are going on: e-mails (back and forth), shopping, begging, fundraising, and shipping of medicine and provisions to Haiti.  Mission trips do not just happen; there is a lot to consider and a lot of preparation and organization that goes into them.

On January 8^th, on EWTN at 7 pm, Charlie and Br. Crispin will be on Fr. Groeschel’s, Sunday Night Prime program (Channels:  Cable: 135, DISH: 261, Direct: 370, Verizon: 285.  You can go on the computer to EWTN’s channel guide for more information.)  I am sure you will want to watch this on your TV or computer.  You will hear Charlie and Br. Crispin describe their experience in Haiti and detail their plans for this trip.

Please pray for our missionaries while they are in Haiti from January 10-19.  Pray for their safety and for their success in helping the people in Haiti while they are there.  They will be treating the sick, feeding the hungry, and building at least 100 sanitation facilities (outhouses) in the community where there is no sanitation, no running water, and no electric.  Please help us with your prayers and financial donations which are so needed.  Charlie needs to raise $80,000 for this trip.  So far he has raised about $30,000.  Please help us in any way you can.

Our monthly work of shopping for food for the Friars and Sisters continues to be a great help to the CFR community.  Many of the OLPH Confirmandi students are doing their service hours each month by helping with food packing and the mailing of our newsletters, and by running “food drives” in the neighborhood for the poor that the CFR’s provide for.  It is amazing how many people help as Friar Suppliers!  We thank God for all of you!  You are always in our prayers!  Thank you so much!  So much!

Next month we will be able to tell you all about the trip to Haiti.  It is so exciting!   Do you feel the same excitement and anticipation that we do? You are all so much apart of it, even if you can’t go.  I never get to go, but I get just as excited as everyone else.  The anticipation is exciting! Helping the poor is so much fun and so rewarding. We can all be missionaries!!!

Our next food-packing day will be Saturday, January  7^th, from 10 am – 12 noon.  Please remember to call if you plan to attend.

Please remember to write your checks out to:

“Friar Suppliers” and mail them only to:

Friar Suppliers

108 No. Greene Avenue

Lindenhurst, NY  11757-4153

Please remember to send in your prayer request card along with your January donation by January 15^th, 2012.

We wish you and your family, a Blessed, Happy, and Healthy New Year!

Jesus, we trust in you,

Joan & Charlie Moran

Eileen & Rich Garbe

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Posted By admin on December 2, 2011

Earthquake- Hurricane- Cholera- and the January Trip

Im sure that you are all aware of what is going on in Haiti. It seems to get worse as each month goes by. In the days leading up to the Hurricane that hit Haiti I spoke with Fr Leandre twice. He was so worried because he didn’t have a place to hold ALL of his parishioners. He was worried about how much rainfall he was going to get and what was he going to do if more damage was done to his Church. I just let him talk and then said to him that Friar Suppliers would be back in January and that we would help in any way we could. Father immediately relaxed. I know that his order prays for all the Friar Suppliers every night. Father knows that you do not give of your excess but that you give of what you need to live on. He is very much aware that we are not millionaires, but that we are middle class Americans that care very much about his Community and his parishioners. After the hurricane he called to say that it was not as bad as he thought it was going to be and that he had no damage to the Church at all. The problem he did have was that the water was 3 feet deep in most of the village!!! As an American we would be screaming with 3 inches of water in our house. Can you imagine 3 feet of water? Most of the houses in Fathers villages have blue tarps. A lot of those tore in half. Some could not be found because of the 60 mile an hour winds. He said his Church was full of people during the storm. They were all in there to pray that they would be safe. And yes God answered their prayer and everyone in Fathers village was ok. Their houses are a different story.

Our trip from January 13-20 2011 has had so many God stories I could not remember them all. As of today we have 27 people going on the trip. 6 CFR Priest, Brothers and Sisters, 2 Doctors and 8 RN’s and 11 men to help rebuild the houses.

