During St. Michael’s Lent, our spiritual guides will take on a new, daily role. This holy season was pioneered by St. Francis of Assisi who prayed on the top of Mount La Verna, where he received the gift of the stigmata. We have two Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) serving as our spiritual guides, helping us to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis. Each day they will lead us in prayer, read our Scripture passage and reflection, and then offer their own insights.
Fr. Innocent and Fr. Angelus Montgomery are triplet brothers who have worked extensively in formation for their order. Fr. Innocent has led formation for postulants, the men who come initially to discern a possible vocation with their order, and then Fr. Angelus takes over for the next step of the novitiate. They are from Lincoln, Nebraska, and were drawn to the CFRs in New York City independently. Fr. Innocent shared: “I think one of the most singular graces of my life is that Father Angelus and I were called together. To be consecrated with my triplet brother, to be consecrated with my best friend, and to be priests together and to work together in formation is probably one of the most singular graces of my life that God has given me. We always joke that from the womb we believe that God called us. That’s an incredible gift.” They often cooperate in the apostolate, such as in the “Poco a Poco Podcast.”
During Lent this last year, we read daily from Fr. Innocent’s book, Born of Fire, which grew out of trips he took with postulants into the deserts of the Southwest, helping them to understand the masculine identity rooted in the roles of son, brother, man, spouse, father, mystic, and “new man.” The book fits perfectly with Exodus’s charism of coming to freedom in Jesus Christ by embracing our true identity as sons of the heavenly Father.
As spiritual guides, we will experience the joy they share together as brother priests as they proclaim the Gospel. Throughout St. Michael’s Lent, they will offer practical insights on prayer, asceticism, and fraternity from their own experience as Franciscan brothers in community. They will bring St. Francis to life as we make our own journey to grow in faith and conformity to the Cross of Christ.
