Dear Reader,
Peace and all good to you! Here is a personal reflection from Sofia, one of our Inquirers in the Secular Franciscan Order.
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As a young Catholic woman on the internet, I felt isolated. Because of my own theological views and opinions, which are still in strict adherence with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I was essentially bullied out of spaces because I didn’t fit their incredibly narrow view of what Catholicism looked like. I have noticed my fellow young people flock to said online spaces as their own religious order, living according to their own theological views and practices. They live in this bubble of rigidity, where if you don’t meet their criteria, suddenly you’re a lukewarm Catholic, which is the worst sin of all. Except that I am not a lukewarm Catholic, I attend mass at least once a week and adoration, I regularly confess my sins, I pray every night, and I am in formation to join the Secular Franciscan Order. I took it upon myself the month after I turned 18 to begin researching third orders. I knew I wanted to live a religiously devoted life, but I couldn’t figure out if God was calling me to be a sister or live in the secular world.
Eventually, I realized that this path the Lord was leading me on was towards the Secular Franciscan Order. I knew it would be a long and stressful process, as I was just about to enter college, but I was confident that God would comfort me throughout. However, one of the unanticipated aspects of joining a religious third order as a young person would be the age differences between me and my fellow brothers and sisters within the fraternity. Currently, I am 18, turning 19 in 3 months, and I believe the average age of the fraternity is roughly 50 years of age. The age difference between my fellow members of the fraternity and me is quite noticeable, as I believe that I am the only member under the age of 30, either currently going through formation or fully professed. Even within the entire nation, I believe I am part of a small minority within the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States. I’ll even go so far as to say that internationally, those aged under 30 make up an incredibly small percentage of those currently professed or going through formation. To put this into perspective, I will be barely 20 years old when I am fully professed. I am pretty sure I am in the same age group as my fellow fraternity members’ children and grandchildren. This isn’t a negative, but the generational gap is quite apparent sometimes, but then I forget about it when I reflect upon the words of Christ with them.
Being in formation for the Secular Franciscan Order is arguably one of the best things I have ever done in my life, and I am so happy that I have been met with mountains of support from my brothers and sisters within this great Order.
by Sofia Arbeen
OFS Inquirer
Mt. La Verna Fraternity
Charlottesville, VA
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