In fact of the 3 men that are coming on the trip I actually met 3 of them on my visit to see my daughter Grace while in Austria. I find myself always trying to help Friar Suppliers so while on the trip I told everyone on the trip <15 families were there> about our June 2011 trip. It was amazing that all 3 men coming, Alan, Bernie and Greg all asked me on the same day if they could come. The best of all is that they all have some sort of carpenter skills. I could not have asked for any more! Even when they asked me I gave them each a series of questions to see if they would fit in within the guidelines’ that I have set up to go on a trip like this. Each one answered all my questions successfully enough to come on the trip.

In order to make this trip successful I need help from everyone. All of the men and women coming on the trip have to do some sort of fundraising. I’m finding it harder and harder to get it all done myself. This trip has a very high budget because of the cost of the medicine that we have to purchase and because of the number of homes that need repair. My goal is to raise $60,000.00. I know that that is a huge amount of money but I think it is attainable.

In talking to Father I realize that we might not be able to fix all the houses in his village. He estimates that we can do about 4-5 house a day. Each house needs about 20 pieces of sheet metal, at $9.00US each plus we need to build a frame to mount it to. Total cost per house is $210.00+-. He said that some houses will need some concrete work but he said that is real cheap. In addition to fixing the houses I will also do a food handout sometime during the week. It’s what Friar Suppliers is all about so doing a food handout just seems natural. In June we did one and it was done very orderly. We had people sign up for it. After we handed the food out to all of those on the list then we gave food to every else on the ever growing line. By the grace of God we fed everyone on the line something. No body left without food. It was like the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Everyone that was handing out food could not believe that we had enough. God is so good!!

I would like to thank each of you who accepted my November challenge and sent to Friar Suppliers what you would spend on a dessert for Thanksgiving. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

For December I would like to focus on what it would be like if you lived in a house without a roof. Can you imagine trying to sleep under the skies each night because your home has no roof? Now try and imagine what it would be like to sleep with a tarp on your roof, which leaks! Now picture being in that same house with a tarp that leaks during a hurricane! I’m sure that’s unimaginable. I know for myself it is. Could you help us by paying for a house to be re-roofed or for any portion of one? My biggest fear is that while I’m there that I’m going to have to tell some poor people that I can’t fix their house because I ran out of money. I currently have Father counting the number of homes in his little village with how many pieces of sheet metal each one needs. I’ll have that info by your next letter. But for know we can all focus on Christmas. Can you imagine how it was for Christ to be born in a manger under the sky? That’s how Haitian’s are living 2000 years later! I really need your help!

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Posted By admin on December 2, 2011

Dear Friars, Sisters, and Friar Suppliers:

Come let us adore Him!

As we approach yet another Christmas, we begin again to meditate on the birth of Jesus and prepare ourselves during Advent to make room for Him in our hearts and souls.  Maybe there are areas inside of us where we silently keep doors locked, refusing to let Him in.  Joseph and Mary could find no room in Bethlehem.  If they knocked on the door of your soul, would you have a room ready for Him?  Would it be a room fit for a king?

In order to welcome Jesus, says St. Louis De Montefort, we must go to his mother, Mary.  St. Louis teaches us in his book, True Devotion,

Mary is God’s masterpiece whose full splendor He has reserved for himself.…  She is the sealed fountain, the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit.  She is the sanctuary, the resting place of the Trinity.  God dwells in her more wonderfully, more divinely, than anywhere else in the universe, including the regions occupied by the angelic hosts.  She is the magnificence of God! (Chapter I)

Therefore, the more a soul is consecrated to Mary, the more it is consecrated to Jesus. (Chapter VIII)

St. Louis quotes St. Augustine by saying that “all the chosen ones are hidden in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, during this life, to be made into the image of the son of God.  (Chapter II)

Year after year, advent after advent perhaps you seek Jesus and feel like you barely find Him.

