31. Desiring that our Order grow more in virtue, perfection and spirit, than in numbers, knowing also that as the Infallible Truth teaches that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt.20:16), and that our Seraphic Father foretold when near death: nothing is a greater hindrance to the pure observance of the Rule than a multitude of useless, worldly and self-indulgent Friars, we ordain that when any person apply for admission the responsible Friars shall make careful inquiries as to their condition and character, and they shall not receive them if they do not manifest a very good intention and fervent will.

 

32. Those who wish to discern our way of life shall make a discernment visit(s) (C.I.C. 642). Before applying for Postulancy, except for extreme circumstances, with the approval of the Formation Council, vocation visitors are to make a two week visit at a Friary and participate in our life. In this way their good will may be known, and they may enter on so great an undertaking with greater light, maturity and deliberation. The same is true for transferring religious. The Minister General alone has authority to receive candidates but he shall first seek the recommendations of the Definitors (Norms II: 3/Norms VIII: 1) and those dwelling in the place of the vocation visit.

 

33. Candidates must be physically healthy enough to embrace all the aspects of this life. They must also be emotionally and psychologically mature, possessing a stable personality and be able to relate well in a Christian manner with the members of the same and opposite sex. As a matter for vocation directors, they are to observe candidates on matters of faith, morals and devout spiritual life in order to discern if the person possesses the Charism of the Franciscan Brothers Minor.

 

34. Postulancy, the first stage of formation, is at the discretion of the Minister General and lasts for no more than a year. Like Saint Francis in the beginning of his vocation, the postulant is vested in a tunic without a hood, and a they also wear small wooden cross and miraculous medal. Postulants are placed under a director, chosen by the Minister General, who will see to their formation. During this time the postulant is instructed in the faith, our Charism and customs, religious life and the life of Saint Francis. (Norm II: 4)

 

35. Christ, the wisest of Masters, charged that a young man who desired to gain eternal life, that if he wished to become His disciple, he should first sell all that he had, give it to the poor and then follow Him (cf. Mk. 10:21). His Imitator, Francis not only observed that counsel and taught it by example in his own person and in those whom he received, but also commanded it in his Rule (cf. R.B. 2). In order, therefore, to conform ourselves to Christ, Our Lord , and to the will of the Seraphic Father, we ordain that no one shall be received as a postulant until he has first settled all accounts and debts, and made arrangements for all personal possessions (Norms II:1). In this way the Friars will be able to serve God in greater peace of mind and constancy of will.

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36. Postulants will be evaluated three times during the first stage (Norms II: 2).With the counsel of those involved with the Postulant’s formation, the Minister General admits the Postulant into Novitiate.

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37. Spiritual Directors must be chosen carefully. They are to be mature in the ways of the spiritual life, of holy living and properly trained in traditional spiritual growth. 

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38. The Postulant Director and Novice Master will provide a regular community confessor in order to enhance and assist in the spiritual formation of the Postulants and Novices. Professed Friars may have a spiritual director conditions set by #36. Seminarians must have a spiritual director that meets the above requirements. Seminarians must meet monthly with them.)

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39. As a means of growing in grace, the Friars shall strive to go weekly to confession. (cf. C.I.C. 630, P.C. 14)

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40. Novitiate is a full canonical year according to the prescriptions of Canon Law (C.I.C. 647.1-653). The Novices are vested with the full Habit on the day of entrance.

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41. The secular clothes of a Novice (having already been laid aside at the beginning of Postulancy) shall be kept in storage until the day of profession; those of Religious until they are officially transferred. If they persevere, the clothes shall be given to our spiritual friends in order for them to be distributed to the poor; those of the Religious transfers shall be returned to their former institute.

 

42. Since it was not without reason that Christ commended Saint John the Baptist’s austerity in clothing when He said “They that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of Kings”, (Lk. 7:25) it is ordained that the Friars who have chosen to be menials in the house of God, clothe themselves with the more common abject, austere, coarse and despised wool that can be conveniently be had. Let the Friars remember that the sack-cloth with which St. Francis would have us mend our habits, and the cord with which he would have us girt, are not suited to the rich ones of this world (cf. R.B. 3).

