C I O F S - LIST

Franciscan formation

(3) Concrete Aspects of Human, Christian, and Franciscan Growth

1. Aspects of human growth

2. Aspects of Christian growth

3. Aspects of Franciscan growth

Listing of the aspects of human, Christian and Franciscan growth

Carl Schäfer OFM: Director or assistant?

(continuation)

(3) Concrete Aspects of Human, Christian, and Franciscan Growth

The human, Christian, and Franciscan aspects of growth, while they may be distinct in theory, develop together as one in practical life.
Among the more important aspects of human, Christian, and Franciscan growth, formation is attentive to the following:

1. Aspects of human growth

(a) In relation to the individual:
- self-knowledge and self-acceptance;
- freedom and responsibility;
- effort to grow physically, psychologically, morally, spiritually, and socially;
- emotional and affective balance;
- sexual growth and integration;
- honesty and loyalty;
- joyfulness and a sense of humour.

(b) In relation to the community:
- ability to relate well with others;
- ability to communicate and face up to conflicts;
- the spirit of co-operation;
- openness and flexibility.

(c) In relation to the world:
- ability to read the "signs of the times";
- solidarity with the poor and marginalised.

2. Aspects of Christian growth

(a) In relation to God:
- a sense of gratitude;
- ongoing conversion;
- a life of faith and hope;
- growth in unconditional love;
- seeking the will of God in all things.

(b) In relation to Church and world:
- a sense of God's presence in the world;
- a knowledge of the Catholic faith;
- a love for the Catholic Church;
- a missionary and ecumenical spirit;
- a pursuit of justice and peace.

3. Aspects of Franciscan growth

a) In relation to God:
- following the poor and humble Christ;
- radically living the Gospel;
- a life of penance;
- the spirit of prayer and devotion.

(b) In relation to Fraternity:
- love for the brotherhood;
- love and comprehension for each brother;
- fraternal service, especially to the old and sick friars;
- loving obedience to one another;
- overcoming egoism, one's own will, and the forces which block the building up of the Fraternity;
- willingness to work with one's own hands;
- participation in community prayer and liturgy.

(c) In relation to Church and world:
- love for the Church;
- loving obedience to her Pastors;
- evangelization and mission;
- a prophetic spirit;
- an option for the poor;
- commitment to reconciliation and forgiveness;
- respect for nature and the environment.

Appended here is a more detailed listing of the aspects of human, Christian and Franciscan growth. Extensive references to the source documents are given in the Appendix to the Ratio Formationis Franciscanae.

(1) ASPECTS OF HUMAN GROWTH

1. a sense of identity and acceptance of self;
2. a sense of personal freedom, initiative and responsibility for one's own life;
3. the capacity to discern, to decide upon and to assume a commitment;
4. the ability to transcend and overcome self-centredness;
5. an awareness and acceptance of the gift of one's own sexuality and the desire to live chastely;
6. the will to develop oneself physically, psychologically, intellectually, socially, morally and spiritually;
7. the willingness to do manual work;
8. an openness and willingness to accept new values, attitudes, perspectives and experiences;
9. the ability to accept, live, dialogue and work with others, including those from different cultures;
10. the ability to develop positive interpersonal relationships with men and women;
11. a sense of justice and of peace;
12. a capacity to be in solidarity with the poor;

(2) ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH

1. a willingness to do the will of God;
2. a willingness to pray and become a person centered in God;
3. a personal relationship with Jesus Christ nurtured by regular celebration of the Sacraments and by reflection on His Word, and a serious commitment to follow Him;
4. a living faith in words and actions;
5. knowledge of the Catholic faith and love for the Church;
6. an awareness of the presence of God and His saving action in one's own life, in the Church and in the world;
7. a willingness to be evangelized and to evangelize;
8. a prophetic, missionary and ecumenical spirit.