St. Louis assures us, “If Mary, the tree of life, is well tended in your soul, she will bear her fruit in due time.  And this fruit is Jesus.” (Chapter XIV)

It is the Incarnation of the Word, Jesus, in the womb of Mary that is called the ‘Chamber of the secrets of God’.  The womb of Mary is the throne of His mercy toward us because one cannot see Jesus, nor speak to him, nor come near Him except through the mediation of Mary.  Jesus, who always listens to His mother, always grants through her, His grace and His mercy to us sinners.  Here, in the womb of Mary, our Lord reigns in majesty.  (Chapter XV)

During this Advent, meditate on the Incarnation, the mystery of Jesus in the womb of Mary.  Consider the absolute dependency in which the second person of the Trinity placed himself.  Mary gave Him His body.  She nursed Him, changed His diapers, brought Him up and she sacrificed Him for us.  St. Louis says, “Jesus gave more glory to His Father by submitting to His mother for thirty years than He would have given Him by working the greatest miracles and converting the whole world!”  “What great glory we give God, when to please Him and to imitate Jesus, we too, submit to Mary!” (Chapter XV)

This Advent, dear Friar Suppliers, invite Mary into your heart and soul and allow Her to give birth to Her son, Jesus, this Christmas.

It is very difficult to spend time in prayer and meditation during the Advent season as the pace begins to quicken and the Christmas celebrations ,

shopping, cooking, wrapping, and decorating begin to make us almost crazy with all the distractions and things we have to do.  It becomes a “joyful juggling” act for most of us.  Every year, I watch the Friars and Sisters turn this busy season into a ministry of love as they hand out hundreds of turkeys and food to the poor in NYC and tend to the needs of the homeless.  Every person who receives food, receives a blessing of love as well.

Turkeys and food are handed out at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The Friars host Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas for the Padre Pio Shelter and St. Anthony’s residences for homeless men.  The sisters host Turkey dinners at their soup kitchen at Our Lady Queen of Angels.  Another Thanksgiving dinner is hosted at St. Joseph’s in Harlem by the Friars.  Also, a Christmas play is performed and gifts are collected and distributed for the children in the area through the “Youth for Christ” program the Friars run in the Bronx.

December 3^rd – at Old St. Pat’s in NYC, the Friars and Sisters participate in Mass and Rosary for the Pro-Life and witness at the local Planned Parenthood.

December 3^rd – Catholic Underground in NYC Praise and worship before Our Lord in Adoration.  Come and Praise God!

All this takes hours of preparation and hard work.  Every December, the Friars and Sisters perform a “live Nativity” on the street in the Bronx.  Christmas caroles, hot chocolate, and warm hugs go around to everyone who comes.  This is Christmas joy!  All are welcome to attend, Saturday, December 17^th, @ 2 pm in front of St. Adelbert’s, 420 East 156^th Street, Bronx.  Wear your mittens!

As the year comes to a close, we look back on 2011 with grateful hearts for all of our dear Friar Suppliers.  Each of you is gift from God.  We are very grateful for all of your donations each month and for all the many volunteers who help with bookkeeping, typing, loading and unloading the van, food packing, newsletter assembling, and host container collecting, all of your enthusiasm and encouragement is what keeps us going.

Thank you, too, for the freezers and refrigerators you sent our way this year.

Hopefully we will not be needing anymore for a while.

Please try to be as generous as you can in your December donations so that we can make sure the Friars and Sisters have plenty of good food for the Christmas season.

This new year of 2012, is the 25^th Anniversary of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal.  Enclosed in this letter is a prayer for vocations.  We ask each of you to pray every day during 2012 for an increase in vocations to the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of Renewal.  They always faithfully pray for Friar Supplier intentions.  Let us storm heaven for more vocations.

Looking forward to January 10^th, as we prepare for another mission trip to Haiti.  Charlie has much to tell you in his letter.  Please consider making a donation for the very poor in Haiti.  Know that when you give to one of our mission trips in Haiti, the money goes straight to helping the poor in Carrefour.  The volunteers, who go, pay their own way and fundraise as well.  So every penny given, benefits Haitians’ immediate needs.

Please remember to write your checks out to:

“Friar Suppliers” and mail them only to:

Friar Suppliers

108 No. Greene Avenue

Lindenhurst, NY  11757-4153

Please remember to send in your prayer request card along with your December donation by December 15^th.

Our next food-packing day will be Saturday, December 10th, from 10 am – 12 noon.  Please remember to call if you plan to attend.

As St. Nick would say –

Merry Christmas to all

and to all a good night!

