Life as a brother or sister in the Franciscan Fraternity of Hope is allowing God to carry out His work within us. It is letting Christ act through our simple life, our prayer, our community, and our service. In this fraternity, to live as a brother or sister means becoming a humble instrument of God’s love, following Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare.
God delights in working through instruments. All creation reflects His goodness, and every person is called to share in His work. Our humanity—fragile, limited, yet loved—can become a place where God reveals Himself when we open ourselves to His action with trust and simplicity.
A brother or sister is someone who desires to live the Gospel with an available heart. Their life is not an individual project but a response to God’s call. In prayer they open themselves to the action of the Spirit; in community they learn to love and to be loved; in simplicity they discover inner freedom; in service they become a sign of hope for those who seek light amid fragility.
Living this vocation does not mean being perfect, but being available. God acts through our voice when we console, through our hands when we serve, through our silence when we pray. Every gesture, even the smallest, can become an instrument of grace when lived in union with Christ.
Within the fraternity, some may feel a particular call to certain spiritual or pastoral services. This call does not separate them from the community; it becomes integrated into it as a concrete way of serving. But the fundamental vocation of all is the same: to live the Gospel with simplicity, to be a presence of hope, and to walk as sisters and brothers for all.
To live as a brother or sister is, ultimately, to allow Christ to live in us. It is letting Him transform our life into a channel of His mercy. It is walking with humility, joy, and trust, knowing that God can do wonders even with what is small. It is being an instrument of peace, light, and hope in the midst of the world.
Franciscan Fraternity of Hope 