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Forming the Life-9-2-16 The Third Order Society of St. Francis Province of the Americas Forming the Life of a Franciscan 2016 Formerly referred to as The Formation Letters; and Forming the Soul of a Franciscan; Originally written in 1967; Revised 1991; 2003; 2011; 2015; 2016 Acknowledgments Heartfelt appreciation is given to the many Third Order members who contributed over the years to this publication–Fall 2016. The stories introducing each chapter are taken from Armstrong, Regis J., J. A. Wayne Hellmann, William J. Short, eds. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents of Assisi. (The Saint, vol. 1; The Founder, vol. 2; and The Prophet, vol. 3). New York, NY: New City Press, 1999. Print., and are used by permission. All Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Forming the Life of a Franciscan Page i Table of Contents Introduction: What is t he Third Order, Society of St. Francis, and Who are We?...1 Steps in the Formation Process…………………………………………………......7 I. Your Personal Rule 1. The Rule of the Third Order and Your Personal Rule ……………………….… 8 2. Holy Eucharist ………………………………………………………………... 13 3. Penitence ……………………………………………………………………… 17 4. Personal Prayer …………………………………………………………….…. 23 5. Self-Denial ………………………………………………………………….… 29 6. Retreat …………………………………………………………………..…….. 33 7. Study …………………………………………………………………..……… 37 8. Simplicity ……………………………………………………………...……… 41 9. Work …………………………………………………………………..………. 49 10. Obedience: Introduction ……………………………………………..………. 53 11. Obedience: The Daily Office …………………………………………...……. 57 12. Obedience: Spiritual Direction ………………………………….……..…….. 64 13. Obedience: The Local Fellowship ……….……………………………..……. 68 II. Following the Principles 14. The Object ………...……………………………………………………….…. 74 15. The First Aim: To Make Our Lord Known and Loved Everywhere ….....…… 78 16. The Second Aim: To Spread the Spirit of Love and Harmony ……….....……. 83 17. The Third Aim: To Live Simply ……………...…………………………..……89 18. The First Way of Service: Prayer ……...………………………………..…….. 90 19. The Second Way of Service: Study ……………………………………..…….. 91 20. The Third Way of Service: Work ………………………………………..……..92 21. The First Note: Humility………………………………………...………..…… 93 22. The Second Note: Love ……………………………………………...…...…… 98 23. The Third Note: Joy …………..…………………………………………….…. 102 III. Other Franciscan Topics 24. The Contemplative within the Franciscan Vocation ……...…….………..…… 105 25. The Active within the Franciscan Vocation ………………………………..…. 112 26. Francis and Creation ………………………………………………………….. 117 IV. Life in Community 27. History of the Third Order in the Province of the Americas ……….…………. 123 28. The Governance of the Order and the Province ………….…………………… 129 Forming the Life of a Franciscan Page ii 29. Our Provincial Community ………….……………………………………...… 134 30. Life After Profession ………….…………………………………………...….. 136 Works Cited ………………………………………………….………………….… 141 Appendix A: Roles and Responsibilities in the Province …….………………...…. 154 Appendix B: Common Abbreviations ………………………….……………….… 156 Appendix C: Recommended Additional Reading ……….…………………….….. 157 Index……………………………………………………………………………….. 167 Introduction: What is the Third Order, Society of St. Francis, and Who are We? Francis Foresees His Life as Giving Birth to Many Children of God [In 1209, Francis and his early companions went to Pope Innocent III to receive approval for their way of life. But the pope and some cardinals were concerned that Francis’ life of self-denial and poverty was too hard.] Before the saint left his presence, the Lord Pope wanted to know whether what had been, and what would be conceded, was according to the Lord’s will. And so, he said to him and his companions: “My dear young sons, your life seems to Us exceptionally hard and severe. While we believe there can be no question about your living it because of your great zeal, we must take into consideration those who will come after you lest this way of life seems too burdensome.” [The pope asked Francis to pray about this.] Once God’s saint had prayed as the Lord Pope suggested, the Lord spoke figuratively to him in spirit: “There was a little, poor and beautiful woman in a desert, whose beauty fascinated a great king. He wanted to take her as his wife because he thought that from her, he would have handsome sons. After the marriage was celebrated and consummated, there were many sons born and raised. Their mother spoke to them in this way: ‘My sons, do not be ashamed, for you are sons of the king. Therefore, go to his court and he will provide for all your needs.’ When they went to see the king, he was struck by their good looks and noticing a resemblance to himself in them, he asked them: ‘Whose sons are you?’ When they answered that they were the sons of the little poor woman living in the desert, the king embraced them with great joy. ‘Do not be afraid,’ he said, ‘for you are my sons. If strangers are fed at my table, how much more will you, who are my lawful sons.’ He then ordered the woman to send to his court all of the children she had borne to be fed.” When these things had been shown to blessed Francis while he was praying, the man of God understood that the poor woman signified him. After he completed his prayer, he presented himself to the Supreme Pontiff and narrated point-by-point the story that the Lord had revealed to him. “My lord,” he said, “I am that little poor woman whom the loving Lord in His mercy Forming the Life of a Franciscan Page 1 has adorned and through whom He has been pleased to give birth to legitimate sons. The King of kings had told me that He will nourish all the sons born to me because if He feeds strangers, He must provide for His own. For if God gives temporal goods to sinful men out of love for providing for his children, how much more will He give to Gospel men who deserve these things out of merit” (“The Legend of Three Companions,” pp. 96-7). Francis was a charismatic human being who reflected the love of Christ and truly lived the Gospel. Nearly everyone who met him loved him and wanted to follow his way. Francis quickly saw that people in ordinary walks of life could be called to serve God with totally committed hearts and lives. The Franciscan vocation was not limited to a celibate life of homelessness and poverty. Thus, more than 800 years ago, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance came to be. The three expressions within the Franciscan vocation, the First, Second and Third Orders, embody a loving trinity of co-equality and mutuality. Within the Anglican Communion, the First Order consists of the Brothers of the Society of St. Francis (SSF) and the Sisters of the Community of St. Francis (CSF); the Second Order comprises the Sisters of the Community of St. Clare (CSCI); the Third Order is the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order (TSSF). The First and Second Orders live together in community, while the Third Order comprises men and women in the ordinary walks of life who live in a community “in dispersion.” The term “Third Order” denotes a religious order that lives under rule and vows, outside a convent, without habits or religious garb, in the ordinary secular walks of life. It is a very specific call. The formation process is a path of discovering who we are and what’s right (or not right) for each of us personally. Sometimes formation results in finding out this is not the right path for us. How can we be Franciscans and not live in literal poverty, be members of a religious order yet marry and have children and live apart from one another? We are called to a deep response to our Lord’s Gospel, just as Francis was. As the Roman Catholic Secular Franciscan Rule says, “We go from life to the Gospel and from the Gospel to life” (Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, Article 4, http://www.nafra-sfo.org/OFSrule.html). And that is just what Francis did. In all things, we are called to reflect the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and his unconditional love in whatever place we are called to serve. Living out Gospel values in a materialistic world is a difficult challenge. We are often, as the Christian slogan goes, “the only Gospel some people will ever read.” We remain an “Order of Penitents,” though we call Forming the Life of a Franciscan Page 4 ourselves “tertiaries,” and our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers call themselves “Secular Franciscans.” The word “penitent” has taken on largely negative connotations today, but for tertiaries, it is closely rooted to the Greek word metanoia, which means turning (or re-turning) toward God. That is our primary focus as “penitents”–to be always turning our faces and our interior being again toward our beloved Lord. There is nothing negative about this process at all. We strive for peace and unity in the family of God through Gospel living after the manner of St. Francis. The first focus in this life is to order our own lives, to learn to live the Rule as individuals in a dispersed community. This is a process of internalization, and we find ourselves bringing everything about ourselves into line with the focus our Rule requires. This happens slowly and imperceptibly; over time living the Rule moves from being a conscious effort to becoming an integral part of our being. The Rule becomes our interior core orientation that permeates our actions and words. Forming our spiritual natures by means of living a rule of life under spiritual direction is an ancient tradition. Any rule, Franciscan or otherwise, usually includes practices directed toward getting to know the Lord better (personal prayer and Bible study), getting to know ourselves better (meditation, spiritual direction and self examen), and striving to become whole in Christ (prayer, penitence and self-denial). Where many of the Religious before Francis’ time denied material creation and tried for all they were worth to negate the world, Francis embraced it for all he was worth, finding it inseparable from its Creator.
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