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Copyright © 1998-2010 Society of Saint Francis, European Province |
| Franciscan Calling | ||||||||||
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‘To live a life according to the pattern of the holy Gospel’ As Christians we are all through our baptism called to follow
the example of Christ and to share the Good News in our daily lives.
To do that we need to be nourished and sustained in our faith
through prayer, word and sacrament and are encouraged on our journey
by members of the worshipping community, the Body of Christ. In all
that we do Christ is at the centre influencing our thoughts and
words and actions and we are called to love, obey and serve the Lord
in the whole of our lives.
A process of conversion as the call is
recognised...
For St Francis the journey of discernment, revelation and
understanding was a gradual one with various turning points along
the way. It was as though with each step another piece of the jigsaw
began to fit into place. The journey took him from his early
years as the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, enjoying a
rich social life with his friends, to begging and preaching in the
same streets where he used to sing the songs of the troubadours. About
Francis
Francis the Knight
San Damiano During this time Francis spent much time in prayer and it was
kneeling before the crucifix in the broken down church of San
Damiano that the next stage of Francis journey was revealed. Deep in
prayer, it was as though the figure on the crucifix spoke to him,
telling him to rebuild the church. Francis responded with enthusiasm
and taking the message literally began to physically rebuild the
church by begging for stones.
The message of the Gospel
Another definitive turning point for Francis was on hearing the
gospel of the day being read in the Church of St Mary of the Angels.
Its message so touched his soul that a fire was ignited in his heart
and was to become the foundation for the rest of his life (Matthew
10: 7, 9-10). In response to the message Francis clothed himself in
a simple tunic, put a rope around his waist and removed his shoes
and began to preach and proclaim the good news with great simplicity
and power.
People are still inspired by this
message today and seek to follow Christ in the way of St
Francis.
This is how Francis heard the
call. If something of these stories touches you God may be calling
you. God still calls people today.
So what makes our life as Franciscans distinctive from any
other religious community?
Through all of creation he was able to see the hand and work of
his Creator God and as Francis’ ‘turning to God’ unfolded, he was
gripped by the fact of the Incarnation and nature became truly holy
for him. He was enthralled by God’s presence in the created
order.
At the end of his life Francis completed his song of the praise
of all creation ‘The
Canticle of the Creatures’, see also Christ
in creation. The Canticle reflects a transformed
relationship with creation, where everything created, animate or
inanimate was revered because of its common origin in God, the
Source of all Being.
So it is from this basis that the First
Order Anglican Franciscan brothers and sisters try to
live out their lives in a spirit of humility, love and joy.
Guidance for the living of our daily lives is laid out in the Rule
of Life and in The
Principles of the Order, a portion of which is read each day by
the brothers and sisters.
We strive to achieve a balance between the three elements of
Prayer, Work and Study through all of which we seek to serve.
Prayer – We try to live lives rooted in prayer, with the
Eucharist at the heart of all that we do. In addition to the
corporate times of prayer, time is set aside for private prayer and
individual communion with God. See Praying
with SSF and How
I pray.
Works – As Anglican Franciscans we have no one
particular ministry or apostolate, but have different ministries
according to the gifts that God has given us. However The
Principles state that the active works begin
within our houses and gardens, in which 'the tasks are apportioned
among all so that all may contribute their own share to the work of
the household and the cost of their own living.'
Study – We are as Franciscans committed to a life of
on-going formation and seek to find opportunities for study and
learning that will help with that process of life-long learning. Learn
more
(l-r: Prayer; Work; Study) In all of these areas we offer ourselves as channels of God’s grace to one another and to all with whom we have contact, seeking to live our lives in the spirit of humility, love, and joy Humility – This is about recognising our dependence on
God, and about following the example of Christ who emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant and who on the last night of his life
washed his disciples’ feet (c.f. Philippians 2:5-11). We endeavour
to live all relationships in humility towards one another, seeking
rather to take the log out of our own eye than the speck out of the
eye of another (c.f. Matthew 7:1-5). The things that we find
difficult in others must be the subject of prayer rather than
criticism.
Love – As Jesus said to his disciples: ' I
give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I
have loved you, you also should love one another.' (John 13:34
NRSV), so too we seek to make this love a distinguishing feature of
all that we do in the service of Christ.
The
Principles say …'brothers and sisters “must be on their
guard against all that injures this love: the bitter thought, the
hasty retort, the angry gesture, and never fail to ask forgiveness
of any against whom they have sinned'.
Joy – Joy is a gift that comes from God, abiding even in
days of darkness and difficulty. Francis was the epitome of joy and
indeed his writing of the Canticle of the Creatures at a time of
deteriorating health is an example of light shining through the
darkness, of the joy and beauty of creation being praised amidst
much pain and suffering. As Franciscans therefore “we delight in
laughter and good fellowship”. The
Principles SSF
(l-r: Footwashing on Maundy Thursday; Drumming at Hilfield; Yetminster Show Team) To read more follow the link to our brochure, opens a new
window (PDF document) – A Franciscan Way
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