St Francis used this passage in the Lord’s Prayer to emphasize our responsibilities under the first commandment, to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole strength, and the second, to love our neighbor as ourselves. St Francis’ transcendent strategy of “Seeking Your glory in everything” is expressed in the Canticle of the Creatures, where all creation sings of God.
Much remains to savor as we journey to follow Francis' example of living the Gospel of Jesus, Our Lord. As we prepare to officially remember Francis' passing, let us reflect on our vocation.
Article 13 of the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order is one of the most demanding invitations in our Rule, and it is the blueprint for how I engage with others. It calls me to recognize each person as a “gift of the Lord and an image of Christ,” to look beyond superficial differences, and to offer others the dignity and love they deserve.
“Your Kingdom come” is first a prayer for the fullness of God’s everlasting kingdom, but it is also a call to recognize and serve His kingdom already present among us. The kingdom is wherever the King is known, believed in, and worshipped. For those who pray these words, the petition carries both hope and responsibility: Your kingdom come, my kingdom go.
The National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States welcomes you to a nationwide Zoom event celebrating the 800th anniversary of the transitus of Francis to eternal life.
Even when we grumble at God’s love and concern when we first discover it, we can make God’s heart rejoice if we obey.
From the Lord’s point of view, what really matters is not what you get. What really matters is that one works in the vineyard.
When we pray “holy be Your name,” we ask that God’s name be honored not only by our words, but also by the way we live. St. Francis reminds us that the more deeply we come to know God, the more clearly we recognize His blessings, promises, majesty, and judgments. As we give thanks for His presence in our lives, our relationship with Him deepens.
Forgiveness is realizing that we cannot change the past; forgiveness is refusing to let what we cannot change control us.
We can never be certain how St. Francis of Assisi envisioned heaven and the majesty of God. Francis was a medieval man, and his understanding of the cosmos was radically different from ours. But for centuries, Christians had accepted a model of the universe as one constructed with the Earth at the center, and the Sun, the Moon, and the planets in separate, concentric spheres moving outward to the sphere of the stars.