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Franciscan Contemplative Penitents
Committed to Works of Mercy.
"The sisters and brothers
promise
obedience and reverence to the Pope
and the Holy
Catholic Church" (TOR
Rule #3)
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Crucified
Love...
"Our
charism of crucified love is our love response to
the Father of Mercy for all He has done for us in
sending us His Son. It is at the foot of the
cross that we most fully experience the love and
mercy of our God flowing from His Pierced heart.
Through the merciful love of Jesus, we most
perfectly experience God's love for us, and find
the strength to love Him in return. Being at the
foot of the cross and looking into His pierced
heart, we are transformed by Love to love. It is
only through the power and victory of the cross
that we have the grace to lose ourselves
completely in God and to give ourselves totally to
Him and His people in an act of love."
(Constitution #18)
To
foster this charism our community regularly prays
the Rosary of Seven Sorrows and the Stations of
the Cross. We also have a devotion to the
Sacred Heart and we renew our consecration to the
Sacred Heart together monthly. |
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Mercy...
"The fruitfulness of crucified love is born
through a life of mercy. Therefore, with willing
hearts, we join our Sorrowful Mother at the foot
of the cross where we become vessels of mercy,
receiving and giving mercy with great hope that
all may be saved." (Constitutions #18)
"Renewed
by the love and joy that comes from a life of
prayer, let our lives proclaim and celebrate the
Father's love for the world in sending us His
Son."
(Constitutions #9)
"As servants of the
cross, our life becomes a prayer of intercession,
reparation and atonement, begging the Father of
our Crucified and Risen Lord to open the
floodgates of His mercy so that all may be
reconciled and brought into communion with God,
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
(Constitutions #1)
To foster this charism we pray the Mercy Chaplet
everyday. We also have a time at Night Prayer
to extend mercy and forgiveness to one another.We also embrace the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
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| Poverty...
"Jesus emptying Himself in becoming man and in
dying on the cross calls us also to empty
ourselves so that we can be filled with God. Only
in such emptiness are we truly disposed to live a
life of prayer and deep union with God. Poverty
frees us from worldly distractions..."
(Constitutions #19)
Ways we foster the charism of poverty: "Our
material poverty is evident through the concrete
choices we make as a community in regard to the
simplicity of our housing, furniture, clothing,
food and forms of recreation and travel.
Faithful to our Franciscan way of life, we embrace
with joy the consequences of our poor lifestyle.
" (Constitutions #31) "Following Francis'
example of Gospel living we renounce worldly wealth,
prestige and power... As lesser sisters, freed
from self interests, we give ourselves to God and
neighbor, ready to do the humblest of tasks with
joy. (Constitutions #30) |
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Contemplation...
"As Franciscan contemplative penitents, we
seek to foster the same spirit of unceasing
prayer which permeated the lives of the early
Franciscans and to follow their pattern of daily
life in which there was a flow from prayer to
work or ministry then back to prayer. Our life
of prayer is the foundation and source for our
life-All we are and all we do flows from our
intimate relationship with Christ"
(Constitutions #6)
"In a particular way,
we have been founded to renew the contemplative
dimension of the Franciscan penitential form of
life of the early friars and sisters who were
committees to a life of prayer, penance and
works of mercy" (Constitutions #1)
"Poverty and contemplation go hand in hand
for
Franciscans. Only through a life of prayer do
we come to know the merciful love of God and are
drawn to desire Him alone. The contemplative
life inspires and strengthens us to live the
Mystery, which we contemplate, the merciful love
of God made manifest in the Poor Crucified."
(Constitutions #19)
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From our charisms, flow the settings by
which we live our way of life.
"These settings are
not separate branches, rather together they form a
whole which provides for our overall
contemplative/active rhythm of our life."
(Constitutions #7)
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Monastery...
Our monasteries provide the foundation, stability
and unity for our three-fold way of life.
Pictured is Our Lady of Sorrows monastery in
Toronto, Ohio. |
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Hermitage...
The hermitage setting enables us to live more
intensely our contemplative dimension.
This is Nazareth, one of the four hermitages
on the motherhouse property.
The hermitage setting has not been established
yet, but will be in the near future. |
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Local Mission...
Pictured here is Heart of Mary, our local mission
house in downtown Steubenville.
The sisters that live here provide a presence to
the residents of downtown Steubenville. Their
ministries include helping at the soup kitchen,
visiting the women in the local jail, and
participating in LAMP ministries for the poor.
Daily they have a three o'clock holy hour to
intercede in a particular way for the downtown
residents. |
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Foreign Mission...
Pictured is Greccio House, our mission house in
Gaming, Austria. The house is named after the place where St.
Francis introduced the first manger scene.
It is
believed that the Christ Child appeared there while Francis was presiding over this first live reenactment of the birth of Christ. |
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Pictured is the town of Gaming, Austria where
Franciscan University has a campus. Our
sisters there minister to the students as well as
the locals. |
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