Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Plough Quarterly • Summer  Gabriel, giving up marriage has also given him what he calls “spiritual fathership” in the lives of couples he counsels at a nearby church. When I asked Father Gabriel why the friars live together in a community, rather than spread out among those they seek to serve, he pointed out that they are not called to live as hermits, but rather they live together to help each other. It would be difficult, he suggested, to maintain the Francis- can life of prayer, service, and poverty without support. Indeed, the friars’ lives are intensely communal. From the time they enter the friary as postulants, they spend most of their day together. Religious classes, mealtimes, and recreational activities are all seen as chances to encourage and serve one another. By living and praying together, the friars enrich each other. Of course, living in such close quarters is not always easy. I asked Brother Rufino, the friar in charge of the postulants’ education, if tensions ever arise. He responded with a story from his time as a postulant, when he was put in a group with a brother he couldn’t stand. Incapable of seeing eye to eye with this other postulant but unable to avoid him in the small friary, Brother Rufino prayed that they would be put in different houses. After bringing the conflict to God, Brother Rufino was suddenly able to see this man as a brother, and they learned to love each other. Still, God humored his request, and they were placed in different houses after being confirmed. After spending a day among the friars, one ceases to view them as indistinguishable in their beards and gray-hooded robes. Yes, they seek to become one body in Christ, and they all feel the same call to serve the poor, but they each have a unique journey that brought them to the Franciscan Friars. Father Gabriel’s parents, for example, were Palestinian refugees who, after a stretch in a Jordanian refugee camp, traveled to America. They worked hard to give their children a brighter economic future than they had experienced. Imagine, then, their dismay when their son announced his intention to reject the American dream and live a life of voluntary poverty. But Father Gabriel, as part of the friary, is doing work he loves in a community of brothers who, like him, heard a call from God and answered it. As Saint Francis himself did some eight hundred years ago, today these friars provide comfort and support to those in need, in the heart of New York City and beyond. Learn more about the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at www.franciscanfriars.com. Photograph © 2014 FOCUS. Reprinted by permission of The Fellowship of Catholic University Students.