Today's Word

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Mass at a beautiful old church that has been closed for the past seven years and is being reopened and restored to house a newly established group of Franciscans. Their bare feet and rough wool habits led to some discussion about what makes them different from the diocesan priests we usually see, and like most good conversation, that led to learning something new, which in turn leads to Today's Word.

Evangelical Counsels

The vows (promises) of poverty, chastity, and obedience taken by those in consecrated life. These vows were first made in the twelfth century by Saint Francis and those in his newly established group, and now form the basis of the life and conduct of all religious communities.