Commentary on the "Office of the Passion" by St. Francis of Assisi

Updated March 2018

The more time I spend with the "Office of the Passion" the more I am impressed with it and St. Francis. It is a powerful overview of Franciscan theology. Anyone praying the Office would say these prayers seven times a day: bedtime, midnight, sunrise, 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m. and sunset. Here are a few things that caught my attention.

First, the Office begins with the Our Father prayer or "The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father," a reflection on the Our Father prayer. Instead of quickly zipping through the Our Father prayer, like I tend to do, Francis is taking time to think deeply about it, i.e., ruminating. Note that when he reflects on "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" Francis borrows language from the opening of "The First Version of the Letter to the Faithful," which also is the prologue to the current SFO Rule.

Second, time and time again, Francis says God is the source of all good. This is conveyed early in "The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father" and at the end of "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours." In the "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours" and the short concluding prayer of the Office we are called to return that good to God.

Third, next Francis has us say "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours." Notice that all creation is encouraged to join us in praising God. The Praises ends with his powerful super-prayer: "All-powerful, most holy, most high, and supreme God: all good, supreme good, totally good, You who alone are good...." Notice how intensely Francis sings the praises of God. Again, seven time a day! Imagine the impact on the person praying.

Fourth, Francis has us say the antiphon for the Holy Virgin Mary. Someone praying the Office has said this antiphon 14 times over the course of the day. I think this antiphon tells us a lot about how he viewed the Blessed Mother. Plus, Saint Michael the Archangel and all the saints are asked to pray for us.

Fifth, now, Francis really goes all out. He wrote 15 psalms that reflect on the passion of Christ. Each is a collage of his favorite scriptural passages. He knew Holy Scripture so well that he could pick and choose his favorites verses and weave them together into 15 of his own creations. Awesome! Then he figured out when they should be prayed during the day and over the course of five liturgical seasons.

Then Francis has us go back to the antiphon for the Holy Virgin Mary.

The Office ends with a short prayer.

Imagine the impact on your life of praying the Office several times a day for just a week.

Easy Access to the SFO Rule and Other Good Things

Recently, several people asked me where they can find the SFO Rule. It is readily available on the national fraternity's web site: Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order. There is lots of helpful information there too. Check it out: National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order - USA. For books, medals, Tau crosses, and all things Franciscan check out Franciscan Resources.

How to Pray "The Office of the Passion" by St. Francis of Assisi

Merry Christmas!

"The Office of the Passion" is a devotional office written by St. Francis of Assisi. (Note: It was not intended to replace the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the official prayer of the church.) I found a straightforward guide on how to pray the office in "Studying the Life of Francis of Assisi: A Beginner's Workbook" by William R. Hugo, OFM Cap. The various parts of the office are in "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works" (Armstrong and Brady), but without Hugo's guide, I never would have figured out how to put them all together. And, I would have overlooked a real treasure. From time to time, especially during the Christmas Season, I like to pray the office.

Referencing pages and text found in "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works," you would pray the office in this order.

• The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father, p. 104
  
• The Praises to be Said at All the Hours, p. 101
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 82
  
• Psalm (see table below)
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 82
  
• Closing prayer: Let us bless the Lord…., p. 83

Alternatively, here are the pages and text found in "Francis of Assisi: Early Document, Vol. I, The Saint" (Armstrong, Hellmann, and Short).

• The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father, p. 158
  
• The Praises to be Said at All the Hours, p. 161
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 141
  
• Psalm (see table below)
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 141
  
• Closing prayer: Let us bless the Lord…., p. 141

In "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works" you will find the psalms composed by St. Francis on pages 81 to 98. In "Francis of Assisi: Early Document, Vol. I, The Saint" you will find his psalms on pages 140 to 157. The times are from St. Francis' era.

Psalms composed by St. Francis	Part I: Triduum and Weekdays During the Year	Part II: Easter Season	Part III: Sundays and Principal Feasts	Part IV: Advent	Part V: Christmas Season
Compline (bedtime)	1	8	8	13	15
Matins (midnight)	2	9	9	14	15
Prime (sunrise)	3	3	3	3	15
Terce (9:00 a.m.)	4	9	10	10	15
Sext (noon)	5	9	11	11	15
None (3:00 p.m.)	6	9	12	12	15
Vespers (sunset)	7	7	7	7	15

15,811 Professed Members in the SFO

I just got my copy of the TAU-USA in the mail. It contains the "State of the Order - October 2008," prepared by Patrick Mendes, SFO, our national minister. He reports that there are 15,811 professed members in the SFO in the United States. (Frankly, I thought there were more of us.) Happily, we saw an increase over last year, which was 15,293 professed members.

Hmm, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2007 there were 310,621,159 people in the United States. Approximately 75% are over 18 years of age.

If the SFO is relevant in our contemporary world, and after reflecting on our rule I am convinced that it is, then our numbers should grow. However, we must reach out to others and share our Franciscan spirituality with others, particularly young families.

Getting Ready for Advent: St. Francis and The Crib

Christmas is rapidly approaching. Christmas was a special time for St. Francis. To learn more, check out St. Francis and The Crib. Share this wonderful story with others.

