By Joe Makley, OFS
National JPIC Animator
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“As Jesus was the true worshipper of the Father, let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do.”  St. Francis spent time in the cave, which followed Jesus’ practice: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35).  Secular Franciscans are also called to be “true worshippers of the Father” by giving time to God, whether in an adoration chapel or beneath the crucifix on the wall at home.  St Francis’ time in the cave is the example, but his contemplative practice continued beyond the cave, to a life of mystical encounter, with Jesus in the Eucharist, in the liturgy and scripture, in service to the lepers, with the brothers, and ultimately with his cosmic family in the Canticle of the Creatures.

Contemplative prayer can be a gift.  But even when it is a gift, it is a discipline, of heart, of mind, of disposition.  In its many forms, it is a habit that benefits from regular practice.  In Article 8, our beautiful Rule calls us, despite our unworthiness, to those interior waters of solitary prayer, and thence to a life of loving encounter, with Jesus in the Eucharist, with the brothers and sisters in fraternity, in the Sacraments and the Liturgy of the Church, with the stranger needing welcome, the hungry, the thirsty, and those without shelter.  As in St. Francis’ life, it is all to be prayer. Our embrace of contemplation has the potential to fill our hearts with the love that forgives all and can heal the world.

OFS Rule Article 8:

As Jesus was the true worshipper of the Father, so let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do. Let them participate in the sacramental life of the Church, above all the Eucharist. Let them join in liturgical prayer in one of the forms proposed by the Church, reliving the mysteries of the life of Christ.