The Seraphicum College in Rome has been offering a series of monthly retreats for all of the friars of that community. Each retreat has included an evening talk followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Mass for the entire community. Friar Michael LASKY, the General Delegate for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) is leading the retreats for the 2024-2025 academic year. The final two retreats were held on Ash Wednesday and April 1, 2025.
Those last two retreats of the series focused on two additional verses written by St. Francis. The first was about reconciliation and the second was about Sister Death. The talks took the form of dialogues or mini dramas between various Franciscan figures. Members of the Seraphicum community played the rolls in a theatre-like setting. Each experience led to some practical interaction, which helped the friars enter more deeply into the beauty of the poem.
The mini play on reconciliation was set in the courtyard of the Bishop of Assisi. Friars Leo (Friar Héctor Manuel CORBAL CRUZ), Angelo (Friar Alessandro D’ANTONI), Rufino (Friar Alain ZOUNGRANA), and Masseo (Friar Massimiliano COLA) discussed the conflict between the bishop and the mayor of Assisi. Their conversation led them to the insight that the real victims of the feud were the people of Assisi, because when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers! When this conversation between the followers of Francis finished, the play was interrupted and restarted. This time, after each friar spoke, a fifth character, Pope Francis (Friar Emmanuel ROUX), would offer his thoughts on how to bring about reconciliation in our world today, by offering insights from Laudato Si’, Fratelli Tutti, and The Joy of the Gospel.
The final mini play explored the verse about Sister Death as the intended conclusion of the Canticle of the Creatures, equating death with light and resurrection. The word “precious,” as it is used in the writings of St. Francis, was also discussed connecting the Canticle’s verses about Sister Moon and Stars, and Sister Water to the Eucharist. This skit also included an appreciation for poetry that echoed the beauty of St. Francis’ Canticle. It had two settings: 2025 – in a classroom of Franciscan History and 1245 – in the rooms of Friar Alexander of Hales in the Paris Friary of the Cordeliers. The cast included Friar Angelo (Friar Emmanuel ROUX), a sleepy student friar who loved poetry more than Franciscan history and daydreamed that his Franciscan history professor (Friar Peter PIKULÍK) liked poetry, too. In fact, the professor did not. Other cast members included Friar Alexander of Hales (Friar Andrew DATOY), and Friar Roger Bacon (Friar Francesco IANNELLO).
Friar Michael LASKY