 

43. In order that poverty, so loved by the Son of God, and given to us as mother by the Seraphic Father, may shine forth in everything we use, it is decreed that the mantle shall not extend beyond the tips of the fingers and shall be without a hood, and it shall not be worn without necessity. The habit shall not go beyond the ankle in length, the sleeves shall be no wider than necessary to put in and draw out the arms, and long enough to reach the middle of the hand or a little longer. The tunics shall be very plain and coarse, at least a half a foot shorter than the habit. Our habits shall be made of dark brown wool. The hood shall be square, like those of St. Francis and his companions which still exist as relics, and may be seen in ancient pictures, and described in the Book of Conformity. Our habit shall be cut in the form of the Cross to remind us that we are crucified to the world and the world to us (cf. Gal. 6:14). The cord shall be plain and coarse, with very simple knots, without any art or singularity; so that being despised by the world we may have occasion to mortify ourselves the more. At profession the Friars shall have four knots in the cord symbolizing their four vows. The Rosaries shall be the Franciscan Seven Decade Crown and made of wood. (Norms II: 8)

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44. We exhort all Friars to be content with the Habit alone, as expressed by Saint Francis in his testament, when he said: “And we were content with one tunic patched inside and out” (cf. Testament 3). According to the Rule the Friars may be permitted a second tunic without a hood. We do not wear secular clothing at any time for any reason. This includes all jewelry, wristbands, and watches.

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45. In each of our houses there shall be one small room where the community clothes are to be taken care of by a Friar appointed for that purpose; and he shall keep them clean and mended for the use of the brethren who, having used them according to their need shall return them cum gratiarum actione. (Norm II: 15)

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46. In accordance with the example of Christ, it is ordained that the young Friars, and those who can, shall go barefoot as a sign of humility, testimony of poverty, mortification of sensuality and as a good example to our neighbor (cf. Mt.10:10). And those who cannot do this may, in conformity with the evangelical teaching and the example of our primitive fathers, wear sandals with the permission of their Guardian (cf. Mk. 6:9). The sandals shall be simple, plain, poor and without any ornamentation.

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47. Excepting the aged, the infirm and in great necessity, we always go barefoot in the Friary. There will arise a need for warm or strong footwear. To this end, boots may be kept in a common closet for inclement weather that could endanger a Friar’s health and for dangerous manual labor.

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48. As a cure and remedy for vanity, and after the example of St. Paul, the Friars shall keep a shaved head (cf. Acts 18:18). The Friars shall wear the beard, after the example of Christ most holy, and of all our first Saints, since it is something manly, natural, severe, despised and austere. (Norm II: 13) The beard shall not be manicured in any way. (See Norms regarding the Tonsure II: 12)

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49. In order that the Friars reach the summit of most high poverty, the queen and mother of all virtues, the spouse of Christ our Lord, and of our Seraphic Father, and of our most beloved Mother, we exhort all the Friars not to have any attachment on earth, but always to fix their affection in heaven, using the things of this world sparingly as if by constraint, and in so far as their weakness will allow, deeming themselves rich with all their poverty. Let them be content with one spiritual book, or even Christ crucified, and with two pants. And let them remember that our Seraphic Father said that a Friar Minor should be nothing but a mirror of every virtue, especially of poverty.

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50. Lest that it should be said of us which our most holy Savior said of the Scribes and Pharisees: “Woe to you, because you go about the sea and the land to make one convert, and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves”, (Mt. 23:15) we determine that Novices shall be placed in a Friary suited for the spiritual life. They shall be given masters who are most mature, refined and enlightened in the ways of God. The masters shall be diligent in teaching not only the ceremonies, but also those spiritual matters necessary for the perfect imitation of Christ, our Light, our Way, our Truth, and our Life. By word and example they shall show them what a Friar Minors life consist of. Classes in the history of the Franciscan Order, Religious Life, the Constitutions, the Vows, the Liturgy and Mariology shall be taught over this year. The Masters shall take diligent care that the Novices learn the Rule by heart during the time of Novitiate.

 

51. In order that the novices may in quiet, peace and silence be better strengthened in the spirit, we ordain that only the Novice Master shall give them direction and correction. (Norm II: 4)

 

52. The Novices shall be evaluated three times a year with an end summary, so that they grow in such a way as to truly prepare to profess the vows of this institute. The final vote will help the Minister General approve the Novices for profession.

 

53. Since the Doctors of the Church hold that those Novices who make their profession with proper dispositions are restored to baptismal innocence, we ordain that the Novices prepare themselves before profession with great care, by confession, an eight-day retreat and much prayer, their general confession having been made before or during Postulancy.

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54. Before Temporary Profession the Novice is to sign a document of the cessation of administration of his temporal goods (C.I.C. 668).

