Who Are the Secular Franciscans

From the earliest days of Francis of Assisi's ministry, lay people who longed to live a deeper life of Faith were drawn to his message of conversion and penance.

Anniversary of the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order

A Letter from Emanuela De Nunzio, O.S.F.
Minister General of the Secular Franciscan Order

To My Brothers and Sisters,

The renewed Rule is 20 years old. The Presidency of the CIOFS feels that this anniversary should be remembered in the life of each local Fraternity, and by each member of the Secular Franciscan Order, in order to promote, above all, a renewed gratitude for the "gift" of the Rule. Yes, because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit which has inspired the longing of lay Franciscans to respond to "changing times" and for the "provisions and encouragement given in regards to the Second Vatican Council" (cf. The Apostolic Letter " Seraphicus Patriarca, ") .

The celebration of the 20th birthday of the Rule gives us the occasion to renew our lives. As a Fraternity, and as single individuals, we should ask ourselves what meaning it has had in our existence. How much have our choices and our style of life conformed to it? How much have we been able to incarnate our ideals to possess its identity and express its nature? How much has belonging to the Fraternity favored the promise to proclaiming Christ to the people of today and in being witness to him in our daily life through service?

Within the Fraternity and in our own personal prayer, the Rule should be meditated upon and prayed, almost as a "lectio divina" so that it can produce in us deep meditation, inspired interpretation, a strong impression and a spirit of unity with the brothers and sisters of the whole Order. If we model our fives on the Rule, we shall reorder our values and our reality. We shall favor the simple, the humble and the poor. We shall convince ourselves of our worthlessness and we shall let ourselves be filled with the wisdom of God. We shall be the leaven of a new humanity, convinced that "even with the spread of comfortable doctrines, and the growth of tendencies which turn people away from God and supernatural things, there is already the presence of His Kingdom in life and history" (cf Apostolic Letter "Seraphicus Patriarca"),

With fraternal affection,

Emanuela De Nunzio
Minister General, Secular Franciscan Order

The Secular Franciscan Order

From the earliest days of Francis of Assisi's ministry, lay people who longed to live a deeper life of Faith were drawn to his message of conversion and penance.

Francis formed these lay penitents into the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, later called the Third Order of St. Francis. From this Order the TO.R. emerged in the 15 th century. The lay Order continued as the Third Order of St. Francis, Secular. In 1978, its name was changed to the Secular Franciscan Order (S. F 0.)

Secular Franciscans, as their name implies, live ordinary lives in the world rather than in religious communities. They may be single or married, women or men, in all walks of life.

They live the Gospel as consecrated laity in a Franciscan manner according to their own Rule which they profess after a period of initial formation. Profession as a Secular Franciscan is a lifelong commitment. Formation and profession of the Secular Franciscan takes place within a local community called a fraternity. Life in fraternity is an essential aspect of the Secular Franciscan vocation. The fraternity is a community of love, the privileged place for the sisters and brothers to develop their sense of Church and the Franciscan call.

Although a self-governing Order, each Secular Franciscan fraternity receives guidance in spiritual matters from a spiritual assistant, usually a friar of one of the other Franciscan Orders. These relationships are particularly strong between Secular Franciscans and the TO.R. friars with whom they share common roots in the Franciscan penitential tradition.

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(This article is taken in part from:)

SFO - CATCH OUR SPIRIT

FRANCISCAN COMMUNICATIONS
1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles, CA 90015

Text: Michael Weishaar, OFM

Sounds like the San Francisco Airport, but-NO WAY!

However, it is a place to take off. It's 30,000 people in the United States and almost a million people in the world who follow Jesus Christ in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Countless lay people, married, single, divorced, and widowed, loved Francis of Assisi so much and admired his simple, gospel way of life so much that they wanted to follow him. He wrote a Rule of Life for them and called them the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Later they were known as the Third Order of St. Francis; and finally, today, they are the S.F.O.: Secular Franciscan Order. So you see, it's not the San Francisco Airport, but it is a place to fly!

Secular Franciscans are dynamite lay people who realize that the Christian life is not simply living up to the Ten Commandments, but living out the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, and being poor, meek, merciful. In other words, it is to be peacemakers-followers of the way of St. Francis, witnesses of the Gospel-the "Good News." They take no vows, but profess to make the Gospel their rule of life in their daily activities.

