EARLIER THIS YEAR, the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province took an unusual route in reaching out to young men about considering a life of prayer and spiritual service in our Catholic faith community.

With our Manhattan provincial headquarters a virtual stone’s throw away from a subway stop, the friars decided to sponsor an advertisement on a New York City subway car, aimed at riders. It boldly asked: “Day Shift, Night Shift — How about a Life Shift?”

The question itself, the location where it was posed, and the uncertain economic climate we live in all created an opportunity for those seeing the ad to reflect upon the purpose of their individual lives and the possibility to do something more meaningful and rewarding in serving God and others.

The ad’s uniqueness led to stories on CNN and National Public Radio; such newspapers as the New York Post also took notice.

As Franciscans, we know making a “life shift” can be very risky. We have our own history of taking risks to fulfill our mission to be “heralds of the Gospel in the midst of society.”

This history began eight centuries ago this spring in 1209, when a dozen shabbily dressed men managed to gain entry to the Papal Court. To gain an audience with the pope then, just like in 2009, was no easy feat. But these men and their calling were different. Led by a young man named Francis from the town of Assisi, in present-day Italy, these men sought the approval of Pope Innocent III to lead a radical life according to the pattern of the Gospel, and to preach penance to the people.

The pope granted their petition and thus officially launched the largest and most popular religious movement in all of Catholic history. But what exactly did Francis, known to many as the patron saint of animals, the environment and peace, mean by “living according to the pattern of the Gospel”? How is that relevant and why is it risky in 2009?

For starters, this life demands “doing penance” — not in the sense of performing one or other acts of self-denial, but radically renouncing a life “in the world” based on self-interest and re-orienting oneself toward the values of the reign of God. Francis and his brothers abandoned all their possessions, deliberately choosing “to follow the humility and poverty of our Lord, Jesus Christ” by becoming “lesser ones, subject to all.”

They believed, by making this choice, they could more easily open their hearts to God and one another — thus creating a new type of belonging, a brotherhood of mutual care based on Gospel values. Franciscan scholar David Flood said, “They left the world to get closer to people.” The friars are then in a position to call on others to change their lives as well. Franciscan priests and brothers live the Gospel today as preachers, confessors, teachers, pastors and workers in various ministries, while helping the poor and the marginalized of society in such important areas as peace and social justice, education, medicine and immigration.

They do not abandon “the world” but instead plunge into it in a modern way. You can see this on the streets of Manhattan every morning, when the friars host the longest-running daily breadline in the United States.

The challenge as we begin the next 800 years is to continue to find “new” ways within modern society to share Christ’s love as proclaimed through the Gospel and to foster a deeper relationship for individuals with God. One way may be found on the inside wall of a subway car.

The Rev. Dominic V. Monti is vicar provincial for Holy Name Province, which sponsors the Church of St. Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, St. Francis Chapel and Chapel Ministry Center and the Poverello Center. The friar is the former interim president of St. Bonaventure University and the author of Francis & His Brothers: A Popular History of the Franciscan Friars (St. Anthony Messenger Press).