Saints Peter and Paul Church
Cumberland, Maryland

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Secular Franciscan Order -
aka Third Order of St Francis

Hail, Queen Wisdom!  The Lord save you,

with your sister, pure, holy Simplicity.

Lady Holy Poverty, God keep you,

with your sister, holy Humility.

Lady Holy Love, God keep you,

with your sister, holy Obedience.

All holy virtues,

God keep you, God from Whom you proceed and come.

In all the world there is not a person

who can possess any one of you without first dying to themselves.

The person who practices one and does not offend against the others

possesses all;

The person who offends against one,

possesses none and violates all.

Each and every one of you

puts vice and sin to shame.

Holy Wisdom puts satan

and all his wiles to shame.

Pure and holy Simplicity puts

all the learning of this world, all natural wisdom, to shame.

Holy Poverty puts to shame

all greed, avarice, and all the anxieties of this life.

Holy Humility puts pride to shame,

and all the inhabitants of this world and all that is in the world.

Holy Love puts to shame all the temptations

of the devil and the flesh and all natural fear.

Holy Obedience puts to shame

all natural and selfish desires.

It mortifies our lower nature

and makes it obey the spirit and our fellow people.

Obedience subjects a person

to everyone on earth,

And not only to people,

but to all the beasts as well and to the wild animals,

So that they can do what they like with the person,

as far as God allows them.

-Saint Francis of Assisi

Discover the Joy of Saint Francis

The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this:  to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and center of his life with God and with people.

(SFO Rule #4)

Francis of Assisi has been the most beloved and popular of saints, a man who has inspired Christians of all traditions.  His ideal of evangelical poverty has challenged Christians for eight centuries.  His spirit of uncompromising commitment to the Gospel has endured as a force for renewal in the church.  His teaching about intimacy with God and whole-hearted love of Jesus Christ molds our vision of the spiritual life.  Above all, Francis' personal magnetism continues to attract men and women today, as it evidently attracted those in his own unhappy age.

(from the introduction to Omer Englebert's  St. Francis of Assisi: A Biography.)

Secular Franciscan Order

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

The group of Catholics called the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) (formerly the “Third Order of St Francis”)  is not a Saint Francis fan club.  Rather, we try to learn from Francis and follow his example, just as he followed in the path of Jesus.

We are Catholic lay women and men, single and married, seeking St Francis’ ideals. As followers of the way of St Francis we realize that Christian life goes beyond the Commandments and also includes living out the Sermon on the Mount and the beautiful prayer known as the Beatitudes.

We strive to be peace makers, witnesses of the Gospel -- the “good news.”   We take no vows but profess to make the Gospel our rule of life in daily activities.

The Bible For the Poor

You probably will like our role model, Saint Francis. It is hard not to be fascinated by his simple lifestyle. He made it look deceptively easy. It is not what Francis believed, it is how he lived.  It is not what he said, it was how he felt.  Francis deeply loved the church, and during the second millennium he was a principal reformer who tried to keep the church focused on Christ.  This man, to whom Christ said, "Go, rebuild my church," sought reform not through theology but through living the three concepts of poverty, humility, and simplicity -- with love as the foundation.  St Francis lived in that manner so thoroughly that many believe there has never been another person more like Christ. He was the "Bible for the poor."  They could see clearly what Jesus was like and how he lived.

Fictional characters, such as Don Quixote, do not compare to the real-life Francis Bernadone (1181-1226).  G.K. Chesterton noted his gaiety, humor, humanism, romantic imagination, spiritual courtesy, and camaraderie.  One could add courage -- not only in the ordinary manly or military sense but in the way he faced the world. Jesus had told his apostles, "Take nothing for the journey. . . ."   Francis obeyed joyfully.  Francis and his secular companions, who called themselves Troubadours, saw their prophetic role.  It was to proclaim the simple gospel to all people in a living witness of persons who have neither property or rank, embracing one another as brothers and sisters.

Saint Clare

One of the most inspired followers of Francis was Clare, who lived in poverty with her "Poor Ladies" of Assisi.  Saint Clare's life was even more rigorous than that of Francis and his little brothers, because she was cut off from the world and totally given over to prayer and contemplation. She lived for 42 years at San Damiano, the first of the little churches Francis had repaired. In a very important way, Clare preserved the spirit of Francis, long after his death, and transmitted it to future generations through her writings.  Clare of Assisi was canonized in 1255, two years after her death.

In the Lord Jesus Christ, I admonish and exhort all my sisters [and brothers], both those present and those to come, to strive always to imitate the way of holy simplicity, humility and poverty and the integrity of our holy way of living, as we were taught from the beginning of our conversion by Christ and our blessed father Francis.

(from the Testament of St. Clare)

Rule of Life

Secular Franciscans have a Rule of Life - the first one given to us by St Francis himself, the current one -- reflecting the spirit of Vatican II -- approved by Pope Paul VI in 1978. This Rule guides us as we strive, within the context of our secular world, "to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St Francis of Assisi." (Rule #4).  It commits us to:

conversion (#7)
prayer and contemplation (#8)
detachment from temporal goods (#11)
community (#13 & #19)
work(#16),
peace, fidelity and respect for life (#17),
universal kinship with all of creation (#18), and
perfect joy in every circumstance (#19).

The Rule concludes with this blessing from St Francis:

“May whoever observes all this be filled in heaven with the blessing of the most High Father, and on earth with that of His beloved Son, together with the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.”

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See You At the Friary

The Padre Pio SFO community meets at least once a month, on the second Saturday, at Ss Peter and Paul Friary at 109 N Smallwood Street, Cumberland Maryland.  We pray together, discuss the challenges of living the Gospel life and attend Mass.  During the month we try to remain connected to one another by telephone, letters, e-mail and ad hoc get-togethers.   We support and encourage one another in following the Franciscan way in our prayer lives, volunteer activities, work lives and family lives.  Once a year we go on a weekend retreat.   We strive to be community to one another in the spirit of Ss Francis and Clare.

 Becoming a Secular Franciscan

If you feel attracted to our way of life, and would like to know more, we invite you participate in a three month Orientation program -- meeting with us on the second Saturday of each month -- during which you will have an opportunity to learn more about the SFO, ask any questions you may have, and get to know the members of our community. 

 Following this Orientation, if you find you are called to be a Secular Franciscan, you may begin a two-phase formation period:

 Inquiry -- a six-month study program on the Franciscan way; and

Candidacy -- a one and a half year period  preparing for a life-time commitment to the Gospel lifestyle of the Secular Franciscans.

For more information, call
SS Peter and Paul Friary
109 N. Smallwood St.
Cumberland, MD 21502
301-777-3131

or:

Sandy Dahl, SFO
301-724-1037