Lay people follow Franciscan way

By JAMIE MCCLURE, Globe Intern
August 16, 2007

CARROLL - When people think of Franciscans, visions of sisters and religious order priests come to mind. However, that is not always the case.

The Secular Franciscan Third Order is the lay branch of the worldwide Franciscan family. This order is the secular expression that began in the church more than 750 years ago by St. Francis of Assisi to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Secular Franciscans gather together to enhance their spirituality and bring themselves closer to God. They rely on their fellow Franciscans to support them when they feel like they are falling away from the church or not following God's path.

Continuing this expression of movement and spreading of the Gospel are the Secular Franciscans from Breda and Carroll who gathered for their regular second Thursday of the month meeting at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll on Aug. 9.

The group's mission statement is "United with the entire Franciscan family, we will strive to be a spirit-filled center of holiness."

Inspiration for this group of Franciscans came from current novice mistress Joan Schulte.

"I was a nurse for many years and I had come across two people in two separate times in my life that had both worn a habit around their waist," said Schulte. "I asked them what it was about, and why they were wearing ropes around their waist."

They explained to her that they were Franciscans and that they were wearing a habit.

"Of course I was interested in what that meant, so I talked to our pastor and researched about Franciscans. I was very interested and I wanted to become more like the people that I had encountered," said Schulte. "They were so heavenly. And so I did."

The Secular Third Order of St. Francis from St. Bernard Parish in Breda became a full Franciscan Order on Sept. 11, 1966.

Franciscans show their support in their meetings when they discuss the Scriptures. Discussed on Aug. 9 were Wisdom 18:6-9, reading I; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12, reading II; Luke 12:32-48, Gospel. The practice of prayer was Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, and 20-22. Discussion centered on having faith and trusting in God's promise. People have to trust that God knows what he is doing and trust that he will take us down the right path.

At the monthly meetings, members gather to discuss the upcoming Sunday Scriptures and discussions are led by a new person/group to enhance, strengthen and inform the whole formation. The meeting begins with a morning and evening prayer and also the prayer ritual, intentions and the peace prayer. After discussing business, members share action responses of the month, which include things that can be done around their town or city to enhance the look of it, recycling, for example.

During the meetings, many members wear the "Tau" Cross, a traditional Franciscan symbol whose origin is in the Old Testament. St. Francis first encountered this symbol when he was caring for lepers.

"Recruiting members is difficult," said member Rita Ann Venner. "The Secular Franciscan Order is a major commitment and requires training. Many people don't realize how much they need other people and adding support is hard to come by these days. But, we've received good support from our church and friends."

"Where our treasure is, that's where our heart is going to be," said Ray Jorgensen, a member of the Order. He and his wife Winnie led the Scripture discussion.

Spiritual assistant Sister Irene Nieland offers insight to help members understand the Scriptures if they have any difficulty.

Order officers for 2006-2008 are Paul Venner, president; Alice Straiert, vice president; Norma Kennebeck, secretary; Mary Ann Naberhaus, treasurer, and Schulte, novice mistress. The other members include Eleanor Boes, Sherri Dirks, Marge Huelman, Winnie and Ray Jorgensen, Ray Schumacher, Rita Venner and Evelyn Wolterman. Some members are unable to attend meetings because of medical reasons.

Schulte said, there are four Franciscan groups in Iowa, which include Marshalltown, Dubuque, Breda and Newton.

Secular Franciscan guides

In order to stay on the right path, Secular Franciscans follow guidelines, which are implementations of Gospel values. Some of them are:

* Develop honest business practices and work habits.

* Support the production and sale of things that will benefit others and also being a reasonable profit.

* Avoid extravagant profits that hurt people.

* Give honest work for pay received and give a just wage to workers.

* Share resources so that people throughout the world can live human lives and have dignity.

* Give competent service to those who seek their help.

* Support others when there is a need.

According to the Secular Franciscan Third Order, also known as the Breda Fraternity from Breda and Carroll, there are certain requirements for becoming a Franciscan.

* Try to attend Mass more often.

* Say more prayers. Twelve Our Fathers, Hail Mary's and Glories take care of that obligation or, you can say the canonical hours, the short office granted by the church, or the Little Office of the Blessed Mother, or any ecclesiastically approved office.

* Read or meditate on the Scriptures.

A person questioning why they should join if they already do many of these things should consider that they are only doing a part of what is involved in being a Franciscan.

Any Catholic may join a Third Order, but they cannot belong to more than one at a time and they must have a good reason to leave one group to join another. When someone doesn't pray as often, or pushes away their prayers all together, they are not putting an end to their membership, but if someone makes a deliberate action or wish that they do not want to be a member, their membership will end.

An honored tradition of the Secular Franciscans is the exchange through the hands of two members of one or two statues at the conclusion of certain meetings. These statues are of St. Francis of Assisi and the Blessed Mother. Someone is selected to care for one of these for two months, and on special occasions, for three months.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Secular Franciscan Third Order, may contact their own parish, or for more information about the Breda Fraternity Third Order, contact Joan Schulte at (712) 792-6135 or Paul Venner at (712) 673-2510.