J
JReducation
Guest
The Franciscan Brothers of Life are a young community looking for men who hear Christ’s call to consecrate their lives to him, living in the manner of St. Francis, in obedience, without property and in chastity. It is a contemplative community, but we are not monks. We are friars who live a simple life as brothers to each other and brothers to the unborn and their parents.
Christ sends us to promote the Gospel of life by rescuing the unborn from the terror of abortion. Together with volunteers, the Respect Life ministry of the diocese where we find ourselves and with the universal Church, we preach the sacredness of human life to anyone who will listen. The Church needs retreats and workshops for volunteers in the Respect Life movement. She needs brothers to go from parish to parish begging for food, clothing, medical services and education services for parents who wanted to abort their unborn child and have decided to deliver their babies.
To each brother Christ assigns the duty to protect life and a specific chore that goes with that duty. This can be anything from counseling, gathering supplies for the newborn children, teaching parenting skills, finding doctors, nurses, therapists, dentists and other professionals to volunteer their time to serve the unborn and parents. When a mother comes to the brother with her unborn child and has no place to live, he finds resources in the Catholic community to provide shelter, food and healthcare until she can be independent. God has plenty of money.
The Church needs more brothers to visit schools and parish youth groups where to teach the young Theology of the Body and the sacredness of human sexuality and the privilege and duties of parenting. In those cases where children are born and their parents do not want them, those young innocents need brothers to help them find a home. In the meantime, we care for them ourselves, if we have to. We bathe babies, wash diapers, feed and provide parenting to those children until we can find a proper placement for them.
Above all, you must be a brother in the truest sense of the word. Without fraternal life your ministry would be impossible. Every cent that a brother gets, be it through out work or gifts, is designated to those whom the brother serves. A brother must be willing to eat and cover the fraternity’s expenses after the people whom we serve have been taken care of. This means that at times, like our Holy Father Francis, a brother may just have soup and bread to eat. You may have to sleep on the floor, if there is no money to buy a bed. You may have to go without heating or AC, to save money for those who are most vulnerable.
Franciscan life is one of constant prayer. You will pray the Liturgy of the Hours in community four times a day. Every brother must spend at least an hour a day in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Community meals and community recreation refresh our spirit and provide opportunities to live with each other as Christ lived with his apostles and Francis lived with the first brothers. The brother’s only clothing is a grey habit and work clothes depending on his job. Yes, a brother may be a teacher, chemist, a clerk in a store or whatever else he can do to provide resources for the community and the ministry. Our holy Father Francis said that the brothers should work with their hands and appeal to the table of the Lord when they did not receive compensation for their services. Therefore, we are not a burden to others or to the Church.
We are faithful Catholics, who practice absolute obedience to the superior, the local bishop and the pope. Like Francis, our obedience is without question or murmuring. This is the manner of obedience that Christ revealed to St. Francis. It is a gift of love to the Father. Your poverty is not only spiritual, but physical as well. Brothers own nothing, not even a home. They live where they are welcome and try to pay for their housing, if and when they can. Your vow of chastity is your marriage to Christ, whom you see and serve in your other brothers. Therefore, community life is an essential charism of your life. By living in a community of brothers who love each other and care for each other’s needs, you will care for and proclaim the love that exists within the Trinity. The Virgin Mary is your patroness as you and your brothers engage in a personal relationship with her and allow her to serve as your guide in the same manner that she did guided St. Francis. She is the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of the Franciscan family.
You will love priests. However, we have no priests in our community, because Francis founded a brotherhood. We try to protect his vision of a family of brothers going through the world proclaiming the Gospel by word and life. Since the Franciscan family has a large number of priests, we can make a very unique contribution to the family by preserving the original character of the early friars. Thus we are a band of penitents who life our Gospel life for the protection of the vulnerable, especially the unborn, and we do reparation for the sins of those who have engaged in the horrible sin of abortion.
But we are in crisis. Abortion, euthanasia, the reckless application of capital punishment, and embryonic stem cell research are gaining more momentum in the nations of the world. Lay volunteers are doing the best they can to head the crisis off, but their family obligations often take them out of action. We need men who have no other commitment or desire to but serve Christ through a life of austere penance, constant prayer, and hard work to show the world the priceless gift of life that St. Francis so beautifully describes in the Canticle of the Creatures.
Until recently we were doing this work and living this life under the auspices of the Secular Franciscan Order and in partnership with the bishops. But there is an urgent need for Knights of the Unborn. We apply to St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan Friar who gave his life to save another and who is the patron of Respect Life. We apply to him, St. Francis, and the Blessed Mother to send more men, of any age and background, who can live this life for the love of Christ’s unborn brothers and sisters and their parents.
