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Secular Franciscans USA Official page of the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS-USA)

JPIC OFS-USAJPIC Thursdays10/29/2026October is Franciscan MonthFranciscan Simplicity“…Let the Secular Franciscans seek a...
29/10/2026

JPIC OFS-USA
JPIC Thursdays
10/29/2026

October is Franciscan Month

Franciscan Simplicity
“…Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs…” (OFS Rule, Article 11)

“Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.” (Laudato Si, 222)

Assisi Peace Meeting: 'We can choose life' in a world threatened by nuclear arms
28/10/2026

Assisi Peace Meeting: 'We can choose life' in a world threatened by nuclear arms

Speaking of the importance of keeping the human person at the center of arguments regarding nuclear weapons, a forum in Assisi brings together a ...

Once [Francis] went to preach in Celano, and a knight there invited him to dinner. But when he finished his prayer [befo...
27/10/2026

Once [Francis] went to preach in Celano, and a knight there invited him to dinner. But when he finished his prayer [before dinner], he called his good host aside and said, “Brother Host, at your insistence I’ve come to eat in your home. Now at my insistence please do what I ask, because you are not going to eat here this evening, but somewhere else. Therefore, confess your sins immediately, with true contrition and repentance…

The knight then did as Francis had asked, and confessed all his sins to one of the brothers who was a priest. Then they all went in to dinner, and just as they began eating, the host suddenly collapsed and died, as the saint had foretold.

~St. Bonaventure, Major Life, 11:4

Forgive Us!We all need forgiveness. Francis underscores the magnitude of God’s power to forgive and the limitlessness of...
26/10/2026

Forgive Us!

We all need forgiveness. Francis underscores the magnitude of God’s power to forgive and the limitlessness of His mercy. He seems to be reassuring himself, and us, that no matter how sinful we feel – and are! – the Father is ready and able to show us mercy and forgiveness....

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2026/10/forgive-us/

We all need forgiveness. Francis underscores the magnitude of God’s power to forgive and the limitlessness of His mercy. He seems to be reassuring himself, and us, that no matter how sinful we fee…

Today we remember Bl. Bonaventure of Potenza, priest of the First Order.
26/10/2026

Today we remember Bl. Bonaventure of Potenza, priest of the First Order.

Discover the inspiring life of Blessed Bonaventure of Potenza, a hu...

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens
25/10/2026

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens

God is Love. Love does not force, does not push us into things. Love invites. We respond. God is Good, All Good, Supreme Good. Our fundamental principle of Franciscan Spirituality.

30th Sunday in Ordinary TimeHow does your daily life as a Secular Franciscan make the love of God visible to your neighb...
25/10/2026

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

How does your daily life as a Secular Franciscan make the love of God visible to your neighbors?

Jesus summed up man’s duties toward God in this saying: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22:37) This immediately echoes the solemn call: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Dt 6:4)

God has loved us first. The love of the One God is recalled in the first of the “ten words.” The commandments then make explicit the response of love that man is called to give to his God.

~CCC 2083

Formation Friday October 23, 2026Please share with your fraternities (En español abajo)The Admonitions: XIV and XVIThe A...
23/10/2026

Formation Friday October 23, 2026
Please share with your fraternities (En español abajo)

The Admonitions: XIV and XVI

The Admonitions: FA:ED, vol. 1, p. 128
“…these twenty-eight teachings of Francis offer insights into his biblical thought and the ways in which he translated them into the ordinary experiences of daily life.”

[Admonition XIV: Poverty of Spirit] FA:ED, vol. 1, p. 133
1Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:3
2There are many who, while insisting on prayers and obligations, inflict many abstinences and punishments upon their bodies. 3But they are immediately offended and disturbed about a single word which seems to be harmful to their bodies or about something which might be taken away from them. 4These people are not poor in spirit, for someone who is truly poor one who is truly poor in spirit hates himself and loves those who strike him on the cheek. Mt 5:39

From our Rule
Article 11. Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for himself and his mother a poor and humble life19, even though he valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the gospel they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children.
Thus, in the spirit of “the Beatitudes”, and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power20.

