Praying The Rosary for Our Four Fraternities
Please permit me to request every Secular Franciscan in the United States to pray the Third Decade of the Rosary for our One Secular Franciscan Order and our Four Fraternities to which each of us belongs!
Conversion Times Three–Five Point Plan Pages 29-33
By Dear Brothers and Sisters of Penance,
May the Lord bring us Peace! By our very definition as “Brothers and Sisters of Penance,” any day is a good day for repentance or conversion. After all, our Secular Franciscan Rule 7 states: “United by […]
The Beatitudes of Penance – Five Point Plan pg 23-26
Regardless of provenance, the Franciscan Peace Prayer offers a wonderful Lenten source of meditation.
Brothers and Sisters of Penance – Five Point Plan pg 19-21
When St. Francis called us into an Order in the very beginning and wrote our Rule, he considered and named us, "Brothers and Sisters of Penance." Let us spend a few moments in this Lenten Season unpacking our name.
“Fraternity and Francis” In Following the Franciscan Way
At every step in following the Franciscan Way, from Inquiry to Ongoing Formation, in prayer, one should journey with Sacred Scriptures in one hand and the Secular Franciscan Rule and General Constitutions in the other hand, and with both eyes, as clearly as possible, focused on Christ and Francis.
For All The Saints: St. Francis’s Five-Point Plan for Salvation
By Deacon Tom Bello, OFS As I have said many times, we are wasting each other’s time in fraternity if we are not, as good Secular Franciscans, trying to bring each other to salvation. Please permit me to do my part and share with you Saint Francis’s Five-Point Plan for Salvation, found in the very first words of the Prologue in our Secular Franciscan Rule:
Take a Mindful Franciscan Pause to Thwart Bias
Matthew (13:54-58) recounts how, when Jesus came to his hometown and began to teach in the synagogue, people were as- tounded, and even took offense. They knew him as the carpenter’s son; not this new Jesus. “This image of him in the synagogue did not fit the Jesus they had in their heads,”
Prayer: The Soul Of All We Secular Franciscans Are And Do
“Let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do . . . going from gospel to life and life to the gospel” (O.F.S. Rule, articles #8 and #4). How are Secular Franciscans called to pray communally, privately and liturgically? Consider these reflections in a digest article by Teresa Baker, OFS.
Mary: Mother and Model
Francis, like all Medieval Christians, had a special devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. As we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, here is an article that discusses the importance of Mary in Franciscan life.
National Minister’s Message – Formation Visioning Workshop
The journey of transformative visioning has begun – a journey that will test our readiness to authentically live the Franciscan life. Our experience at the recent Formation Visioning Workshop awakened our souls. We must now allow God to work this great change in us.