The following is Part 1 of a reflection entitled, “A Day in the Life of a Friar: Life in the ‘Hood,’” by Br. Fred Dilger, OFM.

My day begins early. As one of six friars assigned to Philadelphia’s St. Francis Inn, I am the guy who turns on the lights, starts up the coffee and gets the mop water ready. Living so close to the Inn makes commuting easy. After a quick walk across the street, I am there.

Br. Fred visits with guest of St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia.

The Inn is a soup kitchen and hospitality center located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, an area that suffers from severe poverty. Add to that the crime and drugs that accompany such desperation, and simply crossing the street is not always so simple. It is a bleak landscape, yet our time here is filled with laughter, hard work and the love that comes from a life lived in prayer and service.

St. Francis Inn was founded in 1979 by a few Holy Name Province friars who, while exploring Philadelphia for prospective parish work, had the courage to cross the street to a side of the city that was in need of love and care. They settled in and, with the help and dedication of a community made up of lay women and religious sisters, created a small piece of love and calm in a world of violence and chaos.

The mission of the Inn is simply a continuation of our mission as friars — to live the gospel and let the world know God’s love. By living with the poor in the same manner as their simple lifestyle, we can reach across to our guests (as we call those we serve) instead of down.

Morning Routine: Prayer and Preparation
After getting the set-up done, I join my brothers in the chapel for 7:30 morning prayer. Like friars the world over, we sit together as morning breaks praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I think this might be my favorite time of the day. I feel a great sense of community and fraternity as we fulfill this ancient tradition. “Where more than two or three of you gather…” is never felt more than at this time.

When prayers and meditation come to an end, along with more than a few minutes of laughs and catch-up, I help get ready for Mass with the extended community of the Inn team. This includes the group of sisters and laywomen who live and work with us as well as visiting volunteers and guests from the neighborhood. As a Eucharistic-based community, we celebrate Mass together every day to be fed ourselves so as to have the strength to feed others.

We try to live and work in the example set by the early disciples. This is attempted by running the Inn under the team model. Though the friars founded the Inn, we don’t ‘rule’ it. Rather, we share the leadership and responsibilities with all the members of our team.

Br. Fred serves guests of the Inn.

After Mass, I go down to the kitchen with the others and get ready for business! We serve a meal seven days a week, 365 days of the year. Three days a week we serve two meals — breakfast and dinner. Depending on the time of the month, we have anywhere from 250 to 400 guests per meal — so a lot of people pass through our doors.

I am one of three team members who cooks the main meal, so on days that I’m cooking I am constantly on the go. Since we live 100 percent on donations, so I cook with what we have been given. Area grocery stores, bakeries and butcher shops provide for us and we are usually blessed with an abundance of food.

However, some mornings I look in the walk-in fridge and worry what combo I can come up with. Many a time I’ve lamented, “If only we had some potatoes” (or corn, or butter or whatever). But, if there is one thing I have learned firsthand during my time here at the Inn, it is that God provides. Within a couple hours, something always appears. Miraculously, someone pulls up in a truck filled with potatoes, and the meal is complete. God always gives you what you need — just not necessarily what you want. (I wanted the potatoes already peeled and cut!)

Collecting the items we need for our guests is another example of my duties. I travel around the city in our van gathering food and other staples. (We also have a thrift store, so we clothe as well as feed). Preparing and setting up, organizing and handing out, cleaning and putting away are all activities that make up my day. But, I do not do these things alone or in a vacuum.

Click here to read Part 2.

Born in Jacksonville, Fla., and raised in Raleigh, N.C., Br. Fred holds a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Owner of an architectural and interior design company prior to entering religious life, he has contributed to the design of the Holy Name Provincial Office and several ministry sites. Br. Fred has been serving at St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia since 2007. He took his final vows as a Franciscan in 2009.

The following is a continuation of a reflection entitled, “A Day in the Life of a Friar: Life in the ‘Hood,’” by Br. Fred Dilger, OFM. Click here to read Part 1.

Evening Tradition: Service and Fraternity

Fr. Mike Duffy, OFM, director of St. Francis Inn, greets a guest arriving for a meal.

My main ministry is serving our guests, which really means being there for them in whatever ways they need me. Sometimes it’s filling out confusing paperwork or helping them move into a new and better home. Whatever the task, my reason for being here is to be with them — to let them know that they are not alone and that they are of worth and loved. And, sometimes all that takes is to be present in their lives and listen. The other half of my ministry is with our volunteers — helping them to see in a new way how to love and praise God through the poor.

Dinner ends at 6:00 p.m., and then it’s a quick clean-up and back into chapel for evening prayer with the community. We end as we began — together with prayer.

