Profession in the Secular Franciscan Order
Yowza, how time flies -- today is the second anniversary of
my permanent profession in the Secular Franciscan Order. Since it's a weekday, I haven't really planned on doing anything special to mark the occasion, but I may stop by my parish's adoration chapel this evening and silently repeat my profession promise. And one of these days, I really
will put together a small profession scrapbook; been meaning to do that for the past two years!
Since we're on the subject, I'm guessing that "profession" is something that most folks probably aren't too familiar with, so here's an overview as it pertains to the SFO. Share and enjoy! :-)
About Profession"Membership in the Order is attained through a time of initiation, a time of formation, and the profession of the
Rule. ... Profession is the solemn ecclesial act by which the candidate [novice], remembering the call received from Christ, renews the baptismal promises and publicly affirms his or her personal commitment to live the Gospel in the world according to the example of Francis and following the
Rule of the SFO. Profession incorporates the candidate into the Order and is by its nature a perpetual commitment." (
SFO General Constitutions, Articles 37:1, 42:1-2)
Formula for the MassA Secular Franciscan Rite of Profession Mass can be composed according to the following options (
setting folks on fire not included):
"The Mass formula to be used may correspond to the liturgy of the day or, if the rubrics permit, the votive Mass of St. Francis, of St. Louis the King, or St. Elizabeth of Hungary; or the Mass for the Laity may also be chosen. With regard to the hymns and exhortations during the celebration, the text of Chapter 2 of the
Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order should be kept in mind, as well as the biblical texts that support the SFO way of life." (Chapter 3,
Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order)
Statement of Intentions (Calling Forth of the Candidates)After the Gospel reading, the celebrant and the people sit. Those who are to be professed are called forward, and the fraternity's minister (our term for "president" or "superior") invites them to publicly express their intention. This may be done in the form of a dialogue between the minister and the candidates, who express their intent either singly; by means of one speaking in the name of all; or by all speaking together.
The following statement of intent is what we use in my fraternity and is taken from the
Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order:
"We(I) ask to be admitted to profession of the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, and to make a permanent commitment to the gospel life. The experience during our(my) time of formation has strengthened us(me) in the conviction that the Lord is calling us(me) to observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi."
Profession of Commitment to the Gospel LifeAfter the homily, the profession itself is made while the candidate kneels in front of the fraternity's minister. With his/her hands in those of the minister, the candidate says:
I, N.N.,
by the grace of God,
renew my baptismal promises
and consecrate myself to the service of His Kingdom.
Therefore,
in my secular state,
(or, when appropriate: as a member of the diocesan clergy,)
I promise to live
all the days of my life
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Secular Franciscan Order
by observing its Rule of life.
May the grace of the Holy Spirit,
the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and our holy father Saint Francis,
and the fraternal bonds of community
always be my help,
so that I may reach the goal
of perfect Christian love.
Presentation of the Symbols of ProfessionBecause (at least in the U.S.) we don't have different
habits for candidates (novices) and the professed, there is no change of habit during profession. However, symbols of profession are presented:
Gospels. As the candidates receive a copy of the gospels, the minister says, "Christ, the Gift of the Father's love, is the Way to him, the Truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the Life which he has come to give abundantly. By your lifelong profession to go from gospel to life and life to gospel, may you continually encounter the living and active person of Christ."
Crucifix. Where customary, a crucifix may also be presented as a remembrance of profession. The one presenting the crucifix (ideally a
San Damiano crucifix) may say in these, or similar, words: "May you conform your thoughts and deeds to those of Christ and build a more fraternal and evangelical world by fulfilling your vocation as a 'brother(sister) of penance'."
Candle. Where it is also customary to present the newly-professed with a lighted candle, the one giving the candle may say in these, or similar, words: "By your profession, you are the light of Christ in the world. Your light must shine before all so that they may see goodness in your acts, and give praise to your heavenly Father."
