Franciscan
Conversion, littleness, and joy.
The plan of the Secular Franciscan Order, rooted in the Rule of St. Francis and the canonical Rule of Paul VI (1978). Its central category is conversion — metanoia — for the Rule calls Franciscans "penitents," those forever turning back to the Gospel as their rule and life.
The Liturgy of the Hours, at minimum Lauds and Vespers; the Eucharist; the Gospel read and lived; a nightly examination; and Marian devotion in the Franciscan key. Through it all runs minoritas — being little, being last, refusing prestige — and a joy in poverty that treats creation as sister and brother, never as a resource to be used.
For anyone moved by Francis: the simple, the activist, those drawn to voluntary poverty and peace, the soul who wants their rule of life to also be a quiet protest against the consumer life.
Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order (Paul VI, 1978); the Earlier and Later Rule of St. Francis
What it proposes
- Morning Offering — Franciscan 06:45 · Daily · Ideal
The Secular Franciscan morning offering — the day united to the one Sacrifice of the Mass and to Mary's fiat, with a short prayer for the day's work, before Lauds opens.
- Liturgy of the Hours 07:00 · Daily · Essential
The Liturgy of the Hours — the OFS Rule names Lauds and Vespers explicitly as the secular Franciscan's minimum.
- Holy Mass 07:30 · Daily · Ideal
The daily Eucharist when possible, the center toward which the penitent's conversion is forever turning.
- Gospel of the Day 08:00 · Daily · Essential
The Gospel of the day read and lived — to observe the Gospel as one's rule and life is the whole of the Franciscan vocation.
- Franciscan Crown Daily · Ideal
The Crown of the Seven Joys of Our Lady — the proper Franciscan rosary, recalling the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Finding in the Temple, Resurrection, and Assumption.
- Examination of Conscience 21:30 · Daily · Essential
The nightly examination, the penitent's daily metanoia — turning back, again, to the Gospel and to littleness.
- Confession 10:00 · Essential
Regular confession — fitting for an order that calls its members penitents, those who never stop turning back to the Lord.
In the Ember app, adopt this tradition as your own plan of life, practice by practice, with times and reminders.