Secular Franciscan Order

I made some contacts to get information about the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) locally. I knew there were two fraternities, but I did not know exactly where they met or when.

I got word yesterday and today. One group meets on Friday evenings about 10 minutes from my house at a hospice I have supported for years! The other meets on Monday evenings in a nearby town, about 20-25 minutes away. Monday evenings are when the liturgical band I'm in, Rock of Faith, practices.

Hmm. Could Someone be directing me a certain way?

I will go to the nearer group when next they meet (in September) to see what the meetings are like, to meet the members, to try to discern if this is a possible path.

On a related note, I recently stopped by the local Catholic book shop and noticed they had a copy of Rossellini's The Flowers of St. Francis, a movie that's on the Vatican list of great films http://www.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml

The USCCB describes it as: "The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) Remarkable Italian production about the beginnings of the Franciscan Order as its founder sets the example of humility, simplicity and obedience for his first followers at Portiuncula, a little chapel near Assisi, from which they depart into the world to preach peace. Directed by Roberto Rossellini from a script co-written with Federico Fellini, the movie's form is as simple and sincere as the subject of the narrative which relates a series of little incidents realistically, yet with an infectious sense of joy marvellously conveyed by an anonymous cast of monks from a Roman monastery."

The Good-Looking-One and I watched it over the last two nights. I enjoyed it. Because it consists of vignettes, it's one of those movies you can watch in installments. There are sections I will view again. It also made me wonder about the play potential of the little stories told about St. Francis.