Ring. Where it is also customary to present the newly-professed with a Franciscan ring (featuring the same symbol as our pendant; this is something that the candidates themselves choose to receive or not and is
in addition to our habit), the one giving the ring may say in these, or similar, words: "You have been made a living member of the Church in Baptism; you have been united more intimately with the Church by profession. Through this special covenant of union, may you be a faithful witness and instrument of her mission among all people."
When the presentations are finished, all the professed members present come forward to congratulate each newly-professed with an appropriate sign of peace and goodwill. (Usually, this is lots of hugging.) Meanwhile, a suitable hymn may be sung, and the rite concludes with the General Intercessions.
Additional InformationLabels: franciscan, sfo
Hey, is he on fire? Or, How Franciscans Get Ready for Mass
While it's amazing and awesome to
be in your own Profession Mass, it's a Totally Different Experience when you're on the other side o' things; namely, making sure everything goes off without a hitch. Which is the situation I found myself in last night, a mere almost-2 years after my own Profession.
I'm currently serving on my local fraternity's council, and as the Minister (our Order's term for "president" or "superior") and I work closely together on everything, I participated in all the behind-the-scenes grunt work for this Mass, in which two of our Candidates (novices) were going to make their permanent Professions. One of my jobs was designing and printing up copies of the program -- involved emailing the thing around to the other council members for their input, verifying who was doing what, and verifying the music selections with the music ensemble. And then copying/folding/stuffing said programs; about 30 of 'em, which we naively thought (ha-ha!) would be enough.
Mass was at 7 p.m., so the Minister, myself, and the other council members figured we'd show up at 6:30 p.m. to set up/organize/etc. How involved could it be? We usually have Mass at our monthly gatherings, anyway.
I arrived at 6:25 p.m. and lo, nearly everyone
else thought it'd be A Good Idea to show up way early, too. Which meant I was pinballing among guests and various secular brothers/sisters ("Oh, hello Sister C! Sogoodtoseeyou! GottaruncatchyouaftertheMass!") while trying to get everything ready.
Before the MassWhy aren't the chapel lights on? Who has the keys for that?
Have you seen [concelebrating guest priest] Fr. J? He isn't here yet? Hey, who's the Dominican friar over there? Oh, he's a guest of Sister B. [one of the two about-to-be-Professed Candidates]. Wait, he's
also concelebrating? Why didn't anyone tell us he was gonna be here?! He's not in the program!
What do you mean, Fr. J. isn't doing the Gospel reading? We were told he was -- he's listed in the program for that!
Is Brother D. [a deacon and our also fraternity's Formation Director] going to assist at the Mass or not? Well, can you let me know as soon as Fr. K. makes up his mind?
Has anyone put out the Gifts for Sisters S. & B. to bring up to the altar? No? Hey, Brother D., we need a table on which to put the Gifts. [Subsequent fruitless search for suitable table. Instead, lugged table, used for leaflets, from back of chapel up the aisle.]
Hi, Guest. Can you please move back a few pews? These are reserved for the Professed brothers and sisters. Thanks so very much!
OK, Sisters S. & B., you'll sit in the front pew so that you can easily come up to the altar when you make your Profession promises. What? No, don't worry, you'll be cued in on everything.
Sister M., you'll sit next to me, since you're serving as one of the Witnesses for the Order and the Church. Right over there, near the front. See? On the side aisle. Yes, you'll be cued when you have to go up, don't worry.
What do you mean, Brother D. can't serve as the other Witness for the Order? He can't because he's also the Formation Director and that isn't allowed? Well, it didn't say anything about that in the
Ritual, how were we supposed to know?! And we've got him listed in the program as a Witness! Who'll be the other witness, then?
We're out of programs already?!
All right, I've put the text for the Welcome, the readings, and the Franciscan Litany of Saints up on the podium. Is it time to start now?
The MassMe: Hey, why is the congregation standing? I haven't read the Welcome yet, and y'all haven't processed in!
Brother D.: They're confused.
