The Franciscan Project of Life - 800 Years Young

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During this 800th anniversary year of the founding of the Franciscan Order, Franciscans throughout the world have remembered the occasion with celebrations and have also been reflecting on the demands of Franciscans today. Though Franciscan life is expressed differently depending on one's state in life, five basic commitments characterize all Franciscan's lives. These five commitments offer a continuing challenge for renewal and recommitment to living the Franciscan life which this anniversary year has helped to foster.

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The first commitment is that of leaving everything in order to follow Jesus. In fact, the first gospel text which Francis and his brothers discovered in the Gospel book in the church of St. Mary of the Angels, was the word Jesus addressed to the rich man inviting him to leave everything, to distribute all of it to the poor, and then to come follow him (Mt 19:21). Francis did this when he renounced his inheritance before the Bishop, and Clare did this as well when she left her family home to join the brothers at the Portiuncola. This commitment expresses the conviction that there is nothing more important than following the footprints of Jesus and living the gospel. But, for Francis and Clare this kind of poverty was not an end in itself, but the basic requirement for living as brothers and sisters with everyone and with all of creation.

Second, once accepted into the brotherhood and sisterhood one was committed, "Through the charity of the Spirit ... to serve and obey one another voluntarily," and they were to "express the love they have for one another by their deeds...." This style of authority and obedience practiced by the brothers and sisters was placed in a context of mutuality-the minister must be a servant of the brothers, and the other brothers must also serve and obey their minister. Charity is of the essence of obedience according to Francis who summarized Jesus' obedience in terms of his self-giving love first when he was born for us in Bethlehem and when he gave himself on the cross for our sins, leaving us an example to follow

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Third, the brothers and sisters practiced an ethic of sufficiency. Relinquishing everything, they identified with the poor in terms of their choice to live with them and to dress like them. The brothers supported themselves by working, hiring themselves out primarily as day-laborers. In payment they received only what was necessary for life, in terms of food, drink, clothing, for themselves, for the brothers who were sick or unable to work, and for the lepers and other poor. If they did not receive enough for the day, only then could they beg. The logic of Franciscan living is that if everyone took only what was necessary for the day, there would be enough to go around for everyone. At the same time, this practice facilitated brotherhood and sisterhood as Francis suggested: "Let each one confidently make known his need to another; Let each one care and love for his brother as a mother loves and cares for her son in which God has given the grace."

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Fourth, the brothers and sisters lived lives of mission. As they traveled about the world, they met people where they found them, engaged with them in honest conversation in the homes that were opened to them, and they ate and drank what was set before them while they promoted peace. The brothers and sisters were sustained by the Body and Blood of the Lord which accomplishes the reconciliation and peace of all things with God. In this sense, the mission of the brothers was "eucharistic," that is, the mission is to effect reconciliation and peace, preaching primarily by deeds.

Finally, the brothers and sisters were "Lesser Brothers and Sisters." They were to live lives subject to all people in the world and church, as well as to the created order. This implied a pattern of behavior as a lifestyle, and even more than a pattern of behavior, it describes a way of being human-simple, without controlling others, without controlling the created world. There is only one All-Powerful, and that is the Father of Jesus Christ. This way of being human was the counter-example to the greed and violence of so much of the society in Francis' day as well as in ours, and this describes the real condition of the lepers, the poor and the marginalized even today. Being subject does not imply a passive acceptance of injustice and evil, but the choice to act humbly, patiently, and peacefully in every situation.

These five elements have characterized Franciscan life and practice for 800 years, since the time of Francis and Clare, and they challenge us today to continue the legacy handed on to us so that we can entrust it to those who will come after us in the future!

The author, Father Michael Blastic, OFM, is a professor of Franciscan Studies at the Franciscan Institute, of St. Bonaventure University. This  article was published in the the Winter 2009 issue of The Antonian.

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Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page contains a single entry by Paul Zalonski published on January 27, 2010 1:50 PM.

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