St
Francis of Assisi: An icon of Minimalism!
– Jawahar, Capuchin
At
the age of fifteen I decided to join the
priesthood. During that young age I had no
much awareness as in what really the
priesthood is or religious life, religious
orders, congregation and so on is. Since
from my younger days I had a strong desire
to be priest I joined one. During the high
school studies I came across the Carmelite
priests of Mangalore whom I had promised to
join. Later during my tenth standard studies
I came across a Capuchin priest Fr Vinod,
who enlightened me about the life of St
Francis of Assisi, a nature lover. It was
then I randomly decided to join the
Franciscan Capuchin Order.
During my Postulancy and Novitate studies I
realized the difference between being a
priest and being a religious, being a member
of order and being a membe
r of a
congregation, being a diocesan priest and
being a religious priest. With this
awareness and enlightenment I began loving
the religious life that I joined. I started
loving my Franciscan Capuchin Order. I
started liking the person of St Francis of
Assisi. I was delighted to wear the brown
habit as often as possible. I read more of
his life, the poverty, the simplicity, the
humility and minimalism. Even to this day St
Francis Assisi is my inspiration towards a
life of simplicity. St Francis is the
personification of minimalism.
The present scenario that we live in is
divided with two extremes. If one thinks of
progress, advancement, development and
encroachment the other is pushed down to
experience utter poverty, hunger, insecurity
and danger. The system of our society
honours the rich, influential, noisy and
authoritarian individuals in most of the
circumstances. The poor, hungry and sick go
unnoticed and are uncared in most of the
cases in spite of enough and more funds,
provisions and facilities. The idea of
equality is still a dream for many. The
imbalance is clear, the partiality is felt
and the favouritism is rampant among the
people who hold the supreme keys of the
administrations in many sections of the
society that includes religion and its
institutions.
St Francis of Assisi, the founder of
Franciscan movement brings before us the
images of
simplicity, equality and
minimalism. The life of St Francis would
teach us to be minimal and declutter
ourselves from the evil, negative and
unbecoming things that disturb and restrict
a peaceful living. In fact in the recent
times minimalism has become a popular
practice all over the world. Efforts have
been made to free the cluttered mind and
reduce the physical clutter as well.
Decluttering the home/room/workplace can
help declutter the mind.
St Francis of Assisi was born into a wealthy
family to a wealthy dad who was an Italian
cloth merchant. His early years were
carefree, and full of the worldly pleasures
consistent with the prosperous class of
which he was part. But when he started
following Christ he began to share his
possessions with the poor thus becoming a
man of humility and simplicity. He even
decided to share and exchange his clothes
with the beggars. He became the friends of
poor and the lepers. Though in the youth he
intended to become a knight in the royal
court, he d
ecides to follow Jesus and live
the life of radical poverty. He is often
quoted to have said that “People lose
everything they leave behind in this world;
but they carry with them the rewards of
charity and the alms which they gave, for
which they will have a reward and a just
retribution from the Lord.” He had no
possessions and he preached a simple
doctrine of voluntary poverty and love for
all living creatures. These simple teachings
of Francis had many takers. Within a year
eleven young men followed him. It is said
after eleven years of his founding the Order
of Friars Minor his following increased up
to fifty thousand men and women.
Even to this day in the Roman Catholic
Church as well as in ot
her reformative
churches Franciscan family is considered to
be having a largest number of individuals.
Having the largest number of followers
shouldn’t be a criterion to judge the
quality of a religious order/ family. The
sincere life of every individual who has
vowed to walk in the foot prints of St
Francis of Assisi add the meaning to the
teachings he has laid before us in the
present day context.
I consider St Francis to be my role model
for a minimalistic living though I fall
short to his ideals. However I am forever
grateful to the Lord for calling me to be
the part of this Franciscan way of life.
Much have I learnt. Much have I yet to
learn. Joy isn’t found in hoarding up the
wealth rather in sharing it freely and
living with less.
Here are few ideas to promote the
minimalistic culture after the example of St
Francis of Assisi.
