Francis so greatly loved Lady Poverty that he vowed himself to her. In this marriage he and his first companions lived their lives on the radical edge, relying on the lord of all blessing for daily sustenance in a wondrous intimacy and vulnerability. They worked for food or begged at “the lord's table”. They slept out in the open, in caves and fields. This was not the strenous discipline of austerity and detachment so easily given over to ego.Theirs was the discipline of love - letting go, vulnerability and trust.

Within his own brief lifetime, his followers caused Francis much anguish as they set about redefining the meaning of poverty. Although owning property was never allowed, sleeping indoors in houses set aside for them by the church was. Franciscans studied and had libraries. But even these Franciscans who modified the original rule were enamored of Lady Poverty, defining their spiritual calling through the lens of their union with her.

Throughout the eight hundred years since Francis' death, those who follow this simple way have redefined the meaning of this union with Lady Poverty in the light of their own cultures and times. Some things remain consistent.

The gifts of Lady Poverty are known to those of us who accept our personal powerlessness over people, place, things, and our own frailty, those of us who let go, bottom out, weep ourselves into the silence after flailing about for years. Lady Poverty blesses those who finally embrace what is fearful, horror ridden or simply disappointing within ourselves or in our world. The flowers that bloom from this barren field are unexpected manna flashing with color in the fields of ripened grain.

Franciscan spirituality has always been of the lower way, one of subtraction, not addition. The focus is not on accumulation of wealth in position, power, material goods, or in intellectual form. These things eventually pass away. Everything is gift, nothing is owned. For what is owned eventually owns us. We have vested interests and hidden agendas to protect what we possess. By subtracting our lives grow larger; in solidarity with all creation. We experience a radical freedom and spontaneity to listen and respond to the word of God in our hearts and in our brothers and sisters.

Franciscan spirituality has always defined itself by solidarity with the working class, the poor, the disenfranchised, the third world and outcast. In the Fourth Order, no matter our position in society, our identity is informed by our unity with those who lives are lived on the edge. Our work, prayer, and values reflect this wisdom.

Franciscan tradition suggests that we are free to engage in any work as long as that work does not impede the spirit of prayer. Here there is a caution toward discernment. Perhaps we are to master living prayerfully within certain work and life circumstances or perhaps we are to change our work or circumstances so our prayer may flourish.

Franciscan spirituality has always cherished and loved our fellow creatures, the sun, moon, stars and mother earth. These offer us life sustaining beauty and companionship. As humans we are responsible to offer the same life sustaining care to our mother earth and companion creatures. As children of God we are in a sacred relationship with one another.

In Franciscan spirituality emptiness is not the opposite of fullness. Emptiness is a condition of 'isness'. There is no striving to become something or to accomplish something. There is no giving or receiving except in the river of breath that becomes one river, one great movement, one now in the precious present. Here it is in empty presence we find unspeakable union in ourselves, with each other, with God. No words can express this.

In the Fourth Order we embrace these ancestral Franciscan wisdoms, even as we contemplate our relationship to Lady Poverty in our own time. As an integrated multifaith spiritual community we let go of our intellectual and safety needs to sum up the divine plan for the world. Even as we practice in our own faith systems, we realize these are mere shadows of ultimate reality. We embrace the poverty of not knowing clearly the specifics of ultimate truth. Humbly we open the door of sitting joyfully with our brothers and sisters of many faiths, cultures and spiritual paths. We do not deny who we are in this world. We simply lean on that blessed cloud of unknowing that rests between us and gracious mystery. This is our poverty.