Rule Chapter
Three
 THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER
Proceeding logically from article 8, the Rule
calls our attention to the < life of prayer, which will be the main way of
<<tending continually to God>>, i.e., conversion.
This chapter is a brief summary of what prayer is in the Franciscan
tradition. For Francis prayer is trinitarian and Christocentric: it is characterized by
the contemplative qualities of praise and thanksgiving. We continually praise God for what
he is and for what he has done and does in creation and in the re-creation in Christ. We
become part of God's life through his greatest work, the Incarnation, in which God became
one with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Francis' Christocentricity, and ours, is
based on faith and on our life of prayer.
The articles of the chapter emphasize the various aspects and
diverse forms of Franciscan prayer.
ARTICLE 9
Everywhere and in each
place and in every season and each day, the brothers and sisters are to have a true and
humble faith. From the depths of their inner life let them love, honor, adore, serve,
praise, bless and glorify our most high and eternal God who is Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. With all that they are, let them adore Him because <<We should pray always
and not lose heart> : this is what the Father desires. In this same spirit let them
also celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours in union with the whole Church.
The sisters and
brothers whom the Lord has called to the life of contemplation, with a daily renewed joy
should manifest their special dedication to God and celebrate the Father's love for the
world. It was He who created and redeemed us, and by his mercy alone He shall save us.
CONTENT:
a) contemplative prayer
b) prayer of the Church
ATTITUDES:
a) adoration
Prayer is a way of life for every Franciscan: <<everywhere
and in each place>>. We should therefore be so filled with God that praising him
with joy (<<with all that they are») should be a necessity of our life. We should
want nothing else (<<and not lose heart>>), because the Father wants to be
united with us. This is the holiness to which we are called. Every one of our days should
be sanctified in this way.
At the time of Francis the sanctification of the day found a clear
expression in the divine office which was recited at various hours. This is also the
Church's intention in the concept of the Liturgy of the Hours. We pray to the Father,
together with the Son, in his mystical Body which celebrates God's gift, salvation,
throughout the whole day. Today the Liturgy of the Hours, as the Church teaches, is also
an intercessory prayer for the Church and the world. For Francis the recitation of the
Hours is also a sign of fidelity to the Church.
The second part of the article was added specifically for those
communities of the contemplative life which follow the Third Order Regular Rule and
therefore live <<continuous conversion>> to God in the most excellent and
exclusive form. Since these consecrated persons are a vital part of the Order, the rest of
the congregations want to participate in their <<renewed joy>> in continuously
<< celebrating>> << the Father's love for the world>>.
ARTICLE 10
The brothers and sisters
are to praise the Lord, the king of heaven and earth, with all his creatures and to give
him thanks because, by his own holy will and through his only Son with the Holy Spirit, he
has created all things spiritual and material and made us in his own image and likeness.
CONTENT:
a) prayer of praise;
b) prayer of thanksgiving.
ATTITUDES:
a) spirit of praise;
b) spirit of thanksgiving.
Praise and thanksgiving are the main attitudes in the field of
prayer, and they are also characteristically <<Franciscan>>. Therefore we must
be particularly attentive that our prayer, both individual and common, should maintain
this quality.
We must be more and more convinced that the main purpose of prayer
is to draw us closer, to unite us to God. When this happens, God himself will see to it
that we receive those graces and favors which in his love he knows are convenient or
useful to us on our journey to him.
This article reminds us that, having been created in God's
<<image and likeness>>, if we allow that <<image and likeness>> to
work naturally, or better supernaturally, in us, it will be easy, (or natural) to seek and
find union with God.
We should also note that we are invited to praise God << with
all his creatures>> to recall the sense of brotherhood with all of creation which
Francis expressed so nobly and poetically in his <<Canticle of the
Creatures>>.
ARTICLE 11
Since the sisters and
brothers are to be totally conformed to the Gospel, they should reflect and keep in their
hearts the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the word of the Father, as well as the
words of the Holy Spirit which are spirit and life.
