I’m not sure if this goes here or not. However, since I have one or two friends in Tradom, I wanted to share good news and not so good news.
First the good news:
My community, Fratres Franciscani Vitae (Franciscan Brothers of Life, a community of men that began with three Franciscans is growing and received the blessing of the Archbishop of Miami to exercise its ministry in that diocese, open houses, continue receiving vocations, form more brothers and receive the profession of vows in the name of the Church. We are now an autonomous institute.
The Brothers of Life, as we are affectionately called, are the voice of Christ to those who need to hear his voice and the voice of the voiceless (unborn, immigrant poor, chronically and terminally ill, elderly and people with disabilities). The brothers serve in crisis pregnancy centers as counselors and educators. We started Project Joseph, an education program for fathers contemplating abortion and we work with about 30 fathers per month. Our brothers work at a Catholic hospital as chaplains, where they educate doctors, nurses, patients and their families on the right to life of every human being, especially the terminally ill. They spend the nights in prayer with relatives and patients waiting for God to call the patient home.
The brothers also serve the immigrant poor, providing them with material assistance: clothing, furniture, food, medication, medical care, dental care and transportation. We evangelize through unconditional love and mercy. As our Holy Father Francis, we let our walking do our talking. You’d be surprised at the number of questions that people have after they get to know the brothers.
The unborn get special attention from us. We “adopt” every preborn child. During the pregnancy, the brothers pray for the child and the parents who are debating whether or not to keep the child. We offer to stay with the child until the age of two. We provide medical care, food, clothing, baby supplies, baby furniture and parenting classes for moms and dads where they can earn parent dollars to buy these things for their babies. We are there 24/7 when a parent wants us. Along with protecting the life of the unborn, the other most important mission of the brothers is to educate parents on the meaning of family and marriage.
The elderly also get their share of attention. One of our brothers is especially good with the little old ladies. They love him to death, whether he’s taking Holy Communion to them or scrubbing their floor. We make it a special point to ensure that every older person whom we know gets a visit from one of his or her adopted sons (brothers). We know that the elderly have a special place in God’s heart and in his plan of salvation. Were not Sara, Abraham, Elizabeth and Zechariah elderly? Where would we be without them? The elderly are essential to man’s salvation. The Mother of God herself rushed to the side of her elderly cousin in her time of need.
… We hope that we can bring them back to Christ through our gift of self.
The brothers not only work. Our life is about prayer, Eucharist, penance, poverty, brotherhood with each other, devotion to the Blessed Mother. She is the virgin made church. Above all, we vow unquestioning obedience to the Church as practiced by our Holy Father. We renew the Church from within, not as her judge, but as her servants. We open our fraternity to secular men who wish to share in the life and charism of the brothers, while remaining in their homes. They are not subservient or an appendage to the fraternity. They are truly our brothers with equal rights and equal obligations to live the Gospel and to preach it through every gesture and every contact with the voiceless. They are to be the advocates of the voiceless, within the Church and society. They make the voiceless Christ heard. Who is the voiceless Christ? He is the one who says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
The motto of the Franciscans of Life is
“Vitam ad vitam vocat”
Now that not so good news:
Yours truly has been selected to be the Superior General. I have chosen a motto for my seal. **“Deus eligit stultus” (God chooses the fool). ** I ask for your prayers that I may serve my brothers as a mother cares for her newborn child, with tenderness, compassion, understanding, infinite love and patience and above all, obedient to the Father’s will for them, as Joseph and Mary were obedient to His will for their son.
The brothers know that my health is poor and that I’m living on borrowed time. I asked not be named Superior General; but God always has other plans. Pray for me, that I will suffer what I have to suffer for the sanctification of my brothers, the strengthening of their resolve to follow the poor and crucified Christ, and their fidelity to the Church. That is all that I can do for them. May God have mercy on my soul, for I am now responsible for the souls of others who are my sons and brothers.
I told the Lord,
“You put me into this situation. I have no idea what I’m doing. You could have chosen someone healthier and more intelligent. What were you thinking? Well Lord, it doesn’t matter now. You’ve done it. Now you have to walk with me through the night and be my light.”
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Prayers and thanksgiving…
