CHARACTERISTICS OF A SECULAR FRANCISCAN LIVING OUR VOCATION

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SECULAR FRANCISCAN LIVING OUR VOCATION: A FOCUS ON THE BEATITUDES

FOUNDATION l Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for himself and his mother a poor and humble life, even though he valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the gospel they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children. l Thus, in the spirit of “the Beatitudes, ” and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power. l Rule, Art. 11

General Constitutions Art. 15. 1 l Rule 11 Secular Franciscans should pledge themselves to live the spirit of the Beatitudes and, in a special way, the spirit of poverty. Evangelical poverty demonstrates confidence in the Father, creates interior freedom, and disposes them to promote a more just distribution of wealth”

General Constitutions Art. 15. 2 l Secular Franciscans, who must provide for their own families and serve society by means of their work and material goods, have a particular manner of living evangelical poverty. To understand achieve it requires a strong personal commitment and the stimulation of the fraternity in prayer and dialogue, communal review of life, and attentiveness to the instructions of the Church, and the demands of society.

General Constitutions Art. 15. 3 l Secular Franciscans should pledge themselves to reduce their own personal needs so as to be better able to share spiritual and material goods with their brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. They should give thanks to God for the goods they have received, using them as good stewards and not as owners. l They should take a firm position against consumerism and against idelogies and practices which prefer riches over humand religious values and which permit the exploitation of the human person.

General Constitutions Art. 15. 4 l They should love and practice purity of heart, the source of true fraternity.

ISAIAH 61: 1 -2 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord as anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the preisoners, To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of Vindication by our God. . .

THE BEATITUDES AND THE SFO Blessed are the poor in spirit.

MATERIAL POVERTY Being without necessities is NOT “poor in spirit. ” It is not a virtue. It is not good. It denies the goodness of God unless FREELY embraced.

POOR IN SPIRIT § Rid ourselves of excess “things. ” § Be detached from material things and other things that “capture” us. § Don’t “run after” the things the world deems important. § Seek God in ever-deepening moments of contemplation and mystical experience.

POOR IN SPIRIT § § § Do not reflect the unbelief of society. Request of God only what we need. Be totally dependent upon God. Have total trust in God. Give of yourself. Abandon yourself to divine providence.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

THOSE WHO MOURN ● Mourning continually touches all levels of life. ● Many experience anointing in mourning. ● In turn, they minister consolation, healing and restoration, bringing comfort to the world.

THOSE WHO MOURN Community enriched when a member is made whole. Suffering must be embraced before comfort and consolation is experienced.

THOSE WHO MOURN 3 Aspects to mourning and comfort: n n n 1. In our individual lives 2. In our relationships 3. In the infrastructures of the world

THOSE WHO MOURN To bring comfort, we need reconciliation and unity. To bring reconciliation and unity, we need conversion Conversion – deep, permanent change – daily. .

Blessed are the meek; they shall inherit the land

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK Committing our lives to fulfill God’s plan. n Requires total dedication to God’s plan for the world. n The opposite of meekness is violence. n

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK Violence is the reaction when power, possessions, and prestige are threatened. n Jesus teaches reconciliation instead of retaliation. n Meekness means stewardship of the earth’s resources. n

GUIDES TO HOW SECULAR FRANCISCAN ARE TO LIVE u General u u u Constitutions – Art. 12 Rule – Art. 7 General Constitutions – Art. 13 General Constitutions – Art. 14. 1

1. What do you understand “poor in spirit” to mean? 2. How do you become “poor in spirit? ” 3. List some practical things you would expect to see in the life of a Secular Franciscan who is poor in spirit. 4. What do you understand “mourning” as used in the Beatitudes, to mean? 5. How can we bring comfort to our broken fraternities? 6. How should meekness be reflected in a Secular Franciscan?