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Br_Carlo
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 08:17 am |
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God's peace. On several threads I have heard the equivalent of sighs from people who wish that they could find the sort of vibrant, on-fire "fanatacism" for the Faith that they remember from their Protestant days. Well, sigh no more! The Secular Franciscan Order or SFO, the very descendant of the Tertiary or Third Order begun by St Francis himself 800 years ago, is very much a place where such fellowships exist. There may be one in your area, and if there isn't--it may be possible to start one!
I was blessed in that I was attracted to Franciscan spirituality while still an Anglican. The principal Anglican Franciscan group, called the Franciscan Order of the Divine Compassion or FODC, is about as close to Catholic as you can get without being Catholic and is headed up by the most Catholic of the Anglo-Catholic Bishops, Keith L. Ackerman. When I became Catholic, the SFO in my area allowed me to transfer my FODC profession into it, as if I were coming from another state rather than another religion. (This was an act of great condescension on the part of my Regional Minister and may not be available elsewhere.) As a result, I did not have to go through the 2-year formation process normally required of postulants.
There are several websites on which you can get information about the SFO, especially http://www.nafra-sfo.org. Many local fraternities also have their own websites.
Deborah asked, " Br. Carlo, this may be better in a private message and I don't want to take away from this post, but I am very interested in the Franciscans. Actually, reading about them was the first thing that started to draw me back to the Church. We have a group of 3rd order Franciscans locally, but I did not get the impression that they had a similar charism to the Friars of the Renewal and the Friars of the Eternal Word. I so wish the Friars of the Renewal would have a residence out here in Allentown. They have started doing Catholic Underground once a month locally.
"So please share or start a new post. I think it would be a blessing to many on the forum. Deborah"
Deborah, there are more Franciscan orders out there than hairs in my beard. However, all of them seem to be on good terms with the "original" Order of Friars Minor and its Poor Clares and Seculars. Our local fraternity, Sacred Heart in Tyler, TX, is hosted by a Franciscan Friars of the Renewal priest, while our cathedral's Christian Education Director is a sister from the TOR or Third Order Regulars. As far as I can tell, all of the Franciscan orders have a similar underlying charism of spiritual growth through "emptying" or the embracement of "Lady Poverty" along with a special concern for the poor. However, the outworking of this may vary greatly from order to order and even from fraternity to fraternity.
In my opinion, only Catholics who are "fanatical" about Jesus and the Faith get involved with the SFO. In short, it's a great place for people like me--and maybe you, too! Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
Last edited on Tue Apr 24th, 2007 08:16 am by Br_Carlo
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Prodigal Daughter
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 196 |
| First Name: | Deborah/PD | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptized Catholic, received First Communion, left during Confirmation year. ... |
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Posted: Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 07:27 pm |
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Thank you for responding to my inquiry Br. Carlo. If you don't mind, I have other questions about the secualr Franciscans that I have not been able to find the answers to through the website.
i would be happy to PM you or discuss these things for the benefit of all. I'll leave it up to you.
Deborah
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"Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all Heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest."
St. Francis of Assisi
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Br_Carlo
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 08:28 pm |
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| God's peace. Why not let everyone read about the SFO? I welcome a public discussion. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~ Last edited on Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 08:29 pm by Br_Carlo
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Prodigal Daughter
Member
| Joined: | Wed Nov 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 196 |
| First Name: | Deborah/PD | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptized Catholic, received First Communion, left during Confirmation year. ... |
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Posted: Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 10:40 pm |
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My main questions stem from the one area of this Catholic life where I feel the greatest void, that is fellowship and a connection with others.
How does the secular Franciscan life look practically in terms of fellowship? Does the friendship mainly develop through spiritual activities like prayer and retreats? Are there activities that folks participate in locally like working at soup kitchens and praying at abortion clinics? What about social events of a non-religious nature like hiking or a picnic? Is there a connection with religious Franciscans? Is there a connection nationally and globally? When Franciscans travel, is there some type of fellowship that occurs between them based on their commitment to live that life?
I'm sure your answers in this regard will stir up other questions. Thank you in advance for taking the time to respond to my inquiry.
God bless.
Last edited on Mon Apr 23rd, 2007 10:41 pm by Prodigal Daughter
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"Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all Heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest."
St. Francis of Assisi
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Br_Carlo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Tue Apr 24th, 2007 08:12 am |
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God's peace. I would say--ALL of the above! While the SFO in my area is primarily of older folks who are not generally keen on hiking and other physical activities, curiously, we actively sponsor and assist a Franciscan youth fellowship within our diocese. As far as soup-kitchen type activities, our fraternity has a Thanksgiving meals-for-the-needy distribution each year, but since we come from many parishes we tend to exercise our calling through our local parishes as much as possible.
It is important to remember that Franciscan spirituality rejoices in the lowest levels of service. Our current minister, an active woman in her late 70's, conducts catechism and sacramental preparation classes at her parish and was almost singlehandedly responsible for coordinating the cleanup and repair effort that literally reclaimed the parish building--an abandoned Catholic church in largely black and Hispanic north Tyler--from the owls and bats when our new bishop granted some Franciscan Friars of the Renewal permission to rebuild and occupy it. The Franciscan priest there, Fr. Luis, LOVES the SFO and works with us in everything we do. This type of close friendship with the celibate Franciscan religious of all orders is a blessed feature of our order.