(and remember to pray daily for vocations to C.F.R.’s)

Jesus, we trust in you,

Joan & Charlie Moran

Eileen & Rich Garbe

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2011

Dear Friars, Sisters, and Friar Suppliers:

Come let us adore Him!

As we approach yet another Christmas, we begin again to meditate on the birth of Jesus and prepare ourselves during Advent to make room for Him in our hearts and souls.  Maybe there are areas inside of us where we silently keep doors locked, refusing to let Him in.  Joseph and Mary could find no room in Bethlehem.  If they knocked on the door of your soul, would you have a room ready for Him?  Would it be a room fit for a king?

In order to welcome Jesus, says St. Louis De Montefort, we must go to his mother, Mary.  St. Louis teaches us in his book, True Devotion,

Mary is God’s masterpiece whose full splendor He has reserved for himself.…  She is the sealed fountain, the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit.  She is the sanctuary, the resting place of the Trinity.  God dwells in her more wonderfully, more divinely, than anywhere else in the universe, including the regions occupied by the angelic hosts.  She is the magnificence of God! (Chapter I)

Therefore, the more a soul is consecrated to Mary, the more it is consecrated to Jesus. (Chapter VIII)

St. Louis quotes St. Augustine by saying that “all the chosen ones are hidden in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, during this life, to be made into the image of the son of God.  (Chapter II)

Year after year, advent after advent perhaps you seek Jesus and feel like you barely find Him.

St. Louis assures us, “If Mary, the tree of life, is well tended in your soul, she will bear her fruit in due time.  And this fruit is Jesus.” (Chapter XIV)

It is the Incarnation of the Word, Jesus, in the womb of Mary that is called the ‘Chamber of the secrets of God’.  The womb of Mary is the throne of His mercy toward us because one cannot see Jesus, nor speak to him, nor come near Him except through the mediation of Mary.  Jesus, who always listens to His mother, always grants through her, His grace and His mercy to us sinners.  Here, in the womb of Mary, our Lord reigns in majesty.  (Chapter XV)

During this Advent, meditate on the Incarnation, the mystery of Jesus in the womb of Mary.  Consider the absolute dependency in which the second person of the Trinity placed himself.  Mary gave Him His body.  She nursed Him, changed His diapers, brought Him up and she sacrificed Him for us.  St. Louis says, “Jesus gave more glory to His Father by submitting to His mother for thirty years than He would have given Him by working the greatest miracles and converting the whole world!”  “What great glory we give God, when to please Him and to imitate Jesus, we too, submit to Mary!” (Chapter XV)

This Advent, dear Friar Suppliers, invite Mary into your heart and soul and allow Her to give birth to Her son, Jesus, this Christmas.

It is very difficult to spend time in prayer and meditation during the Advent season as the pace begins to quicken and the Christmas celebrations,

shopping, cooking, wrapping, and decorating begin to make us almost crazy with all the distractions and things we have to do.  It becomes a “joyful juggling” act for most of us.  Every year, I watch the Friars and Sisters turn this busy season into a ministry of love as they hand out hundreds of turkeys and food to the poor in NYC and tend to the needs of the homeless.  Every person who receives food, receives a blessing of love as well.

Turkeys and food are handed out at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The Friars host Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas for the Padre Pio Shelter and St. Anthony’s residences for homeless men.  The sisters host Turkey dinners at their soup kitchen at Our Lady Queen of Angels.  Another Thanksgiving dinner is hosted at St. Joseph’s in Harlem by the Friars.  Also, a Christmas play is performed and gifts are collected and distributed for the children in the area through the “Youth for Christ” program the Friars run in the Bronx.

December 3^rd – at Old St. Pat’s in NYC, the Friars and Sisters participate in Mass and Rosary for the Pro-Life and witness at the local Planned Parenthood.

December 3^rd – Catholic Underground in NYC Praise and worship before Our Lord in Adoration.  Come and Praise God!

All this takes hours of preparation and hard work.  Every December, the Friars and Sisters perform a “live Nativity” on the street in the Bronx.  Christmas caroles, hot chocolate, and warm hugs go around to everyone who comes.  This is Christmas joy!  All are welcome to attend, Saturday, December 17^th, @ 2 pm in front of St. Adelbert’s, 420 East 156^th Street, Bronx.  Wear your mittens!

