The General Chapter

SFO Worldwide

Anniversary of the Rule

National elective Chapters

The General Chapter, has taken place in Madrid (October 23-31, 1999). Many of us have worked hard to prepare all the material for study and organising the logistic details, or even ... putting together the necessary funds to allow all those who are supposed to come, to be able to attend this important assembly, that, every three years brings together the representatives of the national fraternities of the SFO and of the Franciscan Youth, from all over the world, in order to:
-- live happily a moment of fraternity and exchange of experiences,
-- reinforce the sense of belonging to one world-wide Order,
-- discuss and deliberate "the dispositions and orientations for the life of the Order (Stat. FIOFS art. 8.3.b).

This General Chapter had also a specific spiritual significance, since during these days the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the approval of the renewed Rule were concluded. These celebrations have brought together the Franciscans all over the world studying, praying and giving thanks for this "gift of the Holy Spirit, that drives us to the Father", in a new commitment to follow Christ, "poor and crucified".

This renewed meeting with Christ is more than ever necessary in front of the "challenges of the present time": secularism, ethical subjectivism, materialistic consumism, and a vague religiosity without precise convictions and coherent commitments. This demands the commitment to mature in an adult faith, such as to find out with courage what is essential to be and consequently what to do, in order to give new strength to our being Christians and Franciscans, and thus to express our charism in a visible way.

Looking at Saint Francis, it becomes easy to understand the centrality of Christ in his life, the passion to reproduce in himself, as far as possible, everything that Christ lived: to progressively unite his lifestyle to that of Jesus of Nazareth. Francis allowed His spirit to possess him, assimilating His scale of values, adopting His inner attitude and His behaviour, identifying himself in his heart, until the experience of La Verna.

Now, we Secular Franciscans, in the specific of our vocation, we are called to re-write Francis' Christological experience in our personal history. We have to become spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ (Exhortation of St. Francis to the Brothers and Sisters of the Penance, Prologue, Rule SFO).

In other words, we must live in the spirit of the Lord, which "suggests to the heart of his faithful every good thing and puts it into their mouth". It is the Spirit of the Lord, present and operating in our individual and communitary history, who erupting permanently in his multiform newness,

-- breaches the rock of any mental and practical rigidity, which prevents us to cease the emergent demands of life, of history, of theological reflection;

-- allows to overcome the dangers of habit, which make us live a static and repetitive relations with all values, fixing them in an understanding and acquired experience "once for ever" ("it has ever been like this, we use to do it like that, we always thought it that way…");

-- disintegrates the resistence towards everything new and permits to welcome, with profound faith, the Lord who revealed Himself as the one "who makes new all things";

-- changes the heart of stone transforming it in a heart of flesh, in order to make us new persons, that means free persons;

-- keeps us open towards the future in order to be constantly syntonized to what the Lord asks us in our daily life through so many channels.

We must make ours the attitude which characterized Francis in his approach to the Gospel: the appassionate research of the person, the life, the attitude of Jesus, before any doctrinal study, and the litteral and faithful observation of His comands, feeling himself personally called upon by Jesus.

It is from this "conformity with Christ" that the Franciscan is born; in this conformity he is called to live; in this conformity he sees the challenge -- day by day -- of his life. Therefore, only from inside this conformity with Christ the Franciscan feels realized. Only from inside of this conformity with Christ the Franciscan surprises, upsets, transforms, innovates…, because he becomes a testimony of Christ in the world, evangelical sign of contradiction, prophet for the community of brothers and for the world.

Only in this spirit and with these interior attitudes, the Secular Franciscans' participation in the life and mission of the Church may be created with a more mature conscience of our responsabilities and "in confident and open dialogue of apostolic creativity".

Anniversary of the Rule

Several National Councils reported about how they commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Rule. We give you a brief summary:

Argentina: May 1999: one week of prayer and meditation.

Corea: Seminar during the Annual Meeting; January 1999: one week of prayer; in September 1998 all members were invited to do some handicraft work representing the Rule; the best work has received an award.

Philippines: beginning of the celebrations during the Annual Meeting in April 1998, with reflections on the theme: "The Rule, a gift of the Holy Spirit which conducts to the Father"; a week of prayer in september 1998; publication of an article: "Pray the Rule".

India: during the whole year there have been organized commemorative celebrations in the local Fraternities.

Nicaragua: a week of prayer and meditation in September 1998.

Czech Republic: in June 1998 all Fraternities celebrated a commemorative Eucharist; the Responsible for Formation of the National Council prepared a paper for the weekly meditation about the Rule, starting in occasion of the annual pilgrimage in October 1998 and terminating in June 1999.

Republic of South-Africa: commemorative meeting of 2 days in February 1999.

Togo: in conclusion of several initiatives 3-days-Meeting in October 1998.

USA: commemoration during the week of Thanksgiving in November 1998; all Regional Ministers have been informed and all Fraternities celebrated in various moments of the year.

National elective Chapters

Republic of South Africa: from 20 to 23 August 1999, presided over by the International Councillor Tom Purcell (Ireland). Lydia Dalton was elected National Minister.