As in most families, certain topics “pop up” for discussion every so often and need clarification. Some topics are simply a matter of majority opinion; others are a matter of “tradition” and should we/can we change the tradition; but some are a matter civil or Church law. Whether or not Secular Franciscans “wear a habit” is a topic that falls into the latter category. ...
St. Francis is known as a peacemaker, and for the Peace Prayer, which, although not written by St. Francis, reveals his thoughts about peacemaking. However, I still have questions about how St. Francis actually demonstrated this in real life. ...
The commission has spoken many times about the importance of creating youth-friendly fraternities. Why is this essential and what does this really mean? The simple answer to the first question is, it’s essential because if a young person is interested in joining a YouFra (Franciscan Youth Fraternity), at this point they have nowhere to go with that desire, except to us—the Secular Franciscans. There are only a few official YouFra groups in the United States. ...
The priorities for the National Fraternity for the next three years are Vocations, Relationships, and Communications. All are incredibly important to who we are as Franciscans. At a brainstorming session at our recent in-person National Executive Council meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, I shared my thoughts on the three priorities: “We must build relationships with better communications in order to bring in vocations.”...
The Bishops of the United States are calling all its Catholic members to a deeper relationship with God through a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This year 2023 – 2024 is designated for “Parish Renewal”. We, the Franciscan “people in the pews” should be in the forefront of this renewal ...
...the National Fraternity has appointed a task force to help our celebrations to be as widespread and universal as possible. ... 2023 is going to be a busy year for us, with TWO centenaries to help celebrate, as well as planning our work. The NEC has asked us to plan a face-to-face event at Chapter and a Zoom event open nationwide each year and to create a common calendar of centenary events from across the country. We are also creating/collecting resources and ideas for centenary celebrations and posting them on our section of the website: https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/franciscan-centenary-celebration/ ...
It is further testament to the authenticity and originality of St. Francis that even though we encounter the Canticle often and in different ways, his song retains its power to inspire us. Even so, we should not take the Canticle for granted. Using our imaginations, we can bring fresh insights to the poem. We can find ways to keep his voice resonating anew for us. Consider a few thoughts along these lines: ...
The National Ecumenical Committee has changed faces and set different goals during the many years of its existence. Our focus has been on the outreach and involvement of those on our Joint Committee (TSSF Third Order Society of St. Francis, OEF Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and OLF Order of Lutheran Franciscans). ...
This year, 2023, the Franciscan Family will commemorate the 800th anniversary of the confirmation of the Later Rule. Also known as the Approved Rule, or the Rule of 1223, the papal approval of the Rule marks the culmination of a long and difficult journey for St. Francis. His journey can be an example to those of us who have professed a different rule, the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order. ...
... I have spent the better part of the past two months trying to think of how to write about the polarization we all encounter in our nation and in the Church. ...