God is calling us to grow. Other religious and priests have their mission in the Church. These other ministries and charisms are also necessary for the good of the Church and salvation of souls. We cannot ask for more from them. If we want to respond to the evil of abortion and the attack on human life, we have to organize ourselves into a cohesive community and bring our gift to the Church. This may be the call that you’re hearing.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Christ sends us to promote the Gospel of life by rescuing the unborn from the terror of abortion. Together with volunteers, the Respect Life ministry of the diocese where we find ourselves and with the universal Church, we preach the sacredness of human life to anyone who will listen. The Church needs retreats and workshops for volunteers in the Respect Life movement. She needs brothers to go from parish to parish begging for food, clothing, medical services and education services for parents who wanted to abort their unborn child and have decided to deliver their babies.
To each brother Christ assigns the duty to protect life and a specific chore that goes with that duty. This can be anything from counseling, gathering supplies for the newborn children, teaching parenting skills, finding doctors, nurses, therapists, dentists and other professionals to volunteer their time to serve the unborn and parents. When a mother comes to the brother with her unborn child and has no place to live, he finds resources in the Catholic community to provide shelter, food and healthcare until she can be independent. God has plenty of money.
The Church needs more brothers to visit schools and parish youth groups where to teach the young Theology of the Body and the sacredness of human sexuality and the privilege and duties of parenting. In those cases where children are born and their parents do not want them, those young innocents need brothers to help them find a home. In the meantime, we care for them ourselves, if we have to. We bathe babies, wash diapers, feed and provide parenting to those children until we can find a proper placement for them.
Above all, you must be a brother in the truest sense of the word. Without fraternal life your ministry would be impossible. Every cent that a brother gets, be it through out work or gifts, is designated to those whom the brother serves. A brother must be willing to eat and cover the fraternity’s expenses after the people whom we serve have been taken care of. This means that at times, like our Holy Father Francis, a brother may just have soup and bread to eat. You may have to sleep on the floor, if there is no money to buy a bed. You may have to go without heating or AC, to save money for those who are most vulnerable.
Franciscan life is one of constant prayer. You will pray the Liturgy of the Hours in community four times a day. Every brother must spend at least an hour a day in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Community meals and community recreation refresh our spirit and provide opportunities to live with each other as Christ lived with his apostles and Francis lived with the first brothers. The brother’s only clothing is a grey habit and work clothes depending on his job. Yes, a brother may be a teacher, chemist, a clerk in a store or whatever else he can do to provide resources for the community and the ministry. Our holy Father Francis said that the brothers should work with their hands and appeal to the table of the Lord when they did not receive compensation for their services. Therefore, we are not a burden to others or to the Church.
We are faithful Catholics, who practice absolute obedience to the superior, the local bishop and the pope. Like Francis, our obedience is without question or murmuring. This is the manner of obedience that Christ revealed to St. Francis. It is a gift of love to the Father. Your poverty is not only spiritual, but physical as well. Brothers own nothing, not even a home. They live where they are welcome and try to pay for their housing, if and when they can. Your vow of chastity is your marriage to Christ, whom you see and serve in your other brothers. Therefore, community life is an essential charism of your life. By living in a community of brothers who love each other and care for each other’s needs, you will care for and proclaim the love that exists within the Trinity. The Virgin Mary is your patroness as you and your brothers engage in a personal relationship with her and allow her to serve as your guide in the same manner that she did guided St. Francis. She is the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of the Franciscan family.
You will love priests. However, we have no priests in our community, because Francis founded a brotherhood. We try to protect his vision of a family of brothers going through the world proclaiming the Gospel by word and life. Since the Franciscan family has a large number of priests, we can make a very unique contribution to the family by preserving the original character of the early friars. Thus we are a band of penitents who life our Gospel life for the protection of the vulnerable, especially the unborn, and we do reparation for the sins of those who have engaged in the horrible sin of abortion.
But we are in crisis. Abortion, euthanasia, the reckless application of capital punishment, and embryonic stem cell research are gaining more momentum in the nations of the world. Lay volunteers are doing the best they can to head the crisis off, but their family obligations often take them out of action. We need men who have no other commitment or desire to but serve Christ through a life of austere penance, constant prayer, and hard work to show the world the priceless gift of life that St. Francis so beautifully describes in the Canticle of the Creatures.
Until recently we were doing this work and living this life under the auspices of the Secular Franciscan Order and in partnership with the bishops. But there is an urgent need for Knights of the Unborn. We apply to St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan Friar who gave his life to save another and who is the patron of Respect Life. We apply to him, St. Francis, and the Blessed Mother to send more men, of any age and background, who can live this life for the love of Christ’s unborn brothers and sisters and their parents.
God is calling us to grow. Other religious and priests have their mission in the Church. These other ministries and charisms are also necessary for the good of the Church and salvation of souls. We cannot ask for more from them. If we want to respond to the evil of abortion and the attack on human life, we have to organize ourselves into a cohesive community and bring our gift to the Church. This may be the call that you’re hearing.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF