Franciscans of the Primitive Observance

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Does anyone know anything about them, contact wise? I found these two addresses, but I don’t know if they are still current or if one is better than the other to send inquiries to.

Co-Redemptrix Friary
30 Trinity Street
Lawrence, MA 01841

Mother of Good Shepherd Friary
16916 Annadale Rd.
Emmitsburg, Md. 21727

also any general info would be welcomed, as I think I have read every page for them that shows up on google, and am hungry for more
 
So I can get some vocation info as well as hear a little more about them that isn’t just reported by the local papers.
 
I know for certain that the Lawrence address is current. There are six friars in Lawrence, four in Boston, and four in San Marcos, Nicaragua.

Peace and blessings.
 
I’m sorry to the moderators for replying to an old thread (and for other angry retorts to penalty mail), but, for my reasons, I think it’s necessary.

Did you find more out about the FPO? You said you were hungry for more about them in a post and so am I. Do you have a phone number and/or know if they allow for one of theirs to have any medication they need every day? It’s only like $36 a month (without insurance) and that could be offset by family easily, though they aren’t rich.

This is the kind of Franciscan bunch I’ve wanted to join since falling in love with the order of St. Francis–old school. I even talked to Fr. Sweeney, but said, “No”, because it wasn’t a Latin Mass. I was afraid they might just be another order that allows irregularities in their Masses–at least when serving at a parish. Other than EWTN and the Canons Regular, I fear cheesiness and religious in plain-clothes at N.O. communities–at least in America and Europe. Since I started reading about them recently, I’ve been smacking my head for being so stupid! Still being under 35, and hearing some have joined the SPO after being a party animal, I think I might have a chance. I know it sounds romantic and might feel sucky after a honeymoon period, but my soul needs this, I feel, or it might just wither elsewhere, except maybe Clear Creek (Benedictine) Monastery, the Chartreuse one, Madonna House or other reputable places I’ve been to or heard about. Still, the franciscan saints, blesseds and venerables of the Franciscans have always been my favorites.

Could you help them out where they’re at or travel with them, if need be, if they don’t accept you or if you want them to observe you (as they probably don’t have a place for observers).

Thank you!
Phil
 
foolishmortal said:
I’m sorry to the moderators for replying to an old thread (and for other angry retorts to penalty mail), but, for my reasons, I think it’s necessary.

Did you find more out about the FPO? You said you were hungry for more about them in a post and so am I. Do you have a phone number and/or know if they allow for one of theirs to have any medication they need every day? It’s only like $36 a month (without insurance) and that could be offset by family easily, though they aren’t rich.

This is the kind of Franciscan bunch I’ve wanted to join since falling in love with the order of St. Francis–old school. I even talked to Fr. Sweeney, but said, “No”, because it wasn’t a Latin Mass. I was afraid they might just be another order that allows irregularities in their Masses–at least when serving at a parish. Other than EWTN and the Canons Regular, I fear cheesiness and religious in plain-clothes at N.O. communities–at least in America and Europe. Since I started reading about them recently, I’ve been smacking my head for being so stupid! Still being under 35, and hearing some have joined the SPO after being a party animal, I think I might have a chance. I know it sounds romantic and might feel sucky after a honeymoon period, but my soul needs this, I feel, or it might just wither elsewhere, except maybe Clear Creek (Benedictine) Monastery, the Chartreuse one, Madonna House or other reputable places I’ve been to or heard about. Still, the franciscan saints, blesseds and venerables of the Franciscans have always been my favorites.

Could you help them out where they’re at or travel with them, if need be, if they don’t accept you or if you want them to observe you (as they probably don’t have a place for observers).