"Be All that You Can Be"

For years "Be all that you can be" was used by the U.S. Army as a recruiting slogan. The recruiting ad challenged people to consider becoming the person he or she has the potential to be. Today, "Be all that you can be" would be an appropriate conversion slogan for God. We are challenged to become the full person we are capable of being by rejecting what prevents us from loving God to the fullest. Franciscan Father Benet Fonck, OFM has sketched out a simple, straightforward way to do this that is based in part on Francis' First Letter to the Faithful.

In his manual for the formation of lay Franciscans, Fr. Fonck outlines his approach “Penance is primarily a positive experience: choosing spiritual health (whole soul), mental health (whole mind), emotional health (whole heart), physical health (whole strength), and social health (loving neighbor as self) as the way of returning the love God has bestowed upon us. It is setting oneself on a five-point program of daily living which fulfills God’s plan for a healthy, productive, stimulating, creative love-life with God. It is a conscious, concerted effort to work toward well-being of the spirit, mind, feelings, body, and social interactions in order to be open to intimacy with God. It is a decision to embrace specific attitudes and concrete behavior to make one’s human/divine life more fulfilling in the complete range of its expressions from the transcendent union with the God to outreach with others with healthy self-love, to the development of one’s mind and intellect, to the use of emotions, to careful attention to the physical dimension of living. It is the commitment to experience everything we do from the sublime to the mundane as part of an over-arching continuum of striving for holiness.” (Fully Mature with the Fullness of Christ, Fr. Benet Fonck, OFM, Candidacy #2, page 08-5)

"Lord, what do you want me to do?"

In the 12^th century, at the beginning of his conversion experience Francis of Assisi asks: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” L3C 6 That is a big question. Fortunately, a good and generous God provides the answer.

In the Old Testament we read “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. (emphasis added) Deuteronomy 6:4-8

In the New Testament we read “Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.” (emphasis added) Mark 12:29:31.

Having discovered the answer, 1,200 years later to lay men and women throughout the world, St. Francis of Assisi preached “All those who love the Lord with their whole heart, with their whole soul and mind, with their whole strength (cf. Mark 12:30) and love their neighbor as themselves (cf. Mt 22:39) and hate their bodies with their vices and sins, and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and produce worth fruits of penance: Oh, how happy and blessed are these men and women when they do these things and persevere in doing them….” (emphasis added) Francis of Assisi, First Letter to the Faithful, 1:1

Today, in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church Catholics are reminded that “The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and everyone of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: "Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect".(216)(2*) Indeed He sent the Holy Spirit upon all men that He might move them inwardly to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul, with all their mind and all their strength(217) and that they might love each other as Christ loves them.(218) ….” (emphasis added) Lumen Gentium 40 (Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Solemnly Promulgated by his Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964)

DVD on Franciscan Theology Available

Since returning from a pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy in October 2003, I have been blessed to hear several speakers talk about Franciscanism. For example, I have had the privilege of hearing Fr. Kenan Osborne OFM, a well-known Franciscan theologian, speak on two occasions.

Recently, Marian College in Indianapolis, Indiana made a DVD available of a talk he gave at the college in March 2007. There is no charge for the DVD and it is well worth having. Click on this link to order you copy: Franciscan Theology and Philosophy: Its Contemporary Value.

The DVD is a great introduction to Franciscanism. Fr. Osborne traces the history of the Thomistic and Franciscan traditions. He also discusses several contemporary issues facing the Church and how the Franciscan tradition might serve the Church as it addresses these issues.

Following the Gospel in the Spirit of St. Francis

Sometimes I think to be a very good Secular Franciscan all I have to do is go to mass on Sunday, say I like St. Francis, have a statue of him in my backyard, and love nature.

Thirteenth century Franciscans like Brother Thomas of Celano, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bonaventure, and Blessed John Duns Scotus were very well-educated. They even took courses in logic. Imagine that! After reading the SFO Rule, I am pretty sure they would say that I need to do more. They would agree with this reasoning.

If Bob is a very good Secular Franciscan, then Bob is trying to live his life in accord with, i.e., follow, the Gospels and is familiar with the writings St. Francis, St. Clare, and other early Franciscans. Bob is trying to follow the Gospels. However, Bob is not familiar with the writings of St. Francis, St. Clare, and other early Franciscans. Unfortunately, Bob is not a very good Secular Franciscan. (He might be a good Catholic, however.)

As stated above, if Bob is a very good Secular Franciscan, then Bob is trying to follow the Gospels and is familiar with the writings St. Francis, St. Clare, and other early Franciscans. However, Bob is not trying to live his life in accord with the Gospels. Actually, he doesn't know much about them at all. He seldom reads them. Still, Bob is familiar with the writings of St. Francis, St. Clare, and other early Franciscans. Unfortunately, Bob is not a very good Secular Franciscan.

To be a very good Secular Franciscan you have to do both, i.e., read and try to live the Gospels and be familiar with the writing of the early Franciscans. Then you can live the Gospels in a Franciscan way.