Guided by the spirit of St. Francis, who simply and in a few words wrote down a Rule and Form of Life, this latest version of our Rule emphasizes the spiritual and Inspirational basis for our way of life rather than the canonical or juridical aspect.

For Francis "The Rule and Life of the brothers consists in living in obedience, chastity and without property". However, at the same time, he made it quite clear that the vows were the minimum expected. He immediately adds a measure which goes beyond the canonical dimension of the vows by his affirmation that the life of the brothers consisted, moreover and especially, "in following the teachings and footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ".

As an Inspirational document, the Rule nourishes a way of life, stays close to the origns, fosters ideals, creates a future and proposes goals. Our new Rule is rather like " our Franciscan gospel". In it we discover light for our fraternal way of life, which is the appropriate environment for living out our consecration and the stimulus for performing the works of mercy. The Rule also collects the very words of Francis which, in spite of the centuries, have not lost the fundamental insight of that liberated man to whom: "The Most High Himself revealed ... how I was to live". The considerable number of citations from the writings of St. Francis ensures what Pope Paul VI in "Ecclesiae Sanctae" calls "a truly living spirit". The present TOR Rule does not stifle the Spirit but, seeking to inspire rather than impose, it leaves room for the heart, for poetry, and for faith. Its tone and simplicity are closer to the original Franciscan experience and to the Francis of the Proto-Regula and the Regula Non-Bullata. More than a legal document, it seems rather the "Ideario" of an evangelical fraternity which seeks to express its own personal experience.

The text is entitled "THE RULE AND LIFE" but seems to have much more to do with Life than with Rule. It reflects Francis who liked to call the Rule "life" because it is closer to the idea of "charism" and "spirit" than to "norm", "law" or "canon". The necessary canonical legislation, regulations, and the special style of life or work, are all important aspects which each Franciscan Institute following this Rule will emphasize in its particular law: the Constitutions, Statutes, Chapter Resolutions, etc.

The Four Fundamental Values of the Rule:
Penance, Prayer, Poverty and Minority

After an intense examination of the characteristics of Franciscan spirituality which have inspired the different Institutes of the Franciscan Third Order Regular, there were four fundamental values which could be recognized. Neither poverty nor minority could be understood in a Franciscan sense except from the gospel life which demands "metanoia" or penance, nor did penance mean for Francis something other than living the gospel. These values are not contradictory but complementary to one another since they arise from the same spirituality. They are all important, indeed, each is essential for the Tertiary Family. It would not be very difficult to do a comparative study to show how these four characteristic values are interwoven throughout the primitive Rules and Constitutions of the Order. An examination of our present Constitutions and General Statutes will reveal how the four values of penance, prayer, poverty and minority permeate them. 

An Appraisal of the TOR Rule Approved by Pope John Paul II

• presents the Gospel project of Francis as he describes it in his Testament.

• it offers and expresses abundantly all facets of the Franciscan ideal of life.

• it is the genuine expression of Francis' life for his followers among the brothers and sisters of Penance.

• it includes all those elements which constitute the common identity of the Third Order Regular Family.

• it is a "classic" document which will always need to be re-read and re-translated for each period of history.

• it is an inspirational text.

• it proposes an integrated collection of attitudes towards living the gospel.

• it gathers together the characteristics of Franciscan spirituality.

• it creates and expresses the basic unity among the Institutes of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis and the Secular Franciscans, and with the First and Second Orders.

• it provides a common text for TOR Institutes of brothers and sisters of both the active and contemplative life.

• although written in a classical format, it embraces the teachings of the Vatican II Council on religious life.

• it encourages a knowledge and familiarity with the Writings of St. Francis.

• it constitutes a font of inspiration for initial and continuing formation.

• it is arranged in 9 Chapters, 32 Articles, plus an Introduction (Letter of St. Francis to his Penitents), and concludes with an Exhortation and the Blessing of St. Francis.

• it cites: 59 texts from the Bible; 86 from St. Francis, and 20 from Franciscan sources.

• faithful to the Testament of St. Francis, written "in a few words and simply", it proposes a Rule of Franciscan Life which is: brief, spiritual, permanent, universal, inspirational, unifying, pluralistic, and inexhaustible.

"AND LET THE FRIARS NOT SAY: THIS IS ANOTHER RULE! ... It is a reminder, an admonition and an exhortation, it is my testament which I, brother Francis, your little one, give you, my blessed brothers."

At the direction of the Church, the brothers and sisters of the Third Order Regular Family have turned in search of "water, humble, pure and chaste" to the fount of their origins. Leaving behind the weight of centuries, regulations and customs, antiquated forms, we have gotten closer to Francis, the simple, evangelical, penitent "made prayer" to discover in the clear springs of his writings and life a greater clarity in living according to the form The Most High revealed.

The Title of the Rule of 1982

"The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters
of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis"

The new Rule is in accord with the previous Rules approved by Nicholas IV (1289), Leo X (1521) and Pius Xi (1927).

"Brothers and Sisters" dates from the time of St. Francis and the Order of Penance and the "Memoriale Propositi" of 1221.

"Third Order" is a term which was not easily accepted by the Franciscan penitents since it might imply a dependence on the Friars Minor but by the time of the Rule of Nicholas IV it had become commonplace in papal and other documents.

"Regular" is a term which refers to the observance of community life already begun in hermitages and hospitals during the lifetime of St. Francis. It was officially defended and received papal approval in 1323.

The addition to the title which is not found in the previous Rules is "..and Life.. ". This term is found more than 80 times in the writings of St. Francis, especially in the Regula Nonbullata where it means, above all, the style of life inspired by the Gospel, the Way of life of those who have been captivated by Christ.

In the Church of St. Nicholas in - Assisi (site of today's Post Office), Francis opened the missal and found the three texts: "go and sell.. ", "take nothing along... " and "deny yourself ". This is the Life and the Rule of the Lesser Brothers, the Poor Ladies, and the Brothers and Sisters of Penance "of St. Francis".

LIFE is a way of expressing the vital character of the Rule which is the "book of life" 2 Cel 208, the "norm of life" 1 Cel 32, and the "Rule which gives life" A, Clareno.

LIFE means to be humble, prayerful, poor, penitent .... to be a peaceful, joyful brother or sister, to incarnate the spirit of our way of being Christians, Franciscans.

LIFE in the terminology of St. Francis, means the commitment of the fraternity which receives its expression in the text of the Rule. This is written and corresponds to the realization of the Life.

LIFE because this Rule seeks to be more soul than law.

LIFE indicating identity, behavior, attitudes and values.

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