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