Franciscan Heritage
"St. Francis was a man who was in touch with the wounds of his time and whose life made a countercultural statement.
As a son of a cloth merchant, he grew up as part of the emerging middle class; comfort and pleasure were ordinary for him,
and he could choose to avoid poverty and struggle. He became a knight and was captured during a war with a neighboring
city, and this caused him to rethink his life.
From St. Francis, I learn how to sacrifice comfort and live a prophetic message that God's love is wild and transformative.
He and his brothers (along with St. Clare and the Poor Ladies) lived simply and devoted to Christ. Aware of his creaturedom,
St. Francis proclaimed a mutuality with all God's creation in his Canticle of the Creatures, naming other as Sister and Brother.
Having dominion over anyone or anything did not match his understanding of the Gospel.
The message of his life is incredibly relevant today."
- Sister Julia Walsh, Global Catholic Sisters Report
Essential Franciscan values exemplified in the life of St. Francis
Contemplation, a reflection on God and the Christian Gospel and on the values therein — human dignity, common good, justice and much more.
Conversion, an openness to continuous change and improvement in our interaction with God's world and a deepening of religious faith.
Minority, a sign of our conversion and consecration, to live simply, to have true and humble faith, to serve and work faithfully and conscientiously, to live with special dedication and joy.
Poverty, an understanding and acknowledgment that Jesus, though rich, emptied himself. Therefore, we give whatever we have beyond our own need to the poor and those in need.
Saint Clare of Assisi. Clare, 1193 - 1253, lived as a penitent within the Offreduccio family household and was known throughout all of Assisi for her holy manner of living. On Palm Sunday, 1212, Clare took a bold step on her spiritual journey. She renounced her privileged position in the nobility and received the garb of the followers of Francis...