C I O F S LIST

Emerenziana Rossato: Suggestions for Formation: The Rule

Mimi Def: Tolerance

Emanuela De Nunzio: A Testimony from Croatia

Conference of the Franciscan Family

After having considered the gift of our Vocation and the answer the Profession has made to it, now we shall look at the Rule, for us the only path on which we can let truth and true faith continue, in our vocation as well as in our profession.

It is preceded by a Prologue where the relationship we should have with God and His children, brothers, wives and mothers is exemplified until the Holy Spirit establishes His dwelling within us.

It is divided into three chapters:

The first assures the Secular Franciscan that the Franciscan family is a gift of the Holy Spirit to His Church just as is also each member and, just in the way St. Francis was, he was accompanied by the Holy Spirit which strengthens in him the interior man who shall reach perfection in charity through this Rule authenticated by the Church.
The second comes from the "Way of Life" that we must acquire to be as the Lord, the Church and the Order would like us to be.
It is the personal dedication that precedes that of the Fraternity and is linked to the conversion of the heart.
It diverges in three directions: God-Brother-Creation, and it is on this that we should measure ourselves because upon this we are qualified.
It is a way of being that one acquires observing the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ in following the example of St. Francis of Assisi. From here on: It passes from the Gospel to life and from life to the Gospel; it is looking for Christ in our brothers and sisters; it is being witnesses and instruments of the mission of the Church among men; it is conforming our way of thinking and of acting to that of Christ through a radical inner change; it is making prayer and contemplation the soul of our being and action; it is witnessing the love of the Virgin Mary imitating her example and it is carrying out faithfully our everyday duties. From "The Way of Life" always comes a correct use of possessions; a purification of the heart; a fidelity to the vocation; reaching out to one's brothers and sisters; a competent exercise of one's own responsibility; taking action in favor of justice; spirit of peace; respect towards all creatures; trusting in the presence of the divine seed within man and in the power of transformation of love and pardon and waiting for the final meeting with the Father. These are outstanding values which have to guide us, the path which offers verifiable certanties which no one can give nor take away from you once you have acquired them...
As St. Francis said, the Rule is the "book of life, the hope of salvation, the marrow of the Gospel, the way of perfection, the key of Paradise, the agreement of perpetual covenant..." (cfr. Omnibus 2C,208)

Oh Lord, if everybody spoke the same language, how much easier it would be to communicate.

Oh Lord, if everybody was a Christian like me, we could celebrate all together.

Oh Lord, if we were all of a respectable age, we would no longer be troubled by the nois of the young.

Oh Lord, if everbody had enough to live on comfortably, we wouldn't have to worry about social conflicts.

But...
- have you forgotten the beauty of a rainbow and the pleasure of discovering the way of communication of our brothers?
- do you remember the joy of family gatherings when you were so happy together?
- do you remember the happiness in being able to smile thanks to a gesture of sharing?

Yes, Lord I very well know that you mix up our categories. Even the disciples and the people of your country had been baffled at this:
"...and Jesus said to her, "-give me a drink of water-"
the disciples themselves were astonished that he was talking to a woman" (John 4)
"Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today... there was much whispering that he was going to the house of a sinner" (Luke 19)
"Your sins are forgiven... the others sitting at the table began to say to themselves "-who is he who even fogives sins?-"" (Luke 7)

You invite us to leave behind us our frontiers, our enclosures and to meet others, all others.

In order to communicate with the Samaritan woman and Zacchaeus, Jesus shared their needs and desires: the need to drink and the desire to stay with them. Accepting the risk of dislogue of sharing they depart transformed.

Reading our lives on line with the Gospel, we may make out the meetings that have changed our hearts.

How do we meet others? those different from us?

"Humility and mercy walk together and together they lead to tolerance". (Comte Sponville)

To conclude, let us meditate the description of a perfect Friar Minor in "Mirror of Perfection", 85.

On August 31, 1995, six International leaders of the Franciscan Family met in Zagreb with members of the Franciscan Family of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of the visitors, as declared in their introductory message, was to be present in a territory so much under seige "as messengers of the solidarity of the International Franciscan Family, as brothers and sisters deeply worried about your suffering, and desiring to hear about your difficult situation and struggle, to share your problems and to meditate together on your future that concerns us all."

The reports that were presented by the provincial leaders and the debate that followed showed that - even with the loss and destruction, the misery and sadness - wise and generous men and women with deep faith and big hearts, have not been overcome and shall know how to construct peace with conditions for living together, so that - as a great Croatian writer said - "the land be more beautiful and man can live without fear and hate". (Ivo Andric, "The Bridge on the Drina")

The same objective and the same certainty emerged from the long and cordial meeting that we were allowed to have with the Cardinal from Zagreb. He suggested three "directions" for the Franciscan Family to follow.

The first is spiritual, for more intense prayer, invoking the gift of peace from God: peace among the countries of the ex-Yugoslavia, peace among the various ethnic groups and peace among the various religious groups in that territory.

The second suggestion is aid to the oppressed and victims of the war, and support for the reconstruction. The Cardinal proposed creating "twins" between cities, between dioceses, between parishes (and between fraternities of the SFO?).

The third suggestion is to contribute to a correct international public opinion through correcting much manipulation of the truth, so much partial, false and distorted news.

The news that the mass media present every day is a continual alternation between horrors and gestures of generosity, of military advances and hopes for peace. What shall the military and political situate be when this bulletin gets into your hands? We must "trust in the presence of the divine seed in everyone and in the transforming power of love and pardon" (Rule 19). But whatever the results of the efforts of diplomacy, of the leaders of the countries concerned and the international organizations may be, the destruction, loss and crippling remain.

I saw houses made inhabitable, bridges and roads destroyed. I saw Catholic churches flattened to the ground, so much so that one could not even find the perimeter. I saw the poor and refugees lining up before the Franciscan convents that distribute "St. Anthony's bread" and before the soup kitchens that offer a hot meal.

I saw "the wailing wall" at Zagreb that extends for hundreds of meters around the headquarters of the UN soldiers. It is made up of red and black bricks. On each red brick is written the name of someone missing; on each black brick is written the name of someone dead. There are flowers and candles there. Parents, children, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands come here to weep over their lost dear ones.

Whatever form we shall be able to give to these tormented countries, the wounds that have gone deep will remain and all people of goodwill are called to help them.

A new organization for interfranciscan collaboration, the Conference of the Franciscan Family (CFF), was definitely approved by all the interested parties. It comprises the General Ministers OFM, OFMConv., OFMCap., TOR, OFS and the President of the International Franciscan Conference (= worldwide gathering of religious of the new TOR Rule). The new Conference intends promoting communication among all its members and foster common initiatives.

The first President (1995-96) is the General Minister OFM. The next will be the General Minister SFO (96-97). There shall be two meetings a year. The Conference of the four General Ministers of the First Order and TOR shall continue to exist as a basic structure.