Me: Okaaaaay. I'll go up now and read the Welcome. [Hurrying to front of chapel while motioning for folks to sit back down.]
Read the Welcome (even though I was out of breath, managed to not sound like it. Go, me!) and then Mass was off to a good start. After that, I only had one other part in the Rite, which was to lead the congregation in the Franciscan Litany of Saints, which went OK ... though Fr. K. read a completely different "let us pray" ending from (all together now) what was in the program. And the music ensemble decided, on the fly, to sing a different hymn for the recessional.
:::sigh:::It really was a lovely Mass, and folks say it all went quite well; the Minister and I were just too frazzled to fully appreciate it. But, we're told it was great.
Oh, yeah, our Historian managed to set himself on fire while taking pictures -- backed into one of the altar candles. Was unharmed, but his shirt sported a Big Honkin' Hole on the back.
And there you have it. Just yer typical Comedy O' Controlled Chaos, otherwise known as A Franciscan-Run Event. :-P
Labels: franciscan, mass, sfo
What does a Secular Franciscan carry in her purse?
Not like anyone's ever asked, I just got the idea from
my earlier post about the time I left for work an' forgot my Blindingly Tacky Purse at home. (Hey, when you're scrambling for something to post for
NaBloPoMo, you take what you can get.)
So, I pulled out All The Stuff In My Purse, arranged it in artful :-P little groupings, and took some pictures. And no, I won't inflict a picture of The Purse Itself on the world at large.
Here's what this particular Secular Franciscan carries in her purse:
The essentials: Wallet and change purse. Yawn.
Some Rosaries I've knotted up, ready to be given away. I always try to keep at least one on hand for that. Also, my pal Jennifer made and gave those sacrifice beads to me a few days ago. (Those I'm
not givin' away.) Whatta sweetie! :-)
My favorite prayer booklets (stuffed full of various holy cards) and an extremely handy examination of conscience for Confession:
Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph,
Secular Franciscan Companion,
An Examination of Conscience, and the
Pieta Prayerbook.
A notecard I scribbled up with various amounts for tip-giving (I'm terrible at math on the spot) peeking out behind a small notepad, pen, and pencil. Yes, there's a Winne the Pooh theme going on here.
Small makeup bag (not a whole lot o' stuff in thar), a handkerchief, tissues, and a bitty emergency sewing kit that I've never had to use, but ya never know.
Two teeny fetal models -- one of an
11-12 week old unborn baby (left) and the other of a
12 week old unborn baby (right) -- and the small bag in which I keep 'em, along with their accompanying fact cards. Very handy to have on hand!
And, finally, a stack o' store, library, etc., cards (in front); Husband Mike's and my personal calling/business cards (left); membership cards for the SFO and the
Pious Union of St. Joseph (middle); and a credit card-sized Rosary behind some info. cards (right).
There you have it. The Oh-So-(Not)-Exciting Contents Of My Purse. If anyone else wants to play along, Secular Franciscan or otherwise, feel free to join in! :-)
Labels: nablopomo, random, sfo
A brief reflection on "fraternity"
As part of my fraternity's monthly gathering, the professed brothers and sisters participate in
Ongoing Formation. The way each fraternity handles Ongoing Formation varies; ours involves reading a chapter in a formation textbook, then discussing one of the associated questions for reflection.
This month's question was, "What does 'fraternity' mean to you?"
For me, it means being part of a bonus "
Domestic Church" -- just as the family is the basic unit of society, the fraternity "becomes the basic unit of the whole Order and a visible sign of the Church, the community of love. This should be the privileged place for developing a sense of Church and the Franciscan vocation and for enlivening the apostolic life of its members." (
Rule, Article 22) In other words, it's family, second only to my blood/marriage one.
And since we're family, that's how I refer to my fellow seculars. For example, when speaking about my Franciscan brothers or sisters, I don't say, "I'm going to Mass tomorrow with a friend." "Friend" doesn't do the relationship justice -- it just doesn't quite fit. Something's lacking and imprecise. When I first entered the Order, I tried that and the word always felt wrong, somehow.