(3) ASPECTS OF FRANCISCAN GROWTH

1. a life of penance expressed in the continuing conversion to Christ and to the gospel life according to the spirit of St Francis;
2. living the life of a Franciscan characterized by a peaceful and humble heart, and by a joyful and gracious spirit;
3. a fraternal life expressed in the ability to live with others as brothers and sisters, to embrace the Franciscan family and to be in brotherhood with all people;
4. a spirit of prayer and devotion;
5. a life of open-mindedness and good will for service and work;
6. a life of poverty and simplicity and a willingness to be with and for the poor;
7. a life of justice and of peace;
8. a love and reverential respect for creation and the environment as a reflection of the presence of God;
9. a contemplative attitude in one's personal, community and professional life.

I would like to clarify some points that are important for a correct understanding of the Secular Franciscan Order, so that the friars can give the spiritual assistance that the SFO Rule of 1978 and the SFO General Constitutions of 1991 expect us to give. These comments are based on my replies to friar-priests who have shared their problems.
The Secular Franciscans everywhere have adopted the Rule of 1978. Therefore, they consider that they form a single Secular Franciscan Order and a single National Fraternity. They no longer accept the idea of, for example, a "Conventual" or "Capuchin" National Minister, but they understand correctly that they elected a single National Minister who does not belong to any jurisdiction of the friars. The Secular Franciscans are not friars. They are not members of our religious Fraternities or of our Provinces. They are members of their own local Fraternities, of their Regional Fraternities, and of their own National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order.
Each local Fraternity should have a priest appointed as its Spiritual Assistant by the Minister Provincial of one of the four Orders of friars (OFM, Capuchin, Conventual or Third Order Regular) (cf. Rule, 26). If the Spiritual Assistant is not a Franciscan priest, he is to be a priest nevertheless, according to the General Constitutions, Art.91. If he is unable to attend the Fraternity regularly, he can have the cooperation of a Spiritual Animator.
The Spiritual Assistant is not the Director of the local Fraternity, or its Secretary or its Treasurer. He is a member of the local Fraternity Council, with the right to vote in all matters, except in financial decisions. His vote counts as one, just as the vote of each secular Councillor counts as one (cf. Const. 89).
If these are the ideas and the practice of the leaders and members of the SFO in your country, they are in accord with the Rule and the General Constitutions of their Order. They should not be interpreted as a rejection of the Spiritual Assistant or of the priest. Juridically, the Secular Franciscans are a legitimately constituted secular Order recognized as such by the Roman Catholic Church (cf. Const. 1). They are autonomous in so far as they are governed by their own fraternity councils at the various levels, from local to international (cf. Const. 31).
If the Ministers Provincial and the Assistants are ignored by the Secular Franciscans, it is not the fault of the Secular Franciscan Order or of the Church that recognizes it as a universal and international public association of the laity. It could be the fault of certain persons who are not ideal Secular Franciscans, or it could be the fault of the Ministers Provincial and Assistants themselves who do not know the legislation of the Church in relation to the SFO, or who do not implement it.
It can happen that the Secular Franciscans oppose a spiritual Assistant because he behaves like the former spiritual Director of a Third Order Fraternity, thinking that the local SFO Fraternity belongs to him and his Order. The priest will certainly be opposed if he fails to understand the difference between a spiritual Director of the former Third Order and a spiritual Assistant of the present Secular Franciscan Order. But the Secular Franciscans have no right to exclude him from the meetings of the Fraternity Council. If they have problems with him, they should refer their difficulties to the SFO Regional Council, if it exists, or else to the National Council, who should take up the problem with the Minister Provincial, through the Provincial Assistant or directly.
Many of the Assistants' problems are concerned with local situations that should be referred to the SFO local Fraternity Council or, if they cannot be resolved at the local or regional levels, to the SFO National Council. The General Assistant would be involved only if the National Council cannot resolve a serious problem and if it refers the case to the Presidency of the International Council.
I want to thank those friars who have shared their concerns with me. It helps me to understand the difficulties that face priests in changing their role from spiritual Director of the Franciscan Third Order Secular to spiritual Assistant of the Secular Franciscan Order.