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Articles
Capuchin
Franciscan Spirituality, Entry Requirement
and Formation Process in Karnataka Capuchin
Holy Trinity Province
Thanks for
your interest in knowing more about our
Order. This is necessary for a proper
discernment of God’s will for you in life.
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St.
Francis of Assisi
Francis was born in 1182 while his
father, a rich cloth merchant, was away
on a business trip in France. When he
was baptised his mother named him John,
but on returning his father renamed him
Francis. He had a nice character and was
very popular with the youths of Assisi.
When he was 24 years old, a war broke
out between Assisi and a neighbouring
town, and Francis was taken prisoner. He
was released after a year because he was
sick. It took him another year to
recover from the illness, and when it
was over Francis was a changed man. He
had discovered God and prayed a lot,
often seeking lonely places in the
countryside around Assisi. One day he
found a small abandoned Church, which
was falling to ruin, and kneeling down
he prayed in front of a wooden cross,
which was still above the altar.
Suddenly, the crucifix spoke to him and
said, " Francis, go and repair my house,
because as you see it is falling into
ruin".
Francis took these words seriously, and
sold all his belongings to get money to
repair this small Church. His father was
very annoyed with Francis' behaviour and
dragged him in front of the bishop of
Assisi to convince his son to give back
all his property. Francis had nothing
left anymore, so he took off his c1othes
and gave them back to his father telling
him: "I give you back all I have left,
and even your name too. From now on I
will no longer call you my father, but
say Our Father who art in Heaven". With
this Francis started living a life of
poverty, following the Gospel in
everything.
Soon God sent him his first companions.
In 1209, when he had 11 companions, he
set out to Rome to get approval of his
group from the pope. Thus the Order was
born. Besides this Order, he founded
also the Second Order, the Poor Clares,
for women when he accepted St. Clare,
and another, The Secular Franciscan
Order, for lay people who could not
leave their families to live as
religious.
The Order grew very rapidly. St Anthony
of Padua joined the Order at this time.
Francis, however, still found time to
seek lonely places to be alone with God
in contemplation. By his example he was
the model for Franciscan life: to
alternate between times of prayer and
apostolic activity. He saw God in all
creation and considered all creatures as
his brothers and sisters, calling the
sun his brother and the moon and water
his sisters. Even wild creatures
submitted themselves to him and he was
an instrument of peace among men.
The Franciscan movement brought many
novelties in the Church. At a time when
all religious were monks living stably
in a monastery, the Franciscans became
itinerants and became known also as
Mendicants because they had a special
permission to preach and beg for their
living when their work was not enough to
sustain them. St Francis sought to give
his life as Jesus himself did: to die as
a martyr while preaching the Gospel. He
did not succeed to die in this way, but
managed to resemble Christ by sharing in
his suffering. As a sign of this he
became the first person to carry the
wounds of Christ in his body, a
stigmatist.
Francis died in 1226 at the age of 44.
He died singing and praising God for
everything even for Sister Death, as he
called her.
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Who are
the Capuchins?
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The
Capuchin Reform
The growth of the Franciscan
Order made the observance of poverty
difficult as time went by. For this
reason, there have been several
attempts to go back to the primitive
poverty and simplicity of life of
the origins. The first big division
of the Order came in 1517, when all
the individual small reformed
communities were grouped together as
a separate Order. It was only 11
years later, however, that a third
branch of Franciscans was born. It
started very simply in 1525 through
Friar Matthew of Bascio, who went to
Rome and got a personal permission
to live a life of poverty and live
an itinerant life. It was not long,
however, that many other friars
wanted to join him. The first group
obtained formal approval in 1528.
They were first known as the Friars
Minor of eremitical life, because
they lived in lonely places totally
dedicated to prayer. Soon, however,
they became known as Capuchins
because of the shape of their hood.
Gradually, they started accepting
some forms of apostolate. The first
was administering the last
Sacraments to the sick who were
stricken by plague –a terrible fatal
disease at that time. While
maintaining their prayerful and
secluded life, they were very much
sought for Confessions. Some of the
early Capuchins became also very
good preachers, who knew how to
unite sound doctrine and simplicity.
Many people came to know them
especially through the lay brothers,
who used to beg humbly through the
streets of many towns. The Order is
today blessed with many saints.