Thank you!
Phil
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No problem, since then I have actually found a guy who had visited them, and got the “vocations brochure” they hand out(a typed page that was probably threefolded by hand by the friars). I can assure you that the below link is word for word what is on that brochure.

head-of-holofernes.com/fpos.htm
 
foolishmortal,
As someone who is still in formation to SFO I suggest you be careful. You should carefully discern how you are feeling and whether you are called to a religious order. If you feel cheesiness in “all N.O. communities” and can only join a community that uses the Latin Mass then religious life may not be for you yet. St. Francis above all preached obediance to the church. If you are going to Masses and only finding the faults in Masses you may be doing the same thingt that is talked about in scripture where you are addressing the flake in someone’s eye while ignoring the plank in yours. Yes abuses may occur during Mass and depending on where you live they may be a lot of them, but not all Ordinary Form Masses contain abuses. There are also different types of abuses, abuses that affect validity of the Mass and are major should be viewed differently then things that don’t.

Just because a Mass may be in Latin doesn’t mean it is any more obediant then the ordinary form of the Mass.

As far as FPO goes, many groups in the past have tried to live exactly as Francis did and by his rule and none have succeeded for long. Either they disbanded or ended up being similar to other First or Third Order Franciscan groups. It is admirable that they are doing but you need to look into yourself and find out if that is what you are really looking for and why you are looking for it. Make sure you are looking for it for the right reasons. There are many different Franciscan groups out there, each with different personalities, callings, and degrees of obediance. Part of discernment is finding the right group.
 
I am just very cautious about N.O. orders as they have declined in numbers for very objective reasons, which I mentioned in my last post. A poster on a blog mentioned tv watching going on and I’ve heard of clergy and religious of our and other religion being hooked into porn, of all things!

This tradition with a small “t” thing is true and all (and an outdated puritanical response to an overdependence on externals that overlooked mass psychology and thus, modern people), but as wrong as it is to leave the Church because of pre-V2 traditions being tossed out, it is a fact that people actually do like formality in rites and paganism is rising in the West, because, if people don’t give up faith and become like Bill Maher or George Carlin, they will be drawn to religions that respect their patrimony in practical ways. That’d the way it is. I appreciate your concern, but the board over your eye passage sounds a bit judgmental and often used by those who look for the bright side against anyone complaining about how the Church runs things these past 4 decades. The Latin Masses are done without the scandal. They respect the Faith and its boundaries. They know what happens if you greenlight average Catholics, who are usually not well-informed, looking for lightening of restrictions, or are uncatechized to mix it up with those of other faiths in these ecumenical events or at others’ churches (where devils reside to lie to the people about what God wants us to believe). The same goes for bad books written by them and secularists. Sadly, most Catholic bookstores sell those. The Church assumes we won’t get confused. The Latin Mass orders don’t even want their people checking this stuff out as the “one bad book can ruin a convent” adage goes. They know what the Vatican 2 era clergy will not admit is true, despite all the defections and heretics thinking they are in good standing with God. I don’t know if the FPO gets into those, but it seems they, anyway, will know their faith and their plan seems virtuous. Living a rough life builds character, so as long as they stick to their guns, they’ll be protected from much those of established communities are not. The F.I. and the EWTN monks are still possibilities.

If only the Church had been learning from what happened to St. Francis’s order when disciplines were lightened. The allowing of people to go to Mass on Sundays instead of the holy day most times, clergy and religious not wearing their uniform (I saw Buddhists in S. Korea wearing theirs–even in summer, thus not thinking it was too hot, old-fashioned, too separating from the people, etc.) the dropping of ember days, etc. have, measurably, resulted in our corruption as we average slobs are not all with the faith of the early Benedictines, Franciscans, etc… Thanks to the disinterest in exorcisms by many bishops and the sloppy rite put together from scratch, the possessed are going to suffer more.

I hear the Mormons are gathering Catholic big numbers in Guatemala. Most of my family (extended ones included), believe something heretical. Maybe that, not a plank over my eye, is what has me pointing my finger judgmentally.