As the year comes to a close, we look back on 2011 with grateful hearts for all of our dear Friar Suppliers.  Each of you is gift from God.  We are very grateful for all of your donations each month and for all the many volunteers who help with bookkeeping, typing, loading and unloading the van, food packing, newsletter assembling, and host container collecting, all of your enthusiasm and encouragement is what keeps us going.

Thank you, too, for the freezers and refrigerators you sent our way this year.

Hopefully we will not be needing anymore for a while.

Please try to be as generous as you can in your December donations so that we can make sure the Friars and Sisters have plenty of good food for the Christmas season.

This new year of 2012, is the 25^th Anniversary of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal.  Enclosed in this letter is a prayer for vocations.  We ask each of you to pray every day during 2012 for an increase in vocations to the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of Renewal.  They always faithfully pray for Friar Supplier intentions.  Let us storm heaven for more vocations.

Looking forward to January 10^th, as we prepare for another mission trip to Haiti.  Charlie has much to tell you in his letter.  Please consider making a donation for the very poor in Haiti.  Know that when you give to one of our mission trips in Haiti, the money goes straight to helping the poor in Carrefour.  The volunteers, who go, pay their own way and fundraise as well.  So every penny given, benefits Haitians’ immediate needs.

Please remember to write your checks out to:

“Friar Suppliers” and mail them only to:

Friar Suppliers

108 No. Greene Avenue

Lindenhurst, NY  11757-4153

Please remember to send in your prayer request card along with your December donation by December 15^th.

Our next food-packing day will be Saturday, December 10th, from 10 am – 12 noon.  Please remember to call if you plan to attend.

As St. Nick would say –

Merry Christmas to all

and to all a good night!

(and remember to pray daily for vocations to C.F.R.’s)

Jesus, we trust in you,

Joan & Charlie Moran

Eileen & Rich Garbe

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Posted By admin on November 15, 2011

Haiti January 12-19, 2012

Well as the fall sets in it is time for Friar Suppliers to start planning our Annual Trip to Haiti.

It will be very similar to last year’s trip. I have spent the last 2 months reviewing the notes that I had taken as to how we could make this a better and more productive trip. As most of you know Im a pretty organized person but there is always room for improvement. I stay in contact with our 3 translators and Fr Leandre weekly if not more. They always have a “wish list” but don’t we all! The only thing that differs is that their list usually has absolute necessities on it such as food medicine and clothes. As Friar Suppliers I must say that you always surprise me and we usually are able to help. If you remember during August we shipped down 1800 lbs of rice and beans each week. On October 5 I got a phone call from Father Leandre that on the previous Thursday he had received 12 barrels and that today, October 5 that he got another 30 barrels all filled with food. He was crying because he was so happy!! Then he called me again on October 9 to tell me that the 8 barrels filled with school supplies had arrived. Our timing was perfect because school starts October18. That gives him 9 days to sort out the barrels. He will need that much time. Anyone that has helped me pack the barrels know that I leave very little room in the barrels even for air!! My barrels typically weigh in at 350 – 375 lbs!

Our January trip will again be 2 fold. It will be a medical mission and a carpenter mission. As always we will be doing a huge food handout. If you remember those people in our DVD that needed food, I would like to give EACH PERSON 25 lbs of rice and 25 lbs of beans! Can you imagine them balancing that on their heads! I am currently working on the price to see if it is do able and what would it cost. In the DVD there were 468 people!

Our Medical team has increased with skilled NP, RN’s and we have another Doctor coming. These additional people will allow us to treat more people in a shorter period of time. Last year we had a Haitian Nurse named Ann Marie that came and helped. Because she is a nurse and speaks Creole she is a big help in the Clinic. The first time she helped was 2 years ago and she was on the quiet side. Now after helping our nurses 3x she is very relaxed she knows what is expected of her and helps our clinic operate more smoothly.

