Franciscan Spirituality is
Christ-Centered
Franciscan Spirituality is an incarnational, earthy spirituality;
God is close to Creation, not far away, "up there." As
St. Bonaventure put it, God bends down to us, lifting us up. Franciscan
Spirituality reveres the Eucharist as the humility of God for us.
Faithful to the Gospel and the Church
Franciscan Spirituality includes as a fundamental component obedience
and loyalty to the Church and Magisterium. Franciscan Spirituality
has an engaging, inviting stance toward the world encouraging dialogue
along with a healthy and prophetic critique of modern secular culture
and its values.
Rooted in Prayer, Contemplation, and Service
Franciscan Spirituality hinges on the synthesis of action and contemplation;
prayer leads to work and ministry, work and ministry bring us back
to prayer. Contemplation is the impetus for mission. Franciscan Spirituality
understands authority and obedience in terms of mutual service, not
submission or domination. Franciscan Spirituality embraces and supports
the growth and development of the arts and sciences in dialogue with
Revelation and Faith.
Committed to Upholding the Dignity of All of Creation
Franciscan Spirituality has a profound reverence for the human person
as one made in the Image and Likeness of God and values and esteems
Creation as Brother and Sister, reflections of God's Goodness and
Glory. Franciscan Spirituality understands that Creation and the
World, despite the impact of Sin, remain fundamentally Good as Gifts
from God. In its witness to Fraternity has an appreciation of and
reverence for the individual within the global community. Franciscan
Spirituality acknowledges the necessity of human work and strives
to uphold the value of human labor and the dignity of workers; it
insists on a commitment to social justice by striving for solidarity
with the poor and marginalized the powerless and the voiceless as
images of Christ Crucified. Franciscan Spirituality seeks to give
concrete expression of and commitment to global and local peacemaking
by seeking and initiating the process of reconciliation.
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