"So you're studying to be a priest?", was a question I heard very often during my postulancy and novitiate. And my response? It usually went something like this: "Give me a break; I'm just trying to figure out if this religious life thing is for me at all." Oh, the glories of initial formation and the struggles of discernment! It was also during this time that I coined my most famous quote to date: In one of my "moments" as a temporarily professed, I uttered aloud (thinking I was alone, and to the comic relief of one brother): "What am I doing? Where am I going? WHO AM I?!" As time passed and as I had more experience living as a brother, it seemed as if God we're truly putting to ease this restless heart of mine. I became less worried about doing and more focused on simply being…being a brother. One day, as I was reading the section on lay brotherhood formation in our constitutions, the words "simplicity" and "availability" struck me very deeply. That is what resonated in my heart! That is what I feel called to be! That is what I love about this life that God has blessed me with.

Simplicity:
Simply love the prayer life: daily Mass, the Divine Office, the Eucharistic Holy Hour, the Rosary, and the quiet time of reflection.
Simply love poverty: wearing the habit, having few possessions, friaries that are austere yet inspiring, not having everything you want but possessing everything you need.
Simply love fraternity: being available to my brothers in community, and having many other brothers as well. Simply being a brother to all I meet on the street and those who seek assistance at our door.
Simply love the joy of hearing the children call me "brother" and the joy of calling them "brother".
Simply love living with Christ present in the poor.
Simply love living with the Blessed Sacrament-Jesus' true presence.
Simplicity; God's gift to me-simply to be a brother.

In an age where people find it hard to sit still and stay put, I desire to be available. To commit to being with the poor. Simply to be present to them. Even if you don't say much, the presence say's it all. Like Jesus in the tabernacle-so must the lay brother be. Whatever he does: work in the shelter, work with the youth program or daily chores, answering the phones and the door, etc-it is all really relevant. His main job is to be-to be available, to be Christ's presence in the world like "Emmanuel, God with us".

- Br. Thomas Joseph, CFR

Everyday there are demands and responsibilities placed on us simply by our community life or by situations that may arise. In these we see the will of God and so strive by God’s grace to do our best in fulfilling them. And yet at the heart of our service and active life must be a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. For it is only this relationship that can motivate us and allow our work to bear fruit in the spirit.

At the heart of this relationship is prayer, if we don’t talk to the One we love then the love will grow weaker. Trough our prayer and communion with the Trinity we grow in faith and love. From there we can then go and give what we have received from the wellspring and, returning frequently, we grow into the fullness of our sonship.

- Br. Peter, CFR

The duty and joy of the CFR Lay Brother is to become the brother of the poor. This is relational evangelization. It is a ministry of pastoral and fraternal accompaniment; a ministry of walking with someone in solidarity, recognizing a common origin, dignity, and destiny, while pointing ahead to Christ. We accompany the poor along their way of the cross, encouraging them with this message of hope:

“Someone exists who holds in His hands the destiny of this passing world; Someone who holds the keys to death and the netherworld; Someone who is the Alpha and Omega of human history-be it individual or collective history. And this Someone is Love- Love that became man, Love crucified and risen, Love unceasingly present among men… He alone can give the ultimate assurance when he says, “Be not afraid!... (JP II).

- Br. Éoin Pól, CFR

Galileo once said that “Nature doth not by many things which may be done by few.” Nature sprang forth from the generative love of the Creator: a love—a God—that is simple in nature. Simplicity is a word that is often used, and as often misused, to mean easy, unintelligent, or not advanced. More accurately, the root word “sim” means one, indivisible, whole. In the early days of the Franciscan-Capuchin order, those friars who were illiterate and not able to handle seminary studies remained lay brothers throughout their religious life. These brothers were often perceived as simple-minded, and perhaps they were; not due to their lack of education, however, but rather as a description of an undivided will, given wholly to the Lord in hidden and subtle service to all people.

In the midst of countless distractions in thought, word, and deed, the lay brother strives to remain focused on pleasing the Lord and not on the honors of this world. Like any friar, he receives his reward when, at the end of the day, he rests knowing that he did not run after praise and popularity, but was a faithful servant to whatever task was given him—however lowly and hidden the assignment. As St. Paul wrote, “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God (1 Cor. 1:27-29). The lay brother is a sign of contradiction to a world that rewards those who competitively multiply achievements or expand wealth and knowledge to excel over others. But like the simplicity, and often overlooked beauty, of God’s creation, the lay brother “doth not by many things which may be done by few.”