St. Francis of Assisi turned the world of his own day upside down, gently but firmly, when he wrote in his Rule that anybody who follows him could not carry weapons of any kind. As a result the constant wars between cities and city-states came to an end, and at long last people realized that they were not enemies but sisters and brothers in the Lord. Instead of using their energies for war, they channeled their efforts into peace, caring for the poor and needy in any way at all, feeding, clothing, nursing the sick and dying, visiting prisoners, performing the Corporal Works of Mercy.

It was as if a whole society was leavened by the Holy Spirit and took it over for Jesus. Our Secular Franciscans are about these same things today, each person promising to live out the Christ-life to the fullest.

The Secular Franciscans have a Rule of Life to follow-which is simply a translation of Gospel values for everyday application. It highlights four areas which are honest concerns of any Christian today:

• FAMILY:

"In their family, they should cultivate the Franciscan spirit of peace, fidelity, and respect for life, striving to make of it a sign of a world already renewed in Christ." (Rule of SFO, par. 1 7.)

The rule of life speaks of Family life and of respect for life-major concerns of all of us. We have seen family life fragment with divorce, so often traceable to secular currents rampant in our society. Selfishness, consumerism, materialism, hedonism run amuck in the world today. The Secular Franciscan promises before God and the world that he or she will endeavor to give herself or himself in service to others, to live simply according to the Gospel, to be a person of penance, giving up that which is merely pleasurable for the sake of the kingdom.

Respect for life means a strong stance against abortion; and in line with the "seamless garment" doctrine, a respect for life in all forms; i.e. opposition to the death penalty and opposition to the senseless killing in war.

• WORK:

"Let them esteem work as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption, and service of the human community." (Rule of SFO, par. 16.)

Secular Franciscan Fraternities and individuals do all in their power to work "to be worthy of their hire." They also make every effort to help those less fortunate to obtain employment and, therefore, to have a sense of dignity which work brings with it. They are imbued with the sense that all have jobs to do to bring about the fulfillment of the Kingdom here on earth to make a better world. Human labor is a blessing, both received and bestowed. By working, a person shares in the creative power of the Father, renews the face of the earth along with the Son, and brings the love of the Holy Spirit to the human community. Such an attitude toward work can reshape one's own and others' values and actions regarding labor and management, business and economics, a living wage and welfare, proper use of one's own talents and the resources of others.

• JUSTICE AND PEACE:

"Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith." (Rule of SFO, par. 15.)

Secular Franciscans all over the world are taking an active part in actually alleviating the hurts and sufferings of the poor and needy in this our day. "Francis Houses" are springing up all over the country to help those who are hurting in any way at all. These people MUST be cared for NOW and we must endeavor to help them live with dignity. At the same time, countless Seculars are involved with changing the system that produces such injustices. Studying the issues, being active in politics, electing the right candidates, or getting people out to vote for candidates who will bring about changes in the system are all concerns of the Secular Franciscans.

Just as Francis of Assisi was instrumental in bringing an end to war in his day, Franciscans today are working for peace in many different ways. Secular Franciscans actively take part in the Lenten Desert Experience protesting nuclear testing at the test-site in Nevada. They realize that we are hurtling down the road to destruction with the continued insane build-up of weaponry. They preach that today more than ever WAR IS OBSOLETE! They believe that we must sit down at the peace table to try to negotiate with our brothers and sisters, long-considered enemies.

• ECOLOGY OR ENVIRONMENT:

"More over they should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate, which bear the imprint of the Most High, and they should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship." (Rule of SFO, par. 18.)

Francis saw all of creation, the sun and moon, the weather and water, fire and earth, forgiving people and death itself as symbols of the union between God and his people. Hence, all creation has a sacred quality and enjoys a oneness with humanity in the history of salvation. Following the example of Francis, the Secular Franciscans express a profound respect for all creation and use it for its intended God-given purpose. Furthermore, they work to ennoble nature and technology and build a community conscience toward using natural resources. This ministry toward creation will stem the selfish tide of abuse and waste and exploitation in this world.

We are joy-filled followers of St. Francis. We would love to have you:

CATCH THE SPIRIT!
JOIN US IN THE SECULAR FRANCISCANS!

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