MARIAN SERAPHIC YOUTH
ALMS
for the love of God
for the poor of God
“He (St. Francis) used to say that to offer the Love of God in exchange for alms was generosity worthy of a nobleman and that anyone who thought less of it than money was a fool. The incalculable worth of divine love was the only thing that could win the kingdom of heaven...” (St Bonaventure Mag. Life, Chap. IX)
To be a Friar Minor is to be poor for love of God in imitation of Jesus Christ when on this earth. Here lies one of the main reasons - a promise of eternal beatitude in His Father’s house (Mt. 25: 34-40) - for begging by the Friars Minor, or the 'lesser brethren', since Our Lord says that whatever you do for the “least of My brethren you have done it to Me.” It is therefore for supernatural reasons, not natural, that Friars beg and live in poverty: so that others will receive the promise of Our Lord.
Our Vow also gives honor to God’s Providence, trusting Our Lord when He said that “if you seek the Kingdom of God and His Justice” (Mt. 6: 33) then He will take care of our necessities in this life. This is the rule and life of the Friars Minor: “to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” not just in word but in deed.
Finally, the vision of Saint Francis is that the Friars are poor, having as their only possession Our Dear Lord and His Holy Mother, that by leaving “house, brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name’s sake, shall possess life everlasting” and that being the last voluntarily in this life the Friars shall be first with Our Lord for eternity. (Mt. 19:29)
Dominus det tibi suam pacem!
Dear Friends and faithful,
By the Grace of God, I would like to, introduce the Marian Friars Minor (M.F.M.), traditional Franciscans presently taking root in the Diocese of Covington, under the auspices of His Excellency Bishop Roger J. Foys. The Marian Friars Minor are traditional sons of the Seraphic Patriarch Saint Francis. The religious patrimony which the Friars are called to carry out is the same today as it was in the time of Saint Francis—i.e., according to the command of our Lord, to “go and rebuild My Church, which you see is falling into ruin.” The Church is, first and foremost, an institution of grace, and we Friars work to obtain the needed grace for Her through our contemplative life of prayer and sacrifice, or, rather, our strict religious observance of the rule, which we live for the Glory of God and edification and assistance of our neighbor--made fruitful through our Apostolic zeal.
Getting started is very challenging due to the many financial demands of housing, utilities, and insurance costs, not to mention that we moved in with, literally, nothing. And, so, we make this appeal to you, for the love of God…help us; help us to get started; help us to re-found one of the essential charisms of religious life—Franciscansim; help us to evangelize and to set people on fire for love of God and Our Lady; help us to rebuild, our Church, one soul at a time, which seems to have already fallen down! Much can be done and we want to do it, but we are poor and have no means. It is not by chance that Saint Francis named his Order “Friars Minor”--or least brethren--and chose to live in poverty, begging for all their needs, since it is through giving to the least of Christ’s brethren that one gives to Christ, and so obtains a promise of eternal glory (Mt. 25:34).
In exchange for your help, we offer you the Love of God, as Saint Francis used to say: “to offer the Love of God in exchange for alms was generosity worthy of a noblemen, and that anyone who thought less of it than money was a fool.”
All donations or alms will be kept by a nonprofit 501 c3 established for the support and maintenance of the M.F.M., who are called the Friends of the Marian Friars Minor (F.M.F.M.), to which all checks can be made. Below, you will find some ways in which you could help the Friars.
Be assured of our prayers and sacrifices for you and your families. All benefactors are remembered in the Friars’ daily prayers and will have at least one Mass every month offered for them and their families in perpetuity.
In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Marian Friars Minor
