FOUNDATION

1
FOUNDATION

• Trusting in the Father, Christ chose for himself
  and his mother a poor and humble life, even
  though he valued created things attentively and
  lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a
  proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods
  by simplifying their own material needs. Let
  them be mindful that according to the gospel they
  are stewards of the goods received for the
  benefit of Gods children.

2

• Thus, in the spirit of the Beatitudes, and as
  pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home
  of the Father, they should strive to purify their
  hearts from every tendency and yearning for
  possession and power.
• Rule, Art. 11

3
THE BEATITUDES AND THE SFO

• Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for
  justice
• they shall be satisfied.

4
JUSTICE

• Let them individually and collectively be in the
  forefront in promoting justice by the testimony
  of their human lives and their courageous
  initiatives. Especially in the field of public
  life, they should make definite choices in
  harmony with their faith.
• Rule, Art. 15

5
JUSTICE

• Two basic needs
• Food
• Drink
• Compare Israelites in the desert with people
  today

6
JUSTICE

• Israelites
• Complained about lack of food
• God gave them bread manna
• Told them not to store it up
• Today
• Affluent society
• Always want more

7
JUSTICE

• Israelites
• Kept the manna for control
• By morning it was wormy and rotten
• Jesus
• Do not lay up for yourselves an earthly treasure.
  (Mattl 619-21)

8
JUSTICE

• Israelites
• Complained of thirst
• God gave them endless water
• Asked if God was there
• Today
• We ask is God here?

9
OUR RULE

• United by their vocation as brothers and
  sisters of penance, and motivated by the dynamic
  power of the Gospel, let them conform their
  thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of
  that radical interior change which the gospel
  itself calls conversion.

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OUR RULE

• Human frailty makes it necessary that this
  conversion be carried out daily.
• On this road to renewal the sacrament of
  reconciliation is the privileged sign of the
  Fathers mercy and the source of grace.
• Rule art. 7

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CONVERSION

• 5 facets of conversion
• Affective
• Intellectual
• Moral
• Religious
• Socio-political

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CONVERSION

• Affective
• Emotional
• Ex Evangelical altar call

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CONVERSION

• Intellectual
• Involves seeing, experiencing, understanding,
  judging, deciding
• Study
• Change of mind
• Often leads to becoming agnostic or aetheist

14
CONVERSION

• Moral
• Change of value system
• Personal change from self-love to love of
  others

15
CONVERSION

• Religious
• Requires divine initiative
• Challenges us to re-examine our values and
  habits in 4 areas
• emotional
• thought
• conscience
• society

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CONVERSION

• Socio-political
• A change in how we look at human rights
• Commitment to work for reform

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are concepts of justice that you have seen
   in others?
2. What are ways in which people try to achieve
   justice?
3. What do YOU believe about justice, and how do
   you act out that belief?
4. Discuss the 5 conversion types and examine where
   you are as to each of them.