The Third Order Tradition of Evangelical Life: A Prophetic Witness to the Whole of the Gospel

435 Franciscan Studies 64 (2006) The Third Order Tradition of Evangelical Life: A PROPHETIC WITNESS TO THE WHOLE OF THE GOSPEL This essay will outline briefly the steps in the development of the Third Order way of living the evangelical life within the church and, true to Saint Francis’s claim that example is more important than words, it will also point out some Third Order women and men who have been canonized or beatified by the church. Francis of Assisi’s radical metanoia, adopted by his followers in the practice of penance and charity is at the heart of his call to the brothers and sisters of the Third Order.1 Francis ’s dramatic conversion is exemplified by his embrace of the leper when he turned from his human ways to meet the needs of others.2 The first chapter of the 1982 Rule of the Third Order Regular describes the desire of its members to live the evangelical life in a spirit of ongoing conversion.3 Similarly, the 1978 Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order in1 See Roland Faley, TOR, “Biblical Considerations on Metanoia,” Analecta TOR 13, fasc. 123 (1974) reprinted in Resources for the Study of the Third Order Regular Rule, Kathleen Moffatt, OSF, ed. (Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation, 1994), no. 2. This anthology , assembled for the historic TOR seminar held in 1994 at the Franciscan Institute of Saint Bonaventure University, will be cited as Resources for the TOR Rule. 2 In his 1226 “Testament,” Francis looks upon his life and refers to his encounter with the leper as the turning point in his conversion. The first paragraph reads, “The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin to do penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord himself led me among them and I showed mercy to them. And when I left them, what had seemed bitter to me was turned into sweetness of soul and body. And afterwards, I delayed a little and left the world.” “The Testament,” the last known writing of Francis is found in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, Regis J. Armstrong, J.A. Wayne Hellman, William J. Short, eds. (New York: New City Press, 1999), 124-27. Hereafter, FAED. 3 The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis and Commentary, American-English Commentary written by Margaret Carney OSF, and Thaddeus Horgan, SA (Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation, 1997), 19. 436 INGRID PETERSON cludes conversion as one of its defining elements.4 Throughout the centuries the stories of the lives of the Franciscan penitents and tertiaries continue to demonstrate both conversion and mercy towards others. The 1209 and 1220 Exhortations of Francis for the Penitents Francis’s “Earlier Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance ” serves as the Prologue to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order and to the Rule of the Third Order Regular.5 Robert M. Stewart’s study, “De Illis qui Faciunt Penitentiam,” The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order: Origins, Development, Interpretation investigates the inception of the Third Order in its cultural context.6 Because of northern and central Italy’s increased population during the 11th and 12th centuries communes and urban centers developed in which trade flourished.7 The monastery as the economic and cultural center began to shift to the emerging new occupations associated with money: merchants, craftsmen , and “money handlers.” The demographic growth into cities brought changes in both the social structures and religious needs of the people. The church’s reform movements attempted to respond to these dramatic changes. The fluidity of the social structures brought power, wealth, and literacy to a broader base of the population. Such a climate, known today as a cultural paradigm shift, brought about a time of widespread religious intensity. While inequities remained, a greater variety of population groups – such as the mendicants, laity, and canons regular – attempted to confront the social injustices that faced them daily.8 4 Robert M. Stewart, “De Illis qui Faciunt Penitentiam,” The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order: Origins, Development, Interpretation (Rome: Istituto Storico dei Cappuccini, 1991...