Third Order Lifestyle
Our Blessed Lord said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the father will honor." John 12:24-26. Jesus promises union with God to those who listen to His words and live the life he describes.
The members of the Poverello society give their lives to Jesus by service to His people—who compose His body on earth. They use the life of St. Francis as an example. Francis led a life of poverty—sacrificed possessions and wealth. We, as lay Franciscans, are not asked to sacrifice all our possessions. We are asked to try to simplify our lives; to not allow possessions to become the center of our lives. Simplifying our lives helps us to concentrate on our fellow man and be generous with our wealth, time, and talents.
Pope Pius XII states this about Franciscans and Francis: "The Patriarch of Assisi, the most fiery lover of the Gospel, the herald of the Great King, the shining image of Christ, wields an indescribable influence upon the hearts of all men. This influence is so great that he very frequently draws to his love even those who do not profess the Catholic Faith. How much more, then, should you who are his sons and followers, give an example of extraordinary devotion to him! Let this devotion, however, be evidenced more by your actions than by your words. If you truly love him, follow his precepts, walk faithfully in his footsteps, become inflamed by the inspiration of his seraphic spirit." We do this by living the Gospel; attempting to imitate the life of Christ with your whole being.
Francis was filled with love when he thought of Christ. His desire was to become one with Christ. We become one with Christ by imitating Him and identifying with Him. We must remember that Christ lives in us and lives in others that we meet on our journey. Francis had a great love of the crucified Christ and lived a self-crucifixion through humility, poverty, and mortification. Francis gave up all worldly goods so that his love would be pure. To be united with the crucified Christ means to not only bear one's cross but to bear it joyfully. This enables the Franciscan to live with Christ.
The Franciscan must make Mary, the Mother of God, his or her own Mother. Mary gives life to us because she gave life to Christ. Francis had a deep love of Mary because she made us brothers and sisters with Christ.
God is the only being worthy of infinite love. Francis believed that we are not able to love completely and infinitely but we can approach it through perfect poverty; poverty meaning to withdraw from the attachment of all love and offer that love to God, surrender the love of material things, and avoidance of pride and vanity through simplicity and humility. One must set aside self-will and try to do God's Will.
Our secular Franciscan group forms a community or family. This sense of community comes from a spiritual love of each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. The commandment of the Lord is to "love one another as I have loved you." Franciscan charity is to help one another in every possible way. Saint John says "if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us." This unites everyone in the "one spirit of love." One must be detached from all things to love perfectly. We must continually strive to simplify our lives.
We approach this perfect life of love through a life of contemplation and prayer. However, this does not mean a scheduled prayer. We must imitate St. Francis. Francis' life is an example of a continual prayer because of his living in God. Every thought and action is a prayer. One cannot advance the life of service to God without continual prayer. The purpose of prayer is "to honor and glorify Almighty God."
By practicing continual prayer your life becomes contemplative. "Contemplation is the source of love, and love inflames souls with zeal for the Apostolate. Thus contemplation and prayer occupy the first place in Franciscan spirituality." Contemplation leads to activity meaning one draws closer to God and increasingly able to do His will.
Information retrieved from the Secular Franciscan Order Web site http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/franspir.htm .