Celebrate the Nature:
There is a story told of St Francis on
how he preached to the birds. Near the town
of Bevagna, a four hour walk from Assisi,
Francis and some of his Brothers came upon a
flock of mixed birds. When he saw the birds,
he left his friends on the roadside and ran
toward the birds, greeting them as if they
understood him. The birds perched on bushes
bent their heads toward Francis when he came
near and watched him, curiously. Francis
spoke to the birds, saying, "My brothers,
you have a great obligation to praise your
Creator. He clothed you with feathers and
gave you wings to fly, appointing the clear
air as your home, and He looks after you
without any effort on your part". As he
spoke to the birds, they stretched their
necks toward him, flapped their wings, and
opened their beaks as if they understood his
words. In his enthusiasm, Francis walked
among the birds; his habit brushing against
them, yet not one of the birds moved until
Francis made the sign of the Cross and gave
them permission to leave. Then, with
Francis' blessing, the birds flew away
together.
St Francis wanted to emphasize how, even if
we fail to realize it, nature is heaven
shaped. The be
auty of nature reveals a
deeper, even more beautiful world beyond
this one. Man made things aren’t always able
to convey the same messages, some objects
might be beautiful and lovely but other
products are disposable and utilitarian.
St Francis may have given away all his
possessions, but he never gave away his
appreciation for natural beauty. To be a
minimalist doesn’t mean we have to only
inhabit plain, ugly surroundings. In his
“Canticle of the Creatures” Francis
enthuses: “Brother Sun, who brings the day …
is beautiful and radiant in all his
splendour!” The more we’re able to share
this attitude and see the beauty all around
us, whether that be simply noticing the
sunrise, taking a walk in the park, or
playing catch with your dog in the backyard,
the less stuff we’ll need in our lives.
Be Generous:
Having things isn’t bad simply because they
are things. Purchasing many things and
hoarding them after a single or few uses
bad. It doesn’t mean we have throw them
away. Someone else could greatly benefit if
I were to share it. St Francis didn’t live a
minimalistic lifestyle for his own selfish
purposes rather he lived that way so that he
could be more generous to others. St Francis
travelled a lot and spent time in prayer and
charity. He got rid of all material
restrictions on himself so that he could
give his life away in love to others. So,
when the cleaning bug strikes, we too can
consider how to be generous not only with
the things we want, rather in giving out
that things that keep us more comfortable.
Generosity builds up treasure in the heart
and wins a far more important possession –
the love and gratitude of others.
Be an Example:
Francis was a trend setter. He was an
example of letting go. He lived a life of
extreme poverty.
Many thought he was a mad
man. He worked very hard to overcome the
doubters and organize a religious order. In
the end he was marginalized by his own
followers, who were attempting to change his
ideals for the community. But through it all
he never lost his joy and peace of mind.
It takes courage to let go, to loosen your
grip on the material possessions that
provide comfort. It needs courage to be on a
minimal path. It takes courage not to worry
about people making fun of you for being
different. Francis took courage and never
worried about what anybody said about him.
If there’s one thing that St Francis can
teach us through the idea of minimalism is,
that life is what we make of it and if we’re
brave enough to cut ourselves free from
anything that holds us back, the reward is
well worth the effort.
If you are willing to make a choice of
simple and a beautiful living here it is!
Get in touch with any Capuchin Franciscan
priest you know or whom you find on social
media.
We are here to help you. Your choice of
Franciscan Religious life is a blessing to
your family and society.
Do not delay!
The Story of my Religious Vocation
- Rev Fr Jossy Fernandes, Capuchin
- (The director of English section of Padre
Pio Shrine, Italy)
The Seed:
The story of my vocation takes me back
to 1956 when I was just five years old. I
used to accompany my devout parents to the
church on Sundays and watch the parish
priest celebrating mass in Latin facing the
wall and showing his back to the faithful. I
took home my own innocent and ignorant
impressions of what took place at the altar.