Instead, I'll say, "I'm going to Mass tomorrow with one of my Franciscan sisters." Because that's the truth of it. And the beauty.
Hey, I said this was brief.
Labels: family, franciscan, sfo
The Secular Franciscan Habit
While looking through my site's referrer logs, it seems that folks doing searches for "Secular Franciscan habit" have been pointed to my li'l blog. However, I don't actually have anything here that describes our habits as such, which I'm remedying forthwith. :-)
So, do we wear habits? Yes, Secular Franciscans do wear habits, and we always have!
The HabitUpon entering Candidacy (novitiate), a secular is clothed in our Order's habit, which -- in the U.S. -- is a Tau cross pendant, like what you see on the left. It's always to be worn in some way, whether as a pendant (preferred) or pin, ring, or some other form. The image is composed of two parts, the
Tau and the
Conformity.
The Tau. While the Tau represents Christ's cross, it's also the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and gained special significance in the Old Testament through
Ezekiel 9:4: "Pass through the city (through Jerusalem) and mark an X [Tau] on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it."
At the
Fourth Lateran Council -- at which Francis was said to be in attendance -- Pope Innocent III used Ezekiel's Tau imagery in his opening homily, and the Tau became the symbol for the council. From then on, Francis used the Tau in his writings, painted it on the walls and doors of the places where he stayed, and used it as his signature.
It's also said that St. Francis borrowed the Tau and what it meant to him from the
Antonines, a religious community of men founded in 1095 whose sole function was to care for the sick, and on whose habit was painted a great Tau cross. Francis was familiar with these men because they staffed the leper house in Assisi and the hospital of St. Blasé in Rome where Francis went to stay.
St. Bonaventure said, "This Tau symbol had all the veneration and all the devotion of the saint: He spoke of it often in order to recommend it, and he traced it on himself before beginning each of his actions." Due to Francis' affection for and devotion to the Tau, it's been a well-recognized and accepted Franciscan symbol for centuries.
The Conformity. On top of the Tau are the crossed arms of Christ and Francis, which is called the "conformity". Christ's bare arm is in front of Francis' clothed arm; Christ's hand has the wound from His Crucifixion; Francis' has the
stigmata.
While this is what we currently wear, our habit has changed throughout history.
HistoryUp until 1508, Secular Franciscans wore full habits. Then this changed to a large scapular held together by a piece of rope around the waist. Over time, the scapular became smaller until the rope was no longer needed to hold it in place and was was replaced by a string, and both were then worn underneath clothing.
With the revision of our
Rule in 1978, our habit changed from the small scapular and string to -- in the U.S., at least -- the Tau cross.
Additional ReadingThe Five Franciscan Martyrs Region (U.S.): The Franciscan Tau SymbolLabels: franciscan, sfo, st. francis
Quest for custom holy cards
This year, my Secular Franciscan fraternity is giving Christmas cards to 500 guests at a local Franciscan-run soup kitchen/homeless shelter. Inside the cards, we're inserting $1 gift cards for a fast-food chain that offers $1 value menu items (not to worry, the shelter staff assured us that the guests would have enough spare change on hand to make up any tax differences).
Also, because it's important to feed the soul as well as the body, we're including customized holy cards that tell the guests they're being remembered in our daily prayers and monthly Mass intentions. After all, the ultimate goal is to Get To Heaven. We can't just feed people's bodies and stop there. "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" (
Matthew 16:26)
And 'cause these holy cards are for homeless folks, we want the cards laminated, since who knows what kind of conditions the recipients will be subjected to. Last thing we want is for their cards to get crumpled, soggy, ripped, etc. So, I was searchin' and searchin' online for a place to buy reasonably-priced, laminated, customizable holy cards with a St. Francis image on the front. However, all the nice-looking ones I found cost waaaay too much, and the cheaper ones looked totally cheesy and weren't laminated.
