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Are You Ready for a Life Shift?
View the feature on our "Life Shift" subway campaign from NBC's Today Show »
In 2009, the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province took an unusual route in reaching out to young adult men about considering a life of prayer and spiritual service in our Catholic faith community. We decided to sponsor an advertisement aimed at New York City subway riders that boldly asked: "Day Shift?, Night Shift? - How about a Life Shift?"
The question itself, the location where it was posed, and the uncertain economic climate we live in created an opportunity for those seeing the ad to reflect upon the purpose of their individual lives and the possibility to do something more meaningful and rewarding in serving others and God.
A History of Taking Risks
As Franciscans, we know making a "life shift" can be a very risky endeavor. But the Franciscan Order, which this spring celebrates the 800th anniversary of its founding, has a long history of taking risks to fulfill our calling to be "heralds of the Gospel in the midst of society."
This history of risk-taking began eight centuries ago in the year 1209 when a dozen shabbily dressed men managed to gain entry to the Papal Court. To gain an audience with the pope then, just like in 2009, was no easy feat -- especially for such an insignificant group. But these men and their calling were different.
Led by a young man named Francis from the town of Assisi, these men were seeking the approval of Pope Innocent III to lead a radical life according to the pattern of the Gospel. The pope granted their petition and thus officially launched what has become the largest and most popular religious movement in all of Catholic history.
The Franciscan "Life Shift"
What exactly did Francis mean by "living according to the pattern of the Gospel?" For starters, this life demands "doing penance" — not in the sense of performing one or other acts of self-denial, but radically renouncing a life "in the world" based on self-interest, and reorienting oneself toward the values of the reign of God.
Francis and his brothers abandoned all their possessions, rejecting life in a society in which they had been born and bred and one driven by its quest for wealth and power. They deliberately chose "to follow the humility and poverty of our Lord, Jesus Christ" by becoming "lesser ones, subject to all."
They believed, by making this choice, they could escape the vicious circle in which their contemporaries were caught, and thus more easily open their hearts to God and one another - creating a new type of belonging, a brotherhood of mutual care based on Gospel values.
Our Lives and Work Today
Like Francis and his Lesser Brothers, we do not abandon "the world" but instead plunge into it. Our friar priests and brothers live the Gospel today as preachers, confessors, teachers, pastors and workers in various ministries. We help the poor and the marginalized of society in such important areas as peace and social justice, education, healthcare and immigration.
You can see this on the streets of Manhattan every morning when our brothers at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street host the longest running daily breadline in the U.S.
Our Invitation to You
The challenge as we begin the next 800 years is to continue to find new ways within modern society to share Christ's love as proclaimed through the Gospel and to foster a deeper relationship for individuals with God and each other.
If you are up for the challenge, and the rewards that come with it, we invite you to join us!
