From the OFS General Constitutions

Article 30

1. The brothers and sisters are co-responsible for the life of the fraternity to which they belong and for the SFO as the organic union of all fraternities throughout the world. 2. The sense of co-responsibility of the members requires personal presence, witness, prayer, and active collaboration, in accordance with each one's situation and possible obligations for the animation of the fraternity. 3. Rule 25 In a family spirit, each brother and sister should make a contribution to the fraternity fund, according to each one's means, to provide the financial means needed for the life of the fraternity and for its religious, apostolic, and charitable works. The brothers and sisters ought to provide the means necessary for supporting the activities and the operations of the fra-ternities at higher levels, both by their financial assistance and by their contributions in other areas as well.

Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis Secular Franciscan Order

Rednal and Stourbridge Fraternity

The Fraternity meets on the Second Saturday of each month. Meetings begin with Morning Prayer, Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. 9.30am at Stourbridge; 9.45am at Rednal. 14 March 2015 Stourbridge Day of Reflection 11 April 2015 - Elective Chapter (Rednal)

8-10 May 2015 - Pantasaph Retreat Centre

13 June 2015 Rednal

11 July 2015 Stourbridge

8 August 2015 Rednal

12 September 2015 Stourbridge

14 November 2015 Stourbridge

From June to September and November, Fraternity will be studying “Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy—The Legacy of St. Francis” - Richard Rohr OFM 3 October 2015 (First Saturday) Rednal. Celebration of the Feast of St. Francis (The Transitus)

Visitors very welcome. For further details

email sforands@gmail.com

The Fraternity Annual Report 2014/2015 is now available from the Fraternity’s website. www.sforands.org.uk OFS National Website: www.ofsgb.org.uk OFS International: www,ciofs,org You may also wish to pick up on “Midland Franciscan” , the newsletter of the Midland Region of the Secular Franciscan Order in the UK. Find it on www.ofsgb.org.uk. Newsletters Tab.

Francis of Assisi: From the Letter to the Entire Order.

Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, give us in our misery the grace to do for You alone what we know You want us to do and always to desire what pleases You. Inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlight-ened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of Your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You, Most High, Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity and are glorified God almighty, forever and ever. Amen

Five Ways of Practising Dying to The Self From Elizabeth Lesser.

1. Become an “I don’t know it all.” Whenever you find yourself getting anxious about the big and small deaths of daily life— being out of control, not getting what you want, endings and partings—take a few minutes to allow in the possibility that you do not see the full picture. Often what looks terrible today will, in retrospect, have been a blessing. Just allow that possibility in. You do not have to understand or figure everything out. You can relax into the mystery of not knowing. 2. Disengage from the ego. Develop a simple meditation practice. Every day, spend some time sitting in silence. Sit with a straight back and relaxed body. Feel the nobility, patience, and strength of the posture. Allow your identification to broaden out beyond the ego with its constant thoughts and its shifting likes and dislikes. Just observe everything calmly. 3. Soften the heart. Sometimes spiritual seekers become a little dry and humorless. Make sure that as you sit tall in the saddle, you also keep your heart soft, open, lively. Practice unconditional friendliness toward life. Accept your flawed hu-manness; put down the burden of perfection. Grieve deeply, laugh often, live fully. Water your life. 4. Take birth and death back from the experts. Because we are more frightened of what is not known to us, it makes sense to become familiar with the two bookends of life: birth and death. If you can, be at the births and deaths of family members and friends; sit with sick people; help others who are suffering. Do not shy away from what makes you uncomfortable. Learn about death—study its biological and spiritual stages. 5. Don’t take yourself personally. A couple times a day, remember that you are not who you think you are. Identify less with your human form and more with your soul’s eternal journey. See your body, the chair you are sitting on, the entire world of matter, as a swirling mass of dancing subatomic particles drawn together by gravity for a brief moment in time. “Every subatomic interaction consists of the annihilation of the original particles and the creation of new subatomic parti-cles. The subatomic work is a continual dance of creation and annihilation, of mass changing into energy and energy changing to mass. Transient forms sparkle in and out of existence creating a never-ending, forever newly created reality.” (Gary Zukoff) Know yourself as transient and sparkling, as form and the formless. (USA English retained) ELIZABETH LESSER is a bestselling author and the co-founder of Omega Institute, an education and retreat centre focusing on health, wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change. www.elizabethlesser.com

You ask how you can live a life of poverty while in the world? Well, if you can let go enough of self so that the life of God may live in you — so that you can truly belong to Him, you will be exercising the highest poverty. You will also be living out the promise of obedience by quieting your own voice enough to be able to hear what the Lord has in store for you.

~ Fr. Richard Trezza, O.F.M., “Profession and the Secular Franciscan: Theological and Litur-gical Foundations” (FUN [For Up to Now] Manual) OFS USA.

This quotation was provided by Franciscan Quote of the Day: www.franciscanqotd.com

“What tongue could tell of this man’s compassion for the poor? He certainly had an inborn kindness, doubled by the piety poured out on him. Therefore, the soul of Francis melted for the poor, and to those to whom he could not extend a hand, he extended his affec-tion. Any need, any lack he noticed in anyone, with a rapid change of thought, he turned back to Christ. In that way he read the Son of Our Poor Lady in every poor person.” The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul. Thomas Celano.

From the Beginning to Baptism. Scientific and Sacred Stories of Water, Oil and Fire. Linda Gibler OP Liturgical Press. Paperback and Kindle versions available. Linda Gibler is a Dominican Sister. She is the Associate Academic Dean at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, an adjunct professor for the Loyola Institute for Ministry, and a science editor for the Collins Foundation Press. Sr. Linda Gibler explains the deep-time origins of water, oil and fire used in Baptism from the beginning of the cosmos and then examines the teaching and liturgies of the Church both ancient and modern. A very original combination and a fascinating story. Highly recommended . The science is very well explained. I’ve learned more about science in my later years from Sisters Ilia Delio and Linda Gibler than I ever learnt at school. (Seán Ward)

Franciscan Listener is produced by Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Fraternity, Rednal and Stourbridge, for those interested in the Franciscan way.