- Br. Matthew, CFR

Then He sat down, called the twelve and said to them, “If someone wants to be first, let him be last and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). A brother’s life is one of servitude and obedience, imitating Christ who is our model in all things. Christ who took the form of a slave and humbled himself, loved all dearly because He saw all as sons of the Father to whom He was obedient even unto death (Phil 2: 7-8).

The joyful servant in the Vineyard of the Lord seeks as St. Therésè of Liseux did, to suffer and even rejoice in service and love, doing all things with great love. They are inspired and nourished by the fruit of their labour because their service and love covers a multitude of sins (Prov. 10:12), because their sacrifice feeds the flames of the burning love and desire of the Lord to save all souls and because they know that they can only be filled with the richer and deeper graces the almighty sower wishes to pour into their souls if they themselves empty themselves out for others.

As lesser brothers, we must truly be eager to wash the feet of others and seek opportunities of humility and service, never returning to the vomit of our wills, but in perfect joy seek to be united in our service and sufferings to the Cross, bearing all for the love of God in patience and happiness.

We must truly plunge ourselves deeper into living authentically the Capuchin Spirituality, ever submitting Brother Ass to the way of the Cross and like St. Ignatius of Santhia be strengthened by the truth that, in obedience, we can do all things. Then we shall be true and worthy servants.

- Br. Tansi Mary Ibisi, CFR

“Ring”, the oh, so familiar sound of the front door bell echoed down the long, wide hallways, while completely absorbed in the work project of painting the interior walls of the friary. I joyfully paused mid-stroke with the paint brush in my hand, hesitating long enough to being roused by my brother Éoin Pól, “Don’t keep Jesus waiting at the door”, he said with a grin. Immediately I took off to the front door. Leon, one of our regular visitors was stopping in for coffee, some sandwiches and prayer. My brother was right, Jesus says in John 13:20, “Whoever receives anyone I send, receives me”… Jesus always waits and I never know when or how.

Being a Porter is a hidden life of servitude. Blessed Conrad of Parzham, Capuchin, served in the friary as Porter for 41 years. His life is an inspiration to seek the face of Christ in our brothers and sisters, especially those the Lord puts in our way. The role of the Porter is unique in its own little way, like our pinkie toes. The doctors say that if both pinkie toes were cut off each foot, you wouldn’t be able to walk. Something so small, and can seem so useless, is what gives the body the ability to walk. From taking a message, answering the phone, watering the plants, making sandwiches at the door for the poor, listening and being present to visitors all must be done. As a porter you know everything and everybody turns to you with assurance to get a satisfactory answer to a question. Jesus waits in disguise through the face of the Poor, the Porter sacrifices all to seek Him in everything. The Life as a Porter sacrifices all to seek Him in everything. The life as a Porter is rewarding, believe me it’s out of this world.

- Br. John Baptist Jordan, CFR

…Can only be a response to God’s generosity in my life. God’s providence is manifested to people in our generous service; service becomes an earthly sign, of the Father, His goodness and providence, of His care and love. Though often unglamorous and maybe unappreciated sometimes, it remains true: to serve is to reign.

Generous service must be loving service because only love is truly life-giving (generous & generate have a common root word; there is a connection). Brother Leopold of Alpandiere was begging through towns in Spain during an especially anti-Catholic, anti-clerical, moment in history. Some farm hands, taking a break from their work, took the opportunity to ridicule Brother Leopold, “You all are good for nothing. Come here and help us instead of begging….and don’t bother telling us about Jesus…” Putting down his begging sack, he jumped over the fence, grabbed a pitchfork, and began to toss hay onto the cart even better than the farm hands. Without a word, his generous humble service and example inspired them to ask him about Jesus every time after he came by their way…

- Br. Maximilian Mary, CFR

Blessed Jeremiah of Walachia was a Capuchin Franciscan Lay-Brother. He was an infirmarian for about forty years. In his heroic patience, kindness, and joy, he was able to be available to his confreres when they were most in need, due to their illness. He is one of many lay-brother blessed/saints who always thought about the needs of others before they thought about themselves.

At our friaries you can hear many times: “Brother so and so, are you available to…. When the concern or need is expressed, it is an opportunity for the lay-brother to be available and practice charity towards the brothers. Charity begins at home! Our closest neighbor is the one closest to our cell/bedroom. What a blessing to be available to the other friars, in good times and in difficult times, as the Holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were to each other and Jesus Christ was to the Apostles, in his public life. Availability, in a lay-brother, allows for many opportunities to anticipate the needs of others, both inside or outside the friary.

Because of the privilege of living a vowed life of chastity and celibacy, our capacity to love God and neighbor intensifies so that we can imitate Christ’s availability towards the needy, especially the sick, the poor, and the sinner. Many times what the lay-brother has to be is a kind and attentive listener. St. Paul says: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone” (Rm 12:15-16).

