Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis of Assisi... Anyone know of them?

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Does anyone belong to or know about the BSP - Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis of Assisi? I’m intrigued by what they do but since they are not an actual “order” I’m wondering about their association…

Here is a link: bspenance.org/index.shtml

I’m interested in joining their association, but before I do, I wanted to see what others thought…

Thanks 🙂
 
This is a relatively new group(1996). The original Third Order for lay people was called the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. They followed the 1221 A.D. guidelines. The SFO of today (See other thread on this page) has taken these original guidelines and applied them to life today. This Rule of the Order (SFO) has been approved by Rome. The SFO (Secular Franciscan Order) had to change it’s name from Third Order because there are still Third Order priests, brothers, and nuns. This became very confusing. For a while, Third Order -Secular was used. The SFO traces it’s roots to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. The SFO requires a strict formation period and willingness to make a life long commitment to Franciscan Spirituality. During formation, you learn how the Order evolved from The Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Franciscan priests and nuns work closely with the SFO to keep the Order on the right spiritual track. The successful candidates become “Professed” during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The SFO is world wide and will be easier to find than the new group.
 
I have been in touch with the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. They are a legitimate group, as they have received official recognition from the local bishop, which is all you really need to start any society, secular institute or congregation. There are other levels of religious associations in the Church, but that is not the purpose of this thread.

My experience with them was that they are a reform group, trying to recapture the original spirit and life of the Brothes and Sisters of Penance that St. Francis founded in the 13th century. This is a good thing. John Michael Talbot also did this. I believe that his community is called the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Father Benedict Groeschel also started a renewal called the Friars of the Renewal, Mother Angelica too and so there are many attempts to recapture the original spirit of St. Francis.

On the downside, my problem with them was that they are not very good with follow-up. They will call you and are delightful to speak with. But you have to stay on top of them to keep in touch.

The differences between them and the original Brothers and Sisters of Penance are several.


  1. The original Brothers and Sisters, founded by St. Francis himself are a religious order.

    They are divided into two orders, the Secular Franciscans who are usually married, single, permanent deacons or diocesan priests and the Regular Franciscans who are reilgious, celibate and live in community such as many of the Congregations of Franciscan Sisters and the Third Order Regular Friars (TOR), just to name a few.

    • The Secular Franciscans adopted this name because there was much confusion over several points. Unfortunately, as it often happens someone always wants to be above and in control of someone else. This is OK, because we live in society and we need hierarchies to avoid chaos. However, for many centuries the Friars Minor, who are often called the First Order, because that’s the sequence in which they were founded, went beyond being spiritual guides for the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. They treated them in a codescending manner, because they were secular. This was due to the clericalization of the Friars Minor. So many friars had been ordained priests that the order lost touch with the fact that it was a brotherhood, not a order or institute for priests.

      • After Vatican II, when all religious institutes were mandated to study their roots and return to the spirit of their founders, the Friars Minor (Franciscans, Capuchins and Conventuals) began to realize that they were not an order of priests but a brotherhood. In fact, many of their members never become priests and yet the Order had lost its name from Friars Minor or Franciscan Friars, Capuchin Friars and Conventual Friars, they became Franciscan Fathers, Capuchin Fathers or Monks, Conventual Fathers.

        Today, they too are returning to their roots. I am more familiar with the Capuchin-Friars Minor. They have eliminated the title Fathers from their name, as that was not the intent of St. Francis. Today they use either the Latin title Friars or the Enlglish translation Brothers.

        • During this process, another question had to be answered. How to do away with the misunderstanding that the Brothers and Sisters of Penances ranked third in the Franciscan Family, because they had been called the Third Order for many centuries. They were third in sequence of foudations, not in rank.

          It was agreed to return to the original name, after Vatican II. We find this name in their Constitutions approved by Paul VI. Howeer, they are more popularly known as the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) to avoid confusing them with the other communities of Franciscans that also belong to Franciscan family.

          As Deacon exlplained, they have a lengthy formation process and at the end of it they promise to live according to the Constitutions that they wrote after Vatican II and that Pope Paul VI appproved.

          1. They also have their own government which is independent of the government of the two other Orders that St. Francis founded, the Friars Minor and the Poor Clares.

            • They have their own superiors.

              • They have their own spirituality and mission in the Church.

                • In some places they are very oriented toward prayer and ministry. In other places they still follow the pre-Vatican II digression which had ocurred over the centuries and they appear more as a pius group that meets once a month for prayer and fellowship.

                  In fact, St. Francis and the Church wanted more of them. They were to be very active in the daily life of the Church.

                  Elizabeth of Hungary and Louis King of France are their patron saints. Both were very oriented toward contemplation and ministry to God’s people.

                  Other families that have secular orders are the Dominicans and Carmelites. Everyone knows of three famous Secular Dominicans: Catherine of Siena, Martin de Porres and Rose of Lima. Another famous Secular Franciscan was John XXIII and Joan of Arc.

                  I realize this is more than what you asked for, but I hope it helps in understanding why some people decided to start a reformed group of Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Sometimes things happen in history and the original idea becomes too complicated that it can be lost or just too confusing to follow. These people are trying to recapture the original idea of St. Francis without the control and influence of clericalism that took over the Franciscan Order, but is thankfully getting back into proper perspective.

                  Sorry about the bullets. I still don’t know how to do these in CAF.

                  JR
 
Psalm_37_4-5 said:
Does anyone belong to or know about the BSP - Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St. Francis of Assisi? I’m intrigued by what they do but since they are not an actual “order” I’m wondering about their association…

Here is a link: bspenance.org/index.shtml

I’m interested in joining their association, but before I do, I wanted to see what others thought…

Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...
A good group to join if you need help and support to live a life of penance. Another group that adopts the Rule of 1221 is the Confraternity of Penitents at

penitents.org

The Rule of 1221 is no longer used by the current Franciscan Third Order Secular.
 
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