Rule 4

The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.

Christ, the gift of the Father's love, is the way to him, the truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the life which he has come to give abundantly.

Secular Franciscans should devote themselves especially to careful reading of the gospel, going from gospel to life and life to the gospel.

Just as the 4th Commandment, exhorts us to honor our parents, Rule 4 exhorts the Secular Franciscan to be obedient to the Father. The Father gave us Jesus Christ whose love, the Holy Spirit, is with us daily, and guides us in everything we do. Careful reading, making a study of the Gospel, and applying what we have read in our daily lives, indeed going from gospel to life, and life to gospel - as St. Francis did so well, that is what we should do also.

It seems to me, if we are not able to go from gospel to life and from life to gospel, all the other things we do in life become inconsequential. Isn't it true that all Catholics should go from gospel to life, and from life to gospel? The only difference is that we, who have professed to follow St. Francis as a Secular Franciscan, do so within this organic union (the Order itself within the Church), and we really put a lot of effort into it.

St. Francis made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people, likewise, that is what we should also strive to do. That is the reason why we need to become more familiar with the gospel, and apply what we learn to life itself. We need to apply what we study... to what we do. People can study until they are filled with a tremendous font of knowledge, but until that knowledge is used by the heart, the soul, it's just knowledge and leads nowhere. We have to embody the gospel, and make it part of our will. One of the most precious gifts the Father has given us, is the will, the facility to say yes or no. We are asked to use that free will for God, and Rule 4 exhorts us to follow the Gospel using that free will to evangelize our Faith, and the love for God to others, according to Saint Francis' example.

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5-10-2008