St. FranciS retreat 549 MISSION VINEYARD ROAD • P.O. BOX 970 • SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, CALIFORNIA 95045 • (831) 623-4234 DECEMBER 2013

Christmas: A celebration of the humility of GodGrowing up in a Portuguese family one devotion that was important to my family was the Christmas crèche. I grew up hearing stories from my mother about how when she grew up families would sometimes have elaborate displays in their homes or on the porches of their homes. These nativity scenes would have candles on them and fruits and nuts of the earth and wheat placed around the stable to honor this blessed event. And in our own home my mother would set up a display with candles, and nuts, and fruits and hay, it was simple but taught me and my siblings that this was no ordinary event but a special one that requires special preparation in order to honor He who has come and is still to come again. As my nieces and nephews were born and my mom was now a grandmother whenever the kids visited my parents’ home as preschoolers my mom would light the candles by the crèche and we would all sing happy birthday to baby Jesus thus handing on this tradition to a new generation. In fact one of the gifts I have given to my nieces is a nativity scene and I’ve also given them as wedding gifts to friends and their children.

What some people may or may not know is that the very first Nativity appeared on the scene Christmas Eve night 1223, in Greccio, Italy. It was St. Francis of Assisi who was inspired to re-create the nativity scene for the people of Greccio. Francis was concerned that people forgot the reason why Jesus was born and he was concerned that people were getting caught up in materialism and greed. He felt that people had forgotten that Jesus came to us not as a rich king but as a poor child. Francis writes to his friend Giovanni, “I want to do something that will recall the memory of that child who was born in Bethlehem, to see with bodily eyes the inconveniences of his infancy, how he lay in the manger, and how the ox and ass stood by.”

So outside the town of Greccio Francis finds a cave in order to stage a live but silent scene of that first Christmas. He fills the cave with hay, brings in a donkey and ox and had a family with a baby play the parts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And then gathering the Friars and the people from the town Francis brings the people to this cave for them to look upon this scene, where Jesus is born in a humble place among humble animals. Francis hoped that if the people looked upon this humble picture they would be reminded that if God did not provide a fancy birth for His Son, that maybe they do not need all the fancy material goods they have.

The Franciscans call this the humility of God, Jesus being born in a humble place of a humble state calling us to consider what we truly need to be happy and fulfilled in our lives. So as we move through this holiday season and celebrate Christmas each in our own ways, with our own traditions, let us focus not so much on the material aspect of the season but let us humbly look for ways in which we can be gift to others as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

During this season of preparing for the birth of Christ I would like to invite you to consider making a donation to the Retreat Center to help us retire our loan for our new building. This loan continues to be a challenge for us and in some ways limits us in other areas. Please know your gift of any amount is most welcomed. When writing a check please put in the Memo: For Building Fund. Thank you in advance for any help you can give us. And on behalf of the Friars and staff of St. FrancisRetreat Center have a Blessed Christmas Season.

Brother Robert Rodrigues, OFM Director St. Francis Retreat

St. francis retreat happenings

Looking for that Unique and Special Christmas Gift?Check out our bookstore where you will find of course books, CDs, gifts from El Salvador and Peru, honey made by the Trappistine Sisters of the Redwoods, and handmade soap. Or give that special someone a Gift Certificate of a

Retreat. Contact Brother James Swan, OFM at 831-623-4234 or jdswan@stfrancisretreat.com

Angel from our maintenance staff built a bell tower on the upper patio so groups would have a larger bell to call their people back to their retreat/conference sessions. Our many thanks to Carol Kaplan who do-nated the bell to the Center. Work on our Koi pond continues to progress. We now have fencing around the pond for safety, and some benches so people can come and enjoy the quiet of the space. Still to come is a statue of St. Joseph and Child donated by James and Nancy Rodrigues, new pumps to create waterfalls, and a possibility of more koi through the kindness of The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary whom we thank in advanced.

In Gratitude:We would like to thank the Kral and Rodrigues families for donating new kitchen towels for our Holy Family Cottages. This is a great help and saves on guests us-ing paper towels which is not good for the earth. Just a reminder: these cottages are for private retreats for people who need some time away to think, reflect, and pray, spiritual direction is available upon request.

Our Wish List: We are still collecting money for our new chapel chairs. We would like to thank those who have already donated money to this endeavor. After the first of the year we will be ordering the first set of chairs to be-gin to replace the current chairs that can no longer be fixed. But we still have a ways to go to replace 100 chairs a donation of $75.00 will help us reach our goal. Thank you for your help in reaching this goal which will allow for our guests to be comfortable during mass, prayer and conferences.

Although we are in the seasons of Advent and Christmas we would just like to give you a heads up of what’s to come retreat wise. During the season of Lent we will continue our Wednesday Lenten practice of breaking open the Sunday readings during the Lenten season, also during Holy Week we will have days of reflection on HolyThursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday bothusing the First Friday formats. See Upcoming Retreats.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:Vaquero Heritage Days 2014

returns August 22-24thWe look forward to seeing you.