This one, though, looked the best of Franciscan orders–and I could have been looking at the FI, which does Latin Masses. They may get lame later, but it’s far less weakened than ones that have been around and individual communities, unlike the Catholic Church, could go extinct. I think we have an obligation to join a community that is in good shape, if we’re going to join a religious community, because consecration in that way is serious business and you are a bigger target for Satan. We all cannot be strong like the reformers of orders, so, if the good order goes sour, we’ll just have to hope and pray we are. Hopefully, the Church will wise-up and enforce bishops to do their shepherding jobs right or not be in charge and will wise-up in the mass-psychology department. It’s not just my opinion. We all have a right to right teaching. It saddens me to “see” how irregularities in liturgy, music, architecture, etc. must be scandalizing believers. God cannot exist in a soul where Satan is allowed to dominate; how can God speak to us where a Mass is the priest’s show?

Thanks Senor Salsa!
 
My brother is an FPO currently at their friary in Nicaragua.
I must say that I’ve never seen him happier in his entire life. There is a certain level of happines that can only be achieved when a man lives every minute in servitude to God.
Please email me if I can help assist you with contact information.
 
Honestly foolishmortal your last post shows me how not ready you are for a religious order yet, especially a Franciscan order. If you took my post as judgemental and an attack then you are not grasping the ideals of the Franciscan order. Key ones being continual conversion/penance and humility.

You sound like you have been blindsided by the traditionalist movement within the church. The Latin Mass is not without abuse. All versions of the Mass can be abused and have been abused. Has the Ordinary form of the Mass been abused by many people? Yes. Are all Ordinary form Masses abused, NO! Can an Ordinary form Mass be just as religious/solemn as a Extraordinary form Mass, yes. Have you ever attended a noon Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception? Have you attended the Holy week liturgies at the Franciscan monastery in DC? The difference between the Ordinary Mass and the Extraordinary Mass is a preference, if you are judging an Order or group just on that preference you may find yourself in a group that is similar to the Pius X society.

If you are going to Mass and looking at minor abuses and getting angry, you really should be concentrating on what is important in Mass and worshipping God. St. Francis would kiss the hands of any priests he would meet, whether they were in scandel or not because those were the hands that make Jesus present to the world.

You also talk about people not being allowed to do this and that in different religious orders. That is another difference between Franciscans and those that are not. Franciscans are supposed to live in the world not apart from the world as Benidictines do. Yes, they should avoid pornography and things like that but that goes with everyone being sinners. I doubt any community tells their members to view pornography. Any order that has to live in the world gets exposed to temptation, it is how they deal with it that shows what they are.

You mention the church doing this and the church doing that, instead you should be concentrating on your religious journey. If you are just looking for an escape from your past or the problems of the world you will not find it in any religious order. ALL religious orders have issues. and you cannot escape from yourself ever.

If you have not already done so, read some books about St. Francis, especially those written by people like Thomas of Celano and others that were around during his life. Get a feel for what the Order was like and the actual ideals of the Order.
 
I too am only interested in learning about religious orders that practice the Latin mass.

It is not a sign of immaturity or otherwise to prudently believe this is the best course. I think those who protest that this is the case judge and protest too much.

It is a very good sign to see the Latin mass practiced by a religious order, because it is superior in form in many ways to the Novus Ordo – yes one mass can in its form be superior to another, just as one priest can flub the same type of mass and another do it very well. So it is perfectly natural to desire a Latin mass with its superiority of form in reverence and tradition – or alternatively a Byzantine liturgy vs. the Novus Ordo as generally practiced.

While each mass is of infinite value and part of Calvary, man being finite, does not receive infinite value from it – he receives a finite amount according to his capacity, and depending upon his reverence and devotion at it. Which is only a part of why form is important.

Anyone who wants to see what superiority of form means only has to look at the F.S.S.P.'s mass instructional DVD to see how -much- is put into it, compared to a Novus Ordo mass.

That being said let’s not get too sidetracked from the thread topic eh?

I would love to find a directory of religious orders who solely use the extraordinary form of the mass and are completely submitted to the authority of the Church.
 