Once home, wearing my granny’s half saree (zuner)
torn in the middle (chasuble) I used to
‘celebrate’ mass in my own way, with a cup
and a saucer as chalice and pattern, singing
“Dominus vobiscum” and “Ite missa est”. This
childhood experience remains still fresh in
me. I used to think that from the monstrance
in which the consecrated host was placed (vodlo
kumgar) during the holy hour on first
Sundays of the month the small particles (dakte
kumgar) were miraculously formed on the
bronze “sunbeams” of the monstrance! At that
time I never told my parents or grandparents
about my thoughts but preserved them in my
heart. After my first communion at the age
of 8, which is one of the most impressive
spiritual experiences I cherish even today,
I had a desire to serve mass at the altar as
I was drawn by the red skirt and white gown
(lob ani koth) the altar boys wore. At the
age of 9 I joined the parish altar boys
sodality of St. John Berchmans. As I was
small in stature and had no much experience
of serving at the altar they did not give me
the red-ribbon(pinth) worn around the neck
by senior altar boys (a regret which I still
have). But I used to serve the mass quite
enthusiastically(even today I like to serve
the mass though I am a priest for 40 years.
Role of Parents: My parents were fervent
members of the Third Order of St. Francis of
Assisi, begun in our parish even before 1950
by a very zealous Capuchin friar – Fr.
Vincent Lobo, of happy memory. (That the
Third Order Fraternity in the parish
struggled to survive due to the hostile
attitude of the later Parish Priest,
Alphonsus D’Cunha at that time, is quite
another story. Due to it only the roots (Kuthi)
of OFS survived until the transfer of this
parish priest.). I used to see my parents
wear the large scapular of the third Order
and attend the monthly meets of the
fraternity without fail. They also used to
wear the Franciscan cord of the third Order.
Occasionally we used to pray the Franciscan
Crown (7 decades) instead of the five
decades of the rosary. My father used to
intone the old Franciscan hymn; “Bhagevonta
bhapa Frasca” after the Franciscan crown. My
parents were a devout Christian couple by
any count, loving each other very much,
doing hard work in their farm and trying to
bring up their children (me and my younger
brother Freddy) gracefully.
The Sprout: Loretto parish being in a
village setting, and my parental house being
6 Km away from the nearest little town,
Bantwal, schooling was really a problem as
the church insisted that the Catholic
children be sent to Catholic schools. The
nearest high school at that time was in
Bantwal, and if one had to attend it one had
to make it all the way on foot to and fro.
My uncle, Sebastian Fernandes, finished his
higher primary studies in 1949 and his
parents wanted that he should study further.
As if God-sent, Fr. Denis Pinto, S.J.
visited our parish and recruited my uncle as
a candidate for the Society of Jesus and
admitted him in Gonzaga House, Mangalore to
do his high school studies in St. Aloysius
High School (He completed 50 years as a
Jesuit and died on 10 February 2015)..
Three years later as I was studying in VII
Standard, a SVD priest visited St. Patrick’s
H.P. School, Siddakatte where I had joined
for my higher primary studies. He spoke on
the religious vocation and missionary work
in Northern India to the Catholic boys of
sixth and seventh standards. Close on his
heals came Fr. Vincent Lobo, OFMCap for
recruiting vocations at Siddakatte. He wore
a long beard and a simple brown habit with a
cord, with his head half shaven (Franciscan
crown). He too addressed the Catholic boys
and later met each one of them individually.
When Fr. Vincent came to know that I was the
son of Charles and Bendicta Fernandes whom
he knew well as members of OFS, he was
simply thrilled. He offered me the book
“Assisiso Sant Francis” to read along with
“Kristanv Kutmaso Sevak” and other booklets
like “Dev Apovnem”. Next he made it a point
to visit my parents at home: My father used
to call Fr. Vincent: “Kadaso Aab” even at
that time! Fr. Vincent came to know that my
uncle had gone to Gonzaga House. He asked my
father: “Bhavak Jeguitank dadloi, atam
puthak Kapuchinank dijoi tunvem”! “Taka mon
asa jalyar, Father, moji kaim adkol na”,
answered my father. Already drawn by the
good example of my parents, and attracted by
Fr. Vincent’s winsome ways, I was also
inspired by the reading of the life of St.
