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Novena to St Francis of Assisi - Day 4

MINORITY
4th Day –28th September
Hymn: Prayer before the Crucifix
Glorious God, from heaven’s height,
See my heart, how drab and dark.
Show your lantern, shed your light,
Touch my darkness with your spark.
Give your faith to lead me right,
Hope to firm my tired knee,
Perfect love to aid my sight
And profound humility.

Give me wisdom for the way
And perception guiding still,
All I want is night and day
Walk your pathways, do your will.

Ant. 1 No one should be called Prior, but all generally should be called Friars Minor.  And the one should wash the feet of the others .(ER VI 3-4)

Psalm 116:1-9

I love the Lord for he has heard
The cry of my appeal;
For he turned his ear to me
In the day when I called him.

They surrounded me, the snares of death,
With the anguish of the tomb;
They caught me, sorrow and distress.
I called on the Lord’s name.
O Lord, my God, deliver me!

How gracious is the Lord, and just;
Our God has compassion.
The Lord protects the simple hearts;
I was helpless so he saved me.

Turn back, my soul, to your rest
For the Lord has been good;
He has kept my soul from death,
My eyes from tears
And my feet from stumbling.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Ant. 1 No one should be called Prior, but all generally should be called Friars Minor.  And the one should wash the feet of the others .(ER VI 3-4)
Ant. 2 “Know, my sons, that poverty is the special way to salvation; its fruits are manifold, but it is really well known only to a few” (2Cel 200).
Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud
Nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
Nor marvels beyond me.

Truly I have set my soul
In silence and peace.
As a child has rest in its mother’s arms,
Even so my soul.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
Both now and forever.

Ant. 2 “Know, my sons, that poverty is the special way to salvation; its fruits are manifold, but it is really well known only to a few” (2Cel 200).

Ant. 3 As followers of Jesus Christ, “Who humbled himself, even to accepting death”, and faithful to our specific calling as Minors, we, the friars are to go through the world “in joy and gladness” as the servants and subjects of all, being peaceful and humble of heart.  (GGCC 64)
Canticle: Philippians 2:6-11 Christ, God’s holy servant
Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
Something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself
And took the form of a slave,
Being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate,
And it was thus that he humbled himself,
Obediently accepting even death,
Death on a cross!

Because of this,
God highly exalted him
And bestowed on him the name
Above every other name,

So that at Jesus’ name
Every knee must bend
In the heavens, on the earth,
And under the earth,
And every tongue proclaim
To the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

Ant. 3 As followers of Jesus Christ, “Who humbled himself, even to accepting death”, and faithful to our specific calling as Minors, we, the friars are to go through the world “in joy and gladness” as the servants and subjects of all, being peaceful and humble of heart.  (GGCC 64)

Scripture Reading (2Cor 8:8-9, 11-15)

This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others to show you the sincerity of their fraternal concern. You know well the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although he was rich, he made himself poor to make you rich through his poverty.
Responsory (1C 38)
V/ I want this fraternity to be called the Order of Lesser brothers.
R/ I want this fraternity to be called the Order of Lesser brothers.
V/ In this way they will merit to be grounded on the solid rock of true humility.
R/ I want this fraternity to be called the Order of Lesser brothers.
V/ Glory be to the Father...
R/ I want this fraternity to be called the Order of Lesser brothers.

Magnificart Ant. In order that we may follow more closely and express more clearly the self-emptying of the Saviour, we, the friars are to have the life and condition of the little ones in society, always living among others as minors. (GGCC 66)

Intercessions

Let us pray to the Lord, our God, who in spite of his richness, chose to be poor among us that he may give us the grace to follow him closely in his footsteps.
All: Lord, fill us with your Spirit that we may become truly poor.
For the sake of the fidelity to the Lord, Francis chose to reject the ‘status’ which was his in order to live among those who were excluded and make himself one of them.
ALL: Lord, make us poor to be rich in charity.
“They must rejoice when they live among people considered of little value and who are looked down upon, people such as the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside.” (ER IX:2)
ALL: Lord, help us to live as minors among the minors.
To be minor is to “arrive at being” progressively smaller and smaller, in conformity with the poor crucified Christ.
ALL: Lord, give your grace to strip ourselves progressively of our self, so as to restore all good to you, to whom it belongs.
Minor is your name, let it also characterize your actions.
ALL: Lord, help us to “refound” minority in our fraternities and in the province at large and to look for concrete ways of carrying it out.
We are not brothers when one places himself above the others
ALL: Lord, help us to live as lesser brothers in our fraternities serving one another in fraternal love.
Our Father...
Concluding Prayer
God, Our Father, give us the same spirit with which you inspired St. Francis and His brothers to live as a Fraternity of minors, as poor and in solidarity with the poor, as pilgrims and stranger, walking the streets of the world in the footprints of Jesus in order to proclaim the value of every human being and every creature by their radical commitment to live the spirit of minority. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Hymn to St. Francis
Our Father is of noble fame
A knight of God’s creation
His royal splendour we proclaim
With boundless exultation

Ref. A knight of God’s own stride
Our leader and our guide.
Saint Francis, we are proud to be
God’s knights like onto thee.

His armour is simplicity
A beggar’s grab he taketh.
A symbol of humility
No foe will ever break it.

His chosen spouse is poverty
His love through all the ages,
A lady of nobility
For her his wars he wages.
Br. Rajasekhar Gopu
OFM Franciscans India

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