Shin said:
It is not a sign of immaturity or otherwise to prudently believe this is the best course. I think those who protest that this is the case judge and protest too much.
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I think the problem is that people that are looking at a religious order and using whether they use the Extraordinary Form of the Mass as the sole indication of the faithfulness, suitability, etc. is blinding themselves to what is out there. There are many great Orders that use the Ordinary form of the Mass. The graces extended by either Mass are identical. To believe otherwise is to not believe in the Church and its hierarchy.

It is one thing to have whether they celebrate the Extraordinary form as one item on a large check-list or items. It is another thing to have it as the only thing.
 
Shin;4631258 said:
The member “Cloisters” or “Cloister” here on CAF has such a list, mainly for women, but prolly also including men.
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I’m sorry marauder. I’m not a crusader who knows he is impervious to corruptions within a community. Thus, whatever order does Mass the way it is meant to be done for whatever rite–nothing more and nothing less–is the correct one. Ones that wear the habit means something as do those where they don’t. Ones that do–you know, it is kind of Puritanical how the old ways were tossed out decades ago. Some priests put them back in. That’s good, but if the liturgy is separated by announcements before Mass is over or children’s bulletin time comes before “Mass is ended”, it does noone any benefit to feverishly hold on to whatever positive things were done. If Mass is done correctly, no harm has been done. I’m tired of hearing how great the N.O. is when its fans in high places let us have the priest’s show (it may be well-intentioned, but we’ve seen the road many Catholics have taken since the N.O. after these good intentions were popular). I’d like to see the N.O. of whatever rite always without innovations outside of the places you’ve mentioned.

I understand how it is to feel you need to keep people around so you want to lighten things up. I tried teaching English in S. Korea in a cram school. If the kids complain about something, their parents may pull them out. That doesn’t make the boss happy. I had a boss that cared about their education, but still. Still, the students lose respect for the teacher and whatever is taught if the teacher is a softy. That’s the way it is. We are not helping priests by looking at the bright side. We have a right to a proper liturgy and that is only harsh and inflammatory to ones not seeing things clearly due to something or other. We also don’t help gays by “accepting them” or Protestants by believing they are just as ok being Protestants (how often do people get perfect contrition?). We would help priests by pressuring bishops to support them in being firm and promoting the border security of our Faith against Protestant and other ideas from Satan, like modernism, from entering our souls.

The judge not and the board over the eyes remarks can be used subconsciously, by the well-meaning, as a judgment upon your soul. My sins are always before me as one suffering from scrupulosity.

Regarding the Latin Mass. It’s not just the Mass. We got a blessing of gold, Frankincense and myrrh for those who brought them and an exorcism prayer was said over them. The same went for the chalk, which was given out with instructions. We got a True Cross blessing after one Mass and a Sacred Heart blessing after another recently. Baptisms get the exorcism prayer said over them as their bodies are fallen. I mean, they, provided their instruction and organization is reputable, have the tools; they have the talent! N.O. orders that are orthodox may be good places for the soul (I know there’s problems that can come up, but the newer communities, N.O. or Latin Mass style, are still in better shape), but the Latin Mass ones (in full obedience, of course) are safer. Still, because of the way they are living, ones like the FPO would be good enough. If they got lazy about something, hopefully, I’d be a full member and able to weather the storm after quality time spent in good times.
 
foolishmoral, now your posts are seeming more like a person destined for the religious life. Don’t blame the fact that abuses are happening during the Ordinary form of the Mass on the Mass itself. It is stuff that is being done, “in the spirit of Vatican II” that is the problem, not the Mass itself. The places I listed aren’t the only places that the Ordinary form of the Mass is done with reverence. You can find entire dioceses that are very obedient. The Archdiocese of Arlington being one locally to me that I know most churches perform everything correctly. My parish church under the current pastor performs everything pretty much by the book, with only a few minor issues (i.e. pastor hasn’t addressed hand holding during the Our Father yet, but doesn’t encourage it) but they are extremely minor issues in the scheme of things. Place like the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception make sure everything is done “by the book”. When traveling throughout the country I see some churches by the book others to the other end of the extreme. It isn’t the Mass that is the problem. Many of the things you said happened during the Extraordinary form I have seen during Ordinary form Masses also. I have seen the chalk with instructions, the blessing of crosses and other things like that during Ordinary form Masses.