Then I got an idea: Why not call a funeral home? Ya always see such lovely, customized holy cards at wakes, and maybe we could buy something from them. Since there's a funeral home a few blocks near where my fraternity gathers each month, I called that place first. Dana, the woman I spoke with, said they'd be happy to produce 500 cards for us (yay!), but the cost would be $1 per card, for a total of $500 (eep)! Obviously, that's way more than we can afford, so I asked if they had any sort of quantity discount. Dana said she'd check and let me know.
Now get this: When Dana first called back, she said she'd try to get our cards produced for FREE. I never asked for that, it was entirely her initiative!
While producing them for free ultimately didn't work out (too expensive for them to do), they instead gave us 50% off (.50¢ per card). That worked out to $250 total, and no tax, no nuthin' ...
and it includes lamination -- something the cheapola cards all lacked. For example, the cheapest of the not-quite-so-icky cards I found elsewhere would've worked out to $122.75, not including shipping/tax.
Another benefit: They have a same-day turnaround (!!) time, provided you get your order in before 2 p.m., otherwise it's the next day. All the online places had at least 3-4 weeks for their production/shipping.
Based on price and the fast turnaround, that was quite a deal, so after discussing things with my fraternity's minister (our term for "superior" or "president"), we decided to order an extra 50 cards to have on hand, especially since we're hoping to sponsor a Franciscan (OFM Conv.) seminarian, and we'd like to give him one.
I met with Dana yesterday to place our order, and they had 2 Francis designs to choose from, one of which was lined in silver. Beautiful! I picked that one, and had them put the following text on the back:
Know that you are in
our daily prayers
and monthly Mass intentions.
Peace and all good!
[My fraternity's name],
[Fraternity city & state]
Secular Franciscan Order
[cross dingbat]
The Lord bless you and keep you.
May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you
and give you peace.
The Lord bless you!
~ St. Francis of Assisi
Another cool bit: When I asked Dana to increase our order from 500 to 550, she refused to charge us the additional $25! (Which basically knocked the price per card down to about .45¢.)
I'll post an update on how the cards turned out after I pick 'em up tonight -- Dana said they're in and look great. :-)
I tell ya, it was a truly heartwarming experience all around.
UPDATE: I picked up the cards, and they look splendid! They were also packaged in a very convenient way -- shrink-wrapped in one bundle.
Labels: sfo
I can't believe I'm professed!
Here in the US, we have these schlocky TV commercials for a margarine called (not kidding!) "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!", in which folks bite into a piece of margarine-slathered bread (or whatnot) and happily exclaim, "I can't believe it's not butter!" Similar to that (but less fattening), ever since my permanent Profession last month, I keep thinking, "I can't believe I'm professed!" :-D
And what a profession it was! I was smilin' so much through the day that my face started to ache, and I got all sniffly more than once during the Mass. Because I was so happy and "floaty" and excited, my thoughts and memories of the day are in a similar format, so please bear with my meandering babble about it all ...
During the DayWas nervous (in a good way) and excited all day ... cleaned and tidied our home 'cause my mom was gonna stay overnight with us after the reception ... did a lot of praying ... forced myself to eat breakfast, even tho' I wasn't hungry ... tried to do some work on my parish's web site that mornin' but struggled with some technical glitches, got frustrated and gave up ...
Before the Profession MassMass was set for 7 p.m. and we (us to-be-professed candidates (novices), 3 total) had to get there early, 'round 6:30. So, To Be Absolutely Safe, Husband Mike, me, and my mom got there at about 6:10ish ... had mishaps and mayhem trying to get our danged corsages pinned on (nervous Franciscans + sharp pointy pins = not a good idea) ... lots of hugging and smiles ... many sniffle attacks but as I was actually wearing eye makeup (!!), I forced myself to not give in to actual crying ... lots of anxious pacing ... some flustered confusion as we lined up for the procession:
Regional Minister ("minister" is our term for "superior"): "The Formation Director has to lead the procession."
