{"id":25284,"date":"2010-01-27T13:50:18","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T17:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/01\/the-franciscan-project-of-life\/"},"modified":"2010-01-27T13:50:18","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T17:50:18","slug":"the-franciscan-project-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/01\/the-franciscan-project-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Franciscan Project of Life – 800 Years Young"},"content":{"rendered":"

During
\nthis 800th anniversary year of the founding of the Franciscan Order,
\nFranciscans throughout the world have remembered the occasion with celebrations
\nand have also been reflecting on the demands of Franciscans today. Though
\nFranciscan life is expressed differently depending on one’s state in life, five
\nbasic commitments characterize all Franciscan’s lives<\/b>. These five commitments
\noffer a continuing challenge for renewal and recommitment to living the Franciscan
\nlife which this anniversary year has helped to foster.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

\"St<\/a><\/p>\n

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

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Second<\/b>, once
\naccepted into the brotherhood and sisterhood one was committed, “Through the
\ncharity of the Spirit … to serve and obey one another voluntarily,” and they
\nwere to “express the love they have for one another by their deeds….” This
\nstyle of authority and obedience practiced by the brothers and sisters was
\nplaced in a context of mutuality-the minister must be a servant of the
\nbrothers, and the other brothers must also serve and obey their minister.
\nCharity is of the essence<\/i> of obedience according to Francis who summarized
\nJesus’ obedience in terms of his self-giving love first when he was born for us
\nin Bethlehem and when he gave himself on the cross for our sins, leaving us an
\nexample to follow<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

\"Allegorgy<\/a><\/p>\n

Third<\/b>, the brothers and sisters practiced an ethic of
\nsufficiency. Relinquishing everything, they identified with the poor in terms
\nof their choice to live with them and to dress like them. The brothers
\nsupported themselves by working, hiring themselves out primarily as
\nday-laborers. In payment they received only what was necessary for life, in
\nterms of food, drink, clothing, for themselves, for the brothers who were sick
\nor unable to work, and for the lepers and other poor. If they did not receive
\nenough for the day, only then could they beg. T<\/span>he logic of Franciscan living is
\nthat if everyone took only what was necessary for the day, there would be
\nenough to go around for everyone<\/span>. At the same time, this practice facilitated
\nbrotherhood and sisterhood as Francis suggested: “Let each one confidently make
\nknown his need to another; Let each one care and love for his brother as a
\nmother loves and cares for her son in which God has given the grace.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

\"Mass.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fourth<\/b>,
\nthe brothers and sisters lived lives of mission. As they traveled about the
\nworld, they met people where they found them, engaged with them in honest
\nconversation in the homes that were opened to them, and they ate and drank what
\nwas set before them while they promoted peace. The brothers and sisters were
\nsustained by the Body and Blood of the Lord which accomplishes the
\nreconciliation and peace of all things with God<\/span>. In this sense, the mission of
\nthe brothers was “eucharistic,” that is, the mission is to effect
\nreconciliation and peace, preaching primarily by deeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Finally<\/b>, the brothers
\nand sisters were “Lesser Brothers and Sisters.” They were to live lives subject
\nto all people in the world and church, as well as to the created order. This
\nimplied a pattern of behavior as a lifestyle, and even more than a pattern of
\nbehavior, it describes a way of being human-simple, without controlling others,
\nwithout controlling the created world<\/span>. There is only one All-Powerful, and that
\nis the Father of Jesus Christ. This way of being human was the counter-example
\nto the greed and violence of so much of the society in Francis’ day as well as
\nin ours, and this describes the real condition of the lepers, the poor and the
\nmarginalized even today. Being subject<\/i> does not imply a passive acceptance of
\ninjustice and evil, but the choice to act humbly, patiently, and peacefully in
\nevery situation<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
These five elements have characterized Franciscan life and
\npractice for 800 years, since the time of Francis and Clare, and they challenge
\nus today to continue the legacy handed on to us so that we can entrust it to
\nthose who will come after us in the future!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
The author, Father Michael Blastic,
\nOFM, is a professor of Franciscan Studies at the Franciscan Institute, of St.
\nBonaventure University. This 
\narticle was published in the the Winter 2009 issue of <\/i>The Antonian<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … Continue reading The Franciscan Project of Life – 800 Years Young<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1773],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}