I wasn’t using the plank saying as an attack. It is real hard to say this without sounding conceited or as if I am a liberal but I have discussed this with many people in religious life. Read the entire paragraph before “getting angry”. Most of the people that many people consider real holy started out with the Pharisee style view of the Mass, religious life, and any aspect of religion where everything always has to be by the book and if it isn’t they get mad and upset and go into a rant. As they progressed in their religious life they progressed beyond the need for blindly following the rules just for the sake of following the rules. Eventually they determined that the real anger was coming from aspects of their own personality that they were angry about. They came to understand the important thing is to worship God, not that every single instruction always be performed exactly right in every circumstance. This attitude doesn’t give anyone the right to change things or not to address the issues because obedience to the Church is a core belief of religious life, but it changes the method for dealing with the issues and the way a person feels about the issues. If someone notices a priest doing a minor “abuse” instead of getting angry, storming out of the church and immediately writting a letter to the Bishop, they address it in civil manners AFTER Mass. During Mass they are worshipping God, not getting angry about the issue. After Mass they can approach the priest, recognizing that he is a man of God with years of training, not an enemy and treat him like a human being. It’s part of remembering what the important part of Mass and other religious activities is worshipping God, whether it be in the form of your personal preference or not. That lifeteen Mass with the guitar is just as valid a Mass as a Extraordinary form Mass with an organ. It might not be your preference, but God will be made present by the hands of the priest just the same as long as valid form, matter, and intent is present.

I personally have never dealt directly with a member of FPO but I know people that have and they say they are very religious. The main comment I have about them is that many groups in the past have tried living exactly by the old Rule and none have succeeded. They have either totally disbanded or turned into a group similar to other first or third Order groups. Living without any possesions both individually and as an Order is tough, especially when dealing with things like retirement, health care, etc. It is admirable that they can have the faith to try and I wish them and anyone that enters their Order success.
 
Foolish mortal

Are you looking to be a priest or to be a Franciscan? You do not need to be a Franciscan to be a priest and you do not need to be a priest to be a Franciscan.

In fact, our holy father founded a brotherhood, not a clerical institute. The priests who joined him were usually secular priests who wanted to be religious. It was only later that the order began to train its own priests at the request of St. Anthony of Padua.

To this day, the priesthood is considered the clerical state, not religious life. The life of a Franciscan is a life of obedience to the Gospel in the manner that Francis obeyed it.

Whether the ordained friar celebrates the Ordinary Form or the Extraordinary Form, he must obey the Church, because it was the mind of our holy father Francis that all Franciscans be submissive to the Church. However, it was also in the mind of Francis that all Franciscans be humble and equal.

Therefore, in those friaries where there is no one to celebrate the Extraordinary Form, those Friars, nuns and Secular Franciscans approach the liturgy with great humility. For our understanding of our holy father Francis tells us that it is not the form that sanctifies, but the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist. Those who prefer one form over the other, but do not have it available, practice the greatest humility and obedience to their brothers, as Francis taught us to do, by accepting what it put before them. This is the greatest sign of holy poverty.

Our holy father said that we should be humble in all things and poor in all things, even in the way that we worship. We must accept what the Church puts before us.

In addition, you should remember that if you become a Franciscan, in any of the Franciscan communities, it is never a given that you will be a priest. You will go through many years of formation in Franciscan theology and spirituality. After you have made perpetual vows or if you join the Friars Minor you will make solemn vows, only then can you request permission of your brothers to be ordained. The brothers reserve the right to deny it.

