SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 3 - N. 15 - 1997 - April - II
From: CIOFS Bulletin, 1997, N. 1
Part -II
Francis, A Man of Reconciliation
7. Our Father St. Francis, contemplating the mystery of the incarnation, expressed gratitude to the "All-powerful, most holy, most high and supreme God, holy and just Father," for having "brought about his [i.e., the Son's birth as true God and true man by the glorious, ever-virgin, most blessed holy Mary," and having "willed to redeem us captives through his cross and blood and death" ( RegNB 23, 5). Looking at the situation of his day and inspired by the gospel beatitudes, Francis chose as a mission for himself and his followers "to do and preach penance" ( RegNB 21,2.10; 23,7; 1EpFid I, 7; 2EpFid IV, 25; 1 Cel 23, 33; LM Prologue, 1; III, 2.10; L3S 33.36.49; LP 18) in its gospel sense of conversion and reconciliation.
8. The way in which they did this was not to foster negotiation among disputing parties, but to create in everyone they met the conditions which would allow them to reflect upon and opt for peace and harmony. From and through this derived their program for reconciliation with God, with one's brothers and sisters, and with all of creation. In the school of Francis one who was reconciled and who thereby became a reconciler we, too, can learn the ways and means of true reconciliation.
9. The true relationship with God our supreme good and every authentic relationship with creatures, causes hope to come alive in us and opens us up to an authentic life based upon trust and gratuitousness. The contemplation of God as the supreme good who is present in our history makes us feel our reconciliation to him and we can become new creatures, created in justice and true holiness. From this comes the ability to be open, to accept everyone and everything as a gift from God; it gives us the power and inventiveness to be "merciful as the Father in heaven" (see Lk 6:36) or, as Francis says, to "have pity" (see Test, 2; 1 Cel 17).
10. True reconciliation is based upon penance. Contemplating and listening to Jesus Christ, we learn to walk the path of reconciliation; we take on the weight of our own sin and that of all people; we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and make up in our own flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (see Col 1:24). No longer living for ourselves (see Rm 6:10; 14:7; 2 Cor 5:15; Phil 1:21) but for him who loved us first and gave his life for us (see Gal 2:20), we become capable of serving and living for our brothers and sisters. Our Father St. Francis reminded us that those who do penance "hate their bodies with their vices and sins" ( 1EpFid I,2), and "produce worthy fruits of penance" ( ibid, 4), and he commanded his followers to do penance by giving, forgiving, and confessing their own sins (see RegB VII).
Suggestions and Proposals
11. Reconciliation is indeed a gift of God, but it is also the result of our commitment and cooperation . Therefore, it is not sufficient for us to ask the Lord for it. It is necessary to nurture it and create the conditions for it to develop in us as individuals, a community, a religious family, and a Franciscan family and in others the church and the world. Please allow us to suggest some concrete actions or guidelines.
12. Safeguarding the gift of reconciliation means, above all, bearing one's own cross each day, accepting one's work as a grace, and performing it joyfully and punctually; it means giving to others with a spirit of gratuitousness, simplicity, and minority, avoiding every form of domination, possession, and profit. Let us commit ourselves to making better use of the penitential periods and places offered to us by the liturgy and tradition.
13. Discovering the beauty, greatness, and gratuitousness of the mercy of the Lord and of our brothers and sisters who, in him, can bring about reconciliation and unity, impels us to rejoice in the celebration of penance in its communal form and, personally, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
To our priest-brothers we offer an invitation: with zeal, respect for human dignity, patience, prudence, and charity, see to the administration and celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May our houses and churches more and more be places of prayer, encounter, and warm welcome. We suggest that in cities the Franciscan family see to it that, at least on some days during the penitential seasons, some Franciscan church would be kept open later or even, if possible, during the night, for those sons and daughters who want to encounter their Father.
14. Among the positive experiences enjoyed by the Franciscan family in recent decades, we would like to make special mention of the cooperation that has been established among the diverse Franciscan Orders and the various families of the individual Orders. In addition to their being a fruitful experience, they represent a sign of reconciliation within the church, and are a small seed of hope for all humanity. We would like to recall in particular:
a)the Conference of General Ministers of the First Franciscan Order and the Third Order Regular, which has been working for years in a communion of intention;
b)the Conference of the Franciscan Family (composed of the general minister of the First Order, the general minister of the TOR, the general minister of the SFO, and the president of the IFC-TOR), which is intended to be the privileged place for giving concrete expression to those values of communion and mutual enrichment which are inherent to a vital reciprocity among all the components of the Franciscan family, while respecting the variety and distinctive identity of each of them;
c)the local and national Franciscan movements, whose purpose is the achievement of unity through the experience of fraternity in meetings, prayer, cooperation in various initiatives and pastoral activities, and in some forms of ongoing collaboration in initial and continuing formation; and
d)our presence at the United Nations, through the service of the nongovernmental organization, Franciscans International.