While prayer and retreat are important activities within the SFO, the sense of community our order shares is largely expressed through our monthly meetings and communal participation in the Mass whenever possible. The SFO is truly an international organization, as can be seen from its website, and has groups that work on projects related to ecology, world hunger, and peace as well as the "rebuild my Church" aspects that Francis felt called to. When we travel together, we talk about all sorts of things, many not directly religious (it takes very little to get me started on fishing!). But through all of it, a common love of simplicity and a shared fellowship with the Creation through the Crucified gives us something above the average church donut club. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
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Steven Barrett
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Posted: Thu Apr 26th, 2007 12:52 pm |
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Correct me if I'm wrong here, but as far as I've known and seen on the net, the 3rd Order is a mostly (very liberal on war/peace issues, soc. justice) Episcopalian-run body.
I probably would be more interested except for the liberal poltical slant. While I agree fully that we need a cradle-to-grave social economic safety net, I also have some very strong misgivings with the Pax Christi approach towards war and peace and the 3rd Order I've come across is very much in tune with PC on this issue.
Not that I'm a militarist -- although I've been with worse anti-polit. correct "isms" and "ists" on the liberal list of anathemas and maledictions for uncorrigible conservatives. It's just that it doesn't seem to make much sense to advocate policies that'd put more people in danger than they'd be by having a strong military to defend them, if need be.
It'd be nice to know if our religious orders haven't been overtaken by the politically correct gestapo/kgb crowd.
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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Br_Carlo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Thu Apr 26th, 2007 07:10 pm |
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God's peace. As far as I can tell, while left-wing liberalism is present, it isn't dominant in the Sacred Heart Fraternity of the SFO to which I belong. Of course, elsewhere things may be different; Martin Sheen is a member of the SFO, as you probably know!
I hope that none of them is bold enough to voice his opinion to me at a function, since I'm liable to launch a spirited defense of conservative, Texas-style values at them. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo, a lifetime NRA member and straight-ticket Republican~
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Steven Barrett
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 12:17 am |
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Br. Carlo,
Thanks for the information. Sounds like they believe in the "Big Umbrella" idea as the GOP. Just don't tell Sheen. 
s.
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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Darlene
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 877 |
| First Name: | Darlene | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Christian, trusting His love and forgiveness |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 09:10 pm |
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Br_Carlo wrote: God's peace. As far as I can tell, while left-wing liberalism is present, it isn't dominant in the Sacred Heart Fraternity of the SFO to which I belong. Of course, elsewhere things may be different; Martin Sheen is a member of the SFO, as you probably know!
I hope that none of them is bold enough to voice his opinion to me at a function, since I'm liable to launch a spirited defense of conservative, Texas-style values at them. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo, a lifetime NRA member and straight-ticket Republican~
Whoa, now I'm picturing a guy with a 10 gallon cowboy hat, cowboy boots to boot, riding in a pick up truck that has bull horns attached to the front, and honks the Dixie tune, like the Dukes of Hazard hotrod. Do ya have a Confederate flag tacked somewhere on that truck in visible sight of all?
What's up with Charlie Sheen being a member of the Secular Franciscan Order? I've never considered him as being ANY kind of Christian with the rhetoric that proceeds from his mouth. Does the SFO have any guidelines or requirements for those who wish to be members other than being Catholic? Is there any way a person can be expelled from the order, say, if they decide to openly and blatantly defend abortion, homosexuality, pornography, or speak out publicly against any Catholic dogma/doctrine?
Darlene
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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Br_Carlo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 11:57 pm |
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God's peace. Darlene, I'm very ordinary looking, and don't even own a pair of blue jeans--much less a Stetson. Relax!
By the way, it's Martin Sheen, Charlie's dad, who is a member of the SFO. Yes, there are ways of expelling wild men--but they have to be enforced. Like every far-flung group, we have our trouble spots. Don't let that deter you.
Aside from being Catholic, there is a fairly lengthy process of discernment and formation which prospective Franciscans must go through before becoming professed members of the Order. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
Last edited on Sat Apr 28th, 2007 12:00 am by Br_Carlo
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3John4
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| Joined: | Tue Feb 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 76 |
| First Name: | Dede | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic, Protestant, Catholic |
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Posted: Mon May 7th, 2007 11:50 am |
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Br_ Carlo,
I just wanted to let you know your original post here was a real blessing to me.
I came back to the Catholic Church about 2 years ago after being gone for 19. I knew my neighbor went to daily mass, so we started going together. It has really helped both of us stay accountable. Almost immediately upon my return to the Church she asked me to come with her to one of her SFO meetings. I tend to be very shy in groups and so always found a reason not to go. However, after reading this thread, and checking out the link you mentioned, I went to a meeting yesterday.
Most of my friends are from my old Protestant church. My husband and children are still staunchly Protestant too, with nothing but contempt for Catholicism. I have prayed since my return that the Lord would send me one good friend who loves the Church as much as I've learned to. In that room yesterday, there sat 17 women, all who care deeply about their Catholic faith, and desire to share it with each other--and with the world. It was incredibly encouraging to me.
And I wouldn't have been there to experience it if it weren't for your post!
Thanks,
Dede
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Br_Carlo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 153 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Mon May 7th, 2007 07:32 pm |
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| God's peace. Dede, I am humbled by your response. May God richly bless you in your pursuit of holiness--and I hope, in the bare footsteps of the Poverello! Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
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