Right Action and Lived Experience

The Franciscan tradition offers a distinct approach to Christian faith, characterized by its emphasis on ‘orthopraxy,’ prioritizing right action and lived experience over mere intellectual belief.

Thus, this approach elevates the importance of embodying one's faith through concrete acts of service, compassion, and care for the world.

This emphasis on action resonates with the core message of Jesus, whose first recorded utterance was a clear call to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This call to transformation necessitates a shift in both thinking and doing, a move away from passive belief and towards active engagement with the world.

Christianity, at times, lost sight of this transformative potential focusing on theological debates and rigid adherence to dogma that overshadowed the core message of love, service, and social justice.

Franciscan spirituality offers an antidote to this by prioritizing humility, simplicity, nonviolence, and a deep connection with nature. These values are not merely abstract concepts, but rather concrete paths towards meaningful action and personal transformation.

We are urged to care for our common home, recognizing our interconnectedness with all living creatures.

We are called to a journey of service, observation, and love for the world around us. Contemplation, understood as mindful observation imbued with compassion, becomes a powerful tool for personal growth and social change.

This worldview, with its emphasis on lived experience and transformative action, offers a compelling alternative for individuals seeking a more meaningful and impactful faith. It is not a call for blind adherence to tradition, but rather an invitation to engage with the world authentically, compassionately, and actively. This can equip us to navigate the challenges of our times and to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, change our lives, change the world.

May the spirit of wisdom guide your path, inspiring a commitment to transformative action and compassionate engagement in the living of faith. May your journey be marked by the renewal of your mind, leading to a life of profound change and positive impact in the world.

Not just words, but deeds
Not just beliefs, but actions
Not just doctrines, but love

This is the way of Francis
The way of the humble and the simple
The way of the peacemakers and the stewards
The way of the followers of Jesus

They seek to transform themselves
By renewing their minds
By serving their neighbors
By caring for the earth

They see the sacred in the ordinary
The divine in the natural
The beauty in the broken

They practice contemplation
With mindful eyes and hearts
With compassion and grace
With hope and joy

They offer an alternative
To a world of violence and greed
To a world of indifference and despair
To a world of fear and hate

They invite us to join them
To engage with the world authentically
To act with the world compassionately
To live with the world actively

This is the Franciscan faith
The faith that changes lives
The faith that changes the world