15. We ask that in the future, there be an increase in such forms of mutual communion a life-giving force and an indispensable sign of reconciliation. We believe that the preparations for the jubilee year should lead us to be more readily open to offer this mutual service. The various positions and different responsibilities should be assumed entirely in a spirit of service, in the awareness that everyone men and women, clerics and laity, friars and members of the SFO has something to offer and something to receive. We especially invite everyone to create structures or organisms of Franciscan communion and collaboration [Franciscan movements in countries or areas where they are not yet found.
It is also our wish that, through the collaboration of all, Franciscans International can soon become an authoritative voice of the whole Franciscan family at the United Nations, expressing and realizing our concrete commitment of solidarity on behalf of all human life and the whole of creation, of peace, justice, and the defense of the poor.
16. We are called by the Lord to be with him, and to be sent to proclaim (see Mk 3:14-15) penance and forgiveness of sin (see Lk 24:47-48), and to work to make this proclamation a reality. Let us work so that every man and woman may come or return to the Father's house. Like Jesus and Francis, let us not fear being with the poor and with sinners. To those who are divided or who create tension, let us propose peace and reconciliation through concrete acts: among ourselves, especially within our fraternities, let us ask for and grant mutual forgiveness; let our lives show that the attainment of a true evangelical fraternity one that is sincerely lived, even when suffering is involved is the most beautiful consequence of a free and immense love which draws nourishment from the Word of God and the sacraments, especially the eucharist.
17. Fasting a time of faith in providence and a means of expiation for sin and participation in Christ's redemptive death is the way to open ourselves to charity to our brothers and sisters, to the poor and those in need. Francis understood the importance of this ascetic practice, and for this reason ordered his brothers to fast so they may abstain from vice and sin and from every excess in eating and drinking and be truly Catholic (see 2EpFid 6,32; RegNB 3, 11-13; RegB 3,5-9), especially in preparation for the feasts of Christmas and Easter. The Seraphic Father not only exhorted us, but also set an example of how to devote oneself continuously to fasting, prayer, and the praise of God (see LM 2) and to the needs of our brothers and sisters (see 2 Cel 175). Let us not neglect, therefore, the practice of fasting, not only in regard to food, but as an austerity of life, a capacity to eliminate the superfluous and to reduce the sense of personal need encouraged by a consumer society, seeking ways and means to help those in need.
18. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy should find widespread practice among us so that the love we have in our hearts may be shown forth in deed, and our brothers and sisters may see them and "grow in love of God and in charity for one another" ( TestCl 18). A striking sign of mercy for us, too, is the remission of debt or the resolution of financial dispute, especially in favor of the weak.
19. Doing penance which is making peace with God must become a desire for and working for peace and justice among people. Let us, therefore, leave our confines and go throughout the world preaching reconciliation clearly and simply, denouncing the evil of sin, proclaiming to everyone the necessity of conversion in order to receive "in the year of mercy," the forgiveness offered by God. Thus reconciled with God, with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters, and with all of creation, we shall live a new life in Christ.
Times and places of this proclamation can be: itinerant preaching and the "popular missions," with the participation of men and women religious, clerics and laity, men and women; interreligious dialogue; ecumenism; active collaboration with movements and institutions which promote peace and brotherhood among peoples.
Conclusion
20. We are not afraid of investing in reconciliation all the gifts of grace, intelligence, and the material resources with which providence has so generously enriched us. We will receive a hundredfold in this life and eternal life as a recompense (see Mt 19:29).
21. To the immaculate Virgin, our advocate and protectress (see 2 Cel 198), who made the Lord of majesty our brother and obtained mercy for us (see LM IX 3), we entrust ourselves; and we humbly invoke her as Queen of Peace and Mother of Mercy and Reconciliation to be with us and make us ever more united in heart and spirit, and obtain for us an abundance of the gift of the Spirit of unity, love, and reconciliation.
22. "Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, grant us in our misery [the grace to do for you alone what we know you want us to do, and always to desire what pleases you. Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And by your grace alone, may we make our way to you, Most High, who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity, and are glorified, God all-powerful forever and ever. Amen. (EpOrd 50-52).
Rome, 1 January 1997
Br. Hermann Schalück, General Minister OFM
Br. John Corriveau, General Minister OFM Cap
Br. Agostino Gardin, General Minister OFM Conv
Br. Bonaventura Midili, General Minister TOR
Sr. Elena Echevarren, President CFI-TOR
Emanuela De Nunzio, General Minister SFO