Minister’s Messages

Minister’s Message – “Who We Are”

(This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 Issue #104 of the TAU-USA)

By Jan Parker, OFS

Three years ago, I made a Visitation to Tau Cross Regional Fraternity. Something happened during that visit that made quite an impact, and I have remembered it ever since. Our ongoing formation topic that day was the OFS Rule. I was interested in what the Rule meant to those gathered, so I handed out blank postcards and asked everyone to write down three words – just three words – to describe the Rule. After a few moments, I collected the cards, and then chose some to share with the group.

As I looked through the cards, there were many good responses. One said:

Gospel. Life. Penance.

Someone else had an interesting take and wrote:

Spiritual. Orderly. Concise.

But one card stood out among all the others. In large letters it simply said,

Who we are.

I smiled, because to me those three words describe our Rule perfectly. Ever since that day, I have kept that card
inside my little red Rule book as a reminder that this is my goal – to make the Rule “who I am.”  Read more . . .

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