Franciscan Vocation

"As followers of St. Francis, the brothers are held to live the gospel vision completely in the spirit of prayer and devotion and in brotherly sharing. They are to give witness to a life of penance and lowliness and, with love for all, they are to bring the gospel message to the whole world, proclaiming reconciliation, peace and justice by their works."

Our Franciscan vocation in its various manifestations finds its raison d'être not in anything we do, but in what we are: following in the foot-steps and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to build a Fraternity in which God is sought and loved above all things. So what is fundamental for every friar and for the entire Fraternity "is to have the Spirit of the Lord and his holy operation". What is demanded of the friars is that "having taken their leave of every impediment and having laid aside every preoccupation and concern, they serve, love, honour and adore the Lord God with a clean heart and a pure mind". It is evident... that the contemplative dimension must be that priority which orientates and animates our whole life: the manner in which we seek and live the presence of God in the everyday also determines our concrete style of life and our manner of pastoral action in the Fraternity. (Gg.Cc. 1.2)