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A
Community of Brothers (Friars)
Our community is called the
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM
Cap). It is an 0rder of Friars
because it is a family of brothers
(friar comes from the Latin frater,
which means brother). St Francis
wanted all brothers to be equal. He
was aware of Jesus’ ‘The rulers of
the gentiles lord it over them, and
their great men exercise authority
over them; it shall not be so among
you; but whoever would be the first
among you must be your slave’ (Mt
20:25-27). Thus, his desire that all
be called brothers without any
distinction. For this reason, every
Capuchin is called Brother (Friar)
whether he is ordained or not.
Francis also told his friars in the
Rule, "and let no one be called
Prior or Superior, but all generally
should be called Friars Minor". So
we call our houses Friary and we
have a Guardian, not a superior of
the Friary, and a Provincial
Minister (servant) for a Province
and a General Minister for the whole
Order.
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The
Life of a Friar Minor (Lesser
Brother)
The life of a Capuchin Friar
Minor is living the Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ in obedience,
without property and in chastity. We
live in community a life of
contemplation mixed with apostolic
activity. We are called ‘Friars
Minor’ because our Seraphic Father,
St Francis, just like Christ,
desired to be a minor. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said: "If I then, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also ought to wash one
another's feet". Therefore, as
minors we undertake manual work. St
Francis told us, "Let those who do
not know how to work, learn." All
offices (ministers or guardians),
driving, cleaning, cooking, washing,
preaching, etc. are shared among the
brothers (priests and non-ordained
alike) without distinction, except
those ministries that require Sacred
Orders.
We undertake all forms of apostolate
within the context of fraternity,
minority and obedience. The brothers
are ready to give pastoral
assistance in Parishes, but
preferably not to run them. We
undertake missionary activities
which are among the Order’s priced
principal obligations. Other
ministries typical of the Capuchin
Friars are celebrating the Sacrament
of Reconciliation, spiritual and
bodily assistance to the sick,
preaching and charity. We prefer to
undertake ministries that are
regarded as difficult. There is also
the possibility of living a more
contemplative life in special houses
as hermits, following a short rule,
which St. Francis wrote for that
purpose.
Minority is also reflected in the
way we study. Capuchin friars do not
just study for themselves, but for
others – just like Christ who became
Man for our sake. No friar,
therefore, chooses what to study. It
is the community that asks one to
undertake studies in view of serving
the Order, the Church and the
society.
We are called Capuchins because of
the shape of the hood of our habit
(from the Italian cappuccio), which
gave the name for our Franciscan
reform. 'Our habit, according to the
Rule and custom of the Order,
consists of a tunic with a hood,
chestnut brown in colour, with a
cord and sandals or, for a good
reason, shoes' (Constitutions 33,
5). We are present in nearly all the
countries of the world
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Poverty and simplicity of life
All religious profess the three
vows of Poverty, Chastity and
Obedience. Even with this vow of
Poverty, Francis wanted to imitate
our Lord, Jesus Christ, who "did not
have anywhere to lay down his head."
With the vow of Poverty, we renounce
the right to own or inherit
anything. Anything given to a
brother automatically belongs to the
whole fraternity, including cars.
This also implies that Friars cannot
help their families without the
consent of their Minister. We aim
for the minimum necessary not the
maximum allowed in everything.
Franciscan Poverty is not observed
only by the Friars individually, but
must also be a testimony as a
community regarding the number and
quality of cars, buildings etc. No
Friar can keep money or spend it
without the permission of the
Guardian.
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Obedience
The Obedience of a Friar is
lived every day. The Brothers should
willingly engage in any kind of
apostolate, even if it is of private
inspiration, under obedience to the
competent authority. The vow of
Obedience requires a person to
abandon himself and all his plans
totally in the hands of his Brothers
as one says in the formula of
profession: "Therefore with all my
heart I give myself to this
Brotherhood, that through the work
of the Holy Spirit, the intercession
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of our
Father Francis and of my brothers, I
may fulfill my consecration to the
service of God and of the Church".
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Prayer and Silence
Since, as we earlier
highlighted, the Capuchin Franciscan
life is a mixture of contemplation
and activity, time is dedicated for
personal and community prayer. To
foster the spirit of prayer,
meditation and study, silence is
important and required in our
friaries.
