The Secular Franciscan Order is not just another spiritual organization, club or society; not just another undertaking to tack on to other spiritual things a person is already involved in. Problems arise when you are involved in, for example, the Charismatic movement. Good! You have good reasons and you tell us what those reasons are; they all seem good. Then you reach a point in your profession and find a conflict. Now, what is happening? Are you satisfied now to be a Franciscan? Yes, but ... You become restless and hear members talking about committing yourself to the Franciscan way of life — to its obligations.
Where is your loyalty, your dedication to this Franciscan way you were so excited about before. Now you are allowing another spirituality, good though it my be, to push it aside.
The Franciscan way of life cannot be pushed aside. Once you go through the ceremony of profession, where you stand up there in that deeply religious ceremony during Mass and solemnly pledge before God to live under the Rule and Constitutions of the Secular Franciscan Order, you assume for life this obligation. You cannot take it off like a removable garment so that you can put on another garment you prefer for the moment. You cannot because it is not a removable garment. It is a part of you just as surely as your skin. You cannot zipper into and out of your skin or the Franciscan Order. It goes right along with you wherever you go. True Franciscanism requires sacrifices, at times, for the good of your fraternity and of the Franciscan Order.
The Eucharistic ministry is an edifying and necessary work in our parishes, but if you are a Secular Franciscan and want to become a Eucharistic minister, in my opinion, you have an obligation to schedule your times of serving around the day of your regular Franciscan meeting. Make it known to the person in charge of your schedule that such-and-such day is the day of your Franciscan meeting and you cannot serve that day — any other day, yes, happily and gladly; but, not your Franciscan meeting day.
Your Franciscan way of life begins in, is nurtured on, and blossoms out of your Franciscan meeting. This is your community life. Only for a good and acceptable reason should you skip a regular meeting. There are times, such as health problems and family matters, that you skip a regular meeting, but to do it month after month because you prefer something else is a violation of your solemn profession promise. A sincere, dedicated, loyal Secular Franciscan will not tolerate in him or herself such a violation.
Without our regular monthly meetings, our Franciscan Order will come to a dead end and cease to exist. We all owe it to God, St. Francis, and our brothers and sisters of our fraternity, who NEED our presence at the meetings, not to let that happen.