A Franciscan community that guarrantees its members the preisthood is veering off from the original spirit of our founder. Such a community is a clerical community. That is not in the rule of St. Francis. If you read the holy rule, you will find that the entire focus is on the practice of virtue and the life in brotherhood. When Francis speaks of brotherhood, he means Brothers, not a clerical community. Any Franciscan community that is erected as a clerical community is an innovation.

Franciscan communities come in three modalities: Friars, nuns and Seculars. Francis only founded three orders. None of them were clerical.

Francis had great respect for priests and we have had very saintly priests. We have had great saints who were ordained, such as Bonaventure, Lawrence of Brindisi, Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Padre Pio, John XXIII, Pius XII and others. But the one thing they all had in common was their deep love for the crucified Lord. Everything else is defined by that love. That’s why one becomes a Franciscan.

My fraternal suggestion is that you contemplate the cross and ask yourself if you are willing to live with the cross, even if it means worshipping in the Ordinary Form. If worshipping in the Ordinary Form is a hinderance, then you may not be ready for the cross. The cross as St. Francis understood it required complete detachment from our opinions, our wishes, our property, our family and friends, even our prayer life. Everything is put into the hand of the Crucified Lord Jesus Christ, with the same love as is in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a love that does not complain, that accepts the uncomfortable for love of Christ, a love that is full of joy despite whatever is happening around you.

The Eucharist is the centre of the Franciscan’s life. The form in which it is celebrated is less important as long as it is done with reverence and love.

The habit is an article of clothing. The fact of the matter is that Francis did not have a specific habit. His habit was the clothing of the peasant. That’s why you have so many variations on the Franciscan habit: grey, blue, brown, black, beige, robe, shirt and slacks or whatever is consistent with poverty and the lowest member of society.

The other thing that you must want to be a good Franciscan is to love your brothers with a greater passion than you love your biological family. For Francis there was no other family, but his brothers, with all their faults, doubts, rebellions and virtues. Francis did not look for virtuous brothers. He looked for men who wanted to be brothers. The virtue would come with time and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let yourself be trapped into looking for a community of men where there is all virtue. There is no such community.

Franciscans are men and women on the path to holiness in the manner of St. Francis. We strive our best to live the Gospel by constantly asking ourselves, what would Francis do in this circumstance or with this person?

We always arrive at the same response. Francis would remember that he was the greatest of sinners and the other person was much more virtuous than he.

We know that this was not the case, but this was his value system and the worldview from which he operated and wanted his sons and daughters to operate. He did not accept men and women who came to his order believing that they had some truth that the rest of the world did not have.

He wanted men and women who came to his order to come because they had found a great lover, the Crucified Lord and they were willing to suffer as he suffered, even by enduring with the post-Lateran Council Church as he did.

Fraternally,

JR 🙂
 
Thanks, both of you!

I’m just looking to buy the field with the pearl of great price (I think that’s how the Bible verse went, though I don’t know what a pearl is doing in a field). I’m not that good of a farmer, though. I mean well, but I can be self-absorbed to see what needs doing. It’s good to have people tell me what that is and I need people to help me farm that field–people know know the value of the pearl and how you go about getting it once you’ve bought the field–kind of a co-ownership, where you get more out of it the more you know its worth and the better you make use of it.

I’m really nice in person, but I do have insecurities as I’m melancholic in many ways and a worrier and, once I got intellectually confirmed in my Faith, scrupulous as well. It gets added to when well-meaning people in my life want to do things I’m not sure is right. I don’t know what, if anything, to say about anyone who is in an invalid marriage (I’ve blamed that on innovative priests for so long, but I get why some do it first-hand as “Mass Appeal” was long-forgotten in my head) or co-workers who might have one and I’m not sure it’s polite to ask. Then, I have my bad habits. Sorry I thought negative thoughts about you, Marauder. It sounded like a (possible) sanguines to melancholics cliche line you see on these kind of forums often (though I think I’m part phlegmatic). I read that Brother Juniper was afraid of shame when he joined and took care of that. It probably helped that others were trying to do the same.