After closing up, it’s time to head back across the street for dinner with the friars while we laugh and talk about the day. Our Philly community is made up of three ordained friars and three lay brothers. We are all very different, and so it makes for a great and interesting dynamic.

Br. Fred (center) poses with fellow friars serving at the Inn, including Fr. Mike (at left) and Br. Xavier De La Huerta, OFM (at right).

One of the things I’ve learned as a friar is that Francis’ call was simply to live the gospel in fraternity. How we choose to do that is up to us. We are priests, doctors, lawyers and, in my case, interior designers. I left my old life and came to the friars because I felt called by God to something more than just me. But, that doesn’t mean that I left myself behind. I came on board with all my gifts and talents and, more importantly, with all my weaknesses. We all do.

And the friars embrace this. I believe that is what makes the Franciscans so special. Francis saw that we are nothing compared to God, but that to God we are everything.I love being a friar.

Each night as I turn in, I am grateful to the Holy Spirit for giving me the courage to have taken that first step to “come and see.” As long as one has contact with another human being, one has a ministry. But, to be able to love and serve God in the community of the Holy Name Province Friars, is for me a way of life that is both fulfilling and joyful.

Born in Jacksonville, Fla., and raised in Raleigh, N.C., Br. Fred holds a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Owner of an architectural and interior design company prior to entering religious life, he has contributed to the design of the Holy Name Provincial Office and several ministry sites. Br. Fred has been serving at St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia since 2007. He took his final vows as a Franciscan in 2009.

By Fr. Mike Duffy, OFM

In this season of thanks and giving, a friar who is part of the team at St. Francis Inn, Philadelphia, which serves roughly 350 meals every day of the year, reflects on the satisfaction of knowing that the ministry is providing much more than food. This essay was reprinted with minor edits from the October 2012 issue of The Pilgrim, the newsletter of the Province’s St. Francis Inn Ministries.

A while back, for several successive Sundays, the readings at Mass dwelt on the theme of bread. First Jesus fed the 5,000 with common bread. They followed him around the lake. He looked at them with compassion and said, “I will give you more than bread. I will give you the bread of life.”

It made me wonder… do we here at St. Francis Inn give bread only? Do we give anything more? There was only one way to find out. I grabbed a pen and pad and went outside to talk to our guests.

The first answer came almost immediately. As I was rounding the corner, there sat Lily on a milk crate. She is an older black woman, a regular guest. She was eating a paltry something wrapped in foil, but we hadn’t opened the gate yet. After greeting her, I asked, “What are you eating?” “Tuna sandwich,” she replied. “Where did you get it?” “I brought it from home (a small hovel of an apartment).” The situation fell perfectly in my research project. “If you have food at home, why do you come here?” “My friends,” she said. “I feel safe here and welcome so I come to be with my friends and talk and be part of life.” Aha!

I walked up to Jim, a rather together man whose life has more or less been ruined by the bottle. “Jim, do you come here for any other reason than for the food?” “Sure, he replied, “I come here for exactly what’s happening now.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “The fact that you stopped to speak to me. And, that you respect me enough to ask me a question and sincerely want an answer. No one else ever does that. But here I feel like my old self again. Thank you for stopping to ask my opinion. That is why I come here to St. Francis Inn. I’m treated like a human. I like that.”

Fr. Mike Duffy, OFM, greets a guest of St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, Pa.

I then turned to Margaret, another senior citizen who always has a smile and a radiant expression on her face. She prefers to be called Marvella. I asked the same question. “People!” she said. “I love people!” Her face widened with a broad grin and her eyes sparkled. “I have been so blest by God, that I come here to bless others!”

At that moment, Arnetta, a pesky but lovable guest, interrupts, “Well I come here because my parents are both dead and you are my family!” Then Marvella starts to sing, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…” Arnetta joins her “let it shine, let it shine…” The two of them get louder and louder as they start dancing around to their own singing. Within seconds, tears start streaming down Arnetta’s face as she continues her song and dance with Marvella until it becomes a miniature revival meeting right in the middle of the yard! They continued singing praising the Lord as I walked into the Inn to begin the meal.

I guess I got my answers!

Fr. Michael, a native of New Hampshire, has served the people of St. Francis Inn since 1987. 

This reflection was reprinted from the Nov. 21, 2012, edition of HNP Today. Editor’s note:  An Oct. 31 article in Metropolis titled “A Day in the Life: The St. Francis Inn” describes the services and impact of St. Francis Inn.