Since God is available to us always in our ordinary lives, we too, as lay-brothers should be available to others with charity.

- Br. José Emmanuel, CFR

In observance of the Holy Gospel, conformity to our Lord Jesus in His poverty and humility is the ideal which directs our life. We are called to minority, that is, to live as lesser brothers, in lowliness, at the service of others and as St. Francis exhorts us in His Testament to be simple and subject to all. This ideal is pursued in a world where it is very common for people to seek honours, riches, the highest place, a life of ease and comfort, to be known and esteemed wiser and greater than others. Yet with his gaze always upon the cross, striving to configure himself to Christ, St. Francis desired and sought solidarity with the poor. St. Paul exhorts us to associate with the lowly. St. Francis reveals in his Testament that the Lord led him among lepers and he showed compassion to them. A spirit of minority impels us to be poor with the poor and to acquire an internal disposition and attitude of heart which esteems oneself less than all others (Admonitions). We see in the lives of many of the Capuchin lay brothers a desire to perform the lowliest tasks, and why such minority? Our Blessed Mother reveals in her Magnificat that the Lord looks with favour on his lowly servant. It is Jesus who calls us to take the last place. It is Jesus who though he was rich, made himself poor in this world and took the form of a servant. It is Jesus the King of kings who became a man despised, who “did not deem equality with God a thing to be grasped, but rather emptied himself…” And it is Jesus who continues to give us an example through His silent Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament: the lowliness of Christ who remains hidden in the tabernacle. A lay brother desires to gain the Heart of Christ- in lowliness, in hiddenness, in a minority that moves him to seek “To become a saint without the world knowing it.” (St. Francis Mary Comporosso). - Br. Felice Gavazzi, CFR

Our soul desire is to be in total union with our Saviour Jesus Christ, surrendering our life into His hands through our Blessed Mother, our perfect example and guide. Let our word to our Lord Jesus be that of our Blessed Mother to the Angel Gabriel, “Let it be done unto me according to thy word”. We must be docile and take our Blessed Mother as our guide and as she is a perfect example of prayerful presence, we emptying ourselves of self and filled with God and him alone, becoming Christ-like and ponder Gods word in our heart, making the word of God our life.

Our Blessed Mother is the example par excellance who we can imitate as a prayerful presence, and uniting ourselves intimately with our Redeemer and King Jesus, making our goal to draw souls to Him who is our hope, our Truth, and our Life.

- Br. Benedict Joseph Maria, CFR

When in 1913 the explorer Earnest Shakelton planned his “last great journey on earth”- crossing the continent of Antarctica by way of the South Pole- he placed an advertisement in the newspapers to recruit courageous men for his expedition team. It read: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” He received over 5,000 replies form truly adventurous “manly men”.

As good and necessary as such expeditions are, one could, however, be misled and confused as to what is truly the most important and greatest of all journeys and battles in a man’s life- the battle of self knowledge and self mastery (cf. CCC 2340). Vatican II tells us that Jesus Christ, the Image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) - Himself the perfect man, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling (GS 22).

This is the great task of the lay- brother- to be truly adventurous “manly men” by being “conformed to the image of the Son” (Rom. 8:29) who “loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Then, and only then, can one truly be a model of manhood. “By suffering for us he not only gave us an example so that we might follow in his footsteps, but he also opened up a way. If we follow this path, life and death are made holy and acquire a new meaning” (GS 22). To truly be a real man- a man must make this journey.

Though his expedition was ill-fated, the heroic Shakelton received great accolades. The lay-brother, however, weak and sinful himself, has set before him an expedition that carries an eternal weight with both greater consequences and greater glory. He is called to a more profound heroism. A heroism that will draw praise from some men, but more importantly, “his praise is not from men but from God” (Rom. 2:29). The world of today desperately needs the witness of real men!

- Br. Thomas Joseph, CFR

THE TEACHING OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE TO THE FRANCISCAN LAY-BROTHER

Christ sanctifies our whole being, existence, and experiences. He approached his first followers who were just ordinary fishermen and invited them to follow Him, and called them to become fishers of men (Lk. 5:10). Two were brothers, James and John. They entered into a deeper brotherhood than the one they had because they heard the call of Jesus. They both were companions of Simon Peter. Their friendship became a witness to their journey because it was guided by the Lord. Christ did not destroy their friendship or brotherhood, but gave it strength with His presence.