CONTENT:
a) meditation on the Word of God, especially the Gospel;
b) putting the Word of God into practice.
ATTITUDES:
a) conformity to Christ, after the example of
St. Francis.
Here Francis' attitudes in regard to the Word of God are
emphasized; this would require a lengthy explanation. There are, however, two essential
points:
1) Francis considered the Word of God which he read or heard as
addressed to him. After hearing or reading it, he acted in conformity with it, because in
that Word he saw the message which the Lord sent him for that particular moment. We need
only recall some of his basic decisions which were made precisely after hearing the Word:
the Gospel opened three times in the Church of St. Nicholas, and listening to the passage
on the <<mission of the apostles>> in Santa Maria degli Angeli (cf. LM 3:1,3).
2) For him the word of Scripture is <<spirit and
life.>> Francis repeats this expression several times. It is enough to recall the
conclusion of the Letter to the Faithful, in both the first and second versions about
<<the fragrant words of Our Lord:>> they should accept them < >with
kindness and a divine love>> and,
<< since they are spirit and life, they should preserve them together with
their holy manner of working even to the end>>. (1 Lf 19,21).
ARTICLE 12
Let them participate in
the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ and receive his Body and Blood with great humility
and reverence remembering the words of the Lord: < Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
Blood has eternal life>. Moreover, they are to show the greatest possible reverence and
honor for the most sacred name, written words and most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord
Jesus Christ through whom all things in heaven and on earth have been brought to peace and
reconciliation with Almighty God.
CONTENT:
a) participation in the Lord's sacrifice;
b) reception of the Eucharist;
c) respect for the Eucharist and everything concerning it;
d) Eucharistic adoration
ATTITUDES:
a) conviction that in the Eucharist we are
<<brought to peace and reconciliation>> therefore, convinced of its necessity;
b) humility and reverence, especially in receiving it;
c) practical respect, also in externals, for the Eucharist, that is, the proper
care for everything concerning it (sacred vessels, linens, altars, etc.).
Historically, these are Francis' attitudes. We should note that
today, in << humility and reverence>> we must also include the renewed
understanding of the community dimension of the Eucharist given us by Vatican II. In the
words <<they are to show the greatest possible reverence and honor for the... most
holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ>> we must expressly include also
<<Eucharistic adoration>>, perpetual or periodic, concerning which many of our
congregations have particular traditions, traditions which the new Rule is not intended to
suppress.
It should also be recalled that, after the Fourth Lateran Council
in 1215, Francis and his friars were among the main promoters of the new Eucharistic
devotion and theology.
ARTICLE 13
Whenever they commit sin the brothers and
sisters, without delay, are to do penance interiorly by sincere sorrow and exteriorly by
confessing their sins to a priest. They should also do worthy deeds that manifest their
repentance. They should fast and always strive to be simple and humble, especially before
God. They should desire nothing else but our Savior, who offered himself in his own Blood
as a sacrifice on the altar of the Cross for our sins, giving us example so that we might
follow in his footsteps.
CONTENT:
a) interior penance for sins;
b) recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation;
c) fasting as a «fruit of penance;
d) accepting the cross.
ATTITUDES:
These are the attitudes which, in Franciscan
spirituality, should accompany the important elements contained in this article:
a) First of all, we should insist on the internalization of the
conversion, which means contrition for our failings.
b) Repentance is both interior and external. Ordinarily the Church
demands recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the full remission of sins. We
must accept this, and have recourse to it, in a spirit of humility.
<<Fasting>> here indicates and includes the external
mortification which should be understood in a Franciscan sense: they have value if they
are the means and aid for interior conversion, for tending towards God. Truly seeking to
<< be humble and simple>> is always preeminent.
The second part of the article invites us to contemplate the
paschal mystery. Through Christ who offered himself to the Father as a sacrifice and
victim, we have access to God despite our sinfulness. The highest point of Franciscan
contemplation is our transformation <<into him who, out of an excess of charity,
wanted to be crucified>> (LM 13,3).
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