By Fr. Mike Duffy, OFM

The process of discernment is never a “one size fits all” process of considering God’s call. Prayer, reflection, having a good spiritual director, and talking over questions and concerns with the Vocation Director are all important. But some young people also desire a volunteer experience which involves them in some key aspects of religious life: living in a prayerful, supportive community and working in a ministry which helps people in need. For 25 years,  Franciscan Volunteer Ministry has offered young people the opportunity to live Franciscan life while being of service to a number of communities in Holy Name Province.  

Fr. Mike Duffy, OFM, director of St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, relaxes with several Franciscan Volunteer Ministers serving there.

It was more than 25 years ago that the seeds of the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry (FVM) were sown. It happened at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. In the late 1980’s, three graduating seniors came to the campus ministry to talk about doing a year of volunteer service. The campus ministers — Fr. Jerome Massimino, OFM, and Sr. Rosemary Sgroi, RSM — were delighted. They handed the students pamphlets and brochures from the Jesuits (Jesuit Volunteer Corps), the Maryknoll Missioners, Mercy Corps, and the like.

The students glanced them over and asked, “But aren’t there any programs run by the Franciscans in the Franciscan spirit?” That question started the FVM story. The answer to their question was: “No, not really.” But it just so happened that Fr. Louis Canino, OFM, in Boston was beginning a new project for outreach to the homeless called Francis House. So, Fr. Jerome called him and asked Fr. Louie if he would like a few volunteers to help get the ministry started. The response was an enthusiastic “Yes!”

So off the graduates went to Boston to spend an incredible year of service. They returned to Siena with enthusiastic stories about their experience.  The next graduating class had eight going to Boston for a year of service; then the following year, there were none.

Organizing Ministry of Enthusiastic Young Adults

Both Siena and Holy Name Province looked at this young program and reflected, saying, “This program is so worthwhile. It has such a dramatic impact on our young people. It is so enriching, why limit it to one college (Siena) and to one group of graduating seniors?”

Franciscan Volunteer Minister Chris McNabb brings cheer to a Family during a Christmas party at St. Francis Inn.

So the Provincial Council decided to expand the program to recruit from several colleges. It called together a board with the goal of creating a Holy Name Province-sponsored volunteer program in which the young adults would be living, working, and praying with the friars. The board met every month for more than a year, hammering out all the details: job descriptions, a handbook, developing ministry sites and engaging willing friars to mentor these new lay communities.

In September 1989, the first group of official “Franciscan Volunteer Ministers” began their service year. The two ministry sites were Buffalo and Philadelphia. Over the next 25 years, the sites have changed for a variety of reasons. Besides Buffalo and Philly, the Franciscan Volunteers have been located in Boston, Anderson, S.C., Camden, N.J., and Wilmington, Del. Besides Siena and St. Bonaventure University (from where most of our FVMs come), we have had graduates from LeMoyne, Princeton, Boston College, Holy Cross, University of Georgia, St. Anselm’s, and approximately 60 other colleges. Our volunteers have come from San Diego to Lewiston, Maine, and from Seattle to Pensacola, Fla., and everywhere in between.

The obvious value of the program is the help they give to the friars in their ministry. They bring energy and youthful enthusiasm to all their ministries. They make possible programs and enhance outreach that the friars may not have the time or skill to do. They also serve as role models for the young.

Transforming Lives and Faith

Francis Volunteer Ministers give a high five to a group of young adults.

The Franciscan Volunteer Ministry is both a service program and a faith formation program. Because of this, there is another great value that may not be so obvious. The volunteers themselves become transformed in ways that alter their whole life’s journey. They realize the joy in giving, their faith is strengthened, and they begin to see the world in a different light — from the eyes of the poor. They alter their direction in life, they think differently, they make different choices, they change career plans, they vote differently, and they all say they have received much more than they have given. All this in the Franciscan spirit!

The Franciscan spirit spreads and is alive in the world today through those who have experienced the FVM program. We have had 212 young adults serve as Franciscan Volunteer Ministers. There have been 46 volunteers who have served two years. They are now doctors, nurses, teachers, stay-at-home mothers and fathers, directors of non-profits, parish administrators, campus ministers, university professors, three friars — our own Br. Kevin Kriso, OFM, and Fr. Steve Patti, OFM, as well as one Franciscan Friar of the Renewal — and three vowed religious sisters. And that only begins to list the variety of careers and work that our alums are involved in.

So, we thank Holy Name Province and congratulate all the friars and laity who have formed and led this program for 25 years. We ask God to continue to bless the 212 who have passed through the program and are now spreading the Franciscan spirit in the world. Happy 25th anniversary!

Fr. Michael Duffy, OFM, a native of New Hampshire, is director of St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, where he has been stationed since 1987. 

The above reflection was adapted from an article that appeared in the Nov. 20, 2013, issue of HNP Today, the Province’s bi-weekly e-newsletter.