Our recent Lenten Day of Reflection went so well. We were so happy to welcome some guests.
But we have to be honest, like every religious organization we are impacted by two things - older members and not too many people interested in joining. However, I personally feel we do not have too many people interested in joining because they do not know about us or what we are. This pitiful attempt to explain will be a piece to bring the information to YOU dear reader who might want to come find out more!
Not many people know about the Third Order Franciscans or how it dovetails in their growth as Catholics. No one who joins is a saint but we sure do work together to become saints. Mother Angelica said most people work their whole lives to study to get a title after their names like MBA or CPA but we as Catholics try to get a title BEFORE our names that of “Saint” but “we don’t graduate until we die.”
We have to share more to get new members because the organizations around our fraternity have suffered with changing demographics, the closure of the friary and the decrease in vocations happening all around us.
And to be honest, it is not always easy to convey the spiritual graces available to those of us who have professed.
So here we go in a way to help explain or set up our elevator speech, I figured why not draft it here and share it all over.
Being a Third Order Franciscan means you have brothers and sisters in the faith all of whom are working together to get to heaven.
That is it - that is the elevator speech. Did it grab you? If yes, there is more! We are working toward adding in some community work as an organization to move in the community together. Each of us who is still active has some community involvement in church and community events. Most of the people at those events, though, are also older.
So go where the younger people are - is mixed. We can come but how do we engage? Something developed 800 years ago with the rule of the third order by St Francis Assisi had their first members sell all of the belongings and donate the money. This is not part of what we do now. We think about living in the world but not of it. For those of us who are still raising our children (like me) it is with the faith - Sunday mass, prayers at home and the remembrance and reliance on the Communion of Saints and a personal relationship with Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Some of us are single and working within the confines of that vocation being available to others and helping in ways possible - all with Jesus. Some of us are widows / widowers, we are sharing our faith with our grandkids and if we can still get around we are around in small ways in the community
We all carry with us some piece of the charisma of St Francis and St Clare. A way to watch our tongues and what we say. A way to be of help in any way big or small. A reliance on prayer and Jesus in the Eucharist.
Our meetings are full of joy. We are full of joy. We bring Jesus to others and we keep Him in our hearts. We are all young of heart because of that connection.
If you come to a meeting and like what you see (which you will), you can slowly discern if you want to become a professed member. This is like joining a religious order but without the vow. Your vow is open to a marriage or to continue in the religious world to be a nun, a sister or a priest, deacon or brother.
The process to be professed takes some time as it is a lifelong commitment to be a Third Order. This does not mean just that you attend as many meetings per year as you can; it means you are making a promise to God that you will try to live your life as the Gospel tell you to do so.
We are not recruiting but prayerfully putting it out there. If you are over 18 (hey where are all my mid-lifers like me 49 going on 50), consider attending a meeting or sending a message on this website to find out more.
At our Lenten retreat, Frank Siller the head of the Tunnels to Towers Foundation gave a speech. This was something that really hits home with the benefits of raising your families in the faith. Frank and his seven siblings grew up with parents who were members of the Secular Franciscans and the children grew up doing service and other works together with their parents. When they lost their beloved youngest brother as a hero during 9/11, their first idea was to use the pain to help others. Their organization is centered around something St Francis of Assisi said, “Let us do good … while there is time…” One of the siblings, Regina, is a third order Franciscan in our fraternity. Praise Jesus.
If God wills it , maybe your family will be able to partake in the spiritual graces and joys from having a professed member in the family! Pax et Buon.
