The Essential Documents of the Secular Franciscan Order (2005) is no longer in print. The Index in this document has been recently updated and has been added to the Home page on the OFS-USA website along with the OFS-USA Governing Documents that are contained within The Essential Documents of the Secular Franciscan Order.
Create customized programs for your Professions, Admissions and Ceremonies of Welcoming using text from the new Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order.
The Season of Creation is a period that brings together the entire Christian community worldwide to pray and take action for the care of the environment. It begins on September 1st with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and ends on October 4th with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Check out this resources to help you observe the season.
A fillable PDF form for Secular Franciscans seeking to transfer to another fraternity is now available on the website. Transfers are most often requested for one of two reasons: (1) the member will be moving to another location and can no longer participate in their fraternity or (2) the local fraternity to which they belong has been deactivated.
A rich array of texts and presentations from the 2021 Chapter meeting are conveniently accessible now on the website.
It is that time again. September 1st is World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. It marks the first day of the Season of Creation. Attached please find the Franciscan Season of Caring for Creation. Also attached is the 2021-SOC-Full-Guide for this year. This year, the theme of the season is “A Home for All? Renewing the Oikos of God.” In Genesis God set a dome over the Earth. The word ”dome“ is where we get words such as ‘domicile’ and ’domestic’ — in other words, God puts us all is — all people, all life — under the same . . .
Love is the answer to almost all of our problems and failures as Servant Leaders; not our own limited, imperfect human love, but God’s love for us, which never stops and is always there. If we are open to the Lord’s love, that love will flow from the Lord through us to our sisters and brothers before returning to the Lord.
"O God, our Loving Creator, all life is in Your hands from the moment of conception until death. Help us to cherish our children and to be grateful for the privilege of sharing in Your work of creation. Bless all those who defend the rights of the unborn, the poor, the handicapped and the aged. Enlighten and be merciful toward those who do not value the gift of life. Help them to seek and find you. Grant that by our care and respect for all people and all life, we might be a sign of Your Love in our world today. We pray as always in Jesus' name. Amen."
In the Gospel of John ... ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ (John 21:15-17) ... And, what is the Lord trying to teach Peter, the first “minister” of the first “fraternity” of the first “observers” of “the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”? (Secular Franciscan Order Rule 4, http://www.nafra-sfo.org/sforule.html). ... Thus, love is the third great lesson of this Gospel story; love is the answer to the Lord’s expectations of us in lesson one and how we should respond to the Lord’s love in lesson two. Lesson four is how we should manifest our love. “Feed my lambs.” “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-16).
He (Jesus) makes them (his disciples) see that the Christian journey is about changing hearts. It is about learning to live differently, under a different law, with different rules. It is about turning from the path of selfishness, conflict, division and superiority, and taking instead the path of life, generosity and love. It is about passing from a mentality which domineers, stifles and manipulates to a mentality which welcomes, accepts and cares.