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The
Capuchin Priesthood
Our primary vocation is to live
the Gospel as brothers. The priestly
ministry is a calling within a
calling and should not become the
primary objective of our life. As
read above, we not only see, but
also designate ourselves as brothers
whether one is a cleric or not.
Thus, our expression of the
priesthood is uniquely founded on
being lesser brothers. The
priesthood does not confer on one
any advantage or right beyond that
which every brother possesses. We
are a community of brothers!
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Entry
Requirements and Formation Process in
Karnataka
Meeting these requirements is
necessary for admission to the Capuchin
life:
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The
Reception of the Sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation.
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A
strong and convinced catholic faith.
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A
generous and strong determination to
serve God as a religious.
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A
faith-inspired disposition to put
oneself in the hands of his brothers
through religious obedience.
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Physical and mental health.
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Secular studies in any forms of
Sciences. Basically he must complete
his SSLC or PUC or Bachelor degree
in any stream.
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A
willingness to sacrifice one’s plan
and desire for God's.
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A good
reputation.
This is our
formation process in:
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One year
of Orientation at Ujire, Belthangadi.
Here the candidate is well prepared for
the future life. He is well trained in
English, music and liturgy. Due to this
intense training he is very well helped
to grow in his character.
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Two years
of Aspirancy at Ujire, Belthangadi.Here
the candidate is allowed to do his
secular plus two or PUC studies in the
College. For those Candidates who have
finished their studies are exempted from
this stage of Formation.
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One year
of Postulancy at Mudubelle, Udupi.
During this stage of formation the
candidate is well prepared for the
Novitiate, the candidate comes to know
the life of St. Francis, the Church and
brushes up some areas of his education.
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One year
of Novitiate at Farangipate,
Mangalore.This is an intense year of
training in which the person lives the
life of a Friar in everything to confirm
whether it is the life for him. At the
same time his formators(specially the
Novice Master) accompany him throughout
the year. At the end of this year, the
first vows are taken. One becomes a
brother after the Novitiate with the
first profession of vows.
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One year
of Post-NovitiatePothnal, Raichur.
During this year of formation the newly
professed Friars live in a village
fraternity in simplicity engaging in
many apostolic activities, exposure
camps and experiences and developing
some skills that will be useful to them
as a Friars. There are no formal
studies.
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Three
years of Philosophy at Bogadi, Mysore.
The Friars who have been accepted for
the priesthood start their philosophy
studies. During these three years they
also complete the graduation studies and
attain the Bachelor’s degree from the
secular university along with the
Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.
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One year
of Regency. During this one year of
Regency friars individually are sent to
different mission fraternities of the
Province so as to attain a complete
experience of life and live responsibly.
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Four years
of Theology at Kengeri, Bengalore. These
four years are intensely spent in
religious studies. The Friars are
enlightened with the vast knowledge on
the Theological subjects. During these
year the Friars do their final
profession/vows. At the end of the
Theological studies the Friars are
ordained deacons and are sent to the
different Parishes for the diaconate
ministry/experience.
Our formation
programme may appear long. Do not be
discouraged. Embracing a life of total
commitment to Christ requires a strong, deep and
long preparation.
You can always get more information about the
Capuchins in India, Karnataka by contacting the
Vocation Director of the Province. Contact via
Email, Facebook, WhatsApp or by simply visiting
any of our friaries if you happen to pass near
one of them and requesting to speak with the
Vocation Director:
Friar Jawahar Jerry Cutinho
Vocation Director
St Anne’s Friary
Jail Road, Bejai
Mangalore -03
jerrycutinho@gmail.com
Phone: 9902331830
'Saccidananda'
Capuchin Provincialate
Dr.Rajkumar Road, P.B.No.1060,
Rajajinagar, Bangalore-560 010
Karnataka, India.
To know about our other Fraternities please
log on to…
http://www.capuchinbangalore.com/fraternities.html
Accompany the reading of this letter with prayer
for God’s guidance. This prayer of St Francis
before the crucifix can be helpful in moments of
vocation discernment:
Most High and glorious God, enlighten the
darkness of my heart and give me, Lord, a
correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect
charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may
carry out Your holy and true command.
May the Lord bless you, keep you and guide you
to a correct decision for your future.
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