The Sacred Tradition and the Gospel tell us that John is the Disciple whom Jesus loved. In the Franciscan Capuchin tradition, the vocation of the lay-brother is to enter into an intimate friendship with Christ, in his day to day living. As Pope Benedict XVI said to the youth in Yonkers, New York: “It is not enough to have an occasional relationship with Christ. That is not a friendship. Christ wants His friends to be intimate, faithful and persevering.”

The Transfiguration tells us how Christ brought these three Apostles to Mount Tabor. Christ brought them together to show His glory and Divinity and prepared them for His mission of Dying and Rising from the dead. So, the lay- brother, with the rest of the brothers and friends has an opportunity to witness Christ’s glory at the Eucharistic Adoration and to come to a greater understanding of his mission. As the Beloved Disciple silently fell on his face and was filled with awe (Mt 17:6), so is the lay brother called to as he lives his vocation.

At the Last Supper, John, the Beloved Disciple, reclined his head on the breast of Jesus (Jn. 13:23). Only one who accepts Christ’s friendship and brotherhood with a pure heart, can demonstrate it back to Him. So is the lay- brother called to when he receives Christ’s Body and Blood at daily Mass. He should stay close to Christ, as he encounters the brothers in the friary, and or the poor, sick, and the needy.

The lay- brother is called to accompany those who suffer, but just as John did not do it alone, the Lord gave us His Mother, Our Lady, at the foot of the Cross (Jn. 19:23). The lay- brother should realize that Mary is with us. His silent presence witnesses his call to the following of Christ.

- Brother José Emmanuel, CFR

Mary (sister of Martha and Lazurus) took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Judas Iscariot,…said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denaril and given to the poor?”…Jesus said, “Let her alone,…the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” (Jn. 12: 3-8)

The vocation of the religious brother (non-ordained), to which God calls some men, is counter-cultural. The world cannot understand it. It seems that even some within the Church have difficulty accepting this vocation.

Just as Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a very costly perfume, a perfume valued at approximately one years of wages, the religious brother offers his whole being to Jesus: his sexuality with an undivided heart by means of the vow of chastity, his wealth by means of the vow of poverty, and his will by means of the vow of obedience. The profession of these vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, in imitation of Jesus, is a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Rm. 12:1).

On the other hand, with all due respect and reverence, some within the Church, question the religious brother: Why doesn’t he become a priest? He is already celibate and dedicates himself to the things of God, and to top it all off, there is such a need for priests that remaining a lay-brother, almost seems like a waist of time. A lot of people believe that the religious brother is a “frustrated priest”, who is “half way”, who is not able to become a priest because he is not intelligent, or does not have the capacity, etc.

One of the problems of our utilitarian society is that it values people for what they do instead for who they are. The religious brother in a way challenges this mentality because his work is often hidden and ordinary. He is a living reminder that through Baptism we become God’s adopted children and also brothers and sisters of one another. By living in the awareness that our goal is to enter into communion with God and neighbor through love, the religious brother proclaims silently to the whole world that the value of the treasure of who we are is hidden in living this two-fold relationship as faithful as possible. By this means, the religious brother fills the whole world with the fragrance of Jesus who teaches us to call God Our Father (Mt. 6:9) making us brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, the real value of our lives should not be considered in what we do but who we are.

Those who do not recognize the value of this vocation, which is free from sacramental ministry and preaching within the liturgy, are not unlike poor Judas, who had his own plans for Mary’s offering, without first considering what Jesus thought about the matter. Notice as well, that Judas had a “supposedly good intention”…he wanted to sell the perfume to give the money to the poor. He did not say that he wanted to spend the money to do evil or something immoral, but on the poor. Although his reasoning seems good, in this case, it is not the best option because it is not the will of God.

To be a priest is a great gift and a special call, not a right that any man has. Jesus said to His apostles: “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you” (Jn. 15: 16). However one should not choose a state of life simply because it fills us with awe and wonder and because there is a need (the needs of the poor, in the context of this Gospel passage). On the other hand, we should offer the best to Him who has chosen us. The best is always to do the will of God. There are times that good things, very good things have to be sacrificed for what is best. Ultimately, it is in doing the will of God that we experience true freedom, and therefore, peace and joy even if it requires sacrifice.

What is most important is what Jesus values authentically and not what other’s think, without first discerning the will of God. The Lord Jesus said that we will always have the poor with us, in other words, we will always have a need for more priests. Even if the ordinary tasks of a religious brother appear to be insignificant before the eyes of some, they can be very valuable before the eyes of God because the Lord sees more than the external appearances… He sees the ardent love that is within the depths of the joyful giver’s heart (2 Cor. 9:7).

- Brother José Emmanuel, CFR

(Based on the Conclusion of “Vita Consecrata”- Pope John Paul II)