We have heard that there is a food called Medica Mamba that we can give out to our patients. It is used for children who suffer from malnutrition. Next month we will have an article all about it. It is very very affordable and is very nutrition. Best of all it is actually made in Haiti. So not only would we be benefitting the Haitian people we would also be helping there economy. Over the last 2 years I have been trying to “Buy Haitian” whenever it is financially feasonable

Again we will be repairing the Homes. Last year we rebuilt 81 homes and anyone that lived in a tent we built a home for them. I would like to do the same amount if not more. We are still looking for able body men who are handy with a hammer. This trip changes your life. It shows you how the poorest of the poor live. What did they do to deserve to have to live like this. In Haiti there is NO Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Government run pension plans. 80% of the country is unemployed. Most Haitian try and work. If they do work they do not make more than $5.00 per day. They are always on the brink of starvation. They own very little property. Last year when we were moving Rosalie < they lady with no legs> from her tent to the new home that Friar Suppliers built for her she was able to pack all of her stuff into 1 sheet in about 10 minutes. We made a difference in her life and I hope that we can make a difference other peoples lives.

But of course in order for Friar Suppliers to do this, I need to ask if you can sacrifice again. If you could look over your budget for the next 3 months and try help us that would be great. By next month I will have the exact amount of money that we need for each one of our projects. To me it always seems like so much money but Mother Theresa said that God has plenty of money. And Friar Suppliers has proved over the last few years that you definitely care about Gods poor.

I can tell you that each month you amaze me. As the food list goes up so does the price at the stores. But because of your generosity we have never had to say no to the Friars or Sisters for any of there needs.

Maybe at Thanksgiving you could do with one less dessert or one less vegetable. With that savings you could send us a check to put towards the trip. No amount is to small. One family who came to the Friar Supplier picnic brought to me an envelope with coins and bills and asked me to use it for some poor kids in Haiti. She had done chores around the house and for other people and they paid her. I thought that that was such a beautiful thing to do. She was only about 6 years old. Here she was at 6 already trying to feed the hungry. How about taking your loose change and putting it in a bottle and then sending that to us. If you smoke, could you do with 1 less pack a cigarettes a month?? Or a week?? I really need your help again. I still have copies of last years trip. If you never watched the DVD, lost the DVD or would like another copy just call me at 631-226-0015. Maybe you could ask your Pastor if I could come talk at your Parish about our trip. I need every ones help, I do not do this for myself but for the poor of Haiti. God calls us to feed his poor, clothe his naked and heal the sick. With Friar Suppliers you are helping us do all of these things. If you have any suggestions for me, or if you would like to come on the trip please call me.

Yours in Christ name,

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Posted By admin on November 1, 2011

Dear Friars, Sisters, and Friar Suppliers:

Great are your works, O Lord!

I usually go to my little Magnificat prayer book, say a little prayer and ask the Lord to give me an idea to write a few words of inspiration to all of you.  My prayer and search lead me to contemplate the word “communion.”  I realized that November is a “Communion” month.  The word “communion” has many meanings for all of us Catholics.  The mystical body of Christ is a Communion.  We have the church triumphant, (the communion of Saints) whose feast day we celebrate November 1; we have the church suffering or the communion of the dead, whose souls in purgatory we pray for on November 2, and we have the church faithful or the communion of all the faithful of Christ, all of us who are pilgrims on earth.  We celebrate in communion with one another in the Liturgy of the Eucharist at every Mass.  We know and believe that in this communion we form one family in Christ.

Although it is a secular holiday, Thanksgiving, November 24, has its roots in the Christian meaning of Communion.  For on Thanksgiving, we come together as families in communion with one another to thank God for our many blessings.

On November 27, we enter into the season of Advent.  This year, Advent is an extremely important one for the faithful who are in the English-speaking countries.  We will begin a new translation of the Roman Missal.  Our words we worship with will reflect a closer “Communion” with the rest of the Catholic world.  It is our obedience, our devotion to these particular words of the liturgy, that makes us one flock, one communion in the mystical body of Christ.  It is exciting to think about the millions of prayers being said in many different languages on earth — all having the same meaning — being said in “Communion” with all the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and the whole mystical body of Christ praying in unison, 24 hours a day, everyday, all in communion with the Blessed Trinity.  Is this nota foretaste of what heaven will be?  Is this not what St. John was prophesying about when he said in Revelation:

I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue.  They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. Rev 7:9

We have much to be thankful for.  It is important to think about all that God has done for us.  Our God is an awesome God!  Even though there are still so many who are outside the communion of the church, God will bring us all together in His time.  Let us be thankful this November for our life, our faith, our church.  Let us praise Him.  Now and forever!

