“Do not be afraid to go out on the streets
and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and
the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages.
This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it
from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine
modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known
in the modern 'metropolis.' It is you who must 'go out into the by-roads'
and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his
people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference.
It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand
so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father.”
(Pope John Paul II, World Youth Day '93)
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Material poverty,
manual labor, complete renunciation of ownership of immovable property,
mature and faithful chastity, an active and responsible obedience,
and living with and engaging in hands-on work with the materially
poor and destitute are the essential components of this reform.
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“This community
is seeking to live the vows of authentic Franciscan life in a way
that effectively challenges the worldly values prevalent in every
age.
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To preserve the
spirit and life of St. Francis in their apostolate, the friars will
carry on the work of evangelization
by preaching and other non-parochial ministry in the manner of the
early Capuchin reform.” (C.F.R. Constit
utions)
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The spiritual values uniting the friars
are commitment to Christ, Our Savior, through contemplative and liturgical
prayer, daily Eucharistic adoration, devotion to Our Lady, imitation of
St. Francis and St. Clare, love for the Church and loyalty to the Holy Father.
“Consecrated persons are asked to bear
a renewed evangelical witness in a form of fraternal life inspired by principles
of simplicity and hospitality as an example to those who are indifferent
to the needs of their neighbor. This witness will of course be accompanied
by a preferential love for the poor and will be shown especially
by sharing the conditions of life of the most neglected.”
(Pope John Paul II, Vita consecrata)
“...It is all yours, O Mary.”
The Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal was begun in 1987 by eight
Capuchin friars desiring to work more definitively for personal and communal
reform within the Catholic Church. The life and apostolate of the friars
are rooted in the ideals and spirit of the Capuchin reform born in the early
16th century.
The community was formally established
as a Diocesan Religious Institute by the late John Cardinal O'Connor
on May 28, 1999. A parallel community, The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal,
was canonically established as a Public Association of the Faithful
in 1990. Like the friars, they live a common life characterized by charity,
prayer, and poverty. Both communities assisted by lay associates, serve
the spiritual and material needs of the very poor in their neighborhoods
and are engaged in an extensive preaching apostolate.
One
day when Francis went out to meditate in the fields he was passing by the church
of San Damiano which was threatening to collapse because of extreme age. Inspired
by the Spirit, he went inside to pray. Kneeling before an image of the Crucified,
he was filled with great fervor and consolation as he prayed. While his tear-filled
eyes were gazing at the Lord's cross, he heard with his bodily ears a voice
coming from the cross, telling him three times: “Francis, go and repair my house
which, as you see, is falling into ruin.” Trembling with fear, Francis was amazed
at the sound of this astonishing voice, since he was alone in the church; and
as he received in his heart the power of the divine words, he fell into a state
of ecstasy. Returning finally to his senses, he prepared to put his whole heart
into obeying the command he had received. He began zealously to repair the church
materially, although the principle intention of the words referred to that Church
which Christ purchased with his own blood, as the Holy Spirit afterward made
him realize and as he later disclosed to the friars.
