St. Alphonsa Fraternity,

Coon Rapids, MN

Gathering Time:

Place:

Epiphany Catholic Church
(The Charity Room - 1st room on right as you come in the front door)
1900 111th Ave. NW
Coon Rapids, MN 55433

Vision:

As joyful Franciscans, we will humbly submit our ALL to God without reserve…so as to gain Heaven for ourselves, and to bring as many souls with us as we can on our holiness journey.

Mission Statement: 

In prayerful imitation of St. Francis...
We will strive for the interior freedom which grace seals in our hearts through
belonging fully to Jesus.  We will do our part to transform earth into Heaven
by living a life of deep prayer and penance, and will walk together in seeking holiness through right Faith, a firm Hope and perfect Charity...so as to always and in all things act according to His Holy Will, for the Glory of God and the well-being of our neighbor.

The Secular Franciscan Order (OFS – Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis) is a branch of the worldwide Franciscan family.  We are single, married and ordained.  We work, worship and play in the community where we live.

The OFS is a secular movement, established by St. Francis of Assisi more than 800 years ago.  Our purpose is to bring the gospel to life where we live and where we work.  We look for practical ways to embrace the gospel in our lives and try to help others do likewise.

In today’s world we are plagued by time, schedules, projects and activities that leave us tense and stressed.  The OFS becomes our place of refuge and renewal where our brothers and sisters in Francis support and inspire us.  You, too, can become a life-time member of our family – if God is calling you.

Secular Franciscans follow the OFS rule that requires us to spend time in community with our Franciscan brothers and sisters.

We gather at least monthly.  We support each other through the ups and downs of daily life.  We pray together.  We take opportunities to learn about our Church, our community and our world.  We support each other as family.

Our rule mandates us to be involved in apostolic ministries and with youth.  We are Brothers and Sisters of Penance.  We live simply, and are called to be peacemakers.

Some of us are religious education teachers; some have a special ministry to life issues, some have a commitment to Perpetual Adoration.  Some work with the poor and homeless.

As a fraternity we pray and make sacrifices for priests.  We are committed to prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.  We try to live our lives like Jesus in our daily duty.  We are committed to lovingly serve others.

If you have a Franciscan vocation, you probably have a desire to do something more.  Perhaps you feel a need for support in growing spiritually.  Or, deep down, you sense a need to serve God in a special way.  Or, for years, you have felt an affinity with St. Francis.  He seems to pop up all around and you just don’t know why.  Perhaps God is calling you!

Getting to know the OFS better may be a way to determine if you have a vocation.

You’ll have plenty of time to get to know us before you make any commitment.  Our fraternity suggests six months of orientation and six months of inquiry.  During that time, you’ll come to our monthly gatherings and have a few formal classes.

Following that you will be admitted into the order and participate in a two year candidacy program leading to profession.

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