Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation is meant to be more than a list of topics. It is a model to show how our life in the Rule brings about conversion, and how our actions are its fruit. We practice contemplative prayer, we reflect on our Gospel call, experience conversion, and apply it to this age and place. In our work, in our family life, in the parish and in our fraternities, we are a people of renewal.
We are often sad to lose the old, but we must never despair, for our Lord may prune, but he does so only to help his branch yield more fruit (Jn 15:2). In the area of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, for example, we leave our old isolation, lose our false sense of security, and we enter a new path of discovery; we gain new friends and new wisdom. It doesn’t always happen in that order, but “joy comes with the morning!” (Ps 30:5).
In some cases, a young person discovers a renewed faith-life, but doesn’t know how to nourish this new reality. Finding time and energy to give thought, let alone action, to their spiritual lives is often not a “luxury” they feel they can afford. We, as more “seasoned” Catholics, can offer simple ways to revitalize this important area of their lives. Reflecting on the story of St. Francis and his experience of renewal and transformation, we know he was close to the same age as many of the young people we hope to serve. He too sought answers when he felt confused ...
For many people, a pilgrimage is a time of renewal. Going to a specific, holy place, often walking more than usual, praying in a place that is made significant by who has been there and what has happened in the past, any one of these things would help us to reflect on our lives, and a pilgrimage usually has all of them. ...
The theme for this edition of the TAU-USA is “Renewal.” What comes to mind? A day of rest? Something one does for a magazine subscription or a driver’s or professional license? What happens when we do not renew something? We may become burned out or exhausted in terms of our mind, or we may need to pay extra or pay a fine in terms of a license, or perhaps we might not be able to practice our profession/work. How about a renewal of our commitment to the Gospel? ...
Do you know the secret of perseverance in our vocation? Ever wonder how people remain committed as Secular Franciscans for 30, 40, 50 years? The answers seem simple but are, in fact, difficult to live because they require untiring efforts and a penitential option for the spiritual path. Even professed members can lose their vocation through the busyness of family, work, and other commitments if they fail to make prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do. (OFS Rule, 8) ...
As the Franciscan Youth and Young Adult Commission has stated many times, our mission calls us to share the Franciscan way of life through prayer, formation, and social justice action. Even though we may only have a few official YouFras in the states, we discovered in reading last year’s annual reports, there are individuals, fraternities, and regions all across the United States who are taking seriously our OFS Rule, Article 24 to “Foster communion among members,” especially with our young people, and to “adopt appropriate means for growth in the Franciscan and the ecclesial life.” ...
As we begin 2024, we are reminded of two special calls for deepening our relationship with Our Dear Lord and our suffering sisters and brothers. The Franciscan Family is commemorating the “the Gift of the Stigmata” and the whole Catholic Church begins the final year of preparation for the Eucharistic Jubilee. ... In celebrating the Centenary of the Gift of the Stigmata as a Franciscan Family, we are invited to restore the dimension of prayerful and contemplative silence in our daily lives, the silence that places us before the essential, that lets us recognize our desire for the infinite that resides in our hearts, that allows us to listen to ourselves, to others and to God. ...
I couldn’t help thinking how our meeting – an Anglican priest at the Chapter of a Catholic order – would have been, for far too long, unthinkable. Until people did think of it! And then these people acted on it: Roman Catholic Secular Franciscans reached out to the Anglican TSSF and the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and asked for dialogue. Meetings were held, and five principles of Franciscan unity, across our denominations, were discovered: baptism, charism, call, Christo-centrism, and the prophetic voice. The Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity was founded, and in time the Order of Lutheran Franciscans joined. “How blessed it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity,” (Ps 133:1).
Today, in Franciscan circles, specific words or phrases are used to describe the Franciscan understanding of Christ and Christ’s relationship to humanity and creation. Too often, no clear definition is given, and many Franciscan teachings are skipped over without understanding what is meant. This should not discourage us because St. Francis’ understanding of the Almighty deepened throughout his life. The man who began by repairing churches was not the same man who wrote the Canticle of the Creatures and gave himself back to God in the arms of Sister Death. So, Let us begin...