Also with the weather getting colder our maintenance staff heads indoors to work on projects including working on our Holy Family Cottages. Our guests will begin to see some changes coming. Already they have installed a new fountain in St. Clare’s courtyard. Check it out next time you are here at the Center. The fountain, which was donated by Bro. James Swan, OFM family, has been created by using an old fash-ioned kitchen sink hand-pump that was on the family farm. It is in memory of Brother’s father and we thank them for their kindness.

UPCOMING RETREATS JANUARY - july 2014

First Friday Days of Recollection 9:30 am. - 2:00 pm. (Lunch/noon) Suggested Donation: $25.00

January 3rdSurprising, Sustaining GRACE!Sister Marietta Fahey, SHFEntering this New Year, we open our eyes and our hearts to be surprised and sustained by GOD’s ongoing creative LOVE! Just as Mary and Joseph, Jesus in his growing up, Francis and Clare in their time, we have been and are graced in ways beyond imagining! This day of prayer is an opportunity to reflect and pray about such moments.

February 7th A Winter GazeBrother Jeff Macnab, OFMSt. Valentine brings many images of Love. Love has many faces and manifests itself in many situations. Come and reflect on the nature of “Love” with St. Bernard as our guide. Bro. Jeff will use St. Bernard to look at the Love, that God has for us and, the Love we have for God and each other.

March 7thA Lenten Day with St. Francis of Assissi: A story of conversionBrother Philip Polk, OFMSt. Francis of Assisi was known for his sim-plicity of life. But prior to his embracing “Lady Poverty” Francis was attracted to and lived a life of lavish parties, money, and having the best his family would give him. This day will reflect on Francis story of conversion and how it can shed light on our own journey of conversion which the season of Lent invites us to. Conversion and Change which we hear proclaimed

in the Gospels during this season. We will explore together what this means for our own spiritual life.

April 4th Our Lenten Journey Continues Brother Robert Rodrigues, OFMAs we move closer to Easter the celebra-tion of our Lord’s resurrection we may find ourselves still pondering what do I need to let go of in order to fully enter into the Easter mysteries. This day will help us to gently reflect upon this question.May 2ndAll Praise to you my Lord, for Brother Sun . . .Brother Michael Minton, OFMThe Church has named St. Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology and we know from his poem The Canticle of Creation he had a great love for God’s has created for us. This day will reflect on the goodness of what God has created.

June 6thThe Holy Spirit: a dynamic stirring into flameMonica MillerThe season of Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Spirit upon the Church sending God’s people forth into the world to proclaim the Good News. The day will reflect upon what the Holy Spirit may be stirring within you as you re-spond to the movement of the Spirit in your life.

Lenten Wednesdays of Recollection 9:30- 2:00 pm First Friday Format Suggested Donation $25.00March 5,12,19,26 & April 17,18, 19Using the First Friday Format we will be focus-ing on the scripture readings for the Sundays of Lent. This day will include Stations of the Cross.

Triduum: The Great Three Days9:30 – 2:00 p.m. Suggested donation $25.00April 17, 18, 19Using the First Friday Format participants will be invited into reflections on Holy Thursday, Good Friday & Holy Saturday in order to more fully enter into the celebrations in their parishes. RETREATSJanuary 17 -19, 2014 Men’s Retreat: Walking the Way of St. FrancisBrother Jeff Macnab, OFMSt. Francis of Assisi talked about walking in the footsteps of Jesus. For Francis it meant liter-ally stepping into Jesus footprints in order to become more like him. This retreat will reflect on the “Franciscan Way” as a help for my own spiritual journey as a man.

July 18-20th Married Couples Retreat: “This is Me for You…”(Dr.) Deacon Owen Cummings, Ph.D. & Cathy Cummings, LCSW, Ph.D.Using a variety of sources, this retreat will help participants to reflectively think through the renewal of their marriage commitment.

July 25-26 Women’s Retreat: “God is Good. Good is Beauty. God is Holy All.Sister Loretta Schaf, OSFCome! Refresh your spirit in the Goodness and Beauty of God. Come! Open your heart to the Holy One who desires to reveal the “hidden sweetness” in all that is sacred in your life.

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ST. FRANCIS RETREAT / P.O. BOX 970 / SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, CA. 95045

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Call us for information on Private Retreats and Facilities Rentals: (831) 623-4234

Retreat rates below, unless otherwise noted. Commuter rates are available for some events, call (831) 623-4234.

$220.00 person (Single Occupancy)$180.00 per person (Double)

unless otherwise noted. (Limited scholarships are available)

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Please consider a “Legacy Gift” to St. Francis Retreat in your estate-planning.

St. Francis Retreat is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 religious organization, listed in the Official Catholic Directory. Your generous gift can help to assure the ongoing ser-vice of St. Francis Retreat to the spiritual needs of retreatants in the future. For more information about making a Legacy Gift, call Ed Degroot 831-623-4234.

St. Francis Retreat / Legacy Gifts,P.O. Box 970 / San Juan Bautista, CA 95045

Enjoy Mother Nature . . . bird or foul.