Francis and the other books to respond to
God’s call. On my completion of higher
primary studies Fr. Vincent Lobo, who was
also the director of Assisi House, Bejai at
that time welcomed me to the Apostolic
School to begin my High School studies in
Mangalore. It was in Assisi House that my
vocation was gradually nurtured, through
prayer, good example of friars and above all
God’s boundless graces and blessings. There
were times when I had doubts about my
vocation, maturing as I was in age,
knowledge and experience. I did hesitate and
look to my left and right, but I never
turned back!
For the love
of Christ, in the footsteps of St Francis of
Assisi
Pope Francis had declared October month as
“Extraordinary Missionary Month”. It’s truly
our duty to carry out the mission of Christ
and to prove our faith in him as
missionaries. Being a Capuchin Franciscan
Friar I have been privileged to serve Christ
in the parts of North East India along with
my fifteen Capuchin brothers.
You being a young reader and a fan of St
Francis, I thought of sharing with a few of
my missionory experiences here in North
East.
I was blessed to be the first priest to be
ordained from my native parish, Our Lady of
Fathima Church, Perampalli on 2nd May 2016.
Just like every one of us have desires in
life being a young and new priest I too had
some desires - to serve Christ with my own
people, to work among Konkani speaking
people, to enjoy Manglorean delicious food
etc. It is said that whatever we desire in
life need not be according to the will of
God. Similar was my experience! Within six
months of my ordination I was asked to go to
Nagaland by my then provincial superior.
Though initially I was not interested to be
a missionary, under the obedience I said yes
and landed at Dimapur in Nagaland. Now that
I was far away from my own people and home
land, I never felt that I was very far
because as a priest I was enjoying my
priestly ministry with simple comforts and a
good time in Dimapur city. I didn’t lack the
things which I was looking for and really
felt that I was in my own land.
After spending one year and seven months in
Dimapur I was transferred to a place called
Tamlu. As I reached Tamlu, I got to
experience those things I never ever
expected in my life. Tamlu is a remote
village which is 8 hours away from Dimapur.
It’s a village without connecting roads, in
some places roads do not existed yet
vehicles keep moving. It takes minimum 2
hours to reach a good market. The house
where we Capuchin Fathers stay is a very
simple house made up of bamboos and tins.
There is not continuous power supply.
Initially the life in this village became
really a hard challenge for me. In the
beginning I felt like running away back to
my home, but as the days were passing I
started to love this place, the calm and
beautiful greenery made me to fall in love
with the nature like St Francis of Assisi.
Day by day I experienced the love of these
people and who gave a warm welcome in their
families.
I used to wonder who are actually the
missionaries, what should be their
qualification, what exactly a missionary
does etc,. Having lived in Tamlu I, now
understand that a missionary needs nothing
other than the thirst for prayer and the
grace of God. One must be willing to accept
the reality, things and people around him.
One must be willing to sacrifice comforts,
desires and likings for the love of Christ.
We the Capuchins missionaries apply these
qualities to work for the people. Having
spent sixteen months in Tamlu, I have
experienced good many blessings from the
Lord through different people. We need no
qualification, other than finding the love
of Christ among the people with whom we
live. As a missionary in North East India we
usually get engaged in teaching/school
ministry. Apart from teaching, we visit the
villages, families, sit with them, talk to
them, eat with them and pray with them.
There are many Christian people who do not
experience Eucharistic Lord in their life
because there are no sufficient priests to
reach out to the remotest villages and
celebrate Holy Eucharist for them. We
fifteen young Capuchins from the Holy
Trinity Province, Karnataka are working as
missionaries in four places of Nagaland and
two places of Manipur. We need to reach out
many more places but with fifteen members it
is not possible.
My dear young enthusiastic reader, the Lord
is calling you to come and serve Him in
North East or elsewhere as a missionary. I
assure you that if you become a missionary
you will experience Jesus and God’s love
through these people. Today I’m happy and
proud to be a Capuchin Francisscan because I
feel satisfied with the ministry and the
service that I render to the people of God.
This is possible just because of the prayers
and support given by everyone.
Do not hesitate to come forward and opt and
be a wonderful religious Capuchin
Franciscan. You are always welcome to
experience our brotherhood as a Capuchin
Friar. God Bless You!
Fr
Brayan Anthony DSousa, Capuchin
Perampalli - Udupi
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