To be a Friar Minor is to be poor for love of God in imitation of Jesus Christ when on this earth. Here lies one of the main reasons - a promise of eternal beatitude in His Father’s house (Mt. 25: 34-40) - for begging by the Friars Minor, or the 'lesser brethren', since Our Lord says that whatever you do for the “least of My brethren you have done it to Me.”  It is therefore for supernatural reasons, not natural, that Friars beg and live in poverty: so that others will receive the promise of Our Lord.

 

Our Vow also gives honor to God’s Providence, trusting Our Lord when He said that “if you seek the Kingdom of God and His Justice” (Mt. 6: 33) then He will take care of our necessities in this life. This is the rule and life of the Friars Minor: “to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” not just in word but in deed.

 

Finally, the vision of Saint Francis is that the Friars are poor, having as their only possession Our Dear Lord and His Holy Mother, that by leaving “house, brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name’s sake, shall possess life everlasting” and that being the last voluntarily in this life the Friars shall be first with Our Lord for eternity. (Mt. 19:29)

 

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