The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

2010 Annual Retreat Day 

Companion Carmen Bruce, FCM,  shared the following reflection on Sr. Marie Lucey’s presentation for companions and sisters.

In March I had the good fortune of participating in the 2010 Lenten Retreat Day for sisters and companions. Sr. Marie Lucey addressed the topic “Lady Poverty, Francis, and a Relational Economy.” She began by confessing that she was neither an economist nor a scholar. I discovered, however, that she is a gifted teacher and presenter who can

• take a difficult subject that causes much despair and form it into a message of hope,

• compare and contrast the global economic picture of the 21^st century with that of the 13^th century of Assisi and show the way Francis shaped and reframed the economics of his day,

• listen deeply to the hearts and minds of attendees and respond with a compassionate, thoughtful, loving presence that both encourages and inspires the listener and the seeker.

Sr. Marie provided ready references about the economic climate and the evolution of work:

• concept suggested by Hazel Henderson of a four-layer economic cake with each layer resting on the one below, the top layer being the private sector and the bottom layer the natural/environmental layer

• three phases of economic change: breakdown, fibrillation, and breakthrough.

• shift from production work to a more abstract form of work-service

• widening gap between the rich and poor in terms of economics as well as class

• movement away from the power of the poor (the ones who work) to the leadership of the masters who view the workers as units of economic value, exploit the workers through uncompensation or under-compensation, and accumulate capital in order to invest and accumulate more capital.

However, all is not lost through the excesses of economic “growth,” because economic visionaries and institutions with conscience question and challenge the status quo and its inequities and because there are clear signs that the global economy is in the early stage of breakthrough.

To compare the Franciscan model of economics with the current state of affairs, we were invited to examine the 21^st century realities of

• production of goods and services—with weapons as our major export,

• distribution of goods and services,

• consumption, particularly the emergence of the Post World War II “consumer culture,”

• global financial crisis,

• national debt.

In our group discussion, we gained a fuller awareness of the current economic challenges and were left with a clearer understanding of the root of economics—“economy is about people” and “eco means household.”

How do the economic conditions of the 21^st century differ from those of Francis’ day? How was he shaped by the times? How did he shape the culture in which he lived?

How do we in our day draw hope from the founder of our tradition and his more sustainable, more equitable, more harmonious form of relational economics? Francis rejected the domination model in economics and politics and knew that possessions cause stress and strife. The characteristics of the Franciscan Rule give evidence to his views: 

• work: sufficiency, simplicity, service, sharing

• begging

• possessions

Through work, the early Franciscans built the economy of relationship to support the fraternal way of life without accumulating and were not dependent on the system. After Francis fell in love with Jesus, he became devoted to the Poor Christ and to Lady Poverty and came to know the world as cloister—not as monastery. Through his example, a tradition began in which the Franciscans have always been involved in the economic questions of the day. Francis shaped Assisi and Assisi shaped him. With the 13^th Century movement towards city states, the merchant class began as did class division. Francis was very much influenced by the French and felt intimately the effects of working for profit through his painful relationship with his father, a business merchant. The Pact of 1210 for “all men of Assisi” excluded women, children, and those who are poor and. Francis saw that the quest for the accumulation of money translated into power and control and represented an unjust, exclusive system. He lived in opposition to the economic oppression of his day.

Sr. Marie led us into a session on Francis, Lady Poverty, and relational economy by inviting us to reflect upon the following three questions: 

• Did I have any new insights, learning, questions?
• Do I note any similarities between 13^th century economy and 21^st century economy?
• How am I shaped by my culture, the economic system in particular, as Francis

and the early Franciscans were shaped by theirs? What do I buy into? What do I resist?

These questions could very easily serve as a periodic examen to encourage a more conscious lifestyle. Having listened to the economic and employment data provided

by Sr. Marie, having gone through a door of discovery, having seen more clearly and with grater sensitivity our suffering world, there is hope. There are signs of breakthrough:

• Catholic Social Teachings of the 20/21^st century

• Pope Benedict XVI’s call for a radical rethinking of the global economy, urging us to assume greater responsibility with regard to sufficiency, simplicity, service, and sharing, similar to the early Franciscans

• Revenue options and the five principles for a “relational economy” suggested by David Cauturier, OFM

• Sojourners article (2/10) describing the GDP as the greatest idol of our times, noting that growth also kills through pollution, depletion, congestion, and loss of biodiversity

• FEE (Faith, Ecology, Economy) information—not just about growth but also about uneconomic growth and degrowth

I left the retreat knowing there is hope. There are many voices of conscience and laborers in the vineyard who are doing their part, however small or seemingly insignificant, to create an alternative economy and a better world.