Our Status Canonically
The Marian Penitents of St. Francis (aka MFM “Third Order”) are a lay Private Association of the Faithful (Can. 215) striving to live an authentic observance of the Third Order Rule of St. Francis as revised by Pope Leo XIII, which admits “all ranks, all ages, both sexes…and whose Rule consists merely in obedience to God and His Church, to avoid factions and quarrels, and in no way to defraud our neighbour; to take up arms only for the defence of religion and of one's country; to be moderate in food and in clothing, to shun luxury, and to abstain from the dangerous seductions of dances and plays.” (Leo XIII, Auspicato Concessum n. 20).
Given that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity”, many, young and old, married and unmarried, have felt the impulse of God’s Grace, which continually brings forth “the fruits of Grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful”, to pursue the Life of Christ, the “divine Teacher and Model of all perfection”(Lumen Gentium n. 39-40) according to the example and form of life established by Saint Francis of Assissi, who, “in the impossibility of opening the cloister to all whom the desire of being formed in his school drew to him, resolved to procure, even for souls living in the whirlpool of the world, the means to tend to Christian perfection. Who founded, then, an Order properly called Tertiaries, differing from the two other Orders in that it would not bear the bond of the religious vows, but would be characterized by the same simplicity of life and the same spirit of penance.” (Benedict XV, Sacra Propediem n. 5)
It is for this purpose that hundreds of Faithful across the U.S. and at least eight countries abroad formed this pious Association according to the intention of the Church, which says:
Canon 210 "All the Christian faithful must direct their efforts to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and its continual sanctification, according to their own condition.”
Canon 215 "The Christian faithful are at liberty freely to found and direct associations for purposes of charity or piety or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world and to hold meetings for the common pursuit of these purposes.”[1]
Canon 298 §1. "In the Church there are associations distinct from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life; in these associations the Christian faithful, whether clerics, lay persons, or clerics and lay persons together, strive in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with a Christian spirit.”
Canon 299 §1. "By means of a private agreement made among themselves, the Christian faithful are free to establish associations to pursue the purposes mentioned in can. 298, §1, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 301, §1.”
Therefore, we hope it will be seen that “…every association of the faithful is not necessarily erected, praised, or commended and that de facto associations can exist… (420) [and] a de facto association is neither irregular nor illegal (403).” (from the New Commentary of the Code of Canon Law, CLSA )
citations:
[1] This Canon is founded on the previous response of the Holy See titled “Corrienten” in A.A.S. 13, which says: “Indeed, whenever a question of faith and morals arises, it is evident that any faithful person or association is subject to the authority of the Church. However, this does not mean that the association must necessarily be subject to the Ordinary in all respects, such as existence, constitution or organization, statutes, activities, and internal governance. The Sacred Congregation clearly distinguishes these pious societies and social works from ecclesiastical sodalities or associations, which exist through the erection by the Church and thereby acquire a juridical personality within the Church. In fact, it can truly be said that just as individual faithful are subject to the jurisdiction of the Bishop, they remain subject to this jurisdiction when they unite in societies. Although the Bishop cannot direct the society by his jurisdiction alone, as he does with properly ecclesiastical societies and confraternities, he nevertheless has the right and obligation to oversee that no abuses arise and that the faithful do not incur spiritual ruin through the occasion of these societies (cf. 1917 Code of Canon Law, can. 336 § 2).” (A.A.S. [13] p. 135-144)”