CNSA

Fourth of July is a civil celebration, but for us Franciscans—indeed for all Christians—any commemoration is infused with a sense of God’s presence. While many of the Founding Fathers of our nation did not believe in the kind of God we believe in as Catholic Christians, several were Christian, and others acknowledged some kind of godly presence worthy of giving direction to our lives and our common project of national government. But what kind of freedom do we celebrate? ...

Each of our families is touched by broken relationships. At least somewhere in the family tree, there is likely to be divorce, separation, or some kind of estrangement. Our national fraternity is similar in this way: there is a group of energetic former Secular Franciscans who have broken their fraternal relationships with us to form a separate group of Franciscan tertiaries. As is all too common with broken family relationships, these former members seek to draw other members into their group.