SECULAR FR
Seeking to Follow the Gospel C W
Deb Moffitt, OFS
hile attending Mass or other parish functions, you may have noticed some of our parishioners wearing a wooden tau, which resembles the capital letter “T.” The tau is the last letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet, and the symbol St. Francis of Assisi chose as an outward sign of his fidelity in following the footsteps of Christ. Today, the tau is worn by the three orders established by St. Francis — the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of St. Clare (also known as the Poor Clares), and the Third Order of St. Francis, which consists of religious men and women (the Third Order Regular) and laypeople (Secular Franciscans). Our local area is blessed to have a community of Secular Franciscans living, working, and worshiping in our midst. This community draws members from St. Francis Solanus, as well as from parishes in surrounding towns. Formally established the year before our parish came into existence, the Secular Franciscans in Quincy were once the largest fraternity in the nation, with about 150 active members! Today, there are about 30 Secular Franciscans in our local order. Deb Moffitt, OFS, Minister of the Secular Franciscans in Quincy, made her profession in 2009, but her ties to the Franciscans go back much further. Growing up in Chicago, she attended a Franciscan high school. The nuns’ motherhouse was attached to the school, and
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“For people that know Francis, we know that he was very much into simplicity and poverty of material things, with a poverty of spirit meaning humility and not being prideful. It also means being very aware of and focused outward on the people around us, on what’s going on with them and their trials. So our charism is related to that, and we try to bring that charism where we work and where we live. We attempt to bring the Gospel to life and life to the Gospel.”
— Deb Moffitt, OFS
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