Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

The celebration of our Easter Season is coming to an end. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension forty days after the resurrection of Christ. Next week we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus resurrection.

As we celebrate this feast of the Ascension, we can call to mind the words of Jesus to his disciples when He reminded them that one day he would be returning to the Father. Jesus ascended to eternal glory at the right hand of the Father leaving his apostles behind staring into the clouds. Jesus was not going to abandon the disciples but promised that he would send them the Holy Spirit and he promised them: “I will be with you always.”

Fr Joe Robinson said that the Ascension shows us the full glory of the resurrection, sharing in God’s glory eternally, a preview of God’s plan for all the rest of us who have followed Christ faithfully. The Ascension tells us that Christ is still with us and he invites us to go forward and make disciples of others by our faithfully living out the Gospel.

The Ascension marks the end of Christ’s mission on earth and celebrates his glorious return to the Father in heaven. The Ascension assures us that there is a purpose to life and that our journey, even if difficult, will take us back to the Father.

La celebración del tiempo de Pascua se está acercando. Hoy celebramos la Fiesta de la Ascensión, cuarenta días después de la resurrección de Cristo. La semana próxima celebraremos la fiesta de Pentecostés, cincuenta días después de la resurrección de Jesús.

Al celebrar esta fiesta de la Ascensión, podemos recordar las palabras de Jesús a sus discípulos cuando Él les recordó que un día el regresaría al Padre. Jesús ascendió a la gloria eterna a la derecha del Padre dejando atrás a sus apóstoles mirando hacia las nubes. Jesús no iba a abandonar a sus discípulos, pero prometió que les mandaría el Espíritu Santo y les prometió: “Siempre estaré con ustedes”.

El Padre Joe Robinson dijo que la Ascensión nos muestra la gloria plena de la resurrección, compartiendo la gloria de Dios eternamente, un anticipo del plan de Dios para el resto de todos nosotros que                hemos seguido fielmente a Cristo. La Ascensión nos dice que Cristo todavía está con nosotros y nos invita a seguir adelante y hacer discípulos de otros viviendo fielmente el Evangelio.

La Ascensión marca el fin de la misión de Cristo en la tierra y celebra su regreso glorioso al Padre en el cielo. La Ascensión nos asegura que la vida tiene un propósito y que nuestro camino, aunque difícil, nos llevará de nuevo al Padre.

On the Occasion of the Celebration of the 800^th Celebration of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi 1226-2026

Our dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this year we are celebrating the 800^th anniversary of the death, or transitus, of Saint Francis. The ministers General of the whole Franciscan family have called all Franciscans to celebrate what they have called the Easter of Francis of Assisi. Additionally, Pope Leo XIV has invoked a Jubilee Year, often referred to as a holy year, for all believers to share in this commemoration of Saint Francis entering into heaven. What a wonderful gift for the whole Church!

In contemporary society, we rarely think about death, not only because it reminds us that we are limited creatures, but also because it exposes the false security we get from believing that we are masters over time and life. Saint Francis, on the other hand, welcomed Sister Death with song in his Canticle of the Creatures, the Canticle of Brother Sun, because he understood that death is not the termination of everything but the end that allows us to enter into full communion with God. Indeed, life is a gift that must be given back: “Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!” (Francis of Assisi, Letter to the Entire Order #29)

At the end of his days, Saint Francis contemplated his life and discovered the presence and action of the Lord everywhere. Thus, in his Testament he repeats, like a refrain: “The Lord gave me, Brother Francis… The Lord gave me such faith in churches… The Lord gave me, and gives me still, such faith… And after the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel” (Testament 1-14).

The celebration of the 800^th anniversary of the Easter of Saint Francis invites us to contemplate our lives, both personally and as Catholics, with the eyes of faith, and by doing so, perceive the divine presence and action in everything, even in the difficult and dramatic situations we have experienced or are experiencing now.

It is an opportunity to thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed on us, particularly (on this occasion) for the gift of Saint Francis of Assisi and his evangelical life, which has become a light to the world reflecting the greater Light who is Christ for the world, and which today still has the strength to call out to women and men of all cultures, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.

And finally, celebrating the passing of the Poverello (the little poor one) is an occasion to remember that we are all called to holiness, and that like Saint Francis, we are invited to reflect the beauty of the gospel, because “holiness is the most attractive face of the Church” (Pope Francis, Gaudete et exsultate 9).

So, in this spirit we welcome all those who come to Saint Patrick in South Tampa to share in the light of the faith of Saint Francis, to experience the rich blessings of this Jubilee and Eighth Centenary of his transitus from this life to life with God. May you be inspired to, as Francis told his brothers at the end of his life: “Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing.”

Yours in Christ and Saint Francis,

Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, TOR                                                                                                                             Fr. Alberto F. Bueno, TOR

Pope Leo XIV Declares Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi | Gulf Coast Catholic

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/letters/2026/documents/20260107-lettera-morte-sf.html

https://www.centenarifrancescani.org/index.php/en

BINGO & DINNER

Tuesday

2026 Dates: June 9th, July 14th, August 11th, September 8th, October 13th, November 10th, December 1st

St. Patrick Catholic Church

Social Hall

Dinner served between 5:30pm- 6:30pm. 

Bingo will start at 6:30pm.

Cost: $25.00

Includes 9 pack of 13 sheets (26 games)

and 4 specials. MUST BE 18 TO PLAY.

TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR ONLY.

*Meals subject to Change