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55. At Temporary Profession the Friars profess the four vows of Total Consecration to the Immaculate, Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Temporary profession is for three years and renewed for no more than four years unless special permission is granted. The vow formula is as follows:

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To the Glory of God and to the honor of the Immaculate, with a firm will to live more perfectly the Gospel of Christ, I, Br.__, vow and promise to Almighty God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to our Holy Father Saint Francis, to all the Saints of our Seraphic Order and to you Fr.__, to observe for all the days of my life (for three years), the Rule of the Friars Minor, confirmed by our lord Pope Honorius, as expressed in the Constitution of the Franciscan Brothers Minor, living in Total Consecration to the Immaculate, in obedience, without property and in chastity.

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56. The Marian Vow and the Evangelical Counsels (i.e. the Vows) are defined as follows:

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   a) The Marian Vow of Total Consecration to the Immaculate is the first of the

      four vows. It is the crowning jewel of our Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. It  

      obliges us to daily imitate Our Lady’s perfect and humble Obedience, spotless  

      and pure Chastity and her sincere and complete Poverty. The Marian Vow has 

      two essential realities that directly affect the life of every consecrated Friar:

      Personal Sanctification and Universal Salvation.

 

          i) Through the Vow of Total Consecration the Friars are personally

            sanctified by our Lady’s conforming them perfectly to Christ. The

            perfect imitation of Christ: Jesus came to us “born of a woman”

            (Gal. 4:4), born of her womb and He entrusted Himself to her care.

            Through the Marian Vow we seek to go to God born of “the woman”.

            The Blessed Virgin possesses the fullness of all graces. She is the

            Mediatrix of All Graces. Our intimate union with Her always gives the  

            graces of sanctification. The Marian Vow obliges us to concretize in our  

            souls the imitation of all of Her Virtues. It is by the imitating of Her

            virtues that we will assimilate our souls to the Immaculate. The Marian

            Vow requires us to place the totality of our person into Her hands. Our

            total confidence and trust is in Her motherly guidance. To belong so

            completely to her in such a way that it is She who works and lives in

            and through us. In this way we are perfect lovers of Christ and reach the  

            “conformity to the image of the Son” (Rom. 8.29).

 

    b) “Chastity embraced for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, is a sign of the

      world to come, and a sign of great fruitfulness in an undivided heart. It involves  

      the obligation of perfect continence observed in celibacy”

      (C.I.C. 599. Explained in Chapter XI).

 

    c) “Poverty, in imitation of Christ, Who for our sake was poor when He

      was rich, entails a life which is poor in reality and in spirit…” (C.I.C. 600)

      All the Friars completely renounce all rights to possess, acquire or use of any  

      material goods, properties or monies in any form (Explained in Chapter VI).

 

    d) “Obedience, undertaken in the spirit of faith and love in the following

      of Christ, Who was obedient even unto death, obliges submission of one’s

      will to lawful superiors, who act in the place of God when they give

      commands that are in accordance with each institute’s own constitution”.

      (C.I.C. 601. Explained in Chapter X)

 

57. In order that they may better learn to bear the yoke of the Lord, we determine, that after their profession, the Temporarily Professed shall remain under the discipline of a Master for at least three years, so that they may not easily, lose the newly acquired spirit; but growing in strength, they may become more fixed and rooted in the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. The Minister General shall appoint a mature Friar as the director of the Temporarily Professed. The director shall see to their ongoing formation in the Catholic Faith, Franciscan Charism and spiritual growth. He shall also see to their annual retreats, evaluations, votations and preparation for Perpetual Vows.

 

58. Each year the Temporarily Professed will be evaluated twice a year by their director and those in Perpetual Vows of the Friary in which they live. In evaluating their brothers the Friars shall be diligent in being objective in regards their call to our Gospel Life. Let the Friars set aside all personal issues or personality clashes when engaging in so serious a matter. At the end of the three years, following the evaluation, a recommendation by the director is made to the Minister General of whether or not the Friar should continue on for Solemn Profession or to renew for more preparation time. The Minister General alone has the right to accept or reject the Temporarily Professed Friar for Perpetual Profession.

 

59. The Perpetually Professed Friars of the house in which a Friar petitioning for Perpetual Vows lives, shall make a vote as to whether or not the Friar should be recommended for Vows. Their vote is then submitted to the Director of Temporarily Professed who in turn makes his recommendation to the Minister General.

 

60. A Friar is admitted to Perpetual Vows by the Minister General. He shall take serious the recommendations made by the Definitory and the opinions of those concerned for the formation of the Friars. The Temporarily Professed Friar will need a vote of 2 out of 4 Definitors with the Minister General’s approval.