There’s guilt too. I think my siblings could and would take care of my parents, but I have a lonely friend I left in S. Korea after not doing well teaching English there and a nephew and niece who see me as Pee-Wee Herman/Tom and Jerry physical comedy cartoon character. I’d be far from them. I know my mom missed me when I was in Korea and I couldn’t help Dad with all the snow we got. A religious order won’t solve all these issues, but it would be a better environment, I think.

Still, I know the soul is most important and, though I don’t find the confidence in myself to do big things, I have some strange self-confidence that, in the right environment, I would drop many of the symptoms of insecurity and an order of whatever rite done right (but I could be wrong) and I think the Franciscans are the ones. Of course, I could try to find a spiritual director, but I never know where life will take me or the priest and, going to Masses that have the best time for me, I really don’t know any priests. They have priests, though. I don’t know how the FPO gets friars into the seminary or college classes for other skills, as nuts and bolts as they are. Maybe the Church foots the bill or religious get in free. I’m guessing they are colleges in good standing with the Church, at least where the new orthodox ones go.

The FI has given me a chance to stay with them for a week. I could at least check their life out and they could see if I might fit in with their first order. If I don’t then, so be it. Maybe they know me better than I know myself, being objective viewers, and I’m going about bettering myself and/or my situation the wrong way. Maybe it would be the third order for me or another order’s first order. I’m told the Madonna House is good in Canada and I’m sure the other locations are too.

Well, anyway, thank you and God bless you!
 
Foolishmortal, your post is very good and I’d like to help a little by giving you some information and suggestions.

The Franciscans of the Primitive Observance are not an independent religious order. They are under obedience to the Capuchin Franciscans as are the Franciscans of the Renewal and the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. Their hope is to recover the primitive Capuchin Franciscan obserances of the 1500s when the Capuchins reformed the Fanciscan Order. Some day they may become an independent branch of the Friars Minor, who knows.

They do have their own superior. As our rule says, each fraternity must be governed by a Guardian. They are a very small group. They are having some growing pains, like any young fraternity. Hopefully they will grow. Only the Holy Spirit knows for sure.

If you are a person who is prone to be withdrawn or to get depressed or frustrated easily I strongly suggest that you find a good spiritual director to discern this.

The Capuchin tradition is very strong on brotherhood, as is the entire Francisca family. But they place this Franciscan trait as number one to be lived. That is why parish ministry plays a very small role in the Capuchin tradition.

As community ministry to the laity is not the number one priority to the Capuchin Franiciscans. The FPO are trying to recover the original Capuchin way of life, they are really a contemplative fraterntiy that spends most of its time with each other and in prayer.

An intense community life for one who struggles with some of the emotional issues that you mentioned in your post can be a crucifixion, but not a virtuous one. Because it can be a crucifixion for the individual and his brothers. One has to roll with the punches in that kind of environment or one does not survive.

They are not an EF community. None of the Franciscan communities that are canonically bound to the Franciscan family are EF. It was decided by the Ministers General of the Friars Minor, Third Order Regular and Secular Franciscans not to implement the Motu Proprio as a community. This was a right that is given to them by the Motu Proprio itself when it refers to regular priests and their superiors and by their Pontifical status.

There are ordained friars who do celebrate the EF with the permission of their brothers. You see, even though the Motu Proprio says that every priest has the freedom to celebrate the EF, it also refers to religious and their superiors. Priests in certain orders are bound by obedience to the Order instead of the Vatican when a directive is not binding on the entire Church. The Motu Proprio does not bind religious houses to implement the EF. That’s an internal matter.

Among the Franciscans, the brotherhood is the voice of authority. They take these things to chapter and they vote on it. Then the local Guardian implements it. The Ministers decided to let each community give the permission for the EF on a case by case basis.

