When I became minister of our fraternity in late June, our Regional Councilor Jan Benton asked me
what my vision for the fraternity was. Vision? I had not thought of it in those terms. But surprisingly, an
answer came to me immediately: my vision was to work with all of you to foster the bonds of love
among the members of our fraternity.
My own call to become a Franciscan came in the early hours of August 4, 2013. It was a time of turmoil in my work and personal life, and many nights I did not sleep soundly. That night I awoke at 3am feeling especially miserable. I prayed for the Lord’s help desperately, as I often did in those days. To my astonishment that time an answer came: you are lonely and need spiritual companions. Look into the lay orders of the Church, particularly the Franciscans.
This was not an answer I expected at all. I had not met any secular Franciscans, knew next to nothing about St.
Francis, and although I was an active Catholic, I had never considered myself holy enough to join a lay
order. But I latched onto the idea as a drowning person would grab a rope and within a few days I
reached Minister Corky Hart of the Mt. St. Sepulchre Fraternity, who welcomed me warmly and invited
me to an information session in October. I counted the days, meanwhile reading everything I could find
about St. Francis.
Following that first call led to a wonderful journey over the past eight years, in which
the Lord has opened one door after another, giving me opportunities to discover undreamed-of aspects
of my Franciscan vocation. I still have the same sense of optimism and wonder that dawned in me eight
years ago, trusting there will be many more adventures if I remain faithful to the call.
Each of you has a story of where your Franciscan vocation has taken you so far, and each of us
lives out this path in a unique way. Some of us may be prayer warriors, some may be devoted to serving
the poor or the sick, some may be called to protect the unborn, some may work tirelessly for peace and
justice, and some may be moved to protect God’s vulnerable creation. But despite our various
backgrounds and the very different ways we live out our vocation, when I look into your eyes, I see that
we understand one another because we are on the same path: following Jesus in the way shown to us
by St. Francis.
As he lay dying, Francis said to his brothers, “I have done what was mine to do. May Christ
now teach you what is yours.” Thank you, dear sisters and brothers, for being my loving companions as I
slowly discover what is mine to do as a Catholic Christian and a Franciscan, and for giving me the
privilege of accompanying you as you discover yours.