Franciscan Living
by Francine Gikow, OFS
Do you know the secret of perseverance in our vocation? Ever wonder how people remain committed as Secular Franciscans for 30, 40, 50 years? The answers seem simple but are, in fact, difficult to live because they require untiring efforts and a penitential option for the spiritual path. Even professed members can lose their vocation through the busyness of family, work, and other commitments if they fail to make prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do. (OFS Rule, 8)
This intimate prayer life demands time, desire and perseverance. As for any lover, time together is foundational for any relationship. We cannot have a relationship without conversation, listening and responding. Intimacy in prayer is a necessity. Rote prayers and rushing through our prayers to finish, is not a fitting gift to our all loving God for as Jesus said: “…in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them…(Mt 6:7-8)
If we have the desire to live like Francis, intense, passionate prayer time is needed to listen to God’s voice, and to be open to see Him in each other and the world. God makes Himself present to us individually because our relationship with Him is unique; we are made for a particular purpose, exclusively our own.
Balancing our life of prayer and action is important as we strive to live more closely to Christ. Our commitments to daily prayer, Mass or other spiritual exercises should begin to take priority over “sleeping in,” retrieving emails or checking social media. It is penitential since we relinquish time and material things to become closer to God. What a glorious sacrifice!
A desire for our relationship with God means that it must become a priority in our life as we make a conscious choice for spending time with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Even if we don’t feel desire; …the Spirit helps us in our weakness …for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. (Rom 8:26)
Perseverance is vital in our commitment to a relationship of prayer. We have made this commitment at the time of our profession; however, it requires the ongoing nourishment of our own spiritual life with reading, retreats, and study. In addition, we have to pray for ourselves- for the grace to persevere in this vocation God has given us.
It is also imperative that a Secular Franciscan have a vibrant, intimate relationship with God through prayer, scripture and the sacraments. Jesus instructed us: And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites…Go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Mt 6:5-6) Through silence, we allow intimacy to occur.
Scripture is indispensible to intimacy because we profess to go from gospel to life and life to the gospel. We learn to interiorize and personalize the teachings of Jesus in scripture. Fr. Eric Doyle[1], OFM, describes meditating on Holy Scripture as an exchange between Christ and those who love Him; we need to read scriptures lovingly, listen to them lovingly, as we would listen to or read a letter from someone we loved. Remember, St Jerome said, ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.
The sacraments are also available as a source of grace which enables us to persevere. It may entail making changes in your schedule to include daily Mass, and the frequent use of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Without the sacraments, we are setting ourselves up for failure by starving our souls of the graces needed to persevere in our life of prayer.
Through an intimate relationship with God, we can become a home for the Holy Spirit and a conduit for Christ to enter into this secular world through us:
Abid in me, and I in you…He who abides in me
and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. (JN. 15:5)
[1] Eric Doyle, OFM, The Essence of Franciscan Spirituality. Durham UK: Franciscan Publishing. 2022. p. 50-51.
https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2024/02/26/prayer-the-heart-of-who-we-are/
Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, offers insights about the Transfiguration that go far beyond a “sneak preview” of Resurrected glory.
 100vw, 261px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>National Youth/Young Adult Commission Chair</p><p>As the Franciscan Youth and Young Adult Commission has stated many times, our mission calls us to share the Franciscan way of life through prayer, formation, and social justice action. Even though we may only have a few official YouFras in the states, we discovered in reading last year’s annual reports, there are individuals, fraternities, and regions all across the United States who are taking seriously our OFS Rule, Article 24 to “Foster communion among members,” especially with our young people, and to “adopt appropriate means for growth in the Franciscan and the ecclesial life.”</p><p>The concluding document from the recent (XI Latin American Congress and I American) OFS-YouFra Congress in Paraguay states that it’s imperative that we “strengthen the bond between OFS and YouFra with listening, dialogue, opportunities and presence!” Throughout the nation, folks are finding ways to do just that. The power point we shared at the 2023 NAFRA Chapter highlighted some of what we learned in the reports, and hopefully encouraged ministers to return to their regions energized and determined to increase efforts in this vital area of OFS life.</p><p>There is one question that continually comes up in conversations with Regional Animators and Ministers. “Why don’t we have YouFra in the United States?” Folks are concerned that when young people contact their fraternities, there are only a few YouFras to which they can be directed. My quick answer is that the youth in the United States have different needs than those of countries where YouFra is well established.</p><p>In the final report of the National Dialogue on Catholic Pastoral Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, we are reminded that “…the urgent needs of the young are very different in other countries and continents even within the commonality of the one faith.” In the United States, our young people are faced with challenges unique to our area of the world, and within their own communities. I’ll attempt to give a few simple explanations as to why this is a reality, but there are other reasons also, so this could be a semester long topic of study! We are a cosmopolitan society—quite diverse even within local communities. Diversity is a gift! Each culture represented offers unique perspectives, traditions, and ways of living. Even though this gives our country a wonderful flavor, it also offers challenges. Young people have so many choices, especially when it comes to faith and ways of life. In the YouFra heavy countries, we find mostly Catholic societies quite often accompanied by the presence of Franciscans. Young people grow up with the influence of Franciscan charism and YouFra and are deeply immersed in their Catholicism.</p><p>As a result of the diversity and freedoms we experience in the United States, young people are often faced with a lack of identity. They don’t automatically consider themselves bonded to a particular culture or religion. Youth in other countries have only one cultural identity, so their sense of belonging is stronger. In fact, the tradition in our country whereby young people leave home after they finish high school contributes to this lack of identity. Suddenly thrust into a society filled with divisiveness and mixed messages makes “adulting” difficult for our United States youth. In other cultures, young people traditionally continue living at home until they are married or make a major life change.</p><p>Our country is also blessed with affluence, which means most young people have access to computers and internet. Again, this is a gift—but can also present problems. In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis suggests that “Contemporary life offers immense possibilities for action and distraction, and the world presents all of them as valid and good. All of us, but especially the young, are immersed in a culture of zapping. Without the wisdom of discernment, we can easily become prey to every passing trend.”</p><p>In the book iGen: Why today’s Super Connected Kids are Growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood the author, Jean Twenge, PhD, states that even though there are great personality characteristics in this age group, “new media is making teens more lonely, anxious, and depressed, and is undermining their social skills and even their sleep.”</p><p>The commission is delving into these (and many other) differences more deeply. We are asking the question, “How are we, as Secular Franciscans, uniquely equipped to offer our younger Catholics the support they need in facing these challenges. How can we best accompany them? What is distinct about us, and how might that help us specifically respond to the needs of young people?”</p><p>Our young people need encouragement, inspiration, and support in their journey toward holiness. And we, as older more seasoned Catholics need their energy and enthusiasm, their questions and challenges, and their youthful presence in our journey toward holiness. We walk together as pilgrims.</p><p>Thank you for loving our youth and mustering up the courage and time to step into their world. We will be resuming our monthly zoom gatherings soon. We hope to see you there!</p><blockquote class=){kind=logo}