Thank you for your generous donations for October.  We are keeping up with the need.  Thanks be to God.

Last month Charlie put in a request for freezers and/or refrigerators.  We are happy to announce that two freezers and two refrigerators have been offered to us.  We are very grateful.  Thank you so much!

The sisters are requesting a paper shredder.  If anyone has one that that would like to donate, please let us know.

Please remember to write your checks out to:

“Friar Suppliers” and mail them only to:

Friar Suppliers

108 No. Greene Avenue

Lindenhurst, NY  11757-4153

Please remember to send in your prayer request card along with your November donations by November 15^th.

Our next food-packing day will be Saturday, November 15^th, @ 10 am.  Please remember to call if you plan to attend.

Thank you ALL for your faithful commitment to Friar Suppliers!

Jesus, we trust in you,

Joan & Charlie Moran

Please see Charlie’s Haiti

Letter!

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Posted By admin on October 4, 2011

Happy feast day to all of the Friar Suppliers!

I wanted to give everyone a heads up about some ways to observe this great day.
EWTN has some excellent programming today.

Perhaps you would like to make a Tonsure Cake for dessert? Or how about some Friendly Beast Crunch for a snack?

Little people could color this lovely coloring page of St. Francis.

You could also listen to Sarah MacLachlan The St. Francis Prayer.

Say this prayer:

O God, who, through the merits of blessed Francis,
didst give increase to Thy Church,
by enriching her with new offspring:
grant us, that following his example
we may despise earthly goods
and ever rejoice in partaking of Thy heavenly gifts.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/francis2.htm#ixzz1Zq6QrSMX

Thank you for stopping by and please keep the Friars and Sisters in your prayers.

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Posted By admin on September 30, 2011

Dear Friars, Sisters and Friar Suppliers,

All creatures of our God and king; praise and exult Him above all forever.

St. Francis of Assisi whose feast day we celebrate on October 4^th, is the beloved father and founder of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters throughout the centuries and throughout the world.  If St. Francis were alive today, I think he would be at the front of the pro-life movement.  St. Francis understood in true humility the glory that lies in being a creature of so great a loving God.   He loved God through creation and understood with all his heart the presence of God in every living thing.  St. Francis had a profound sense of the presence of God all around him; for Christ literally lived in his flesh whose wounds he bore with the stigmata.  St. Francis understood that everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected.  All of creation is holy.

St. Francis arrived on the scene during what we call the “Dark Ages”.  The church was struggling and people seemed deaf and blind to the truth.  Are not our times like St. Francis’s time? What would St. Francis say and do today if he lived in our time?  How would he change our culture of death into a culture of life?  I believe this is what he would be called to do if he came in our time.  How would he do this?  St. Francis had such great love that he lived as an icon of Christ.  Francis was a man of great peace, joy, love, humility, hope, strength and faith.  He was holy and holiness changes everything!!

Our Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal are striving to model St. Francis today.  They are aware of this great need in our culture.

They are aware that our culture needs reforming into a culture of life where every human being is loved, respected, and valued as an image of God.  As Friar Suppliers, we can support them in this mission not only as benefactors, but also with our prayers and the way we live our lives.  If we live our lives in imitation of Christ and great saints like St. Francis, we will change the culture of death into a culture of life.  Living holy lives has more impact on our culture than anything else we could do; more impact than we will know during this lifetime.

Living holy lives is not for the carefree, faint-of-heart or weak.  It is not easy!  It takes ambition, courage, determination and total abandonment to trust the will of God.  It takes a giant “yes” to God and “no” to our own selfish inclinations.  It means accepting sacrifices, persecution and crosses.  Holiness requires “heroic” love.  Are you willing to   go this route?