Formation Director: "But it says here that the Formation Director follows so-and-so!"
RM: "No, you're supposed to be at the front."
FD: "But ..."
RM: "You've gotta lead."
FD: "Sigh."
... eventually pulled ourselves into a respectable configuration ...
The MassLoud, boisterous singing (hey, we're Franciscans!) of the processional hymn,
All Creatures of Our God and King ... loooong homily, in which Father said something about Emperor penguins (?) ... Sue (another novice) and I grabbed each others' hands every so often out of nervous excitement ... reciting the
Litany of Franciscan Saints ... being called forward individually to kneel down in front of our minister (again, "minister" is our term for "superior"), and say our profession promise while she held our hands in hers:
I, N.N.,
by the grace of God,
renew my baptismal promises
and consecrate myself to the service of His Kingdom.
Therefore,
in my secular state,
(or, when appropriate: as a member of the diocesan clergy,)
I promise to live
all the days of my life
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Secular Franciscan Order
by observing its Rule of life.
May the grace of the Holy Spirit,
the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and our holy father Saint Francis,
and the fraternal bonds of community
always be my help,
so that I may reach the goal
of perfect Christian love.
... managed NOT to loose it while saying the promise ... lots of hugs afterwards from the Professed brothers and sisters ... more sniffles ... being in a happy haze for the rest of the Mass ... pictures and hugs afterwards ...
At the ReceptionLots and lots and lots of hugs, smiles, sniffles, pictures ... was too nervous to really eat much of the food, but forced myself to eat a piece of the WAY tasty cake:
Cake sez: "Many Blessings Lisa, Ernest, Susan"
... felt like I had a flurry of feather dusters tickling my insides all evening (an' still do!) ... since the food at the reception was munchie-type stuff, Husband Mike and I took my mom and a few other folks out to eat afterward ... wasn't able to fall asleep for quite awhile that night.
Aaaaaand Thus Concludes my scatter-brained account; hope it made some sort of sense.
Labels: franciscan, sfo
Aha! Franciscan blogosphere takeover underway!
Oooh, ooooh!
I mentioned earlier about lookin' for other Secular Franciscans in the blogosphere, and lo! I found
SFO Mom, and I'm likin' what I see so far ...
Labels: blogging, franciscan, sfo
The benefits of obedience
We all know that obedience is a Very Important Thing, but have we actually pondered the positive effects we gain from observing it? While reading through To Live as Francis Lived: A Guide for Secular Franciscans a few weeks ago, I came across the following bits that brilliantly explained its benefits and why it's so essential for our spiritual health. (While this is obviously written for Secular Franciscans, the concepts apply to everyone.)
"Saint Francis founded an order of brothers. But he founded it on the rock of obedience for two important reasons: 1) that by absolute and unquestioning loyalty to the Church, the order might avoid the shipwreck of heresy into which other movements fell; 2) that his brothers and sisters might have, with poverty and chastity, the third great means of purifying and liberating self-denial -- the giving up of one's own will under a Rule." (p. 84)
* * *
"It was said of Saint Francis and his friend, Saint Dominic, that they were always on the road to Rome or from Rome for the Pope's approval on their work. The brothers and sisters of Saint Francis must never forget that they are Catholic before they are Franciscans. Rather, the better Franciscans they are, the better Catholics they will be." (p. 84)
* * *
"Obedience is not merely a necessity of organization. It possesses two grace-full purposes. First, obedience provides a means of self-denial and self-giving. Poverty strives for freedom from greed. Chastity seeks perfect reasonableness in the sacred area of sex. Obedience seeks freedom from all stubbornness, selfishness, self-centeredness. Obedience calls one to exercise self-discipline, to cooperate and obey according to the Rule and Constitutions. This effort will have one great result: release from self-seeking and pride." (p. 85)
On the flip side, read about the fruits of disobedience in On the Habits and Spirit of Dissent, by Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP.
Labels: franciscan, sfo, st. francis
