The Franciscan Way of Life and Its Purpose

by Br. William Short, OFM

It is all very well to have a theology, to develop a spirituality, and to have an impact on popular devotional life. But a spiritual tradition must do other things in order to survive and flourish within the Church. It must have a form of life, some system of relationships, structures and programs that help to translate the vision into lived experience, and to turn the lived experience constantly toward its founding vision.

The Franciscan “form” may be called the vita evangelica, the evangelical life, the Gospel life. That in itself would not seem to distinguish it from the ordinary life of dedication lived by any committed Christian. However, the reader may find, on closer analysis, that the specific meaning and interpretation of that term contains much that is distinctive.

First of all, Franciscans intend to live the whole Gospel. Again, this may not seem surprising. But in fact most traditions within the Church claim to live one facet, or a couple of important dimensions of the Gospel. For example, one group may intend to imitate the hidden life of Jesus, while another models itself on Jesus the preacher during his public ministry. A third may seek to model itself on the suffering of the Lord, and a fourth on the glory of Christ’s resurrection.

Franciscans have claimed from the very beginning that they wished to live every part of the Gospel, the “full Gospel.” This desire to include all the many parts of the Gospel within its life has led the Franciscan family, in its many branches, to live with paradox, even seeming contradiction. The following posts and blog articles will sketch some important features of the Franciscan way of life, showing how it includes many different parts of the “full Gospel.”

(Used with permission. Source: Franciscans)

Related Audio Course: St. Francis of Assisi: A New Way of Being Christian
Blog Author: Br. William Short

Gulf Pine Catholic Article 2-22-08

Saint Joan of Arc Blog

Great news! Our Region, Saint Joan of Arc Region, has a blog. The address is http://stjoanofarcregion.wordpress.com/.

Franciscan Bookstore on the Blog

I have set up Scribe Books, a Franciscan bookstore on Our Lady's Little Scribe blog, and show Franciscan books (mainly from my library) as recommendations. If a person wants to purchase, a click on the icon takes them to Aquinas and More Catholic Goods and directly to the page for the book where it may be purchased. Easy!!!!

Aquinas and More Catholic Goods is located in Colorado Springs, CO. The goal of the company is to assist in the rebuilding of a Catholic Culture in this country. The store carries thousands of products ranging from books and videos to chalices and church furnishings. The store was started by Ian Rutherford and is owned and run by his family and friends. Iran and his wife, Paula, have six children.

I have written them with about 15 other Franciscan book recommendations which I could not find on their site and requested that they stock them. If these become available, then I'll post the icons also.

The angel below is the icon for the bookstore. I searched for a female scribe image everywhere to use, but alas it seems that all scribes are male.

Let my prayer rise before you
as incense,
the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 141.2

All in God's Time

Submitted by Karen

Bobbye called me the other day to tell me about a young lady and her one year old child who had been living in her car for about 2 weeks. She was working and had been saving money to make a deposit and pay the rent for a trailer. She had saved $350 but lacked about $300 and applied to St. Vincent de Paul for assistance. Bobbye said normally they cannot help one person that much.

St. Vincent de Paul had a board meeting, and Bobbye remembered the $210 check I had just sent her to give them. It was in her purse, and she told the board about it. They were able to help this young lady and her one year old child, using the OLP check of $210. It allowed them to get into the trailer that night! Bobbye was so excited and wanted to share with us the great use for our check! She said it was fabulous that we sent the check when we did!

There are times that I chastise myself for not doing something in the time frame that I think I should. This demonstrates that all things are done in God's time......not mine. If the check had been sent any earlier or any later, this young lady and her child may not have been helped and who are we to say that those funds weren't especially meant for THEM!!!

We are so very blessed as a community.....hopefully we can do this more often!