 

61. At Perpetual Profession the Friars make a final dispensation of all their goods renouncing all inheritances and rights of ownership.

 

62. Cleric Friars begin their seminary formation after Perpetual Vows unless special permission granted by the Minister General with the counsel of the Definitory.

 

63. The Definitory shall see to it that the Cleric Friars receive an orthodox, traditional and Franciscan seminary formation. They will assign a Perpetually Professed Friar to this task. A Friary shall be established for the express purpose of Seminary formation. When possible, the Cleric Friars shall attend a Franciscan School of Theology. If they are not able to do this, the Cleric Friars, shall make a careful study of Saint Bonaventure, Blessed Duns Scotus and other great theologians of our Order.

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64. Since in him who would preach worthily and in a befitting manner, there is required, together with a religious and exemplary life, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, which cannot be acquired except by literary study. Lest so noble and useful a function as preaching should, to the greater loss of souls, decline in our Fraternity, we enact that there should be devout and holy studies, abounding in charity and humility, both for the humanities and sacred letters. To these studies only those Friars shall be permitted by the Minister General and the Definitory who are judged to be distinguished for fervent charity, praiseworthy behavior, humble and holy conversation; and at the same time, so capable of learning that they may afterwards, by their life and doctrine, be useful and productive in the house of the Lord.

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65. Let the students not seek to attain that knowledge which only puffs up, but let them endeavor to acquire the illuminating and enkindling charity of Christ, which quickens the soul. They should not be so absorbed in literary pursuits as to neglect the study of holy prayer; otherwise, they would act against the express wish of our Seraphic Father, who desired that prayer should never be omitted for any study whatsoever (cf. St. Francis’ Letter to St. Anthony). In order to better acquire the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, let both the teachers and the students strive to deepen the spiritual life even more than to cultivate letters. Thus they shall derive more profit from their studies; for without the Spirit the true sense is not attained, but the mere letter that blinds and kills.

 

66. The students should strive, while maintaining holy poverty, never to leave the royal road that leads to heaven: holy humility. Let them often call to mind the saying of Blessed Giacapone: “Acquired knowledge without humility of heart gives a deadly wound.” It will be an occasion of humbling themselves, if they realize that they have contracted further obligations towards God, by being promoted to study and by being counted worthy to be introduced to the true and pleasing knowledge of sacred letters, under which lies hidden that Supreme Good Whose Spirit is sweet above honey to them that taste it.

 

67. According to our ancient Capuchin practice, each time the student Friars begin a class, we exhort the Friars to remember to raise their minds to God and pray in a spirit of humility and with a contrite heart:

 

O Lord, Your lowly servant, unworthy of any good, wants to enter

and see Your treasures. May it please you to allow entry to this most

unworthy person. In the holy words of this holy lesson grant that I

may love You as much as I know you. Since I do not want to know

You except in order to love you, Lord God, my Creator. Amen

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68. The Director of Priestly Formation shall see to it that all proper canonical procedures and the guidelines of the U.S.C.C.B.’s Program of Priestly Formation are followed. Permanent Diaconate formation shall occur in an official diocesan program. The Director of Priestly Formation shall present the clerical Friars to the General Minister and the General Definitory as they approach each stage; candidate, lector and acolyte. A Friar shall not begin priestly or diaconal studies prior to his profession of solemn perpetual vows. After the General Definitory approves the advancement of candidates, the General Minister shall present the candidate to our Benevolent Ordinary for acceptance to each stage. He must obtain any and all dimissorial letters.

 

69. Since the celebration of Holy Mass is of the greatest importance, we ordain that no cleric shall be ordained a priest unless, over and above a good spirit, he has acquired a good grasp of dogmatic and moral theology, as well as a deep sense of the mysteries that he will celebrate.

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70. Upon ordination to the Deaconate and Priesthood, Friars are incardinated into the diocese of our Benevolent Ordinary. Once ordained, the Friars are free to practice their priesthood within the context of our Rule and Constitutions under obedience to our Benevolent Ordinary.

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71. Whether a religious brother in Perpetual Vows or an Ordained Priest of our Order, the Friars shall never consider their formation to be complete. They should daily strive to grow as Christian men and holy Religious. Always they must pursue continual growth in theology, Mariology and our Franciscan Charism. Let them remember that formation will only end when we have been completely conformed to Christ crucified through Mary.