Being a Franciscan every day

A common life of prayer

Franciscan friars begin and end their day with the Psalms, which they pray together, with every member of their community. They listen to and meditate on the Gospel during their daily Eucharist.

Heading out for the day

After this gathering for prayer, each friar takes up his duties. These are often outside the friary, for as the saying goes, we work in the Church for the world.

Also, the house must be taken care of, the meals prepared, the cleaning done, and so on, so that the home of the friars is always full of life and welcoming.

The friars have a lot of freedom in choosing the type of work they do, and their talents are respected. They can do any kind of honest work, depending on the needs of the time: pastoral work, social work, community work, education, missionary work, and so on. They bring their stone to the building of a New World. Among the Franciscans you will find manual labourers, mechanics, nurses, cooks, preachers, parish priests, catechists, teachers, journalists, secretaries, and more. There are only two apostolates that the Franciscan Order must fulfill: work in the Holy Land and international missions.

Friars do not choose their work on their own. They discuss with the other friars in their fraternity the work they would like to do. This approach always sheds light on the matter and mobilizes a friar, because the other friars know what his particular gifts are and help each other to see them clearly. Personal tastes are also compared against the needs of the local or Provincial community. Something sensible always emerges. This is what we call “seeking God’s will,  together, and finding in him the courage to accomplish it.”

Sharing meals

We eat together and talk about the things we have seen and done during the day. We consult each other and use this time to unwind.