Franciscan Life Experience Program...
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​Parish Membership:
Your parish is your connection to the Body of Christ. How is it that you remain an active participant in the worship and work of your parish? What do you contribute to its life in relation to your time, talent, and money?
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Eucharistic Worship:
We understand the Holy Eucharist to be the principal act of required worship on Sundays and other major Feasts. To what schedule are you committed to going above and beyond what is required?
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Feasting and Fasting:
We commend you to incorporate into your Rule the rhythm of feast and fast days set out in the precepts of the Church. The discipline of regular fasting and abstinence helps to maintain a spirit of detachment, simplicity, and solidarity with the hungry and needy. Likewise, gratitude for the gift of creation and joy in the Risen Lord are nurtured by observing the Church’s feast days with appropriate forms of celebration.
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Prayer:
We commend you to pray the Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer each day. Our practice is also to include time each day for personal prayer and meditation. Whether you are drawn to meditation on Holy Scripture or to the lifting up of your heart in contemplation, you are united to Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. This union will find expression in the offering of adoration, thanksgiving, penitence, and prayer for your own needs and those of the whole world. Keep a journal or "log" of the progress made in your prayer life.
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Confession:
A brief self-examination made daily is helpful. On regular intervals, make a more thorough examination of conscience where you prayerfully call to mind the grace that has been given to you, acknowledge specific sins, and seek God’s mercy with the intention of avoiding near occasion of sin in the future. We also commend you to seek actual sacramental reconciliation and counsel through the agency of an ordained Catholic priest at least twice a year.
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Care of the Body:
God sanctifies the whole of human life through the gift of the Incarnation. Care of the body – including responsible diet and physical exercise, rest, recreation, and medical attention – is an integral part of our stewardship of God’s gift of life. How should you be reverencing your body? It is truly the temple of the Holy Spirit?
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Retreats:
Periods of silence and reflection are an integral part of the spiritual life. Just as our daily quiet is valuable, so quiet days and times of retreat are essential in the rhythm of prayer. What schedule works for you? Where can you go for quiet and solitude?
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Stewardship and Simplicity of Life:
We believe it is important to keep economic injustice at the forefront of our minds. What are practical ways for you to take responsibility for avoiding waste and extravagance and to find ways of embodying in your life the simplicity and generosity of Christ?
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Study:
How do you continue to develop your understanding of the Christian faith in the contemporary world, deepen your knowledge of the Scriptures, and nurture your spiritual growth through regular reading and study?
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Family, Friendships and a sense of belonging:
The Franciscan Brothers of St. Elizabeth of Hungary is first and foremost a family of loving brothers. Where do you make time in your schedule and your heart for family and friendships? Do you have a trusted friend, pastor, or spiritual director who could help you with the writing and maintaining of your personal Rule?
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For more information, please contact:
Franciscan Brothers of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Inc.
at the following email address:
franciscan.brothers.st.elizabeth@aol.com
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© Franciscans of New Gloucester 2013)Contact us Franciscan Brothers of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Inc. New Gloucester, ME 04260 Tel: (207) 631-9190 (