OUR EARTH.... FRAGILE*....handle with care...
WE PRAY THAT WE MAY BE GOOD STEWARTS OF YOUR CREATION, FATHER,
CREATION THAT HOLDS ALL OF US AND GROWS ALL OF US, CREATION THAT
PROVIDES FOOD TO EAT, AND A HOME FOR ALL OF US.
WE PRAY THAT WE MAY BE GOOD STEWARTS OF OUR COMMON HOME.
O, GOD, CREATOR OF US ALL. YOU GAVE US ST. FRANCIS;
WHO LIVED HIS LIFE IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR AND SAW THE MOON
AND STARS AS HIS SISTER AND BROTHER, WE PRAY THAT WE MAY LEARN
FROM HIS EXAMPLE. LIVING IN HARMONY WITH THE SISTER MOON AND
BROTHER SUN.
THAT TOGETHER , WE MAY BRING FORWARD YOUR KINGDOM TO THOSE WHO
ARE MOST IN NEED OF YOUR LIGHT AND LOVE.
ST FRANCIS, PLEASE PRAY FOR US. WE MAKE THIS PRAYER THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD. AMEN
*PRAYER BY CATHY M. DANTE
Living the Gospel in the steps of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The Order of the Franciscan Servants is an apostolically established autonomous Franciscan religious order, operating within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are a faith community whose heritage extends back to the earliest days of the Church, to the time of the Apostles, some one thousand years before the distinctions within the Church existed.
As sons and daughters of the Church, the Sisters and Brothers of the Order of Franciscan Servants are deeply committed to the Franciscan ideal that seeks to become "living stones" upon which a stronger, more charismatic and compassionate Church can be built. We are a people devoted, by word and deed, to engendering a more authentic and inclusive experience of the Christian Mysteries. We find in the message of Christ a call to social justice, prayerful and celebrative worship, cultural and racial diversity and compassionate care for those who are sick, dying or less fortunate.
Inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi, the lifestyle of the Order is intentionally counter-cultural. As Christ’s followers, we are called to live as an alternative society, functioning alongside and in service to the poor, the marginalized and the suffering of modern society.
We are also called to be a voice for reform and renewal in the Church by embracing the three evangelical counsels, according to one’s individual state in life. We embrace the poverty of Jesus by detaching from the consumerism and materialistic culture of modern times. We embrace the counsel of chastity by living lives centered on the love of Christ, which rejects all forms of promiscuity, and celebrates the sacred covenant between two people committed to a life of love and service to one another in Christ. We embrace the Gospel counsel of obedience in the context of faithful adherence to the Apostolic Tradition and rejection of the individualist obsession of modern culture.
We also embrace the ancient commitment of penance or conversion, as introduced by Holy Father St. Francis, the promise of non-violence and selfless service, as lived by the Holy Martyrs, and the witness to universal citizenship, as reflected in the lives of the Apostles who were sent out into the whole world to build God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Order of Franciscan Servants is composed of communities of both Sisters and Friars.