William Hugo , Capuchin
Franciscan prayer: Recognize your brothers and sisters in Christ
(Part 7 in a series of 8 by William Hugo, Capuchin)
In this Part 7 on Franciscan prayer, a lot of people are amazed when I claim that the core of the Franciscan mission is to create sister-brotherhood as often and as radically as possible. I’ve already discussed this regarding Francis’ prayer considering creation, which helped him to understand God’s selflessness in sharing life and all created things as his sisters and brothers.
Francis also used the
metaphor of sister-brotherhood in
another slightly different way that
also flowed out of his prayer.
Francis understood all baptized
Christians to be brothers and
sisters because they were united
to Christ in service to the same
Father. In medieval Italy, the
premier characteristic of a good
child was obedience to the project
of the parents. So, in Francis’
view, Jesus was the best child
imaginable. He selflessly served
his selfless Father.
Francis believed that through baptism
Christians were united to Jesus in his
service to the Father’s vision. To serve the
Father means one is the Father’s child. If all
the baptized have the same father, they
must be sisters and brothers to each other
and to Christ. For Francis, this reflection had
a tight yet simple logic.
My point here is to note how Francis and
Clare believed we learned how to be those
good children by gazing at, meditating on,
and contemplating the best available
example: Jesus!
So, whether we consider the Universal
Sister-brotherhood of All Creatures or the
slightly different Sister-brotherhood in Christ,
the Franciscan vision flows out of
both the favored methods and
content of prayer. The content or
object of reflection is the very life
of God visible in the human Jesus.
The method includes Clare’s novel
addition of imitation to the
standard three-fold monastic style
of gazing (reading), considering
(meditating), and contemplating.
Prayer changes Franciscans’
lives. It changes the way they
experience and understand God
(i.e., poor and humble). As a
consequence, Franciscans come to a new
experience and understanding of themselves
and others. Through this, they are touched in
every way possible at the deepest parts of
their lives. This changes their desire and the
things they seek. Desiring to imitate the
Jesus with whom they have walked in prayer, they find ways of living out God’s
poverty and humility in the world.
(William Hugo is the Capuchin Province of St. Joseph postulant director and teaches Franciscan
spirituality/history. He authored Studying the Life of Francis
of Assisi: A Beginner’s Workbook, Franciscan Press, 1996.)