The Friars and Sisters will be celebrating the “Transitus”  of St. Francis (his passing from this life to God) on the night before his feast  day, on October 3, at St. Adelbert’s Church, 420 E. 156^th St., Bronx, with a re-enactment play of the life of St. Francis, performed for at 7:30 pm.  All are welcome.  Children will especially enjoy this play.  It is a wonderful celebration.

Our annual picnic on September 11^th, was a big success.  For most, the picnic and Divine Mercy Sunday are the only opportunities throughout the year to connect with the Friars, Sisters and other Friar Suppliers.  We can see a deepening bond developing with people who come each year to be together.  It is really beautiful!

Check out all the pictures on our website:  www.friarsuppliers.com.

Lost & Found – Left here at the picnic we found the following:  one white 8” plastic lid for a bowl; little girl’s pink flip-flops and a green turtle hand puppet.  Please claim if any of these items are yours.

There were many “silent”, “secret” “saints” who showed up here to help with all the setting up, running of, and clean-up for the picnic.  We could never do all the work ourselves.  Charlie, Rich and Eileen  and I are extremely grateful for all your help.  Thank you so much!

Did you know that during the month of August a bunch of families with eager children packed 2,700 lb. of rice and beans which were shipped to Haiti to feed the very hungry and starving people?  We are so proud of all of them.  That is love!  That is holiness in action!

At the picnic we were introduced to the new postulants joining the Friars and the novice sisters.  Sister Kelly and Sr. Guadalupe professed their first vows on September 17^th.  They were so happy.  It was a joy to be there for their profession.  Congratulations Sisters, and welcome new postulants!

We were asked by Fr. Anthony, who is the servant for Most Blessed Sacrament Friary in Newark, if Friar Suppliers could supply their Friary with food and groceries.  Of course, we told them, “Yes.”  That means Friar Suppliers are now supplying the groceries for seven Friaries and three Convents each month.  We thank all of the Friar Suppliers for their monthly commitment which enables us to provide for them. Your commitment is very  appreciated by the Friars & Sisters.  Recently, Charlie has been carefully researching prices and coupons in order to continue to get the lowest prices possible.  He is extremely consciencious with your donations.  Thank you for being Friar Suppliers.  We pray that you will be able to continue to donate and you will encourage your friends and family to be Friar Suppliers as well.

Please remember to write your checks out to:

“Friar Suppliers” and mail them only to:

Friar Suppliers
108 No. Greene Avenue
Lindenhurst, NY  11757-4153

Please remember to send in your prayer request card along with your October donations by October 15^th.

Our next food-packing day will be Saturday, October 15^th, @ 10 am.  Please remember to call if you plan to attend.

Thank you ALL for your faithful commitment to Friar Suppliers!

Jesus, we trust in you,

Joan & Charlie Moran

October Feast Days

1^st St. Therese of the Child Jesus

4^th St. Francis of Assisi

5^th St. Faustina

7^th Our Lady of the Rosary

15^th St. Theresa of Avila

17^th St. Ignatius of Antioch

18^th St. Luke

19^th St. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues et. al.

28^th Sts. Simon and Jude

!!!Great websites!!!

Franciscanfriars.com

Friarsuppliers.com

Familyland.org

Familylandtv.com

Familyholiness.com

FamilyCatechism.com

FamilyCatechesis.com

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Posted By admin on September 12, 2011

Thanks to Fr. Anthony and the blessings of a benevolent God, the rain held off and the picnic was a huge success.   Charlie and Joan are excellent hosts and the chill in the air didn’t stand a chance against the warmth of their welcome. Here are a few images of the day, many thanks to Tom Kennedy who sent me his pictures. Tom is a much better photographer than I am so I am grateful for his lovely images.

If you would like to see more, there are over 200 pictures of the day, please click on this link to view our Photobucket album. If you have pictures and would be willing to share please email me at bonnybluehouse (spam)@(spam)gmail.com, just leave out the spam. Attach them as .JPEG files to the email.

Thanks to all who attended and those who could not make it, we hope to see you next year!

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