[Admonition XVI: Cleanness of Heart] FA:ED, vol. 1, p. 134
1Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God. Mt 5:8
2The truly clean of heart are those who look down upon earthly things, seek those of heaven, and, with a clean heart and spirit, never cease adoring and seeing the Lord God living and true.

From our Rule
Article 12. Witnessing to the good yet to come and obliged to acquire purity of heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves free to love God and their brothers and sisters21.

Please read and think about Admonitions 14 and 16 and the articles of our Rule that correspond to them.

The questions are for discussion in fraternity, with a prayer partner, or to comment on in your journal.
+What does it mean to you to be “pilgrim and a stranger?”
+How does understanding this attitude about life help us to understand what it is to be “poor in spirit?”
+In our Rule we are asked to “set ourselves free to love God and our brothers and sisters.” How does this lead us to be “clean of heart?”
+What possessions or attitudes might be holding you back from truly adoring God.
+How can we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to ask for conversion in this area?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Formación 23 de octubre de 2026
Las admoniciones (Por favor, comparta con su fraternidad.)
https://www.franciscanos.org/esfa/adm-ae.html

“…estas veintiocho enseñanzas de Francisco ofrecen información sobre su pensamiento bíblico y las formas en que las tradujo a las experiencias ordinarias de la vida diaria.”

[Admoniciones: Cap. XIV: De la pobreza de espíritu]
1Bienaventurados los pobres de espíritu, porque de ellos es el reino de los cielos (Mt 5,3). 2Hay muchos que, perseverando en oraciones y oficios, hacen muchas abstinencias y mortificaciones corporales, 3pero, por una sola palabra que les parezca injuriosa para sus cuerpos o por alguna cosa que se les quite, escandalizados enseguida se perturban. 4Estos no son pobres de espíritu, porque quien es de verdad pobre de espíritu, se odia a sí mismo y ama a aquellos que lo golpean en la mejilla (cf. Mt 5,39).

De nuestra regla: Artículo 11

Cristo, confiado en el Padre, aún apreciando atenta y amorosamente las realidades creadas, eligió para Sí y para su Madre una vida pobre y humilde19; del mismo modo, los Franciscanos seglares han de buscar en el desapego y en el uso una justa relación con los bienes terrenos, simplificando las propias exigencias materiales; sean conscientes, en conformidad con el Evangelio, de ser administradores de los bienes recibidos, en favor de los hijos de Dios.
Así, en el espíritu de las “Bienaventuranzas”, esfuércense en purificar el corazón de toda tendencia y avidez de posesión y de dominio, como “peregrinos y forasteros” en el camino hacia la casa del Padre20.

[Admoniciones: Cap. XVI: De la limpieza del corazón]
1Bienaventurados los limpios de corazón, porque ellos verán a Dios (Mt 5,8). 2Son verdaderamente limpios de corazón quienes desprecian las cosas terrenas, buscan las celestiales y no dejan nunca de adorar y ver, con corazón y alma limpios, al Señor Dios vivo y verdadero.

De nuestra regla: Artículo 12
Testigos de los bienes futuros y comprometidos con la vocación abrazada a la adquisición de la pureza de corazón, se harán libres para el amor de Dios y de los hermanos21.

Por favor, lea y reflexione sobre las Admoniciones 14 y 16 y los artículos de nuestra Regla que les corresponden.

Las preguntas son para platicar en fraternidad, con un compañero de oración o para comentarlas en su diario.

+¿Qué significa para usted ser “peregrino y forastero”?
+¿Cómo nos ayuda esta actitud ante la vida a entender lo que es ser “pobre de espíritu?”
+En nuestra Regla se nos pide que “nos hagamos libres para el amor de Dios y de los hermanos.” ¿Cómo nos lleva esto a ser “limpios de corazón?”
+Qué posesiones o actitudes podrían estar impidiéndole adorar verdaderamente a Dios.
+¿Cómo podemos abrir nuestro corazón al Espíritu Santo para pedir conversión en esta área?

Today we remember St. John of Capistrano, priest of the First Order.
23/10/2026

Today we remember St. John of Capistrano, priest of the First Order.

Born at a time when the bubonic plague had decimated the population and the Church was split with two, maybe three, claimants to the papacy, Saint John of Capistrano was a voice of strength and hope. He was known for his preaching and his ability to reconcile warring factions. His talents were felt....

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