BY KATRINA FURMAN
Franciscan University students joined together for the first Household Life Mass of the semester on Friday, January 20. Both household members and supporting students filled the Finnegan Fieldhouse to celebrate the current households, as well as the four new households being inaugurated into the campus community.
"The purpose of Household Life Mass is to come together in the larger community of Household Life, to engage in the supreme act of prayer that we as Catholics can participate in," said the Rev. Gregory Plow, T.O.R. and coordinator of Household Life.
The four new households include Illuminata Pace, Prodigal Sons' Return, Spirit & Truth, and Guardians of the Divine Will. Illuminata Pace, which has been in existence for several years prior, but was gone inactive last semester due to circumstances beyond their control, was reactivated at the inauguration.
"There can be no 'tracing' of another Household's charism or covenant," said Plow. "With 48 households, however, it's inevitable that there will be some overlap, especially when it comes to patron saints."
Jacob Stanley, coordinator and one of the founders of Guardians of the Divine Will household, said that they had not been dissatisfied with the already existing households. Rather, they felt the Holy Spirit calling them to share a new expression of their faith with the campus.
"What we hope to offer is the formation needed to live a radical, daily walk with Christ in all of our circumstances," he said. "Our goal is to learn how to offer every single moment and circumstance in our day to the Divine Will, including our studies, our athletics, musical and artistic talents, and all of our other abilities. As we pursue this goal, we will be well equipped, so that when we graduate, we will be able to live as true Catholic men in our workplaces, family lives, and in society at large."
When potential household founders meet with Plow, he listens to the ideas and thoughts they present, and tells them to take these ideas to prayer. He asks them to read through selected covenants of both active and inactive households that sound similar to the household they are envisioning in their proposal.
Veronica Ford, coordinator of Illuminata Pace, explained the uniqueness of their household in being the only women's household dedicated to St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. "The only other Franciscan household on campus is our brother household, the Brotherhood of St. Francis," she said.
She also added that Illuminata Pace feels very blessed to be welcomed back into household life. "Our goals this semester are to have a fresh start, recruit new members, and incorporate more aspects of Franciscan spirituality into our daily lives."
New founders must also present a Lord's Day service, intent process and induction ceremony, all of which can take another couple of months at least to finish. "It usually takes between four and seven drafts to achieve a written covenant that has a tight flow and concisely relates to one another," said Plow. "The goal is to have a unified covenant versus separate ideas."
Coordinators of Spirit & Truth Household, Sarah Kapp and Kristen Wood , elaborated on the process. "The whole starting of a household is not an easy process. It was challenging at times to get our ideas onto paper, especially the covenant. There is always suffering in whatever is the Lord's will!"
In conclusion, freshman transfer Sam Flynn commented with regards to the Household Life Mass, saying, "It is very unifying as a school; at my old school, they had nothing like this."