There are criterias that we use to determine when and who will celebrate it. The first question is always the same. Is this what the fraternity wants and will it make us better Franciscans? The second question is pretty similar. Do we have to do this for the laity or can someone else do it? The third question, is this necessary for the Church or for a specific group of people? Based on those answers the fraternity votes. Then the decision is handed to the Guardian. The Guardian does have the right to veto the vote. This rarely happens, but as the successor of Francis that’s his right.

I may be wrong, but I do believe that the FPO do celebrate the mass in Latin, but its the Ordinary Form. They try not to get involved in parish ministry. They may go out to help a parish who needs help on a Sunday. But they do not take on parishes. Just like their older brothers, the Capuchin Franciscans who are leaving parishes and returning them to the bishops because they had become an order of priests as a result of too much involvement in parish ministry, the FPO is trying to avoid this.

They are not monks. They follow Francis’ rule for hermits. They do spiritual direction, retreat work, preaching, missions and some teaching. As to their education in philosophy and theology they attend the local universities where they are stationed or the local diocesan seminary.

cotinued on next post . . .
 
conclusion . . .

According to the Franciscan constitutions, an individual who wants to join the Franciscan Order should have an undergraduate degree. They begin their formation as postulants, then novitiate. After novitiate they make temporary vows. During that period that they are in temporary vows they go to graduate school for theology. The order pays for it. The Rule of St. Francis is very clear that the brothers and sisters are not to take money from their families. I would imagine that they have some kind of financial arrangement with the Diocese of Falls River or the Archdiocese of Boston. It was Cardinal Sean, OFM Cap who invited them to Falls River when he was the bishop there and now he’s the Archbishop of Boston.

Like the rest of the Franciscan family, only those friars approved by the brotherhood and the major superior may be ordained. But before one can ask for ordination one must make perpetual profession of solemn vows. If the request is denied, the individual is bound by the solemn vows and bound to remain in the community for life.

You have to think about the obedience. If you were denied permission to be ordained, would you be happy? If ordination were postponed, would you be happy? Would you be happy in a religioius family that has not adopted the Extraordinary Form, but only allows individuals in specific situations to celebrate it?

I remember Mother Angelica’s nuns wanted a mass in the EF. They asked the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, which Mother founded, to celebrate it for them. The local superior said no. He would not allow his friars to celebrate the EF. They had to invite priest from the Society of St. Peter to celebrate it.

The EF is certainly very beautiful. I have been to it many times and I’m a Franciscan. But the idea of the Franciscan family is that the EF is to be just that, Extraordinary, not the norm. To avoid having it become the exclusive form of the Order, contrary to the wishes of the Holy Father, they keep very tight controls as to when and where it is celebrated and who celebrates it. They are not opposed to it. They are trying very hard to protect the Ordinary Form and make sure that the Gregorian Form, when used, is truly an extraordinary situation. There is the danger that a friar may decided to celebrate only the EF. In that case, it’s no longer extraordinary for friar and he’s out of sync with his brothers.

Because there is such a strong emphasis on the brotherhood, there is going to be a very strong emphasis on making sure that any Franciscan of any of the three orders be in sync with the entire family. This preserves the unity of the Franciscan family. To maintain the strong bonds of brotherhood, obedience and submission to the brotherhood, and to by in sync with the entire Franciscan family, at the chagrin of the laity, Franciscans avoid allowing the laity’s wishes influence their decisions and how they live or minister. They love the laity and want to serve. But their natural family is their community. Like any good Catholic, your family, its needs and wishes come first.

Again, discern with a spiritual director. If you can find a Franciscan, that would be better. He does not have to be a priest. Franciscans are all trained in Franciscan mystical and spiritual theology. It can be a priest, lay brother, Poor Clare nun, or a Secular Franciscan. Franciscans have a program to certify all those who are to serve as spiritual assistants. That’s what we call spiritual directors.

I hope this is helpful.

Fraternally in St. Francis,

JR 🙂
 
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